The People of Kenya

KwaHeri · Mar 25, 2009

I just returned from Kenya a couple days ago, where I was conducting development work for an organization called Free the Children. I just wanted to share some of my photos with everyone, so here are some of my favourites:

AtlPikMan · Mar 25, 2009

Nice shots. In #1 & #2 your subjects are in the rain. where are you? Under a tent? Its a tough choice, I like #3 the best.

KwaHeri · Mar 25, 2009

There's actually an amazing story behind the first two pictures. When we arrived in Kenya, there had not been substantial rain in over 4 months. The region was going through a horrible drought, and was suffering. Then, as we walked into the school ground, where the entire town was waiting, the sky opened up and it began to rain. Then, at the goodbye ceremony, the sky was blue and it was about 35 degrees celsius, we were treated to around 3 hours of song and dance from the local school, and then they told us that they had bought us gifts. The community had pooled together what little funds they had to buy us bracelets, and as they placed the bracelets on our wrists, it began to rain again.

I'm not a religious person, but according to the priest, we were blessed. The smiles in both photos are so powerful, and each tells such an amazing story.

I was actually standing right in the rain when I took the photo, and right behind me, in the tree, were two kids. Thats when I took the one with the foot.

AtlPikMan · Mar 25, 2009

Excellent story to compliment amazing shots...

woojiebear · Mar 25, 2009

Wow i love these shots! amazing captures
my favorites are #4 and #6 - i love the group atmosphere
nice rain shots also

niforpix · Mar 25, 2009

Were these scanned or are they from a DSLR? Every shot has either a vertical or a horizontal line going through it.

Antarctican · Mar 25, 2009

Those rain shots look really neat! (And it looks to have been quite the downpour)

Love that last one too - the varied expressions of the children as they face the camera. Thanks for sharing these with us!

gsgary · Mar 25, 2009

Nice shots but 1,2 and 5 stand out for me:thumbup:

drafuul · Mar 26, 2009

I really love the journalistic look and feel of all of these. Photos like this always make me come back to look again and again. I think the first ones in the rain are spectacular!

KwaHeri · Mar 26, 2009

Thanks for the kind words guys!
I took these with a Cannon G9, basically a point and shoot. I have a Rebel XTI but and DSLR like that just seems so invasive in an environment like Kenya. And sadly, the lines are, I believe, from a scratch on my lens. I'm not sure how to get rid of the lines! I didn't even notice what had happened until I got back. If anyone has any suggestions then I'm all ears.

niforpix · Mar 26, 2009

KwaHeri said:
Thanks for the kind words guys!
I took these with a Cannon G9, basically a point and shoot. I have a Rebel XTI but and DSLR like that just seems so invasive in an environment like Kenya. And sadly, the lines are, I believe, from a scratch on my lens. I'm not sure how to get rid of the lines! I didn't even notice what had happened until I got back. If anyone has any suggestions then I'm all ears.

I'm not sure if it's a scratch on the lens because it goes in an absolute straight line from top to bottom. It looks more like you may have a dead row of pixels on your sensor or something along those lines. Maybe try different lenses and shoot a somewhat darker object and see if they are still there. If they are, you may have to take your camera in for repairs if still under warranty.