The most compelling tribe in Africa to photograph in my opinion is the Surma of southern Ethiopia. Until 50 or 60 years ago when the government built a road to access their villages, they were totally isolated from the outside world. Their diet consists mostly of milk, blood, and meat, and to enter their villages is truly like going back in time 20,000 years. The Surma have become well-known for their remarkable face and body decoration, and after negotiations and money paid, my photography group were able to take the most amazing pictures. Everywhere you looked was a mind blowing image. The charter flight, the four hours on a rough road, and the camping in the middle of nowhere was a small price to pay for the incredible experience of interacting with these people and photographing them. I took this picture with a 100-500mm Canon zoom, and my settings were 1/500, f/5.6, and 1000 ISO. I’ll upload more photos from the two Surma villages we visited in upcoming posts.
2 Comments
Mar 16, 2023, 8:13:14 AM
Jim - Lorraine, We didn't sleep on the floor. We had beds with mattresses. 1000 ISO isn't high today. But the light level was fairly low and I wanted a shutter speed fast enough to guarantee a sharp picture. I used a telephoto because I didn't want to be in their face, and I like the compression characteristic of long lenses.
Mar 15, 2023, 7:59:26 PM
Lorraine Piskin - Gorgeous ....all ..... I wish I could've gone back....but sleeping on the floor....ehhhhh!!! So why did you use a telephoto lens? And why a high ISO?