Sunday 30 December 2012

Day Two, On Wards And Up Wards

Simba Camp 2626m to Kikelewa Caves 3679m, Day Two

View of Mawenzi from Simba Camp
The sun rose over Simba Camp warming the cold air from the previous night, there was a sense of apprehension for the days walk to come. As I wondered around the camp I found a fantastic view of Mawenzi illuminated by the morning sun, there stood very shabby hut to the right with the very aromatic fragrance which carried a proximity warning, toilets on the mountain lack drainage I need not say any more. Mawenzi is our day three destination, but before Mawenzi, Kikelewa Caves Camp Moorlands is our destination for tonight.

There was a bustle in the camp as it was being dismantled and packed up, it was now apparent we were not the only people on the Rongai route, however we were the largest in this camp. Two man tents scattered here and there, with support crews of two to three everybody seemed to be getting a head start on us. The days walk began and we soon left the habitation that surrounded Simba Camp.

After having lunch at what could be called a picnic spot, which was our half way marker of the day our journey continued. The climate changed quickly and moisture filled clouds moved in around us and up the mountain. The terrain was like walking over small hills of jagged rocks with prickly bushes scattered among them, up down, always being mindful of where you stepped the terrain was not the nicest.

We got to know Attilio's story, about his life and family, what he did when he was not on the mountain and in return he got to know ours.

The clouds came and went and our day’s journey never seemed to reach a visible end. The afternoon turned to dusk and darkness began to fall, the prospect of walking this path in the dark held very little appeal, but what other choice was there. Head lamps lit the path ahead, the uneven terrain was slow to walk in daylight and in the dark our pace slowed further. As we approached Kikelewa Caves Camp (3679m), the sound of the camp traveled through the darkness the welcoming sound of people laughing and torches flickering, exhaustion had begun to settle in aided by the cold and damp from the early night.

The warmth of my sleeping bag was welcome that night, the cold had seeped deep in to my body as laid there I thought about the day and how far we had come and contemplated the days to come, after all this was only the end of day two.

Sunday 23 December 2012

The Long Walk

Day One Destination Simba Camp (2626m)


The long walk begins (1900m), the pack was heavy with four liters of water cameras and rain gear. The path was easy going for first couple of hours a slight incline through forest with an occasional hut where young children stood by the path hopeful for anything we may give them. Chocolate was the main delight, their eyes light up at the lightest inclination that you might have something for them, whatever the received they ran to each other and shared. I guess small luxuries are a rarity and warranted sharing. Occasional homes stood a little off the path where people sat and waved as we passed by calling out the customary greeting "Jambo" which means hi in Swahili.

The Flat Lands of South Eastern Kenya
The forest thickened, the path narrowed and the incline steepened, slowly slowly one foot in front of the other I have good feeling this is how the next six days will be. The planes of Kenya lay behind us, the sun trying to break through the clouds. The view is amazing the light could be better the clouds were thick and heavy, the planes of Kenya seemed hazy with light gold patches where the sun had broken through the clouds. It was only us on the path the porters had passed us by hours ago, with one guide leading the group and three other guides taking up the tail. I am not sure what I expected, picturesque is not what you would call this place.


 When we reached Simba Camp (2626m), the porters had already set our tents with our main packs in side. Each member of the group had a porter that carried our 15kg packs along with their own gear. My guy was there waiting to greet me as I entered the gate, with a big smile he lead me to my home for the night. Trees over hung the tents which gave the place a dark feeling and made the place feel a lot colder that it actually was. Laughing and chatter from the kitchen tent and surrounding areas, the porters always seemed to be in good spirits. The acclimatization walk that would prepare us for this night and the day ahead took around thirty minutes and involved ascending along a path for a short distance the habitation that surrounded us was a dark green brown forest, the air was beginning to chill as the evening light came over the mountain.

South Eastern Kenya
It was barely eight o'clock when we all retired to our tents exhausted from the walk. Many moments stuck in my mind from the day, my first impressions, meeting our support team, the journey to where the walk started. One in particular was the old man hunched over walking along the road wearing a green woolen hat waving his arms around in frustration as a swarm of flies circled and aggravated him. Laying still in my sleeping bag I listened to the sound of night lulling me to sleep.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Six Days And A Mountain Called Mount Kilimanjaro


September 2012 I traveled with a group of people to Tanzania, our quest was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Following the Rongai route would take six days in total, four days up the mountain and two days down.  The trip had had two years of prior planning, and participants had undergone various training regimes. Walking was the main discipline in preparation, taking walks that lasted around six to eight hours preferably over uneven terrain. Now after the walk has been done I realize that it did not really matter how well you think you had trained or how well you think you had mentally prepared yourself, nothing can really prepare you for a first time expedition like this. Every day had a different aspect that would challenge you, some small and minor and other having the ability to sway the scales between achieving this challenge or conceding defeat.

 I knew I wanted to express my view of Kilimanjaro in black and white even before I left home. I researched pictures other people had taken, I searched all the search phrases I could think off, so I knew what had already been before me, I wanted to express a strong feeling in my pictures that expressed what I saw and what I felt being there. Black and white pictures express a very different way of seeing the world, they can tell a very dramatic story.

Kilimanjaro is a place that no one word can describe or sum up, the landscapes vary from the forest around Simba Camp, to the moorlands at Kikelewa Caves Camp, to alpine desserts of the Saddle and that is to name but three. With the images I took I wanted to create questions for the people that have never been there and memories for the people that have, I wanted to tell a story of a journey to a remarkable place and give you an insight in to the remarkable people that live and work there, but this story is not just about Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro and the six days on the mountain is just one chapter, over time other stories will get told.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

The Little Fiat Hyde Park Lane


The journey through London on the airport buss in not the most exciting of trips, however it can be a revealing one. I moved away from London almost ten years ago and in those past ten years there have not been many years that have passed that I have not been back, London has changed remarkably as every cosmopolitan city dose over the years. I never really paid attention to these changes when I lived there and now I feel like more of a tourist when I visit.

Along Hyde Park the buss traveled, through the trees on the center island I saw an extraordinary thing, it captivated me for the brief moment I saw it enough to know I had to came back and photograph it.  I knew this picture would only ever work in black and white due to the amount of trees and combined with the amazing shades of the actual statue I began to envision what I was soon to create.


It was a few day later I returned Hyde Park camera and tripod in hand, with constant traffic traveling either sides of the island I knew this picture would easily be recognizable to my audience as a London image. The color of the hand looked powerful as it held the small fiat, the texture and of the arm and fingers was perfect wrapped around the body of the small fiat. Reviewing my image I knew I had captured the image I envisioned.

The Little Fiat Hyde Park Lane London

Saturday 8 December 2012

Cagliari Streets, Sardinia



Walking through the winding streets upwards along cobbled roads and uneven paths, the streets of this ancient historical town depict Sardinia town life style. Buildings stood how they have for decades, newly renovated beside partly derelict, everything about this town felt old. The narrow streets aligned either side with tall row houses, flowers and shrubbery hanging from window baskets and laundry hung out to dry in the breeze that swept through the streets.

You could feel that people have built their lives and brought up their families in these houses what a town to grow old in. Untouched by the cosmopolitan city below this town has a welcoming yet sad feeling to it, so much charm and yet a strong sense of sadness, buildings in desperate need of repair, crumbling facades, chipped paint, graffiti on almost every wall.


It was mid afternoon and the midday’s sun had been blocked by the tall buildings shadows fell upon the streets. Roads were narrow, wide enough for one car at a time and if you encountered any oncoming traffic it made for tricky maneuvering, I couldn't but help feel it was a shame, the presence of modern cars in an old town it took away some of the historical feeling.


 I did however find a perfect scene, an image that became one of my favorite pictures from this trip. An old fiat car fitted in perfectly with the tall surrounding buildings and the early evening light, this to me feels what a traditional Italian town should be like. The only thing missing is a man drinking a coffee and smoking a cigar.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

The Eighty Four Year Old Model Ship Maker, Cagliari Sardinia

model-ship-maker-studying-his-plans


Through the castle district of the old streets of Cagliari, Sardinia  the late afternoon was turning in to early evening as dusk fell upon the narrow streets of the ancient town, an open door aroused our curiosity and inside stood a grey haired man studying what appeared to be plans to a ship.



Finest of details

His eager eye tracing over the lines and studying the text, glancing towards the door he realized he had an audience. My friends who are native to the island asked if we may come in to take a few pictures of his workshop and how he worked. The Model Ship Maker was thrilled to share his story, with a big smile on his face he declared "today is my birthday, I am eighty four years old and this is my life and my passion. There is no better way to spend my birthday, I am here doing what I love."

model ship maker at work


As I watched the old man he was oblivious to the sound of my shutter capturing images of him working      the eighty four year old model ship maker, whose passion was clearly seen in his creations of perfection, so intricate is his work so painstakingly accurate are his brush strokes and his attention to the finest of details amazed me.

The skills he learned through the years, skills and work ethic passed on to him by his father so many years ago. As the model ship maker worked he explained how everything had to be perfect to the finest detail, this man was not driven by the financial rewards of his creations he was driven by the challenge and passion of creating these masterpieces.

Monday 3 December 2012

What photography means to me...


Welcome to my new blog.....

Through the years my style of photography developed and evolved and so did how I saw things through my lens, and that’s where the love of color and story capturing began, I wanted my pictures to create questions for their audience, I wanted to evoke an emotional response, I did not want it to be just a picture you see. I want what lies before you to tell a story, evoke an emotional response, maybe a sense of familiarity of some where you once where or even somewhere you dream of being.  Something as simple as a smile, look beyond and you might be surprised as to what you may find.

Travel has always inspired me, landscape bears the roots to beginning of my photography, as my photography evolved so did my interest in wildlife and culture, opportunity opens new doors in life..

I hope you enjoy what you see and what you read.. Jess

www.jeaster.eu
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