Light on the dark continent

A RARE snapshot of Africa has been captured by a Melbourne lensman.

Christopher Rimmer in Africa, A Journey in Photography is showing in Hampton until April 8.

The Oakleigh resident grew up in Johannesburg and has been back to Africa six times since 2007.

“I grew up there and I feel at home when I’m in Africa; it has a strange hold on you that’s really hard to put into words,” he said.

His latest works are snaps of lions, elephants, giraffes and the Himba tribe from his time in Africa last year.

Rimmer stated he had some “hairy situations” while taking photos of elephants and lions but he never thought he would be killed.

“I put myself in a considerable amount of danger,” he said. “A charging elephant is a pretty hairy situation to be in when you have a huge bull elephant looking down at you, so it’s a matter of getting the shot and getting out of there.”

He also captured the Himba tribe in Namibia, which he stated hadn’t seen a white person for six months.

He stated only women and kids were there because the men had gone to find water for the cattle.

Rimmer stated they laughed a lot when they saw photos of themselves on the digital camera. He stated he felt “glad” when he saw his finished work.

“It was an astonishing journey collecting it all and I also feel a certain amount of dislocation from it because the printing, proofing and framing are so different to actually capturing images like that in the middle of nowhere.”

Rimmer stated he hoped people realised how fragile the work he had done was because unless Africa’s government issues were tackled it could disappear.

“I think we all have a connection to Africa in one way or another and people will appreciate how fragile and how transient it is what I’m photographing.”

Rimmer sold his first photograph when he was 15 but didn’t turn professional until 1990. His next trip is again to Africa and he will focus on shots of elephants.

source : bayside-leader.whereilive.com.au

Light on the dark continent

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