Ben Wilhelmi

B/W aerials, lake Natron

 

 

 

 

 

B/W aerial photography, lake Natron

 

Lake Natron, Rift valley, the active volcano Lengai sits to the south.

 

 

Vertical view of a delta.

 

aerial photography, lake Natron, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerials, lake Natron, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lake Natron, B/W photography

 

Natron is a salt lake which explains the LSD type patterns.

 

 

A delta on the northern side provides fresh water. But the salty environment will dilute that fresh water very quickly.

These 3 Maasai warriors know that feat and exactly where to cross. Somewhere else the skin would get burnt. The pH can reach 10.

 

aerial views on slide films, Rolleiflex, lake Natron

 

usually I use Fuji Velvia slide films. One of the best films available after the Kodachrome, the latter was killed by Kodak some years ago (those punks deserve their bankruptcy I’d like say if only the managers were affected...) and the Velvia is soon to be off the shelves, say the rumors… sad news.

 

 

 

 

aerial photography, shapes and colors, Tanzania

 

Tanzania, land of contrast and diversity. Always keep an eye open

blue and yellow salts on lake Natron. The same day! To be precise these 2 pictures are shot by a friend, Valerie Kosheleff, keen amateur too, but we cooperated as a team for these and decided to share the copyright. I was flying, sharing my experience out there, yanking or turning the plane, telling her what I wanted her to shoot. And she was  telling me in turn what to do according to what her wishes. Good eye I’d say.

 

 

below another flight, another day…

3 pictures of lake Balangida near Mt Hanang. These cones are salt mounds made and harvested  by local people.

 

 

 

below are some pictures of another small area near Hanang, Mgori.

 

 

 

 

lake Natron, Tanzania, aerials of colorful salts and flamingoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

not a B/W picture. Interesting fact after all these colors before.

aerial views with a Rolleiflex, lake Natron, Tanzania

 

shooting with a Rolleiflex, or other old film cameras, when digital cameras do all the job in a much easier way is like using a map and a compass or a sextant instead of a GPS. There is pleasure and gratification in doing stuff the old ways.

Lake Natron is a salt lake located in northern Tanzania. These images were shot in the rain season so the colors are for this time also to be found in the deltas, not only in the salt pans.

 

 

Tanzania, lake Natron, B/W aerials

 

tiny white salt particles floating on black water.

 

Flamingoes nesting on the dry crust.

 

usually the tones would be red, from pink to burgundy. This pattern is also the most common one and covering the largest zones.

 

Flamingoes flying low level.

 

aerial photography, lake Natron

 

northern Tanzania, Rift valley. The black dots are flamingoes. The Natron is the only breeding place in Africa for flamingoes. A fact to keep in mind when bloody plans are proposed to open a soda mine there.

flamingo nests on a dry crust. They look like giant egg holders.

and baby chicks learning to walk. They love to stick together in the salt water for better protection from predator.

 

besides flamingoes let’s enjoy the ever changing colors and abstract patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

occasionally pelicans stop by on their long migration.

aerial shots, lake Eyasi

 

Lake Eyasi is probably the last salt lake to the south of the Rift Valley.

 

 

 

westbound beyond that cliff lies the vast plain of the Serengeti.

 

 

lake Natron, aerial photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lake Natron, Tanzania, aerial shooting and natural art

lake Natron, a stunning salt lake that is ever changing

on the shoreline, there are a few deltas or springs. The sceneries then look a bit more normal.

lake Natron, aerial photography

 

that was an exceptional day, a perfect visibility. Kilimanjaro on the left is more than 150 km away. Mt Gelai is close in the middle, and Mt Meru on the right, Mt Kitumbeine on the far right. I’ve got very few in that style. And of course, lake Natron in the foreground

 

a typical abstract and vertical view of the salts.

 

a psychedelic view of a Natron delta.

 

I’d say there is a spring underneath to explain that swirl of floating salts. I’ve spotted that phenomenon, on the same spot, only twice.

 

Oldoinyo Sambu cliff on the western shore.

 

volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.

 

sometimes, it gets more sober.

 

various deltas.

abstract art in rotting cars, US roads.

 

even if the weather is dead hot in Arizona, cars still rot. So sad for those vintage wrecks. But keep an eye peeled and colors and shapes jump at your camera.

lake Natron, aerial pictures, Rift valley

no comment for a change…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lake Natron, aerial photography in Tanzania

lake Natron, northern Tanzania, aerial shots

 

here a view with a delta and the active volcano Oldoinyo Lengai in the distance.

 

nearly monochrome tones.

 

one of the few deltas feeding the lake.

 

water and salt near the western shoreline.

 

flamingoes, usually numerous on the lake. And under threat as usual. There is another bright project from the government to mess up with wildlife, this time to build a soda-extraction factory.

 

purple, not rare but not the most common tone either.

 

looking north towards Kenya, the mountain on the right is Shombole sitting straight on the border.

 

muddy waters near a delta

Red lake Natron, aerial photography in Tanzania (and satellite)

 

Red and various hues charaterize best lake Natron. About salt patterns any other colors are also available except green. Plain waters might be bright green but salts? I’m still hoping….

 

volcanoes Kerimasi (L) and  Lengai (R) far to the south.

 

faraway view from the south looking north.

 

volcano Shombole to the far north. The rains  these days improve greatly the visibility.

same volcano but much closer.

 

an incredible salt spiral near a clear cut of red salt. Oldonyo Sambu on the horizon.

 

Kerimasi and Lengai again.

 

and below a satellite view I got through the net. Obviously a Cessna 206 doesn’t fly that high, not even remotely. So even from space the red hue is clearly visible! Quite a feat isn’t it?

lower on the picture is a brownish spot, that’s lake Eyasi, still part of the Rift but not so colorful. Ngorongoro and Serengeti are basically under those clouds.

lake Natron, aerial photography within 4 minutes

 

to continue the yesterday post. 11h34 for the picture below, I passed the red salted zone. Now the lake towards the north looks normal but is still heavily salted and acid, Ph close to 10!

notice the dust devil on the horizon, a small column of dust looking like a tiny tornado.

 

extinct volcano Shombole.

 

near vertical views.

looking back at Pininyi the airstrip we had just left which is here visible on the right side of the forest. The salts start here very close to the shoreline.

western cliffs with the peak Oldonyo Sambu, 4500 ft higher than the lake surface. 11h38, last shot for this selection.

lake Natron, aerials in 3 minutes

 

I just can’t have enough of this wonderful lake. Always a new set of colors or patterns to offer. Mother Nature on LSD.

 

2 weeks ago, I had just taken off from Pininyi, western part. 1st shot at 11h32. This is Shombole on the Kenyan border, quite often to be seen in a mirror effect in this rainy season with clear visibility. I normally don’t put my horizon straight in the middle of my composures but here I like it.

 

 

vertical viewing.

looking back at Pininyi, blissfully located in a forest near a stream.

 

western cliffs, this shot at 11h35. Just a selection of  some of the many pictures I shot within those 3 minutes. More soon. I realise I’m quite privileged…

aerials over lake Natron, Tanzania

 

most descriptions will declare lake Natron environment as being harsh and inhospitable. Those statements are mostly true but there are exceptions near the few rivers and springs.

this happy herder wanders through a spring at the foot of Shombole, the mountain below.

this is all salted water, even where it looks blue. Any fresh water that hits the lake gets spoilt quickly sometimes even before reaching the lake.

the white dots are zebras.

 

the greenery in this area is only to be seen at the foot of Shombole.

 

a bit further south is Pininyi, a village and a forest fed by a river coming through the cliffs. Again the water is spoilt quickly as soon as it leaves the forest.

 

recent rains have helped a bit the vegetation on the shoreline.

 

otherwise rains or no rains, the lake itself always look colorful and geometric, but with 1000’s combinations during the year.

McMinus having a bad hair day outside the aircraft.

lake Natron, Rift valley, Tanzania, aerial shooting

 

probably my best or clear view of lake Natron. Last week that day was just exceptionally clear, such a perfect visibility is quite rare. On one picture, looking to the east and south: Mt Gelai on the left, volcano Lengai on the right, and behind lies volcano Kerimasi and the tip of Ngorongoro northern Highlands. I’m shooting from the NW part of the lake, that is overhead Oldonyo Sambu and the western cliff.

I swapped lens to get Lengai closer. A slight amount of haze and dust still hampers the view…

 

vertical view.

a village at the foot of volcano Shombole on the northern shoreline.

then an airstrip lies next to it, Olorbelin, where Flying Medical Service operates one of its numerous clinics with a Cessna 206.

Olorbelin is Masai country.

 

near Shombole a river delta offers a paradise for animals in the normally hot and harsh environment that the lake usually offers.

 

receding and evaporating waters leaving ‘parallel’ marks.

 

McMinus heard of those glass floors on high towers where one can get a thrill by walking on ‘nothing’ and he wanted to share the experience by leaning against the dipping windshield. He’ll be even braver later. To be continued.

lake Natron, Tanzania, aerial photography

 

I’ve said again and again but this lake is just a marvel. All, yes all, pictures below taken on 2 legs of 5 min flights only, same day. Last week, the visibility was just exceptional thanks to some rains.

extinct volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.

and just right of it, one Flying Medical Service airstrip, Olorbelin.

 

lake Natron is one those numerous lakes located in the Rift valley. Here is the lake western cliff with its highest peak, Oldonyo Sambu at more than 6000 ft. The lake bed lies at 2000 ft.

vertical and classic view of the salt and artistic pattern.

 

have you seen the great movie '” Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain”? Simply called “Amelie” for the US market I heard. The troll is being brought all over the world by Amélie’s friends and proof pictures are sent to her puzzled father (and troll’s owner). Brilliant idea which became fashionable since: a lot tourists seem to do the same while travelling with various fluffed toys and stage pictures. Meet Karine’s McMinus flying with me. She misses so much our real hedgehog Muffin that her Mom (Karine’s not Muffin’s) had sent her that replica as a sweet allusion.

 

wildebeests ( en fr. des gnous) on a river delta near Shombole.

 

to the south/south west lie Mt Gelai and volcano Lengai (on the right, the triangle a bit hidden by the haze and dust)

Orange art, aerials on lake Natron, Tanzania

 

overflying lake Natron while on clinics with Flying Medical Service. Pictures below were shot within 5 minutes. What a diversity, isn’t it? That lake is a wonder, always changing its pattern and colors. Orange and black on a scaly pattern are pretty rare.

look carefully, there is a shadow and a reflection of the aircraft on the water surface.

lake Natron, natural art, aerials

 a little break from Kenya with the incredibly beautiful and abstract lake Natron, Rift Valley, Tanzania.

pure abstract art, lake Natron, aerial photography

 

lake Natron, a salt lake in the Rift valley, Tanzania. Flying at about 100m high, Nikon D300s with a standard lens, vertical views. All shots withing a couple of turns!

flying over lake Natron, photography in 2 minutes, part II

 

as posted last week, the last shots of that little 2 minute photo shoot session over lake Natron.  Within 2 minutes of flight time only!

aerial photography, 2 minutes flying over lake Natron, Tanzania

 

this is the usual wonderful, never disappointing lake Natron. I had just taken off from Pininyi on the western shore, going north to the next Flying Medical Service airstrip, Njurlan, near volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border. The pictures below were all shot within 2 minutes of flying! Yes 2 minutes. The picture metadata prove that. Even if you don’t like my style, you’ll have to bow to the incredible show below my wings.

Here is volcano Shombole. The lake is normally almost dry at this time of year. But the weather has been funny lately and rains have popped up here and there. So the lake got a refill and a new ‘wardrobe’.

some straight vertical shots…

the western Rift valley cliff towers here at more than 6000ft, that is Oldoinyo Sambu. The lake sits at 2000. Imagine my joy of flying down any gorge there!

I guess by now my regular followers will have understood why I love this place so much. My finger always gets nervous as I close in…

Gear: Cessna 206, Nikon D300s, a 35mm, a polarizer filter and the highest shutter speed available at 400 iso. Though Nikon produces excellent cameras (I’m still not on their payroll), my other cameras have served me perfectly too. Even the Rolleiflex which is not too handy for this kind of maneuvers.

Lake Natron, Tanzania, aerials

 

Lake Natron, Tanzania, aerial shooting

 

colors and shapes, route 66

 

Karine and I loved to cruise on route 66, here in Arizona, without specific plans. We would stop whenever shapes and colors and unusual subjects would call. Well, unusual, that is for a European point of view.

a bit of a Corvette, just before sunset.

 

bit of a Mercury.

 

a GMC pick up.

 

Chevrolet…

 

Chevrolet Bel Air, station wagon. Numerous souvenirs shops dot the route 66, not always painted and decorated with the best taste…

 

Ford.

 

Dodge.

 

open 24/7, only in the US?

aerial photography, lake Natron, Tanzania

 

orange and black abstraction, lake Natron, aerials in Tanzania

 

that lake Natron managed to impress me once more, but on a really high level this time. The patterns and colors change regularly, many combinations are open out there.

But orange and black with a fish scale pattern is extremely rare, I witnessed that feat only twice in 12 years. So that really made my day during the last set of Flying Medical Clinics tour in Loliondo and around this week. All these pictures were shot within one turn with the Cessna 206, less than 2 minutes. Further away, the colors got the standard red hue on this classic pattern.

Orange or amber re not rare colors on the lake but then the patterns are wider and irregular and in slightly deeper waters.

 

a feeling of 3D sometimes…like coral.

 

and below is the first sighting 10 years ago (on the excellent but defunct) film Agfa Ultron 50.

 

 

my guess is that the wind is constantly blowing from one direction, pushing the very shallow water towards the same side of the scaled shape. Humidity must have a different impact on the salts, hence the different colors. And I suppose again that I’ve shot this old picture at a different time of process to explain the black predominance…