Saturday, June 23, 2012

Celebrating the Coronation of a New Zulu King




 On a 1957 Brussels-Cape Town Vespa scooter journey across the length of Africa, I took this picture of the celebration of a new Zulu chief near Durban, South Africa. I was trying to become a photojournalist  but failed in that first intent. One of the reasons was that tiny Belgium was not the right place for such a dream. To live the dream, for which I'll ever be grateful, I emigrated to the United States. 
Learn photography joining Victor on one of his (or your) journeys

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Male Beauty Contest



Niger. Sahel. Standing in a moving row,  Wodaabe nomad men, including these two, are swaying more than dancing the gerewol while showing to a parallel row of women facing them the whiteness of their eyes and teeth. More than anything, the gerewol is a male beauty contest between clans. A few women, selected by the elders for their own beauty, are kneeling between the two rows of opposite genders. They will select the best looking men and take them to the bush. Folded on their heads are the blankets they will use to rest in pairs.
Learn photography joining Victor on one of his (or your) journeys

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Shared Sadness


Ecuador. Andes Mountains. Otavalo. Otavalo Indian waiting for a bus after buying a piglet at the market.
Learn photography joining Victor on one of his (or your) journeys

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Legendary Africa



Benin. Near Boukombe. Somba women. Spears and fly chasers, male attributes, signal the new higher class of girls parading in their dikuntiri (initiation). Recognized as adults,  they may formally join the husbands to whom they were legally married  in childhood. They are crossing a harvested millet field under a sky whitened by the harmattan, a  sand-loaded wind blowing from the Sahara to the north.
Learn photography joining Victor on one of his (or your) journeys

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Strong Backs of the Weaker Sex


Colombia. Guajira Peninsula. Waiuu Indian woman carries 60 kilos of salt to a truck. It took two men to heave it on her back. Much heavy weight in the developing world is carried on women's backs. And are they strong! I once watched a woman in the Marquesas Islands lift a drunk men who was nagging me in her tiny restaurant, carry him to the street, and throw him out the door.
Learn photography joining Victor on one of his (or your) jouneys