madagascarlife
Dune Walker
A spontaneous solo walk, on a day at the beach with friends, led to seeing this alien outline silhouetting the arching dunes protecting the village below. It made no sense until I got much closer and grabbed this shot before climbing up to say hi.
Madame Jaqueline, Ambositra
Image Description
Hope, Lycee Pole
Those three seconds after "and the winner is..." can feel like an eternity when your name is in the running.
Sheltering from Rain, Lanirano
Even if I wasn't photographing, I love these moments of being able to watch the heavy rains we're all sheltering from, standing by the liminal overhang.
Maternity Meeting, Listening
I attended a lot of maternity and health meetings as a photographer. It was essential that I introduced myself on arriving and asked permission to document the time I was there. Typically, the first fifteen minutes was a write off for photos as too many people in the room were curious about me and what I was doing, looking directly at my lens rather than focusing on the meetings (I'd do the same, to be honest). I was especially grateful to anyone who let me into their own private homes and allowed me to cram into the corner when there were only two or three people there. It could feel like a mountain to be forgotten and let them focus on the discussion at hand but somehow it usually fell into place.
Line-Fishing in Pirogue, Fort Dauphin
Look out in any direction from Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, and the Indian Ocean will be dotted with hand-carved wooden pirogues. Fishing is a dominant way of life in the city and most fishermen are line-fishing, three to a boat, whatever the weather or sea conditions.
Goalkeeping, Sainte Luce
Physically, goalkeeping. Mentally, elsewhere. Yes, his team lost.
Dancing, Lycee Pole
Groups of high schoolers unveiled choreographed routines they'd been honing for weeks as National schools day took place across Madagascar. Visiting dignitaries and teachers could tip particularly good performances with cash placed in an open box, or vote for the winner.
Peering Eyes, Ankilizato
With our bush taxi broken down and no clue of when or if a replacement would arrive, we piled out, with the other long distance commuters, into the sparse, dusty, market town of Ankilizato. Our absence of preference in destination and timing meant only a single 'hotely' was serving food, and its two tables were taken. We retreated to the shelter of a nearby shop that provided seats and refreshments. Sticking out like a sore thumb, we became the curiosity for two kids who remained glued to the street side of our bench wall.
Days End, Diego Suarez
Fishermen and sailing boats retreat for the day, watching the sun do the same. Ramena's a sleepy harbour village to the east of Diego Suarez, and the popular departure point to sail to la Mer d'Emeraude. I'd been perched on the edge of the stubby concrete pier, enjoying the unfolding view and felt compelled to jump in the water to get closer to the boats and catch this moment. Swirls of fish, deciding their cover in the sandy floor now blown, created a little haven from chaos for my wading legs.
Keeping an Eye
Morning light at outdoor maternal meetings was often generous to a photographer there to document.
Striding down Dunes, Indian Ocean
Bevava beach has a particular dune which is immensely satisfying to climb, dwarfing everything around and just about tall enough to deserve being called a hill. I've featured it many times in photos as I revisited it a lot. As mentioned elsewhere, the beach is particularly exposed to winds and yet, right behind it is a small village of wooden houses, sheltered beautifully by the enormity of this dune. Here, a woman has left the village, scaled the dune and strides down the beach-side of it to use water from the ocean.
Silk Weavers, Soatanana
We had been tipped off by a fabric-focused friend, on a small Betsileo town that was worth a detour through some rugged backroads if we were in the central highlands and had a 4x4. There, we were told, we would find a women's union, formed to bring back traditional silk weaving that had fallen out of favour. Intrigued and with decent directions involving broken bridges, we arrived with a parade of kids running alongside the car and pulled up to where we were told the union operated from. Panic. Sprinting. Confusion. Until word reached us that impromptu arrivals were not the norm and nobody was prepared.
Eavesdropping on the Stairs, Esokaka
Another moment from a maternity meeting. A few mothers gathered to have a community nurse weigh and advice on the health of newborns. These two spent most of the time giggling by the stairs, eavesdropping on the conversations, and ended up making it into the final shots.
Maternity Meeting
I'm usually fine for directions but I got lost finding my way through a labyrinth of small, sandy back lanes, to document a gathering of mothers who were to discuss maternal health matters with an elected community official. Their patience in waiting the extra ten minutes was enough time to build up a party atmosphere usually found on a night out. And I arrived just in time to be the punchline of each sentence, from the moment I got to the door of the small house, crammed with about fifteen comediennes. Deserved, for keeping them waiting, and it was all in good fun. The only difficulty was trying to get a moment where everyone was paying attention to something other than me.