My Africa

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Worldwide | Tuesday, October 25, 2011 | 4 photos

I left my heart in Africa

I dreamt of wild Africa since I was 8. I had this fantasy of becoming a friend with a lion who would walk by my side and when I was scared, I would hide in his mane.
When I was 8, I lived with my parents in Libya. I was then hunting in the red stony desert for chameleons. But all along I kept dreaming of real Africa, I wanted to meet my lion!
In Libya I took my first photos with my father’s Zenith. I would take no more than two photos out of the 36 exposures color Kodak film but I always got spanked for wasting the two shots. Nobody knew my pictures were art…
I ended up in South Africa 30 years later. Finally I had my first encounter with a wild lion – a fantastic big warrior with scars across his face and with the deep eyes of a creature that feels confident about himself.
I was enchanted by the sounds, the smell, the wind and the colours of a country that I had only read about. I loved the people and I felt useless donating just 20 Euro to a kindergarten that had 40% of kids with HIV.
Photography became part of my life when I was 12. Then I got my first Russian camera. I was 34 when I bought a digital camera.
My other passion is horse riding. One new dream of mine is riding together with wild animals in Africa.
I have to go back there and take all photos that I have missed during my first visit. I have to write fantastic stories about my experience. I am an explorer at heart, devoted hard worker and a great partner full of enthusiasm for photography and for Africa.