Monday, November 28, 2011

The Day the Drone went Down:
We still managed to capture some pretty awesome footage of Zanzibari Masaai dancing on the beach.  I am intrigued and interested in the movement of the Masaai from the plains of the Serengeti and Mara to the shores of Zanzibar.  Driven by need, having suffered from major droughts which have affected their cattle and livelihoods, and over the years having been displaced by government regulations on where they can or cannot move, some Masaai have made a new home in Zanzibar where business is thriving.  They trade in curios, art, tourism and sex.
do you want me to jump this high?
The new Zanzibari Masaai has had to adapt to their new environment.  This is evident in how they dress, no longer wearing heavy red blankets, but now using sarong material with masaai patterns/prints - light and airy to handle the tropical island heat.   You will seldom see a Masaai on Zanzibar without sunglasses.  These Masaai are entertaining to tourists and often speak at least 3 languages.
Culture is not stagnant, and is in constant change.  I am fascinated to see how this generation and those to come are weaved into the fabric of Zanzibari culture.
my body guards
Obi and his Masaai

Filmed with my little Canon G12 while the guys were filming on the big cameras.


Thursday, November 10, 2011

DALA DALA DRIVE
Rain and the Olympus i-SPEED = Magic.
Each day I love this camera more.  We had a wet yet exhilarating shoot filming a group of us in the back of a Zanzibari Dala Dala.  Despite the rain, the shoot was incredible and the footage breathtaking.  Slow motion running in the rain to catch the dala dala, puddle jumping and hanging off the back while driving down the road.  We didn't miss a drop.
Look forward to posting another teaser to show you "poetry in motion" -





ZANZILIFE

We had a frame made as a marketing tool for Zanzilife.  Framing tourists, Zanzibari's, kids in a mini Zanzibar door.  Putting people in the picture.  Our plan is to create a link to our site where people can download their photographs - a great memory of their time on the island.





Monday, November 7, 2011

Nuptial Flight - the finest hour.  
Spent an hour last night filming flying ants in motion on the Olympus i-SPEED.  It was magic to see how they move through the air hovering around the light.  Over the course of the hour, they slowly started to drop to the ground, one by one until there were none.  Once we got over the intial hibijibees of these ants flying under our clothes we got some mesmerizing footage of the process.  A dance in the light.  
I did some research on flying ants this morning and basically all that flying around is a massive orgy. Where the males are "quickly converted into single-purpose sexual missiles." During "the quick and violent mating, the male literally explodes his internal genitalia into the genital chamber of the queen and quickly dies."  One queen will mate with several males during this flight.   A whole lot of love going on! 
Inspired Flight - the finest hour