FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

a huge responsibility to represent their people, and I wanted these photographs to present the portrayal they deserved. I also wanted my documentation to show others the strength of these tribes as Africa is made up of communities that are both resilient and beautiful. This equal balance of the two is a theme that runs through my series Desert Song: Compositions of Kenya and Warrior Studies: Rendille & Samburu, presented here.

Black

While I actively try to avoid references to a specific era, timing is an important element of life in Africa. The people’s calendar and sense of time is relative to what Earth delivers. The Rendille & Samburu intimately know the land and exist on Mother Nature’s schedule, with their world specifically revolving around when the rainy season is as water is the scarcest yet most necessary resource in this dusty, dry region. The classic balance of black and white felt like the best choice for documenting a culture and people whose existence appears out of our Western idea of time.

I look at the image “A Young Goddess, Mindisayo” and I see a young woman who is a fearless ambassador of her people and her culture. In “The Sun’s Embrace” I see another young woman, Adato, enjoying the hot, scorched Earth and sun in a way only a people who have made a pact with the land can.

In Warrior Studies, my portraits of the Samburu & Rendille warriors, I see young men who have perfected the art of selfcare and physical wellbeing in a way that seems unattainable without the use of modern amenities. This rite of passage into warriorhood goes hand in hand with their physical prowess, and I have yet to see men more knowledgeable about the