KENYA 27 – THE KAISUT DESERT AND MT MARSABIT
July 13, 2012 22 Comments
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A small settlement in northern Kenya’s Kaisut Desert, looking northwards towards the distant highlands of Mt Marsabit; 1981.
The settlement consists of a few buildings with mud walls and corrugated iron roofs and some hemispherical mud huts. Each group of buildings is surrounded by a fence of dead thornbush, within which stock animals are kept at night.
The desert is unusually green after recent rains. Each conical hill in the distance is a small volcano, and the massif on the horizon is Mt Marsabit, a national park of entirely volcanic origin. Marsabit rises over a thousand metres above the surrounding plains and, in its higher reaches, supports dense forests that derive their moisture from the clouds that frequently cloak the high ground.
I love the colours in this picture. Agfa CT18 was an excellent but quite slow film which tended if anything to err towards brownish hues perfect for many Kenyan landscapes. I used to slightly underexpose it to further saturate the colours.
OM-1 with 28mm Zuiko; Agfa CT18 colour slide, rated at 64 ISO.
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What a view !
I miss those views, I miss the huge open spaces! If you haven’t been there already – you should go! A
I love the scope and the expanse of this image. The massif must be…what…50 miles away at least? The more I look at it, the more I want to climb in and explore and walk, and walk, and walk. I remember the Agfa CT-18 too, and very fondly, back when I was first exploring my budding photographic interests with my first real camera, a Pentax Spotmatic. Oh, how you take me back–more, please!
Hi (again!) Gary! The distance? – well I’ve just had a look on a very large scale map – its easy to see where Mt Marsabit is, but less easy to see just where I took the picture from! But yes, 40-50 miles to Marsabit is about right.
Yes, walking up there is wonderful – out in the dry lands of course, so no large mammals to worry about, but Kenya’s northern and eastern remotenesses have often been rather lawless, and that tendency has only increased into our modern times. The news today tells of 20,000 people spilling over from Ethiopia – not too far north of here – to escape inter-tribal fighting.
I had a research student working in the Kaisut, and flew up there to spend a week with him -which gave a wonderful amount of time to get to know the place.
A Spotmatic eh? I can remember those – though I was too penniless to get one!
I have many more Kenyan photos – >>>but not all of this quality – and I must scan more. Thanks for your very good words, Gary! Take care! Adrian
Excellent contrast in colors. Really enjoy the subtle diffusion in this one as it adds to the warmth in the foreground.
Thanks, Brandon – yes, the foreground warmth, I agree. Adrian
Very paintwerly and ” Out of Africa” Adrian.. as several have mentioned the colours are gorgeous
Thank you, Helen, much appreciated! As I said below here – I miss those places! A
wow!
Yes, I miss these places – and these sorts of places were all around! Adrian
gorgeous scene
Thank you, ShimonZ! Adrian
Now this is really special Adrian, the savannah browns to the mountain blue-this is really one of your best i´ve seen-it just takes you there-it´s outstanding!
Thanks for your good words, Adrian, much appreciated! Adrian
Lovely Adrian. I’m not sure I could have done this with ‘digital’. There’s too much temptation to fiddle with the colours and they wouldn’t end up looking right.
Thank you, Dave! Yes, ‘digital fiddling’ is the problem with a shot like this, but all I’ve done is slightly increase the contrast to better bring out distant detail. Otherwise I’ve left it just like the colour slide. Adrian
I love the colours in this image too. It reminds me of a painting but I can’t think which one or by whom.
Thanks! Yes, its the colours in this one – which are I think down to pure luck! Glad you like it. Adrian
Andrew,this one is simply superb! Reminds me of some old film,but can,t remember the name
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Hi, Sonali >>> not quite sure who Andrew is!!! but its better than the mistake that many people have made, which is to call me Adrain, which describes my drinking habits perfectly!
Glad you like the picture! There is something about the colours, particularly the pale browns in the foreground – after over 30 years I can’t remember, but it may be a lucky splash of misty sunlight. Thanks for your thoughts! Adrian
So sorry Adrian!! I don’t know how it happened!! Frankly,I do not think I know any Andrew!
But I liked what you said about your drinking habit!
No problem, Sonali! >>> if you know me at all you’ll know that I don’t mind such things in the least – we both lead quite hurried lives, and such mistakes happen. Yes, “A Drain” – especially when it comes to beer and cider! Adrian