Experience of Embedded Africa

The Journey is about to begin…….

On Sept 1, 2010, for  a min of 6 mo, I will be immersing myself into many of  Kenya’s rural villages.  I will be investing time to live among the wildlife and people whose stories I will be telling. I will be living their stories, using intimate powerful imagery to create a relationship between the audience and the photographic subjects as a means to communicate the needs that people and wildlife have on the other side of the world to people here who have a desire to fill that need. I’ve established a working relationship with Village Volunteers, a Seattle-based non profit organization that works in partnership with rural villages and capacity-building programs to support the development of sustainable solutions for community survival, education, and growth, which in return helps to protect the wildlife and environment. Village Volunteers has also just partnered with ANAW (African Network for Animal Welfare) a group of ex-poachers who are now advocates against poaching. I will spend a month with them, where  I will  accompany them on de-snarling missions and learning about the challenges they are facing as the demand for bush meet and ivory has drastically increased. This will also be a part of my long term project, the protectors of wildlife, more on this later..

Paralleling my travels with the ongoing projects of Village Volunteers, I will also be spending time in the Massai Mara, during the migration, Ethiopia  for the TImket festival and to explore the Omo  valley, and I will also be in  Tanzania during the birthing season at the end of Jan.  I hope to also provide news from the local people on  the story of the highway that has been approved to be built directly through the Serengeti.

As a wildlife photographer, I believe the best way to preserve  and protect the wildlife and their environment is to help the care takers of the land, which is why my journey will combine both humanitarian,  and wildlife photography.

The world has enough images of poverty, pain and disaster, much more needful is imagery that reveals the beauty and dignity of communities that are, except by their geography and circumstances,  very similar to our own.   I want my imagery to tell the success of  the support to these communities and reserves which move people beyond pity and inspiring them to learn more about  cultures  and wildlife. I believe that compelling images can help to protect what is right in the world.

What am I going to pack?

Were exactly will I be?

How will I Stay connect ?

What is it like to be in a Maasai village at the edge of the Maasi Mara during Chistmas?

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