Ben Wilhelmi

Aerial photography, Tanzania

Tanzania is such a big country gifted with many beautiful landscapes. Not only that, those landscapes vary tremendously come the rain seasons.

 

Salt lakes are perfect examples of ever changing colors and patterns. Here is a detail of lake Eyasi.

I guess pelicans visiting Tanzania.

 

The Ruaha river after the rain season.

 

The famous wildebeest migration near the Mara river, here on the Serengeti side.

 

Lake Natron, another salt lake.

 

The Rufiji river in the Selous reserve.

 

Lake Natron again.

 

A typical homestead like millions in the country.

 

Tarangire national park. Quite famous for its elephants.

 

Lake balangida, a lesser known salt lake. Those white dots are salt extraction activities. I would guess operated by local people only.

Infrared landscapes, Tanzania

 

 

Notice the Maasai woman in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

Shot with a Rolleiflex 3.5F from 1961, medium format film. The film is the defunct Kodak Aerochrome.

Wildlife, Ruaha Nat’l Park

 

Ruaha, the vast garden around my 2nd residence… a tiny selection of wildlife I saw in one day.

An aptly named lilac-breasted roller. Those birds are as fast to take off as Usain Bolt.

 

A fish eagle got a meal.

 

A cape eland, the biggest antelope in Africa. Up to 800 kg and still they can jump as far as 8m! Imagine a cow…

 

A proof that people are not always good witnesses. We were changing a flat tyre when this lioness ran past us. Not more than 4m away according to a passenger! I said 25m…who’s right…?

 

Stealthy crocodile in the Ruaha river.

 

A cool job or what? There were about 500 buffalos in the river alone but they kept on coming along from the west. This team used a drone and told us later that they counted 998 buffalos, 2% error!

 

An ox pecker sits on the buffalo’s head.

 

A fish eagle on take off. It is very similar to the American bald eagle, their national emblem. At least here in Africa the various psycho hunters haven’t managed to exterminate nearly all of them.

sceneries in Tanzania

 

 

 

 Pupils coming home.

 

 

 

 

 Volcano Lengai in the Rift Valley.

 

landscapes, USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, sceneries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

outreach clinics in the Tanzanian bush, Flying Medical Service

 

Flying Medical Service  operates on about 26 remote villages. Here is our doctor of the day treating a kid’s wound.

 

A nurse busy with vaccination cards and syringes.

 

Monik, an airstrip on lake Natron. Extinct volcano Shombole above and active volcano Lengai below

 

A one-legged man goes home after a treatment on his stump.

 

Bush airstrips show challenges sometimes minor, sometimes serious. Slopes, altitude, difficult terrain and surroundings, flash floods…

B/W infrared photography, USA

 

 

 

 

 

Rolleiflex 3.5F, Ilford SFX 200

USA, landscapes on films

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Rolleiflex 3.5F from 1961 was used.

USA, landscapes on films

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Rolleiflex 3.5F from 1961 was used.

B/W landscapes on films, USA

 

 

 

 

 

Rolleiflex 3.5F

aerial photography, Tanzania

 

 

 zebras and giraffes at the pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

landscape photography, Tanzania

 

volcano Lengai, what a marvel.

playing “Amélie” with a hedgehog fluffy toy.

 

 

a squatted airtsrip…

 

playing soccer near the volcano.

 

 

 

view on lake Natron and another volcano, Shombole.

little flight in the bush with friends, Tanzania

 

Out of the blue, this beautiful aircraft showed up in Arusha. The owner and a pilot friend wanted some familiarisation flights in the bush. So we flew 3 days. Here we are in Monik, a Flying Medical Service airstrip on lake Natron. The volcano Lengai in the distance was splendid that day.

 

because of the small wheels and fairing on this aircraft, we couldn’t go to the roughest airstrips. But for 2 normal Belgian pilots, those easy strips were amazing enough.

 

Another day in Endulen, Ngorongoro area. Zebras were all over the place, including on the airstrip.

 

The wheel fairings had been removed. The small rocks could destroy them.

 

A Go Pro 3 camera had been fixed on the wing. Amazing quality, I want one now…I’ll post the link soon.

 

Zebras again.

 

We did some other airstrips but didn’t stop completely in all. Flew gently in some gorges, overflew the flamingoes on lake Natron, enjoyed the colors and abstract shapes of that wonderful lake, spotted wildlife, circled over the Ngorongor Crater...

In Malambo, we were threatened by a drunk Masai and his spear! In Olbalbal, we kept the engine running but I gave medicines urgently needed to the local health worker. Thanks to Miguel and Johan for helping Flying Medical Service. The plane is even made available for FMS but we declined. This yellow beauty is brand new and our operations would wear and tear it pretty quickly.

There are quite some difference with our preferred C 206’s but this FB-A2 Expedition E350 would do wonders, it is real bush plane. Some minor modifications would make it a bush killer.

Anyway I enjoyed the flying very much, was happy to meet new cool dudes and their equally cool passengers.

There should be more flying in a few weeks!

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.

 

 

 

 

Tanzanian sceneries

Tanzania is a country of contrasts. Here are some pictures shot in the mythical Rift Valley.

This is the only active volcano in East Africa, Oldoinyo Lengai. Though as said yesterday, Mt Meru near Arusha, is a threat again. Congo and Ethiopa also share the honor to hold active volcanos on their soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

camping around Mt Meru, Tanzania

 

Mt Meru, the 15.000 foot mountain next door to Arusha…it was an extinct volcano till a Belgian scientist declared last month that the whole area was at risk by an awakening of the volcano. Without notice. The last eruption was ten times bigger than Mt Saint Helens in 1980, 1500 times bigger than the Hiroshima bomb…ah well.

 

 

in the meantime let’s enjoy life and have a little camping weekend around this beautiful mountain. My good old Land Rover felt itchy, and me too so here we are on the northern side looking for  a lunch spot a little bit off road.

 

quite a vista while lunching, right?

 

this was the lovely dirt track to follow soon.

 

a bee eater on an aptly named candelabra tree was eyeing my left overs. If I were to be a bird, this one would rank high on my list: they are swift and extremely agile, performing aerobatics maneuvers while catching bees. I observe them regularly from my front porch.

 

here is such a tee in its typical glory. It’s a real poor choice for wood fire …

 

about the road sign the marketing is be revised for that otherwise decent camp site. I did stop for a quick survey just in case. I cut my visit short when I realised there was a group of 8 Belgian tourists. I don’t mind to meet my countrymen but I hate to repeat my story to people who feel we have a link because of the nationality. I even lie to my passengers claiming to be French to cut short the enthusiasm…

 

 

 

and this was my spot for the night. Roof tent opened like a book, quite away from any village and various nuisance.

stunning lights, Tanzania, aerials

 

 

flying late one afternoon in the Ngorongoro area…

 

or soft light?

 

sunny day but thick clouds around.

 

near 6pm, the shadows get long in mountainous terrain.

 

landscapes, photography in Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bush flying, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service has definitely some of the best bush airstrips! Whether for the challenge or the sceneries. Here a flooded strip at Monik.

 

a volcano, Lengai and an active one that is.

 

a bit of low flying in Olduvai gorge.

 

downhill airstrip, one way in, one way out, no discussion. Wind is not a factor really.

 

our new recruit.

 

the advantage of this place is that the strip can be set anywhere, just throw a few rocks (which won’t stay white very long) et voilà.

 

I don’t fly this Herc’, though this is one of the very few big bush beasts I’d love to get a job onto, and watching a C 130 bush take off is always impressive.

 

Rift Valley, just a few small villages, a coupla airstrips down there…

 

time to kick some butts before I can take off from one of the Katavi park airstrips. Animals are common on strips of course, but such a variety, not so much. Zebras, Cape elands and waterbucks all together, what a treat. Even if it meant I had to run and yell like an idiot to chase them away. The other idiots were busy nose-picking somewhere. I won’t give names here but my fellow pilots know which green men I'm referring to.

US roads, photography while driving

 Route 66 but it could have been shot in many other stunning locations...

 

Tanzania in the rain season, film photography

 

zebras, Katavi nat’l park.

 

my early years in Tanzania, good old film cameras, Minolta X700 or Nikon FM2/F3. I still relish and use them. I added a Leica, a Rolleiflex to the little collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

somewhere in the Ngorongoro area, my good old 300mm fixed lens at work, which I now have to throw away for mushrooms growing inside, snif.

slide film pictures, Tanzania

 

Mount Meru under the glow, slide film…

and it is a recent picture that is, like the ones below. It’s like taking a ball pen, or even a feather and an ink pot, and write. There is something to it that a computer or a digital camera doesn’t provide.

so a good old Leica M6, some Fujichrome and pronto (well so to speak since I had to wait a few months to get the results)

 

Near Arusha, Mount Meru.

 

 

This one was shot on a Kodachrome film 2 years ago, the last year of production from Kodak, which buried itself in bankruptcy if you ask me. They were sitting on gold and it looks like they trashed all away…

bush flying, Tanzania

 

a Flying Medical Service mobile clinic in the Rift valley. Trees are rare in this place so either the nurse hangs the scale on the hut either on the wing hook like here.

 

the sun is quite harsh on lake Natron. So umbrellas made in China became popular as soon as they appeared some years ago.

 

Stunning vista covering most of lake Natron. There are about early 10 airstrips around and none of them is registered so no commercial flight brings tourists here.

 

a crazy sloped airstrip located on a ridge.

 

same place in he Ngorongoro area, different season.

 

after a violent downpour the airstrip gets flooded. The take off was interesting

 

yup the airstrip lies in there, picture shot just after take off.

 

or here, that is the thin shiny strip. We didn’t land that day. We know this soil here is really soft. We learnt it the hard way: 2 of our aeroplanes sank in on landing and hit the propeller.

Saudi Arabia, aerial photography

 

while ferrying an airplane, a Twin otter, from Dubai to Europe last year. This was on the first leg from Dubai to Sharm El Sheikh.

for those who are familiar with Lawrence of Arabia or Wilfred Thesiger, let’s have some thoughts on the hardships they endured by choice. That expanse of desert is just plain huge. We flew for hours and saw nothing but rocks and sand. OK the Twin Otter is not exactly a fast plane but still…

once in a  very while, a little town then nothing again for ages. I also pity the guys who build roads in such an unfriendly environment…

 

this reminded me of a walking safari in Libya: yellow sands and dark rocks sticking out.

 

circular cultures. Why in the very middle of nowhere? Only 2 fields…a big reserve of water underneath I suppose.

 

 

Sometimes it reminds of Death Valley

 

we were flying at 16.000 feet above sea level. That’s quite a difference with the much lower levels we use in Tanzania and so the pictures are a bit different too. No close details here.

Amboseli NP and Kilimanjaro, infrared film

 

 

 

 

 

shot with Rolleiflex on Kodak Aerochrome EIR film.

motorbikes, US roads

 

How does this guy manage to pick such a girl? AND how does he convince her to sit on that non-existent saddle 2 inches from those helmet spikes? In case of heavy breaking she gets a facelift for free....

 

A few pictures in Santa Fe.

 

 

 

between Oatman and Bullhead, Route 66

 

 

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.

Monument Valley, Arizona

 

I know I’ve been living in Tanzania for 14 years but even to me this looks like a good road, no? Well the rental companies forbid to use non tarmacked roads. And the local Indian tour operators and guides try to rip visitors off, trying to convince them one needs a 4x4 jeep for this! Well f… them all. Here we were on the Monument valley dirt roads.

Amboseli nat'l park, photography

 

Amboseli is a lovely little park at the foot of Kilimanjaro (which is in Tanzania by the way, not in Kenya as claimed by some crooks). The wildlife out there is made of the usual suspects but on a good day the view of nearby Kili is breathtaking. These minibuses are numerous and some of these drivers are totally clueless: they leave the engine running while watching wildlife a few meters away!! You’d never see that in Tanzania.

6 am, time to leave camp and enjoy the early light in the mist.

 

That’s what I mean with a nearby Kilimanjaro. The atmospheric veil helped to catch the orange light on the peak and the clouds.

 

This is a close up view of the secondary peak

 

These guys, grey-headed kingfishers, were quite easy to spot and come close, like 5 meters away.

 

the area is made of swamps and it is quite easy to include animals in line with Kili. Providing the conditions are good of course.

 

 

Cattle egrets and elephants live in good company.

pictures on the US roads

 

Some pictures on the long I 95, between Bullhead (Arizona on the edge with California) going north to Las Vegas.

Karine and the rental Ford. With all our bags and photo gear and shopping goodies, this car size was a minimum to hide everything in the boot.

 

Harleys…the myth goes on. Nowadays, Harley trips can be organised from abroad. Rent your Harley and ride! I try to imagine a French biker meeting a group of hard core indigenous bikers haha. Over the years on US TV shows, I’ve spotted a dozen remarks towards France, usually negative. It seems the smart finger the French gave over Iraq invasion still doesn’t go down well with some people. I’m not French by the way so any attack on my opinion should keep this in sight 

 

No there is no river there, just a funny casino on the border between Arizona and Nevada.

I must say I’m not always keen on the road signs system, a bit messy sometimes. Maybe I would just need time to get used to…

I have to fish for the close up picture of that contraption because this model is the “Serengeti” version!! I’d like to see that monster on the narrow and winding dirt roads to reach the real Serengeti through the Ngorongoro area….

 

many signs like this one were spread alongside highways, usually on the same theme.

Tanzania in the rains, aerials

 

it is always fascinating to observe the drastic changes in one country between dry and wet seasons.

This place, Olorbelin, is located on salt lake Natron, very often described as a harsh and most unhospitable place. Yet no one would guess that in the wet season. This greenery won’t last very long of course but t is very impressive in the meantime.

 

Monik, another village around the lake, fares a bit better because there is a spring nearby but this rocky river bed is usually dry. Here a truck got tuck.

 

various muds mixing in a delta.

 

dry rocky river bed usually.

 

some light rains coming.

 

some weather over the Gol mountains. Pilots normally fly higher except Flying Medical Service because we have a few airstrips located in these very mountains. It can be challenging to land on those sometimes.

 

flooded swamp.

 

interesting mix of salts and mud on lake Natron.

 

lake Natron, mud brought by flowing rivers.

 

momentarily flooded area.

wildlife photography, Amboseli, Kenya

 

Kilimanjaro, early morning, dust and elephants. Reminder: the summit lies in Tanzania.

 

Grey-crowned crane (grue couronnée en français)

 

Interesting shadow.

 

 

 

Agama lizard (un aguame)…

The same but cropped.

 

A grey-headed kingfisher with ots fighting prey. (un martin-pêcheur)

 

White storks (cigognes blanches)

it always looks like a messy take off but there are never any crashes.

Kilimanjaro and wildlife, seen from Amboseli

 

Karine and I went for a few days in Nairobi and Amboseli National Park. A tiny park on the edge of Mt Kilimanjaro which allows a close view of the Tanzanian peak. Some Kenyans funnily claim the peak is in Kenya. Just grab a map and though the colonial Brits screwed up many borderlines when they carved up their colonies, the peak lies in Tanzania.

A tiny park, not the wildest of all parks, some bad guides/drivers but we enjoyed many wildlife actions on top of the landscapes. Kilimanjaro is a shy mountain but we managed some good sighting over the 3 days.

 

A sunrise, a spectacular viewing even with the slight atmospheric veil.

This is the secondary peak, sometimes showing snow after a storm, like the daily storms these days.

 

A bit later, the orange hue disappeared.

 

The park is quite flat, made of swamps mostly. So Karine and I were keen to include animals in that glorious landscape.

 

 

 

 

A superb last minute ray of light at sunset.

 

Another sunrise. One of those (many) days when I’m glad I have got that great Nikon lens, a super wide 12-24mm, here at 12mm.

 

Elephants in the dust.

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.

aerial landscapes, Tanzania

 

Ngorongoro Crater. The city of Paris would fit in!

Mt Kilimanjaro close to sunset, just before the descent.

 

Volcano Shombole on lake Natron.  The artistic pattern on the foreground is made of salts.

 

Mt Kilimanjaro.

 

Coming back to land in Arusha.

 

Mt Gelai, another mountain around lake Natron.

 

Mud flow on lake Natron after heavy rains upstream.

 

A few neighboring mountains: Gelai, Kitumbeine, Lengai.

 

Interesting weather.

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.

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…

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…

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.