Dean Starnes - Travel Writing & Photography

Whipped Hamer woman in Tumi

Dean — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:12:09 +0000

The scars on this woman are wore with pride. She was whipped with a slender stick when her son or another close younger male became a man in the Jumping of the Bulls ceremony. The young guy runs across the backs of a row of cattle (not all of them are bulls) to prove his manhood. I’m not sure why running over some cows is considered manly but in Southern Ethiopia it is. In fact if the young guy was to slip off, he’d been embarrassed beyond belief. It’s a big deal and all of his relatives will be there and this is when the women folk will begin wailing and begging to be whipped. Apparently it is a sign of devotion and their love for him that compell them to do it. Hmmmm. Anyway after they have been whipped, they’ll rub ash into the cuts and bloody wounds to help produce a infection which results in impressive scarring. There’s nothing like a few bloody wounds and a raging infection to really say “I love you”.

If you want to see another pic of a Hamer girl then go to this post.

Village in Nam Ha NPA, Laos

Dean — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:43:34 +0000

Debbie and I stayed in this village after a trek in the Nam Ha NPA. The villages in the area take turns on hosting trekkers as a way of suplementing their income although I had the feeling that not everyone in the village was into this. At times I felt a bit like an unwanted guest.

Vang Vieng bridge, Laos

Dean — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:43:16 +0000

Vang Vieng is a great place to photograph because of the limestone karsts that pepper the countryside. Most backpackers who visit this part of laos are here for the tubing on the Nam Song. The accepted practice is to hire a tube, get driven a few kilometers out of town and float down the river drifting into every river-side bar (and there are a lot) for beer and snacks. To entice the drifters, the bars have built giant swings so that drunken punters can fling themselves into the river – it’s great fun.

Ethiopian boy

Dean — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 19:28:53 +0000

I snapped this little guy who was hanging around waiting for the empty water bottle (which he duly got). He was real shy and didn’t say anything – not that I can speak Amharic anyway. When I zoom in on the picture I can see myself taking this photo reflected in his eyes.

Evening chat in Jijiga

Dean — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:09:18 +0000

Jijiga is a little town near the border of Somaliland and the cross border trade is what keeps this place alive. There’s not much to do here – it’s hot, dusty and full of camels. I got to drink camel’s milk which was quite nice. apparently it is a lot like human milk. There is a stronger Muslim influence in this part of Ethiopia – most of the woman wear head scarfs and alcohol is harder to come by. Chat on the other hand is easy to get and the drug of choice. You can buy bags of the green leaves at any of the markets and most nights you will see groups of men sitting outside their shops chewing and talking to their friends. I particularly like this shot because of the lamp light. I shot the photo in Camera RAW and used photoshop to accentuate the pools of light around the lamp.

ISO: 400
aperture: f4
shutter speed: 1/250

Man weaving, Nam Ha NPA, Laos

Dean — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:48:52 +0000

This photo was taking at the end of a two day trek in Nam Ha NPA. It is incredible how much forest is still being burnt for agriculture purposes. Villages, like this one, are right inside the national park and people often use slash and burn farming techniques. But it is not like you can simply kick them out either – where would they go? it’s a balls up.

This picture stats are
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.0
Shutter speed: 1/160
Camera: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
Lens: EF55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 (at 80mm)

Hamer girl, Tumi, Ethiopia

Dean — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:41:20 +0000

I visited this Hamer village near Tumi in the Omo Valley (southern Ethiopia) right on sunset – which meant, not only was the light great, but everyone was returning back to the village so there was a lot going on. Cattle being corralled, fires being lit – that kind of thing. As you have probably noticed, a lot of my Ethiopian photos were taken in the Omo Valley. People still retain traditional clothing styles which is great from a photographic point of view, but it has turned the place into a bit of a human zoo.

Anyway, I was down in Tumi working on the Lonely Planet guide so I had a good look around. The Hamer tribe is famous for its Bull Jumping Ceremony which is a coming of age celebration for Hamer young men. During this ceremony the young men must run across the backs of some cattle. Women related to the boy begged to be whipped as a sign of solidarity and latter rub dirt into the resulting wound so they become infected. The scars that form are a sign of beauty.

Check out the scars on this woman’s back for example. Oucch!

Seals at Ohau Stream, Kaikoura, NZ

Dean — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:30:47 +0000

This is quite a cool spot, just outside of kaikoura in New Zealand’s South Island. These seal pups head up the stream to play under a waterfall. They are completely friendly and the day that we went, there was about 50 seal pups frolicking in the pond under the waterfall. I talk about this place on my video about choosing ISO as an example of when to choose a high ISO and you can see some footage of the seals there. It was pretty low light and as the seals were always on the go I needed a fast shutter speed. I ended choosing an ISO of 3200, hence all the noise. Damn it.

Storm over Halong Bay, Vietnam

Dean — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:25:47 +0000

Halong Bay is a bit of a tourist Mecca. It seems that every tourist is South East Asia, sooner or later finds themselves on a boat cruise of the 3000 or so limestone islands that make it such a draw. The boats are called junks and while some certainly are, most are rather nice.

Halong Bay is rather photogenic and you are able to snap plenty of pictures from the deck of your junk (like the one above) but for a sweeping vista make sure your tour calls into Dao Titop (Titop Island) in the middle of the bay. The beach is okay for a dip but if you make for the summit, you’ll be rewarded with some great views. Debbie and I didn’t have great weather so the colours are quite subdued compared to other shots of Halong Bay I’ve seen but what can you do.

ISO:100, Shutter speed: 1/125, Aperture F7 Shot in Digital RAW and processed twice – once for the sky and one for the land and water.

Hanoi Market Sellers

Dean — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:22:11 +0000

One of the many shots that Debbie and I took while wandering around the back streets of Hanoi. I love the crumbling old wall they are leaning against.