We taught the kids in this small Lugazi school how to play the game hangman on the chalkboard. I really enjoyed the energy in the room against the beautiful texture of the wall.
I shot this on my Dad's old 135 prime lens for his Pentex. Vintage lens = very cool. This is one of those magic candid shots that isn't perfect in the technical sense, but has some nice light and a very interesting feel. I have a few more good shots from this day that I will have to add to this post in the coming days.
This picture was taken at a small school on the top of a hill about 30 min from Lugazi. I had just gotten stung from a strange African bee on my thumb. Of course my natural reaction was to get out my camera and shoot until I forgot about the pain, not to mention thoughts that my thumb might fall off. Again, I framed this photo up candid and waited until the second the boy noticed me and snapped before he could react.
Another in my portrait series. The night I spent with the kids at Gulu I was impressed by their firm focus on religion. Their time in the Lord's Resistance Army seems to have been quite coupled with very interesting beliefs. I have heard stories were soldiers were conditioned to think that holy water could make them impervious to bullets or that they could throw rocks that would function as grenades. I saw a much less fanatical version of them, I was invited to sing songs of worship and pray with them before we slept.
During the last 6 months or so I have fallen in love with night photography. She is a shy mistress and takes time. But she doesn't sass me and will never leave me or cheat. So I promise to start sharing with everyone more of our romantic nights. Here she is...
More fisheye happiness...
Some of these exposures were as quick as 5 seconds, others closer to 30. The noise does not build up that badly for digital. Although I hope to be shooting on some 35mm later this week for a tight grain structure. The best part of night photography is how peaceful it can be alone in the forest at night. I was reminded of dear Stan Brackage (film theoretician) this weekend. He claims the medium of film allows us to see through new eyes as we wouldn't normally see - for instance, as a baby or a bee might see. In a round about way, night photography validates some of his ideas.
Out of all my experiences in Uganda, the time I spent in Gulu was my favorite. We spent the weekend with formerly abducted child soldiers at the Laro boarding school. I was invited to spend the night in one of the boy's dormitories. The kids shared experiences of the atrocities that they have witnessed and were forced to take part in. I shot portraits of them with the physical objects that they treasure the most. The boy above said his most prized possession was his Bed - his only personal space.
My hero in photo history is Pierre Verger. He spent his life traveling and focused on African Culture in Bahia, even taking trips to Africa to understand with greater clarity the roots of the Candomble religion. I felt so close to Verger in Uganda, almost retracing his steps and tasting in small bites, the adventures he had. The above photo was on my last day in the country and is strikingly similar to a photo he took. It was an oddly special moment for me.
I have had a few friends recently ask me how I or any other portrait/doc photographer manages to take photos of so many random people. Do you ask permission for everyone or just shoot and let the person deal with it. How do you get such direct honest shots verses subtle candid moments. I tend to subscribe to the rule of shoot first then apologize/play dumb, if the person notices you: then snap before they can react or encourage them to look into the lens and go for directness. There is no law against public photography in any country I have been too...unless the person has a gun...thats trouble and another story. (Never shoot anything near a bridge in Uganda, this is bad mojo)
