Hunting wildlife…with a camera
I always dreamed of becoming a photographer. I was about 12 years old when my father bought me my first camera, a Nikon EM, the simplest SLR camera Nikon produced in the early eighties. Back then not too many kids had a camera. They prefered to play sports or just hang around with their friends. I, on the contrary, loved taking pictures of everything. I then went on to develop and print my own photos. It was a cumbersome process, compared to what you can do today with your smartphone. You had to develop the film trip and then select the pictures and print them on special photographic paper in a darkroom making use of toxic chemicals . It was an almost mystical experience to see the images slowly appearing on a white piece of sheet illuminated only by a red light, while inhaling a mixture of Methol, Sodium Sulfite, Ammonium Theosulfite and Borax.
I remember winning my school’s photography competition when I was in 1st grade with a picture of the school director entitled “As seen from Transition.” This was the same director that kicked me out of school a year latter for not having adapted well.
I continued to take pictures throughout my life. Not good pictures by any means, just pictures of subjects I love so as to try to keep long lasting memories of fleeting moments of life. One of my happiest pleasures is to sit down to look at old photos, transport myself to the time when they were taken, and let the emotions of those moments arise with a mixture of joy and nostalgia.
It reminds me of Italo Calvino’s story The Adventure of the Photographer in his book Difficult Loves where he explores the reasons why human beings take photographs. He states that humans take photos to posses reality, to preserve experiences but in the process they distance themselves from that reality. He explains that there is a tension between an experience and its documentation through pictures, and that there is a risk that we might end up substituting the direct experience. Visionary? Yes! Aren’t we some times more worried with the picture we take and with posting it on social media that living in full those magic moments of life. We’ve gone to the extreme of documenting not only trips and special ocassions but also trivial day-to-day activities.
I almost went to study photography at the University but for thinking that I could help save the world I became a lawyer. I didn’t save the world of course but at least I kept my hobby to help compensate the frustration.
Between 2013 and 2015 I had the opportunity to live with my family in Tanzania. It was a dream come true. I had the opportunity to train as a safari guide and spend a lot of time in the bush. Always with my camera and equipment, I went hunting for the best possible pictures to inmortalize the beautiful creatures of the African savannah. Here is a selection of the pictures I took while living in Africa. Clicking on the pictures below takes you to the link where you can see them.
