Occasional snaps and thoughts from here and there posted on a random basis with no rhyme and minimal reason. For things less random, check out the travel photo Galleries.
Artomatic, D.C.'s biggest arts festival, is in full swing! I've joined more than 1,000 other artists in presenting work this year from now until June 23rd. Come by to see selections from my safari gallery Under African Skies up close and in person. I'm on the 9th floor, 09-245, just around the corner from the peeps!
There is always something going on at Artomatic. Check out the full schedule of events here.
In honor of Artomatic, I'm giving prizes to a random person for every 100th Twitter follower and 100th Facebook Fan of Timothy Forbes Photography. Follow, like and spread the word!
Before beginning safari, I had to choose a safari company. And it felt all wrong from the moment he approached me, the young guy in the yellow shirt. I had just come out of the gate of Roy's Safaris, a company highly recommended by the Lonely Planet, albeit in the latest edition which was now more than three years old. I had been happy to find that Roy's was just a short walk from Le Jacaranda Hotel where I had checked in for the night. I had flown in from Dar that morning and the afternoon was quickly disappearing. My hope to start a five day safari through Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti the following day required efficiency and a little luck, especially since I was looking for a reasonably-sized group safari so I wouldn't pay full freight for a solo one. In addition to the price difference, the thought of being individually catered to by a guide and cook for several days straight seemed a bit unsettling.
So I was rather disappointed when the possibility of Roy's proximity translating into an efficient booking dimmed within a few short moments. The very professional woman behind the very professional desk in the very professional office inside the very professional gated compound told me they no longer did group tours. In fact, she said, very few companies do them any more. She would, however, be happy to discuss a four day safari through Ngorongoro and the Serengeti for approximately $1,800.
It is hard to say what I imagined as we drove past the gate of Tarangire National Park and rounded the first corner of the first park of my first safari. I suppose I anticipated spotting wildlife would be something akin to a Where's Waldo book. There would be trees. There would be grass. There would be wide open spaces. Binoculars would be required. A keen-eyed guide would be necessary. And a little luck would be needed to see the animals. This was the wild, after all, not the National Zoo. And even in a zoo, a cage or fenced in area of any size can offer enough room and enough cover in which even a larger animal can be concealed.
And while binoculars and a keen-eyed guide and luck are required in certain cases and especially with certain animals, Waldo was everywhere from the moment we rounded the corner. Within moments, vervet monkeys were seen dashing about. Elephants lumbered across the scene as, if on cue. Giraffes snacked on the acacia trees in full view for even a dull-eyed safari adventurer like myself.
The domestic terminal of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam is more modest than the intentional terminal. This is saying something since the international terminal is not what one would call spacious or well-appointed. It made for a perfect departure point for Arusha, the hub of all things safari and trekking in the north of Tanzania.
Everyone goes through the security scanner when you first walk in the terminal and, while you don't need to remove your shoes, I needed to give it three tries before belt was off and pockets emptied before I walked through cleanly.
We had been flying for hours over mystical parts of the map with names that evoked ancient history and modern headlines, romantic destinations and sites of heartbreaking tragedy, ground christened as the newest country on the planet and lands where the first humans opened their eyes.
As I sit here at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 waiting to board my flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, my mind is awash with these words from e.e. cummings:
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
Travel is a powerful means of waking our ears and opening our eyes. To be faced with the other, the new, the foreign invites us to truly hear and truly see. It moves us beyond what we expect to hear and expect to be there and requires that we not assume but experience. It invites us to live.
And the camera further encourages that wakefulness, that openness for how can the camera frame a moment worth keeping if one isn't present in that moment? May I be present in the moment with wakefulness and openness.
For those interested, I'll include the entirety of the poem after the jump. It expresses the thankfulness I feel as I am waiting to board.
