Epiphany in Ethiopia
With the Tamron 28-300mm lens in hand, Steve and Yuki Emmet travel to one of the world's oldest regions to revel in religious festivals and ancient architecture.
Surrounded by Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti, Ethiopia reigns as Africa’s second-most-populated nation and enjoys the distinction of serving as the world's "Cradle of Humanity." Few people are given the chance to witness the country’s architectural treasures, historical buildings, and tribal customs, but photographers Steve and Yuki Emmet recently took a three-week trip to the landlocked nation to mingle with the natives, explore ancient stone churches, and allow Yuki to put the Tamron 28-300mm XR Di lens through the rigors of African photography. “I had seen an article [about Ethiopia] in the travel section of the New York Times, and the photos looked interesting,” says Steve. “Further research revealed that in January, a time my [dermatology] office is usually not too busy, there is a wonderful festival [called] Epiphany, and hey—the weather is nice that time of year!” Yuki, who grew up helping her father develop photos at home (he was an amateur photographer) was more than ready to try out the 28-300mm, a lens she borrowed from her husband specifically for the trip. “I love doing travel photography,” she says. “Usually, in the past, I had carried a couple of different lenses on my trips. But that meant I had to change lenses all the time, and sometimes I missed a good picture because of the timing. I wanted to do something better, so I borrowed Steve’s 28-300 lens. I used it for the whole time, and I used it for everything, both outside and inside. The detail was wonderful, even better than I could have imagined, and it was nice to carry the lens around: I’m a small Japanese woman, and the Tamron lens was small and easy to use.” Not having to change lenses for the duration of the trip also helped protect her camera from the elements and keep her lens relatively clean. "It was very dusty there," she says. "I just tried to keep my camera in my bag and use the lens cap; every night I'd wash off the dust with our lens-cleaning kit." "That definitely was one of the advantages of that 28-300 lens," adds Steve. "Because Yuki didn't have to keep changing lenses, she didn't have to keep cleaning the CCD on the camera."
Pious Photos Ethiopian culture is steeped in religion: It’s the second-oldest officially Christian nation, but you’ll also find followers there of Judaism, Islam, and even the Rastafari movement. So it stands to reason that jubilant religious celebrations and beautiful old churches were the focal point of many of Steve and Yuki’s photos. In the small town of Lalibela, for instance, there are 11 rock-cut churches, each with its own resident monk. The most famous of these, and the holy building that transformed Lalibela from a virtually unknown rural enclave to a popular tourist destination, is the magnificent St. George’s church. “Some of the oldest churches in the world are in Ethiopia,” says Yuki. “So of course I wanted to photograph them. Of course, because many of the churches are so dark inside, it was a very big challenge for me to take nice photos. But with all the inside shots of the church, including one I took of a priest reading a bible and another one of a priest holding a cross, I shot them without flash. Thanks to the Tamron 28-300, I got great results with terrific detail.”
Yuki was also able to find beauty in seemingly everyday Lalibela scenes. “There was a girl in one of the churches, just standing in a doorway, praying,” says Steve. “I shot it so you could see her face, but Yuki said she wanted the light coming in really bright behind her, and when I saw the picture, I knew she was absolutely right.”
The Emmets even lucked out and achieved a relatively rare shot of tourist-ridden St. George’s: a barren exterior shot, with just one woman in a blue covering scoping out the landscape. “This is the most famous church in Lalibela,” explains Yuki. “So many tourists go there, but for some reason, at the time we went there, no one was there except for that blue lady.”
A special Ethiopian festival in the Janmeda field offered the Emmets further opportunity to immerse themselves in the region’s religious culture. "Here there is a religion based on the Coptic religion that amalgamates Christianity and Judaism," says Steve. "The Timkat, or Epiphany festival, is sort of a combination of Christmas and the blessing of the ark. Thousands of priests wander around during this big holiday. Ordinarily, you're not allowed in the field where the people gather to celebrate, but our guides said we were VIPs from America, so we were free to walk around and take as many pictures as we wanted."
It was during this festival that Yuki was able to hone in on a couple of colorful Timkat drums and brilliantly hued umbrella. "These images really showed off the quality of the 28-300 lens," she says.
A Rapport With the Citizens Using the 28-300mm lens, Yuki was also able to capture compelling portraits of the smiling Ethiopian residents using a composition technique that relies heavily on her imaging instincts. "If I like it, I take a photo," she says. "I trust my eye and my feelings. I just try to take lots of photos. Using my experience, it’s easier to figure out what the best angle is."
"Yuki has a background in Japanese art, which I believe shaped her eye when looking at people and buildings," adds Steve. "I always carry the big equipment—but she always gets the better pictures because she has the better eye!" Their subjects were often more than willing to pose in front of Yuki's 28-300, albeit for a price. "In Ethiopia, they have an interesting custom," says Yuki. "They ask for money for the shot. It's one click for 30 cents! On the other hand, some people didn't ask for any money. Wherever we go, I try to talk to the people first and build good relationships." Yuki was able to set a few of her subjects apart from the African landscape that served as her background by carefully selecting her focal point, whether that focal point was a youngster adorned in body paint or a grinning Rastafarian girl. "I go out of my way to make sure my main focus is exactly on the point I want in focus," she explains. "For people shots, for example, I'll focus on the middle person, and everything else will fall into place."
"Yuki would open up the lens as wide as she could, and then I did a little work on it in Photoshop to achieve some of the effects you see," adds Steve. In the southern part of the country, the Emmets viewed a dance festival held by the Hamer people. "In this event, the guys jump as high as they can to show their prowess, while the girls check them out," explains Steve. "The girls dance around and come up to kick the guys on the inside of the foot. Then, to the music, the guys and girls pair up and dance off into the wilderness together."
Steve and Yuki weren't the only ones enraptured by the dance-off. "These two local boys were just staring at everything that was going on," says Yuki. "I was able to shoot them in profile watching the festival—it was such a beautiful image."
While the Emmets were able to get up close to friendly people and amazing landmarks they had both only seen in National Geographic, the part of the trip that Steve remembers most could be found simply by glancing to the heavens. "I never knew there were so many stars in the sky—unbelievable!" he says. "With no air or light pollution, the sky was absolutely filled with stars. It was stunning." |
