Ben Wilhelmi

bush flying in Africa, photography

 

Nairobi, mafia deal, insurance scam, jealous competitors… no truth ever came out for that bombed KingAir. The plane stayed in full view of the tourists clearing customs for weeks. Welcome to Africa.

 

Below are pictures in Tanzania where I have been living for 14 years.

More peaceful, a Flying Medical Service clinic.

 

the slopes of Empakai crater, one airstrip lies on a sloped ridge. Look carefully, you’ll see an airplane on this picture, a Flying Medical Service.

 

 

 

after a serious rainshower.

 

sandy airstrip, inexperienced pilot and that was it for the day for that Cessna 206. No injuries.

 

oops they forgot to lower the landing gear, or so they claimed… That Let 410 was eventually sold after some repairs.

 

A Cessna 206 on landing in the middle of nowhere, or the middle of everywhere as read once in a Colorado village.

Cessna 206, Tanzanian bush

 

the airplane, the pond, the curious Masai kids.

 

normally a pilot sits on the left seat but there was a new pilot to train so I sat on the right seat, gave him a lesson about flying low and I took some shots

here on final just before landing in the Ngorongoro area

 

 

next to an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai

 

 

high wing aircraft have a few advantages, the wings provide shade to our doctor and the patients, the clearance is better if the airstrip hasn’t been properly cleared of bush or high grass, aerial viewing of the ground is better.

 

a Masai warrior on his motorbike.

 

the C206 on a sloped airstrip. The Ngorongoro Highlands also offer incredible landscapes.

Tanzania, bush flying

 

the main tree in the village, people love to gather there and chat.

 

A Caravan on take off.

 

Sunset on Mt Meru.

 

One of our Flying Medical Service airplanes facing lake Natron. The pinkish line on the horizon is the typical salt crust on that lake.

 

Another airstrip, Pininyi, on lake Natron. Shombole behind.

 

While on clinics we attract usually mothers and children and sick people. These Masai warriors are just passing by for me. The word has spread out that I give prints for my models.

 

contrast between a dry and a wet season. Volcano Lengai in the distance.

 

A good rain season changes the landscapes quite drastically. There is then a European touch. That is till you spot an elephant or a Masai.

 

That was a serious puncture,wasn’t it?

bush flying in Tanzania

 

A propeller seriously damaged. That was a prop strike with engine running at high speed. Tip: the 3 blades are equally twisted. One blade damaged means the engine was off and the propeller had no inertia. Some pilots have been caught lying...

 

Facing an active volcano, Lengai. Flying Medical Service has about 30 various airstrips to provide mobile clinics. Here is Monik on lake Natron.

 

Pilots will appreciate this sloped airstrip, Engoveroni, at 6500 feet, 400 meter long, 170 ft difference between the ends. Our C206's have a normally aspirated engine

 

Somewhere in the Ngorongoro area, Olbalbal0

 

Landing with a strong crosswind at Ngaresero, the volcano Lengai lies in the distance.

 

yes this is an airstrip.

 

This one is located in the middle of Sengerema village, with houses on each side. Congratulations to the decision makers…

 

Funny little white flowers during the rain season, Olbalbal.

 

Another airstrip but of much better quality than it looks like. The Masai ladies are sheltering from the rain.

 

stormy weather, always lovely to watch and sometimes not so when flying through.

Flying Medical Service in the bush, photography

 

Flying Medical Service operates about 30 airstrips in northern Tanzania. We fly there to provide medical care and vaccination, occasionally a emergency flight happens with in case the patient is too serious ill to be treated under the village tree.

The traditional way to carry kids is still the norm.

 

not all of the attendees are sick or in need of vaccinations, some are just curious. These places are usually in the very remote bush and our airplanes going there are the only unusual thing happening twice a month.

 

A Masai woman and a typical gourd made of the sausage tree fruit. The recipe to prepare and clean those gourds includes ashes and urine…

 

A new airstrip, which has decayed big time since then.

One pilot is here seen repairing a patch of that airstrip. Notice the 2 Masai dudes just watching and no more. This is a big challenge with Masai men: to get them to work…they consider it is a woman’s job and not in touch with their male status. In this case it was easier t fox it ourselves instead of organizing a bloody meeting and facing endless sterile talking.

 

 

Though there are various clans and little differences in the Masai tribe, this kind of bead work is quite common.

 

some areas are quite dry so if wind gets funny, one feels in a sand storm.

 

another pride visitor, a Masai warrior. This one has been nominated quite recently so he is proud to show off his full regalia for a while. After some years, he will be more sober and comfortable.

 

this is an example of a village tree being put to good use: it provide shade and so the nurses can go on vaccinating and weighing the babies. See the scale hanging on the branch.

 

In the meantime our doctor usually works under the aircraft wing. One would be amazed by the amount of medical conditions that can be treated with 2 or 3 suitcases full of medicines.

Tanzania, flying the bush

 

Caravan landing in the hilly area around lake Manyara.

 

Twin Otter landing.

 

Big puncture obviously, on a replacement tyre. I was angry at the Dar es Salaam workshop who had given us that piece of crap which was worse than the previous punctured tyre…

 

Melted battery terminal resulting in 3 days in a hotel waiting for the new battery.

 

typical scene in a park: a Land Rover alongside an airstrip.

 

Sad view in Arusha airport, a lousy pilot trashed this F406 on take off. He could have killed dozens of people, not only his passengers but also the various people in other aircraft or on the airport. He had stopped a few meters short of a big plane being boarded and the fuel station…

 

A Cessna 206 dwarfed by a huge Mil 26.

 

Flying loosely formation with a Cessna 404.

 

Ndutu airstrip quite flooded and momentarily out of service. This strip is famous for being soft when wet. Rains can be intense and change the landscapes within minutes.

 

One of the Flying Medical Service 206’s and active volcano Lengai shot on infrared film

Flying the bush, Tanzania

 

I love bush flying especially last weeks with the rains.

Softened terrain after some rains.

 

Partially flooded airstrip. Last week I couldn’t land on another airstrip and hesitated heavily on a 2 nd one.

 

On final for landing.

 

On a Flying Medical Service clinic at the foot of active volcano Lengai.

 

Looking back towards lake Manyara.

 

I wish I could fly these Hercules C130….One of the few big airplanes with bush capacities.

 

The active volcano Lengai seen from a Twin Otter.

 

Lake Natron in the dry season. Here is Monik airstrip on the western shoreline and an extinct volcano on the horizon.

 

things change in some remote villages. 10 years ago, only traditional outfits would be spotted. Now either western style or common African style creeps up.

volcano Lengai, Tanzania, various pictures

 

a fascinating active volcano located in the Rift valley, northern Tanzania.

dry or wet season.

 

Flying Medical Service operates about 10 airstrips around that landmark so I get to enjoy various points of view, not to mention the regular flights over.

 

viewed from lake Natron.

 

 

detail of the ashy slopes.

 

Pinhole style.

 

On the right slightly covered by clouds. Mt Gelai on the left is one of the neighbors.

 

On top of airstrips there are of course many villages around.

a 7 min flight over lake Natron, photography

 

that lake hardly ever disappoints me. Flying Medical Service has a couple of airstrips located on the shoreline. So taking off from one to the next airstrip offers some stunning vistas. Always.

Just taking off from Pininiyi for instance and heading north for instance, that’s a full view of an extinct volcano, Shombole. Or Shompole in use in Kenya.

 

Temperatures are close to 40C these days so opening a window is really welcome. Just look down and enjoy the show. Here is a small delta hardly filled up nevertheless the rains were heavy lately. But the village has an efficient irrigation system still going 20 years after some Belgian engineers built it.

 

within 2 minutes at 120 mph, here is another set of colors. These salts seem to possess an artistic sense of their own.

 and another minute...

the only color I have never seen in those salts is green.

 

 

 sometimes I feel there is a 3D aspect in those colored patterns...

 

red tones are the most common ones all year long.

 

10 minutes on the clock, time to land already on the northern shore, Njurlan.

Bush flying, Tanzania

Gorge flying in Olduvai Gorge.

 

My installation for video making while flying. Very efficient. Excellent results with that Nikon D300s.

 

I used to fly that airplane but I didn’t trash it. Funny enough the pilot managed to bring that crippled bird home. Well deserved bad karma for the company.

 

Dawn on Mt Meru, Arusha.

 

That’s a cheap and efficient way to maintain a grass airstrip.

 

 

Unwelcomed guests on the airstrip.

 

After the first rains the water levels can rise quickly.

 

bad weather brewing, time to leave.

Flying Medical Service, Tanzania, the airplane in the bush

 

Flying Medical Service operates 2 Cessna 206’s in Tanzania, mostly between Arusha and the Serengeti but we cover emergencu flights all over the country. Here are some pictures of the beasts in their favorite element, the bush…

Oljoro, a small village off the map like many. The clinic hut needs some repair and that big dust devil won’t make the roof any better.

 

Landing soon on the shoreline, Olorbelin, lake Natron. A quick look outside and here is a picture of the reflection and the shadow on the shallow waters.

 

At Monik on the western lake Natron shore, facing the active volcano Oldoinyo Lengai. The doctor is busy attending the patients under the much needed shade.

 

Another airstrip, another clinic, another doctor at work…

This is Engoveroni on the slope of Empakai crater, Ngorogoro Highlands. This is our grade 5 airstrip. Look at the slope…it’s not me being drunk for the composure, look at the people who are standing straight up. I landed there last month with defective brakes but that was not an issue at all. Everything else is wrong too with this one, which makes it very challenging and rewarding.

 

More clinics, Ololosokwan in the Rift valley near Natron…

and Olbalbal outside Ngorongoro crater.

 

On another note I got a serious surprise 2 weeks ago: I was doing a preflight check around the airplane when the front half cargo door fell on my foot! Obviously preflights are there for a reason…

That was because the 2 hinge pins had been stolen. That is the twisted white thing on the picture, the top one here. Those things have no value but we never know what new use local Masai people could think of…

 

Pat, our director, has always been thoughtful about how to sort out troubles in the bush before calling for help. So we carry a decent toolbox on board amongst many things. For instance there are what look like giant hairpins, called Cotten pins. I just had to clip one in two and play around with one half for each hinge. Not sure this was entirely legal but what the heck…

flamingoes nesting on lake Natron, aerials

 

some time ago, there were news that flamingoes might come to lake Natron and breed…BBC Nature mentioned that rare feat and asked us at Flying Medical Service, amongst other pilots, to keep an eye open. Which we did and this Friday, on my way to Loliondo I spotted the hundreds of nests near the south but quite center on the lake on a large salt pan, isolated from predators by acidic waters.

I dropped a few thousands feet, did 2 circles and here are some of the shots. Those grey dots are the nests.

 

Then I realised we had missed the nest building period. Here are the flamingo chicks in grey with a few adults.

 

 

 

 

Notice that some nests still contain an egg.

 

 

 

sad news is that next day, the whole salt pan was submerged! The lake is flat, at 3 meter deep at most, so it fills up very fast in case of serious rains. And these days it’s all about serious thunderstorms and showers all day long. I‘ve just had 3 flooded airstrips these last 3 days of flying… so the adult flamingoes most likely took off but the chicks at that stage don’t fly yet and they must have drowned. I couldn’t see those chicks around but anyway I can’t imagine they’ve had time to walk to safety10 or 20 km away.

I’ve seen once nests disappear within one rainy day but at a much earlier stage I think since I hadn’t spotted any eggs and later did not notice any youngsters…

Masai warriors throwing spears

 

Trust me, those long spears are heavy! Nothing to do with the aluminum things I used to throw at school.

I did once fly a wounded warrior with such a spear across the torso. Of course that 2 m spear wouldn’t fit in a small plane like the one on this picture, nor in the Land Rover that brought the man to the bush hospital. No problem since the wounded man’s friends had taken care of that: 2 held one arm each while a third one put his foot on the belly and pulled the spear out!! Obviously these guys have zero knowledge in open wound management! The guy survived by the way, proud with 2 neat scars to show off.

This one managed to throw a spear and a club within a second. By luck I caught both weapons on this shot. That brown speck on the horizon is the club!

 

photography in the bush, Tanzania

 

while busy on clinics with Flying Medical Service, I have time to walk around, even to the nearby village.

Nobody is going to steal my aeroplane, right? A cessna 206 by the way.

 

Masai women have traditionally been stuck in blue, red or black, according to their social status in the tribe. There were slight variations depending on the clans as well. Now men haven’t actively looked for clothe change of style. But guess what? Women did… so let’s enjoy the explosion of colors and patterns nowadays.

 

Cows, the most precious possession for a Masai man, volcano Lengai in the Rift…

and looking behind is an airstrip, Engoveroni. I went for a short walk on a neighboring ridge because I wanted to have a large view of the sloped airstrip. Notice the tiny white shape, that is the aeroplane.

 

Masai men on an errand. The plane in the distance again.

 

Mini market in the village.

 

 

Modernity creeps in and I would never have guessed in some remote areas…

 

I hate those ugly wool hats, especially when the temperature comes close to 30 Celsius. It ruins my pictures and I am convinced the kids don’t feel comfy.

In the digital age of photography, I still enjoy too my old film cameras, loaded with slide or B/W films. These pictures were shot this year with my Leica M6 and 28, 50 or 90 mm lenses. A minimum of neurons is required to shoot with this kind of equipment…

photography with a Rolleiflex, Tanzania

 

that is the Tanzanian bush with that old medium format camera on a slide film, the excellent Fuji Velvia 50 . Mine is from 1961, still produces sharp pictures especially with a film like that.

This shot is from October when the first rains were coming, here a thunderstorm brewing late afternoon. These Masai kids were a bit shy but that never lasts, curiosity is too strong usually.

 

Lake Natron in the Rift valley….

Natron is a salt lake always offering interesting salted patterns and bright colors. Here is a vertical shot of those salt pans.

 

Masai people attending a Flying Medical Service clinic near the Serengeti.

Kids are always around even if they need no medical treatment or vaccination.

random pictures in Tanzania and around

 

 

Me having a haircut in South Africa while on a long bicycle trip from Arusha to Cape Town.

 

Tanzania below:

An old weekend bike trip around mount Meru near Arusha.

some difficult passage.

 

My longest flying job in Tanzania, with Flying Medical Service.

Taking a short cut through a 600m high gorge. Watch rocking videos on my Vimeo account.

 

Amazing  encounters with chimpanzees in Mahale.

 

Walking safaris in Katavi.

 

Infrared picture in the Rift valley. Volcano Lengai.

 

Colleague landing in bad weather, Serengeti.

 

Aerial view of the mythical Kilimanjaro at about 20.000 feet high.

portraits, the Tanzanian bush

About 130 tribes and 80 languages in Tanzania. I only got to meet a few so far. Here is a selection of Masai and Sonjo people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flying Medical Service in the bush, photography

 

Obviously this is an outreach clinic happening in the rainy season. Dust is normally blown around.

 

The Cessna 206 on an airstrip, not the widest one I agree.

 

A nurse taking care of a patient in a medical hut.

 

The regular vaccines, pertussis, tetanus, measles, polio…are given in remote villages.

Babies are weighed on each visit. An important and cheap step to spot any problem in a child’s development.

 

 

When I say bush, I mean bush. What I also really like in this job and country is the variety in the seasons and the landscapes. Tanzania is just incredible.

 

2 or 3 boxes is what we carry along for the doctor and the nurses to perform. Not much one could say but most of the common diseases are treated with so little. Once in a while, for serious wounds, difficult pregnancies, cases of malnutrition ( the famous Plumpy Nut supplements are now being offered to starving kids even in Tanzania, not only Somalia and the likes), severe infections, cancers even…we fly patients out to hospitals.

 

These are some of my “archive” pictures from 1999 till 2002, still on films that is, but nothing has changed since I'm back for a 2nd tour of duty.

Flying Medical Service, the aircraft in the bush, photography

here is a selection of some interesting locations I fly to for our outreach clinics.

Tanzania is not exactly is a flat country… this is a part of a dead volcano, Shombole, on lake Natron.

 

Part of the Gol mountains.

 

the medical staff and the pilot always take lunch under the Cessna 206 wing. Especially around lake Natron where 40C seem a normal temperature…

The active volcano Lengai can be seen from many airstrips around. The doctor is here treating a patient. Sometimes we have a royal treatment, that is an available medical hut, usually not. Personally I prefer to be in the open but in case a patient needs some privacy…It’s so hard to keep nosy people at bay.

 

Below is my all time favorite; Engoveroni. It’s located on a ridge of  Empakai Crater slope. I love it, the slope at 11%, the gullies and ridges, the usual bad winds, the high altitude and the non turbo engine make a go around impossible, it’s roughly paved but it’s beautiful and keep skills up to date.

this was last week. The day had started badly with a flat battery. We had to start the engine like in the old day: by hand. Yes on a Cessna 206… I was delayed by 2 hours but the bright side of that was to be here in Engoveroni till 17h30. The light was just getting beautiful, warm, golden…

 

 

Nice slope huh? Taking off is here a piece of cake, even when heavily loaded.

 

For beautiful landscapes, there is plenty of choices, here in Ngorongoro area. The Gol mountains far out.

 

Mount Makarot on the SW Ngorongoro  rim.

 

Mount Masonik, on the high edge of lake Natron

flying the Tanzanian bush

 

The Cessna I’m flying these days, just before take off facing Olbalbal pond. Funny airstrip, just long enough but way too wide…

 

active volcano Lengai at rest these days. But nevertheless a stunning scenery, still covered in grey ashes from the last eruption some years ago.

 

A typical dust devil, kind of a mini twister. Not dangerous…

 

Some colleague flyers, lake Natron.

 

Outreach clinics in the Rift Valley, Oleparkashi.

 

My Masai audience before take off.

 

Just after take off from Njurlanon salt lake Natron.

 

lake Natron and its permanent residents, flamingoes.

 

Looking down on final, landing at Olorbelin on the northern Natron shoreline. I love these reflections and shadows on the water surface altogether on one shot.

life in a Masai village, Tanzania, photography

 

On a 3 day tour of duty with Flying Medical service I had landed in Pininyi, western shore of lake Natron, and decided to go for a walk in the village. The doctor and nurses didn’t need me to attend the outreach clinic.

In less than 10 years that village has sure changed a lot. There were only huts by then. Nowadays, there are brick houses and brightly panted o top of that. Beautiful blue hue, isn’t it? The mamas are not exclusively Masai anymore. Some Sonjo people as on the picture from a neighboring valley have moved in for the waterfall and river benefit.

 

But traditions still go well, like this Masai woman sowing…

or these ones building a mud hut with branches.

 

Homosexuality is a big no no in Africa (still a crime or even wishful death penalty in medieval Uganda)  but affection gesture between friends, children or adults, is fine. Notice the rubber boots in a dry and hot country (35 d Celsius is an average on lake Natron) but the people here are masters in irrigation canals…

 

This alley used to be the airstrip. With the village expansion, it was decided to make it the main artery for business (yes business but Africans tend to overuse that word, even to describe the sale of 3 flip flops on the side of the road…) and the airstrip has been relocated towards the lake, which made sense. Now it looks like in Europe, big ideas, the beginning of some work is spotted then nothing happens for years, just a vacant, or mostly vacant street with trees growing. About 15 huts or brick houses on an old 500m airstrip is not a lot.

This one of the buildings along that main artery. As anyone can can see, in term of architecture there is room for improvement …it reminds me of the Egyptian architect in Asterix and Cleopatra…

 

Dried cow skin are commonly used for mattresses, I have used that a coupla times when I had to spend the night in a Masai village. Not too bad I must say.

 

Milk! The main food for Masai people.

 

Not rare but not the most common way to carry things around. The whole load on top of the head seems the favorite and for good reasons. A piece of rag of the head serving as a cushion doesn’t leave marks whereas a strap like on this picture leaves a dent over the years. Seriously, the skull digs in.

 

This kid kept on filling that bag with dirt then running quickly home to offload what was left of the dirt. With holes like that….notice the homemade wheelbarrow that is a V shaped branch with 2 pieces of tree trunk for the wheels.

Tanzania, portraits in the bush

 

Here are some Masai people in the Rift Valley. While you'll be rading this I'll be flying on duty again in the same area with Flying Medical Service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sonjo women below.

I wished that kid behind was away… this nice lady wouldn’t take the same pose afterwards…

 

Yes this is the bush but things change. 30 years ago, people here were still going half naked I‘m told by reliable sources. 10 years ago, there were clothes for everybody, missionaries trashing cultures, but nothing fancy, nothing really western fashion. Fashion still seemed sci-fi. Now slowly but surely, a certain sense of fashion creeps in.

 

This kid is from the bush around Arusha, from a tribe aptly named the Warusha.

This is not fashion on the other end, just dumped ugly clothes from the west.

people in the bush, Flying Medical Service, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service operates in about 30 remote villages in the Tanzanian bush on top of various emergencies or humanitarian flights.

Here is a medical hut in Ngaresero at the foot of an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai. This hut is a luxury as in most places villagers didn’t bother to build one. That absence is a bit of an inconvenience when it rains or when patients need some privacy (which is a total foreign concept in the bush…) . I gather there is no TV out there so nobody wants to miss the latest medical gossip, like who got an STD, the sighting of a machete wound, who has elephantiasis on the genitals etc but women don’t like to share their personal problems with the whole bunch around.

 

Hut or not doesn’t deter people I have to admit. So once in a while some butts need to be whipped…

 

A village nearby another airstrip. Though I can help in some ways my medical colleagues, I’m still just a pilot and people like to keep roles clearly defined. A driver won’t like you to give him advice and cooks (mostly women but that’s universal)  hate to see me cooking my stuff my own way. So if there is no rush, I get to walk around and take time to enjoy the bush.

 

At 2000 m in the mountains, these guys must be fit.

 

There is a common joke/knowledge here in Tanzania that wherever you think you’re alone in the bush (when you need to pee for instance), there will always be a Masai popping out of nowhere and greeting you. Indeed they seem to walk out of and to nowhere with no village in sight… never ask a Masai for estimates! For him ‘a little bit further’ or ‘just around the bush tree’ means half a day of walk. It tends to drive white people nuts…

 

 

Notice the red pouch with a cell phone.

 

The doctor of the day with patients. No hut available, that means working under the wing for shade. Trees are convenient too.

 

Just friends. Homosexuality in Africa is still a crime in many countries, see Uganda and its crazy law projects. In Masai culture, it’s just not talked about.

 

In the medical hut… obviously no bad news so far.

flying the bush, Tanzania

 

Oil leak on a twin engine Chieftain, Arusha. An easy emergency on one engine, there was only one passenger and some supplies on board.

 

Arusha, a Let 410 on the tarmac after the pilots “forgot” to lower the landing gear. Since it happened a few ties too many with the same company in a short period of time, it was not difficult to see why everybody thought of insurance scam to renew the whole fleet of aircraft… Not that rare to hear pilots who have been approached and asked to trash an airplane in exchange of a good “zawadi” (that is a gift in swahili).

Here is some dickhead, probably the janitor or something of that security level, running to try to seize my camera. He was well received needless to say. In Tanzania, and I bet in some other countries, it is still forbidden to snap at public building like post office. Of course some people take this old law quite literally… this guy had a point since the tarmac could be considered public…

 

Olpirikata, a narrow strip, look where the shadow stands, but otherwise easy access.

 

Nobody was drunk! It’s just a sloped airstrip, Engoveroni is aligned with the horizon, on the flank of Empakai crater. Basically there are the pilots who have been there and the others. Altitude of 6500ft so with our non-turbo Cessna 206’s this means lower power available, only 450m long, about 50m difference between the extremities so the flare is interesting, quite a rough surface, located between steep gullies, a windy place. I wonder how my boss felt the first time he went there after he declared it “landable”…

 

Olorbelin on lake Natron shore, near Kenya.

 

Mini twister, here called dust devils. Quite common near the Equator, not dangerous except if you fly through one on take off or landing. I was caught once on take off and got a serious kick in the ass, believe me.

 

yes this is an airstrip, Makami, the decay is due to a combination of Flying Medical Service knack for crazy selections of bush strips and lack of maintenance from the local people…

 

This one, I’m reasonably proud of since it is NOT taught in flying schools and I haven’t met another pilot who has done it too. I did this skidding maneuver only twice, the second one being much better, straighter than the one on pictures. Of course had I known the strip was so wet and slippery, I wouldn’t have landed in the first place. But as one can see, Narakawo airstrip is in fact another bit of road track that we also use as an airstrip, this is not registered, there is nobody reliable to check it out for us and warn us… there was just a puddle or 2 that I could notice when I came for the low pass inspection. See how the wetness is revealed by the tyre prints? So I landed on that 400m strip and though quite short, I intended to be easy on the brakes. And so when I started to apply the brakes, I felt like on ice and it was then too late to go around. In one second I had to remember some theory discussions about applying only one brake, on the left wheel in this case, play with the rudder, add some power to accentuate the skidding 180 degree turn, swap brakes and full power when the plane had finished her turn to stop her for good. A bit of electricity running down my spine, I admit…

It It worked though it lacked precision and style. This hole stopped the plane before the end of turn and also before the end of strip, not too far. No damage at least.

 

just before take off, Ifakara. Nice name no?

infrared photography, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

Green foliage turns pink whereas red, like the red cross on the tail or Masai clothes, turns orange

 

 

 

Again I used a now defunct slide film, the Kodak Aerochrome EIR, a red or yellow filter, and a medium format Rolleiflex.

Tanzania, infrared film photography

 

What’s the point f shooting people or landscapes in Africa with infrared films? Well why not? Anyway I saw one picture in a Nat’l Geographic magazine some months ago, shot in the Congo with the same film, the defunct Kodak EIR Aerochrome. These shots are from 2010 with a Rolleiflex 3.5F.

The striking difference is the foliage getting red. On black people the skin is getting red too.

 

Some old Masai men having a reunion under the big tree. Women forbidden! In Masai culture women are second class citizens and are kept in the dark... I once landed and complained about the bad airstrip condition to my Masai colleague. I wanted a message to be delivered to the leader to sort this out. My colleague answered that there was nothing he could do since only women were present. Just to deliver  message?? I had to insist to give a try but I clearly saw he rolled his eyes!

 

Masai women waiting in the queue for the doctor. Flying Medical Service operates about 30 outreach flying clinics in northern Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

My beautiful Rolleiflex, from 1961 and still working perfectly.

random pictures, Tanzania

 

One of my favorite pictures of lake Natron, a salt lake, over the years.

 

Breakfast with an hyrax in the Serengeti, he was not even interested in my food! (un daman en français)

 

A graffiti, self explaining. Young men seem to be the same all over the world!

 

Soldier watching my plane with an AK 47 in Uganda. The 5th airplane that I used to fly and subsequently been destroyed afterwards. There is a thing in flying in Africa….3% of the world air traffic, but about 30% of the world accidents….

 

Same airplane, I had to fly with that thing straight in my face, order from the boss….

 

When I’m busy shooting videos while flying. That triple suction-cup system is pretty amazing.

 

Over lake Natron.

 

Karine and I playing with an elephant, great moment!

 

We had a real pet hedgehog but it was easier to fly with a fluffy toy to copy the dwarf’s trips in “Amélie”. (“Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain”)

 

Extra filter to shoot with infrared film. I love this camera!

 

Aaah Coke in Africa….you’d be surprised in which remote bush place it is still possible to find one bottle! This sign has been there for at least 13 years, half embedded in the mud wall.

Flying Medical Service in Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service operates 2 Cessna 206’s based in Arusha. Our flights are focused on outreach clinics and medical emergencies but hospital staff transfers or helping other NGO’s members are allowed too.

So here are some pictures of our operations in the bush, my favorite part of the job. We go to one of the 3 hospitals in the bush, embark a doctor and nurses and medical supplies, from there we hop to nearby bush villages. The longest flight is about 25 minute long but the walking challenges are then important due to the heat, the lack of proper road and the rough terrain. Cliffs, mountains, valleys, lakes, wild animals…

 

We treat mostly Masai people for they are numerous in northern Tanzania but Sonjo and Mang’ati tribes are also present. There are more than 100 tribes in Tanzania anyway.

 

Vaccination is the most time consuming activity we encounter like giving polio drops in this picture. But measles, tetanus, pertussis… are also given. Weight checks for babies are also very important.

 

 

Old Masai man sorting some ‘dawa’, that is medicine, he just received.

 

One of our main challenges in flying the bush is airstrip maintenance. This strip looks great and wide but there were holes in it. This picture is unfortunately typical of our problems: Ezra here is busy working while the obnoxious Masai dude is doing nothing. They just hate performing menial jobs even for their own benefits, so regularly we close down some strips for lack of maintenance. Then we wait for them to ask for our return usually under their women’s pressure.

 

A typical village in the bush. Notice the fences made of acacia branches to protect from wild animals.

 

Some strips are provided with a hut for the doctor and the nurses to perform.

 

People sometimes ask for a picture with the airplane on the background.

 

Northern Tanzania is an amazing country, not short of great vistas. That peak is Oldoinyo Lengai, an active volcano in the Rift valley.

photography in a Masai village, part II

 

 

Every 2 weeks on a rotation basis, Flying Medical Service sends a Cessna 206 with a doctor, 2 nurses and some medical supplies to about 30 remote villages, mostly Masai. This one, Engoveroni, is spreading around a few of those ridges. One of those ridges, see yesterday post, welcomes the airstrip.

 

 

This is the medical hut, a luxury as not all the villages have provided us with one. Personally I prefer to help out the nurses while out of such a hut, enjoying the sun and cool air at 2000m.

Nice vista on the volcano Lengai.

 

A rare secondary school in the remote bush.

 

Cattle! A Masai man is nothing without his cattle. That and many wives of course. Here is the main street in the village.

 

 

Ridges and gullies all the way till the horizon. Quite a mission to visit a neighbor in that area!

 

That airstrip is everything but a textbook airstrip. A steep and slanted slope amongst many peculiarities. Here the doctor and a patient under the wing while the mothers and kids are being vaccinated in the hut.

 

The funny aspect of this very picture is due to a very old camera, technology from the 30's. All the pictures above were shot with various cameras anyway, film and digital.

photography in a Masai village, Tanzania

 

Engoveroni, a big but scattered village in the Rift valley near the volcano Oldoinyo Lengai. Flying Medical Service operates an airplane to serve a mobile clinic out there

Beautiful area, isn’t it?

 

There is even a secondary school out there. These running pupils seem happy to go home.

 

 

 

 

This village is much better than others, look at the corrugated roofs.

 

and even a shop or 2.

 

 

The main street.

 

Here is the airstrip, a crazy one to be precise. The whole area is located at 2000m on the slope of a crater, Empakai, which explains the gullies and ridges. So a ridge has been used for the strip. Wind, steep slope (11%), short (450m), rough…if  things go wrong, there is for instance a nice gully to welcome any veering aircraft… For a real bush pilot, this is a challenging and dream place to go.

infrared photography in B/W, Tanzania

 

Old-fashioned way to shoot, that is with film, here a Rollei IR 400 combined with a Leica M6 camera, a 28mm lens, a 89B filter and a tripod.

this trapeze-shaped mountain is a holy active volcano named Oldoinyo Lengai, Rift valley. Interesting how most volcanoes are highly respected and idolized in the world.

Local people are expecting our medical visit every 2 weeks on each airstrip we operate. Flying Medical Service operates about 30 airstrips in the beautiful Tanzanian remote bush. I must say I really enjoy flying this kind of operations…

The same volcano from another location.

portraits in sepia in the bush, Tanzania

 

while busy with Flying Medical Service, I sometimes take time to take pictures with the people visiting the clinics. I haven’t brought them sepia or even B/W pictures yet, only color ones. Maybe I’ll try one day…

Young Masai girl, who was recently excised, making her officially a woman and ready to be married. She is wearing a black toga and bead jewels on the forehead for the healing period.

 

A Sonjo woman proudly posing with her roster to sell (to us of course) and of course she brought the best one, she is sad to part from it blabla. Real saleswoman!

photography with Kodachrome film, Tanzania

 

Kodachrome was the best film ever since 1935, most color pictures in the old National Geographic magazines were shot with that film, until Kodak stopped the production in 2009. Since the developing process is unique and special and expensive, Kodachrome users had to finish their supplies by 2010. Here are some pictures shot with that legendary film with an equally legendary Leica M6.

lake Natron.

 

Some shots while on duty with Flying Medical Service.

Pupil with special green eyes.

 

 

Volcano Lengai.

 

These giraffes in lake Manyara were shots with a Nikon FM2 and an old 300mm.

B/W infrared film photography, the bush in Tanzania

 

Rift Valley, northern Tanzania, while I’m busy flying for the Flying Medical Service mobile clinics, I always bring a couple of cameras. From a 1910 folding to digital Nikons via Rolleiflex and Leica M. I hope to use Karine's latest Contax 645 soon! The patient are usually Masai in that area.

This mountain is an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai seen from Ngaresero airstrip.

 

 

The volcano again from another airstrip, Engoveroni.

the medical hut, 2 rooms, quite a luxury.

The Cessna 206, a workhorse to compare with a Land Rover.

 

These pictures were shot the old way, that is on B/W film. This implies usually a very slow speed due to the dark infrared filter which explains the blurry people when in motion. In this case the Rollei IR 400 film in combination with a filter 89B was equivalent to a 6 asa film… I thus also used a tripod. The lens was a 28mm F:2.0 mounted on a Leica M6.

Masai warriors

 

bush flying in Tanzania over the years

 

I was flying a much faster airplane, a Piper Navajo, than this Flying Medical Service Cessna 206, so I had to lower the gear, reduce power, put some flaps just to stay at the same speed. I didn’t dare closer pictures, too busy to fly wing to wing within a coupla meters and greet my by then former colleagues.

 

 

Russian operator…tyres must be expensive.

 

Major repairs for another landing gear up landing…there are some specialist pilots out there...

 

Twin Otter on take off.

 

A Cessna 206 on take off in Mahale, lake Tanganyika.

That pilot is the smallest, and one of the cutest, female pilots ever.

 

Early morning in the Serengeti, Kleins Camp parking lot.

 

A Caravan landing in Grumeti, western corridor in the Serengeti. Birds were unfazed.

 

Facing some weather in Loliondo. I swear I didn’t add extra colors. But I was using a ‘chrome’ film.

pictures with a 1915 camera, Tanzania

 

I just borrowed a vintage camera from Karine’s collection and used it while on duty with Flying Medical Service in the Tanzanian bush. 

Here is the beast, a Burke and James Press. So far the research shows this model would have been built between 1910 and 1920.  Guess what the film format was long disused or one would have to cut it in the darkness from a larger sheet-film. Nowadays only one company does that, Efke, which is great as it saves one user a lot of headache. Efke seems to specialize in weird format, thanks for that. In this case a medium format, that is 2.25by 3.25in ( 5.7 by 8.2 cm)

One tripod is mandatory since you lose your view finder while shooting since the film holder is in the way for the picture. I could add an external visor of course.

A light-measurement cell is recommended.

Needless to say the Masai and Sonjo people were puzzled by the contraption. The Rolleiflex is already weird but then this thing…

 

Quite  mission to handle such a camera, like any field camera. I found the viewing and focusing quite difficult on this one, maybe it’s due to old specs and materials from 100 years ago. I think the lens is also a bit fogged.

Obviously lenses back then were not treated like multicoated etc so the negatives came out really soft. I had to add some contrast after developing the films. Here is the volcano Lengai.

 

the funny marks in the blue sky might be me developing in a wrong way…

 

Anyway, I was just curious to use that thing from the past. More? Yes once in a while but most likely with Karine’s bigger but similar beast. Same technology but a recent model with better materials. Yes those things are still being produced albeit at a slow rate.

rainy skies, Tanzania

 

while on duty with Flying Medical Service in the rain season.

Needless to say, we don’t always escape the rains or the storms…

Flying Medical Service, operating in the rains

 

Rains in Tanzania are quite interesting. Personally I enjoy flying in these seasons. Since we don’t have the same constraints as commercial operators, flying with Flying Medical service gives me various and challenging opportunities…

Rain showers and storms can show up with hardly no notice, be quite violent for a brief period before the sun shines again, airstrips get flooded and out of use within one hour, clear skies get obscured and dangerous in no time, dramatic lights and changes in vegetation are to be enjoyed…

 

This pond in the northern Serengeti area is usually dry. But filled up as it is here is being enjoyed by everybody, cows and herders of course, women and girls can use the water for cooking and washing everything without walking the usual long miles to the next water point, baths are not a luxury anymore…

 

Not sure these ladies and kids will make it home before the clouds crack open.

 

Flooded areas.

 

Obscured by clouds…

Rare full river…

 

Interesting intersection between 2 rivers bringing their own colored muds.

 

This is Monik not a chick but an airstrip partially flooded in lake Natron area. Yes you’re looking at the airstrip…. Luckily a large strip so the side could be just used. Just…

Masai warriors playing and posing

 

Flying Medical Service again… this place Ololosokwan on the northern edge of the Serengeti had seen  a new batch of warriors, freshly anointed. Proud is a euphemism to describe these guys. After all, this is the best part of their life starting: fighting, chasing girls, roaming the bush, collecting cows (that includes theft, hence the fighting), playing with lions, and spending time time looking trendy and handsome. And to deserve this, they had to go through circumcision, without flinching without showing any emotion!

So whereas these warriors are not so happy to pose for tourists, they got to know me and trust me to bring many prints.  So just like girls who’d have a chance to loot a Prada shop for a photoshoot they posed for me on various occasions, exchanged clothes and jewels, and varied their composure, a  lot! Here is a selection where I hardly had a word to say.

Funny how some jokes are universal huh?