While I prepare a blog about my late Grandfather Nicky McConville who was a Photographer and Barber, I thought I'd share an image from one of my trips to Africa. The image takes pride of place on my wall in a frame made by a local Kenyan carpenter.
This image is from a friends wedding in Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia, Kenya. This beautiful land is positioned at the edge of the Great Rift Valley and is the home of the Gallmann Memorial Foundation whose outstanding work is prolific in preserving the local environment and wildlife.
The 200 something guests honored the celebration in true British wedding attire, appropriate to their house and heritage. I might have considered wearing something a little more practical other than my traditional black frock coat with it's bells and whistles. Running around with my Nikon D1 and a Mamiya RZ67 in the African heat, was a little taxing to say the least.
This image is of the local Pokot tribe leader attending the wedding with the women of his village. During the ceremony they sang their beautiful songs, danced their dances, then embracing the newly weds, escorted the happy couple to the reception. The sun was going down, we had just the right amount of scattered clouds to balance the outline of the tribe against the African sky. There wasn't much time to adjust the RZ that I always used on manual. Click, 500th at F5.6
Pokot Tribe and The African Sky
If you’d like to visit and help support the Gallmann Memorial Foundation, click on the link to find out more. Trust me, if you can get there, it's like being back in a whole other time. You can find more information here at http://www.gallmannkenya.org/visitors.html