ARCHIVE KENYA 101 – MENDING A ROOF

 

 

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Adding thatch to the roof of a house on a Luo farm near Akala, in western Kenya; April 1979.

The agricultural west of Kenya, to the west of the city of Kisumu, with rich soils and plenty of rain from the frequent storms which move eastwards from nearby Lake Victoria.  Lush trees and shrubs border the farm’s compound, within which are these roundhouses, which have wattle and daub walls and thatched roofs.

This house’s doorway is outlined in pale orange and the wooden door is ajar.  An old man, an experienced thatcher, has climbed up onto the roof via a homemade ladder, and is adding more thatch.

Chickens scratch around, and the farmer stands beside a pile of thatching material destined for the repairs.

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

Technique: OM-1 with 75-150mm Zuiko lens; Agfa CT18 colour side 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 281 – THATCHED COTTAGE (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Thatched roof in Wareham, Dorset; 7 Nov 2006.

Technique: use of a 24mm wide angle lens, close in, emphasises the vast, rough bulk of the thatch, making it loom towards the camera, almost filling the frame.  The chimney, totally outscaled, appears to be toppling, again as a result of the distortion of the wide lens.  I originally intended this shot to be monochrome, but the slight tinges of colour in the thatch, the chimney and the plant improve it – instances of low key colour (in this instance, restored colour) adding something.

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

Technique: F6 with 24-85 Nikkor at 24mm; Fuji Provia 400 colour slide rated at 1600 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Neutral preset and selectively restoring colour.

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DORSET 24 – THATCHED COTTAGE (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Thatched roof in Wareham, Dorset; 7 Nov 2006.

Use of a 24mm wide angle lens, close in, emphasises the vast, rough bulk of the thatch, making it loom towards the camera, almost filling the frame.  The chimney, totally outscaled, appears to be toppling, again as a result of the distortion of the wide lens.

I originally intended this shot to be monochrome, but the slight tinges of colour in the thatch, the chimney and the plant improve it – instances of low key colour (in this instance, restored colour) adding something.

Nikon F6 with 24-85 Nikkor at 24mm; Fuji Provia 400 colour slide rated at 1600 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Neutral preset and selectively restoring colour.
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SOMERSET LEVELS 170 – THATCH (MONO)

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The thatched roof of a reproduction Iron Age hut at the former Willows Garden Centre, near Westhay; 28 May 2006.

Filling the frame with a subject is often good.  And adding a distinct focal point to such compositions, especially if they are filled with a repeating pattern, can be useful.  There is no distinct focal point here, but maybe we can count the well seen and sharply focused area of thatch at and just below the photo’s centre.  And the close-in use of the fisheye has made that area of thatch bulge out to greet us.

F6 with 15mm Sigma fisheye; Fuji Velvia 100 colour slide rated at 125 ISO; can’t recall anything about the mono processing, except that it has a pale vignette!

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