Chris Lombardi: Kenya ni poa


  1. This series is made by American photographer Chris Lombardi.
    25 Chris Lombardi.jpg

    Het took these pictures around Lake Victoria and Nakuru.
    See also the website he works for: www.newwest.net, and his other work on Flickr.


    Regarding the first photo in this series he writes:

    'We were sitting in a matatu (a 14-passenger minivan taxi) in Mombasa waiting for it to fill, a process that can take hours, during which one is subject to continuous harassment by hawkers of cheap jewelry and drinking yoghurt (yum!) and cell phone covers. But the gods of commerce had mercy this day, and we enjoyed a few minutes of calm, during which my eyes wandered over to this scene: a boy and his father tending to the family business, the distribution of miraa. Miraa is the thin, tender twig of a tree, the chewing of which releases amphetamines. Speed on a stick. It"s very popular with matatu drivers and partiers and others who need to stay alert long past their bedtime, and it wreaks havoc on the teeth; most heavy miraa users, like the father of this boy, are missing one or more front teeth as a result of the addictive habit.
    My eyes and the boys met, and we stared and smiled and nodded to one another. Then we looked away, and a half-minute later repeated the ritual. A connection was made. I raised my camera with a questioning expression on my face, and he gave me a nod of assent. The memory of this warm, honest, wordless exchange makes this image one of my Kenyan favorites.'

     





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