Under African Sky
- 05/08/2013
- Posted by Sephi Bergerson
I’ve been dreaming of going to Africa ever since I was a child reading the National Geographic magazine and watching nature films on our old Black & White TV. I had no idea it would take this long to reach but it finally happened in May. I was the wedding photographer for an amazing Indian wedding on Diani beach south of Mombasa, after which I stayed back in Kenya to meet friends and go traveling.
Hearing the pilot on the Nairobi-Mombasa flight announcing “On your right you can see Mount Kilimanjaro” brought back all the childhood memories. I was ten years old again. Everything became magic; walking under African sky, seeing my first ever Baobab tree, the blue sea and white sand on Diani beach. Even having a Tusker beer was special.
Most people that go to Africa, especially if going on safari, will carry their biggest lens to capture the wild life. I was not going to fall into this trap. I am not a wild life photographer and bringing back a picture of a lion from up close just to show I can is not what I have in mind. For me the magic was better captured with the iPhone, even some close-up animal encounters in Naivasha and Nanyuki. Camp fire, zebras, giraffes, wilderbeest, a close encounter with an African buffalo, flower salad, the company of good friends, single malt, Hell’s gate canyon, black obsidian caves, conversations on the legendary photographer Peter Beard (please do check out his work if you have not seen it before), more zebras at sunrise, sitting on the roof of the jeep, mt. Kenya in front of us. The soundtrack of ‘Out of Africa’ in the car while driving the long dusty road back to camp after tracking rhinos was the absolute dream come true experience. I was looking out the window and crying tears of absolute happiness that I could not withhold. Africa you blew me away!! I’m coming back soon . . .
Kenya Wedding Photographer ~ Sephi Bergerson is an international wedding photographer based in India since 2002 and is available for destination wedding photography in Kenya, Mombasa, Nairobi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, India and south east Asia. He is also happy to travel for wedding photography in Mauritius, Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
August 7, 2013 10:14 pm /
Finally, I happened to find a photography blog by someone based out of India. Boy, that’s something rare in this part of the world (albeit with probably 1/4th of world’s population). Nevertheless, great work here Sephi. Keep enlightening us 🙂
On traveling with truckload of gear and bigass lenses, I would agree with you that it takes away the joy from “travel”. Those are some really nice shots through an iPhone, but did I just notice a rangefinder-ish something around your neck in the last one? In case, its Fuji x100/s, I’d really like to know your views about it as a travel photography gear.
Best,
-N
August 9, 2013 5:01 pm /
Hi Nasr, thanks for this comment. Yes, it is the X100S and I love it. It might not be as fast as the Nikon DSLR but for travel it is small, light and inconspicuous and gives fantastic results. I carry it as my main camera now. I will be giving a talk about it at the upcoming Delhi Photo Festival. Please feel free to drop by. cheers, Sephi