BLOGThis is the Blog of Season Images which belongs to photographer Len Abrams, ARPS
Southern Matabeleland in Zimbabwe is the driest part of the country. In the communal lands dry land farming fails 2 out of three years. I spent 4 days in Matabeleland in June 2013 assessing projects for possible funding. Small dams with simple irrigation schemes give communities the opportunity to provide food and some cash for their families. This is not charity – it is people exercising their right to control their own resources.
I have just spent a week in Harare – the capitol of Zimbabwe. I spent the whole week in meetings but had one day when I could take out my camera on a field trip outside the city. (One of the meetings was on the 16th floor of a building – with no working elevators! A day after I had made the climb the newspaper carried a story of a woman who had had a miscarriage climbing the stairs in the same building – a heavy price to pay.)
I was in Zimbabwe as a consultant to support the drafting of a new national water policy. In about 2008 the country hit the bottom. Following the economic collapse with hyper-inflation, everything ground to a halt. Wide spread unemployment meant that people could not pay their bills, local authorities had no revenue to provide basic services, infrastructure collapsed… Without electricity water and sewage pumps don’t work, raw sewage is routed directly into rivers and dams from which drinking water is drawn, massive cholera and typhoid epidemics result… And yet somehow the people continue, they have no other option. Today, although the situation has not changed much, there is hope and a sense that the corner has been turned. The resilience and energy of ordinary people on the streets and in the markets is inspiring.
NOTE: I took this Blog down because on reflection I thought it was a bit frivolous and I never usually manipulate my images with Photoshop but a couple of people who had already seen it said I should put it back – so here it is ….
This is the third Blog in the Series of Four series. Each blog focuses on a different aspect of photography, either technical or creative. To see the full set of “Series of Four” blogs, click here.
Greed has a way of becoming part of you – distorting you – making you into a different thing. [I have been having some fun with Photoshop which I generally do not use often. A bit corny really, but it is interesting how something as ordinary as a hand can become creepy …]
Apparently Greed started growing in a secluded woodlands setting in England many centuries ago and was exported to Africa during the early colonial period where it has taken root as an invasive alien species, mixing with local varieties of greed and proliferating rapidly. Imported and local varieties can now be found all over the world.
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[Note: A selection of charcoal images is now available for purchase and download from the Image Market – HERE.]
I have added to my collection of images showing the impacts of the wide spread practice of charcoal making on the environment in Africa, which results in vast areas of deforestation. (See the images in the Season Images Gallery.) The use of charcoal as a cheap household energy source is just about the only option open to the ever increasing urban fringe populations where firewood has long since gone and other options such as LPG or electricity are either not available or are too expensive. For a more detailed comment on charcoaling, go to my blog entitled “Charcoal and deforestation“. On travels in Africa at the end of 2010, I captured images in Uganda and Ethiopia of urban charcoal markets – a key element in the supply chain.
I also visited Kigali in Rwanda where there is a surprising initiative underway which has resulted in the cleanest African city I have ever seen – not a spot of garbage anywhere. A cooperative called Association for the Conservation of the Environment (ACEN) which makes briquettes from garbage as an alternative to charcoal. Garbage is brought in to several centers throughout the city and paid for – providing a marginal income for some of the poorest and resulting in the cleanest African city I have ever seen! The garbage is separated before the organics are shredded, dried and molded into briquettes – the inorganics are recycled. This results in less demand for charcoal and less pressure on rural environments, which, together with a cleaner city is a win – win for everyone.
I would like to announce that the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) awarded me the distinction of Licentiateship on 25 May 2010. This is the first rung on the ladder of RPS recognition as a photographer. The award was made on the basis of a portfolio of images which I submitted for accreditation. The portfolio was a set of images of African markets taken over a couple of years of travel in southern Africa. The images capture some of the colour and vibrancy of African street life in Uganda, Mozambique and Malawi, as well as some of the poverty and hardship. The portfolio can be seen on the Royal Photographic Society web site and the Season Images African Travel Gallery.
