ARCHIVE KENYA 80 – THE WATERFRONT AT LAMU

 

 

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.The waterfront at Lamu, an island off the Kenyan coast; Jul 1978.

The white battlements of the town’s small fort can be seen just left of the sail, and coconut palms line the horizon.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: OM-1 with 75mm-150mm Zuiko lens; Agfa CT18 colour slide film rated at 64 ISO.

THE ARCHIVE KENYA SERIES

I’m re-posting photographs that I took in Kenya over 30 years ago.  You can find more context here .  Click onto the “Archive Kenya” tag (below) to see more of these film images from Kenya.

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ARCHIVE KENYA 78 – BOYS FISHING

 

 

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Luo boys fishing at Dunga, near Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya; April 1979.

I love the colours and slightly upturned prow of the boat, and its reflection too, and also the overall feeling of relaxation, with time passing slowly on a hot day by the side of the teeming lake.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: OM-1 with 75-150 Zuiko lens at 150mm; Agfa CT18 colour slide film, rated at 64 ISO.

THE ARCHIVE KENYA SERIES

I’m re-posting photographs that I took in Kenya over 30 years ago.  You can find more context here .  Click onto the “Archive Kenya” tag (below) to see more of these film images from Kenya.

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ARCHIVE KENYA 73 – DHOW AT LAMU

 

 

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Dhow on the shore at Lamu, coastal Kenya; July 1978.

I watched a TV programme on indigenous art in West Africa.  It reinforced a thought that I’ve many times had that, while in Kenya, I should have taken more photos of both old and modern local art, and of the people too, but in those days I was very much into wildlife and scenery – and that’s, mainly, what I’ve got!

The town of Lamu is on a small island off Kenya’s coast.  When I was there, no motor vehicles were allowed on the island and that’s probably still the case now.  Kenya’s coastal peoples are mainly muslim, and Lamu abounded with beautiful things – buildings, boats, narrow alleyways, carved wooden doors – a wonderful place to be.  I imagine its still much the same now but, like much of eastern Kenya, it is on the alert for violence, piracy and kidnappings springing from its unstable neighbour, Somalia.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: OM-1 with 75-150 Zuiko lens at 150mm; Agfa CT18 colour slide film rated at 64 ISO.

THE ARCHIVE KENYA SERIES

I’m re-posting photographs that I took in Kenya over 30 years ago.  You can find more context here .  Click onto the “Archive Kenya” tag (below) to see more of these film images from Kenya.

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ARCHIVE 540 – REFLECTION (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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The prow of a small boat in Mevagissey harbour, in Cornwall, on a still morning; 24 Oct 2012.

I think this must be the most perfect reflection photo I’ve ever taken.  Conditions were ideal – an overcast morning with barely a whiff of breeze.  This boat was moored at the quay, and the rusting chain is its mooring line.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor at 240mm; 5000 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2.

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ARCHIVE KENYA 46 – DHOW OFF THE ISLAND OF LAMU (MONO)

 

 

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Dhow off the island of Lamu, on the Kenyan coast; July 1978.

In reality, the sky was a bright, featureless blue and the shore behind the boat was lined with the green foliage of mangroves.  The picture has now become very close to black and white, with the boat’s large lateen sail as the beautiful main subject.

I like the way in which the use of under exposure has brought out the sail’s pale tones.  The only remaining pale tones in the photo are those of (some of) the crew’s white clothes and hats, and the white line along the boat’s side.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: OM-1 with 75-150 Zuiko lens at 150mm; Agfa CT18 colour slide film rated at 64 ISO; method for conversion to mono – forgotten!

THE ARCHIVE KENYA SERIES

I’m re-posting photographs that I took in Kenya over 30 years ago.  You can find more context here .  Click onto the “Archive Kenya” tag (below) to see more of these film images from Kenya.

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ARCHIVE KENYA 36 – BOATS AT LAMU (MONO)

 

 

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Boats on the beach at Lamu, on the coast of Kenya; July 1978.

This photo has been digitally manipulated (in Silver Efex Pro) to produce a dark, brooding look. The dimly seen white motor boat out on the sea balances the picture – obscure it with your thumb to see what I mean. I also like the repeating patterns of the two boats nearest the camera, which have similar shapes and which are inclined at the same angle.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: Olympus OM-1 with 28mm Zuiko lens; Agfa CT18 colour slide rated at 64 ISO; Silver Efex Pro.

THE ARCHIVE KENYA SERIES

I’m re-posting photographs that I took in Kenya over 30 years ago.  You can find more context here .  Click onto the “Archive Kenya” tag (below) to see more of these film images from Kenya.
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ARCHIVE 489 – ROWING BOAT

 

 

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Rowing boat on The Cobb, at Lyme Regis, Dorset; 3 Nov 2004.

The sunlit seat of the boat makes a powerfully gleaming, rectilinear shape on the left, which contrasts with its curved shadow further right.  The boat’s scratched and battered floor provides an abstract background – with a small but darkly gleaming sprig of wet seaweed adding the sole touch of recognisable reality.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: OM-4 with 21mm Zuiko lens; Fuji Provia 400 colour slide film rated at 1600 ISO; rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise.
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ARCHIVE 477 – REFLECTION

 

 

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Small boat moored in Mevagissey harbour, Cornwall, on a still morning; 24 Oct 2012.

There are four sets of lines here.  First, those of the reflection, which those on the right side of the boat (as we see it) seem to swing away from – maybe these two sets of lines are diverging from a common source. 

Then, left of the boat’s sharp bow, the lines on the boat’s side are more or less horizontal, and divided from the others by the bow. 

Finally, the mooring ropes and the boat’s bow produce a near vertical trend at sharp angles to everything else.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 3200 ISO.

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ARCHIVE 433 – THE WATERFRONT AT LAMU

 

 

.The waterfront at Lamu, an island off the Kenyan coast; Jul 1978.

The white battlements of the town’s small fort can be seen just left of the sail, and coconut palms line the horizon.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: OM-1 with 75mm-150mm Zuiko lens; Agfa CT18 colour slide rated at 64 ISO.
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ARCHIVE 414 – THE COLOUR OF THE SEA BENEATH A SMALL BOAT

 

 

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A small, blue boat rides at anchor – a very simple image, that’s really all there is to see.

The only solid facts are the simple, elegantly curving lines of the boat.  Beyond them, the sea’s surface takes on a silvery hue where the light catches it. But in the craft’s brief shadow, this paleness disintegrates and fragments as, approaching closer to the graceful blues of that wooden hull, the emerald greens of the sea deepen and, gently but firmly, draw us further in and deeper down.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO;  St Ives, Cornwall; 21 Sept 2016.

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