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Category Archives: Madagascar
“Artisans” documentary series – final (?) episode
Some of you may have seen my “Artisan” series of mini-documentaries. The plan was to highlight different occupations in Madagascar’s informal sector that involve a specialized skill. Jobs that don’t really exist in the West, with detail that may even … Continue reading
Onward to Mahajanga, Madagascar
In my previous post I talked about our meticulously planned trip to see all four islands of the Comoros archipelago, which was so rudely interrupted by political violence…and so we shifted to Mahajanga, on the west coast of Madagascar. I’ve … Continue reading
Episode 3 of “Artisans” Published!
Eons ago (ok, October last year) I posted the first episode in a series of mini-documentaries about jobs in the informal sector in Madagascar, about the traveling blacksmiths that wander through the city repairing umbrellas, plastic tubs, roofs… A couple … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar
Tagged artisan, handicrafts, informal, jewelry, La Reunion Kely, recycling
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Memories of Favorite Places: Ile aux Nattes, Madagascar
Off the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar stretches a 57-kilometer long by 5 kilometers wide island, covered mostly in green and dotted with thatched-roof villages. Ile Sainte-Marie (Saint Marie’s Island), or Nosy Boraha, as it is known in … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar
Tagged Ile Aux Nattes, infrared, Madagascar
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Introducing Kids in Madagascar to Photography: Results (3)
This is the third in series of posts in which I write about introducing kids to photography, using point-and-shoot film cameras from the 1980s and 90s, at the youth center, Le Cameleon, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. You can find previous posts in … Continue reading
Introducing Kids in Madagascar to Photography: Results (2)
This is one of a short series of posts in which I write about introducing kids to photography, using point-and-shoot film cameras from the 1980s and 90s, at the youth center, Le Cameleon, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. You can find previous posts … Continue reading
Introducing Kids in Madagascar to Photography: Results (1)
I wrote last time about the youth center, Le Cameleon, we crowdfunded and built in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and the project we organized to introduce a half dozen interested kids to photography, using point-and-shoot film cameras from the 1980s and 90s. … Continue reading
Sharing our Passion: Kids in Madagascar Get a First Taste of Photography
A few years ago, I joined a couple of other folks with a passion for photography and an interest in doing something for the local community in Antananarivo, Madagascar. We collaborated to successfully crowdfund a small youth center that would … Continue reading
Visit to Isalo National Park, Madagascar
Shortly before leaving Madagascar after having lived there for more than three years, I finally made it to Isalo National Park, which is one of the premier tourist destinations in country, and one I would have regretted missing out on. … Continue reading
One Last Trip – “Lemur Island”
Given today’s justifiable flak surrounding the keeping of pet lemurs or the existence of lemur “petting zoos” that rely on capturing lemurs from the wild, Madagascar’s “Lemur Island” (officially “Vakona Private Reserve”) near Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is seen by some … Continue reading
Off the Beaten Path in Vatomandry, Madagascar
You could live in Madagascar – for as long as three years – and have trouble getting to see all of the on the beaten path things there are to see in that country–in fact, that’s what I just did, … Continue reading
Locust Swarm in Madagascar
Shortly after arriving in Madagascar a few years ago, we watched the BBC’s Planet Earth II episode in which a film crew found it amazingly difficult to track down a swarm containing more than a billion of the tiny, destructive … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged aerial, locusts, video
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Rice Harvest in Antananarivo
After three years living in Antananarivo, you gradually stop noticing the things that you found so fascinating and unique about this city as a newcomer. Antananarivo is a city of 1.5 million people. It has a downtown – an older, … Continue reading
Great News: Jerome is Learning English and Coding!
Way back in 2016 when I was still new to Madagascar, Anne and I saw an online notice that a crowdfunding initiative on the eastern coast of the country was looking for a photographer and a videographer to produce a … Continue reading
Posted in Good Causes, Madagascar
Tagged coding, crowdfunding, innovation, Madagascar, Onja
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Swimming with Whale Sharks in Madagascar
Check another item off the bucket list: in November, we made it to Nosy Be to see the whale sharks – considered endangered by some – feeding on the plankton that “bloom” there the same time every year. This capped … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged Chelonia mydas, green sea turtle, green turtle, Madagascar, Nosy Be, Rhincodon typus, swimming, underwater, video, whale shark
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…but what’s there to do in southern Madagascar?
In our quest to see everything there is to see in Madagascar (for which, honestly speaking, there is simply not enough time, but we’re trying our absolute best!) we recently made our way to south Madagascar. Specifically, we went to … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged fishermen, fishing, forest, Fort Dauphin, kingfisher, littoral, Madagascar, Manafiafy, mangrove, Toalagnaro, Tolagnaro
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Whale Watching in Madagascar
Every June or July, thousands of humpback whales migrate thousands of miles north from Antarctica to have their young just off the coast of Madagascar. And finally we made it up in time to see them (September is best!) Not … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged aerial, drone, humpback, Ile Ste Marie, Madagascar, mammal, Nosy Boraha, video
4 Comments
Andringitra Park in Madagascar: Sheer Cliffs and Ringtails
Andringitra National Park is one of those places where adventure travelers go. It’s got peaks that people go out and climb over a four-day period. The one in the photo above is just a two-day climb for rock climbers, not … Continue reading
My Entries in the #ShittyCameraChallenge
I laughed when I saw the announcement on Twitter: As I am known to use shitty cameras to make shitty pictures, this seemed perfect for me. I decided this would be a great opportunity to try out this camera I … Continue reading
Posted in Contests, Other, Madagascar, Photo Contest, Vintage cameras
Tagged #ShittyCameraChallenge, @ShittyChallenge, camera, plastic, Shitty, vintage
2 Comments
Favorite Film, Favorite Camera
I finally got around to trying something a photographer friend suggested a couple of years ago. At the time, I was new to film photography and not trying anything too fancy, beyond simply getting the 50, 60, 70-year-old cameras I … Continue reading
Posted in film processing, Madagascar, Photography
Tagged 400, Antananarivo, black and white, film photography, grain, Kodak, Madagascar, push processing, Reunion, tri-x
3 Comments
Antananarivo’s New Road
Last year in November, Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo unveiled a new road, from the northwest of town to the airport. Within three days, workers were filling potholes, and within a week, the road was closed. In the year since, there have … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar
Tagged airport road, Antananarivo, DJI, drone, farming, Madagascar, Mavic, rice, road, straw
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Monsoons in Madagascar: a Blessing and a Curse
Madagascar’s rainy season normally runs from November-ish to February or March. Last year, we hardly even noticed it – beyond a handful of late-night, pretty intense, rainstorms, there was very little rain. And everyone was worried – rice yields were … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar
Tagged Antananarivo, cyclone, flooding, Madagascar, monsoon, rain, rainy season
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Mahajanga, Madagascar: Antsanitia Resort – View from the Sky
We’re doing much better at seeing the country to which we’ve been assigned early in our tour, rather than late, rushing, and ending up with a list of “places we wish we’d gone.” Of Madagascar’s noteworthy destinations (really the list is … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged aerial, Antsanitia, beach, birds, boats, DJI, drone, flock, Madagascar, Mahajanga, Mavic, river, seagulls, sunset
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Trip to Nosy Be
I knew we had chosen the right place when the owner/manager greeted us in shorts and bare feet. No snooty welcome drinks and wet towels here! Although when I think back, I think there were actually welcome drinks and wet … Continue reading
Posted in Aerial photography/videography, Madagascar, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged Anjiamarango, brittlefish, drone, frogs, island, Madagascar, Nosy Be, resort, snorkeling, sunset, travel
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Soaring over Kitesurfing Country
Up at the tippy-top of Madagascar sits the world’s second-largest natural bay, The main city there, commonly known by its former name, Diego Suarez, is called Antsiranana since 1975, and the area served as the entry point for the Battle of … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar
Tagged aerial, Antsiranana, bay, diego suarez, drone, kitesurfing, Madagascar, Mantasaly, north
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