Comfort Zone
To develop requires moving out of our comfort zone and taking steps into situations that are not familiar.
I recently travelled to Kenya to photograph its iconic wildlife. After many years photographing wildlife, I am accustomed to doing this. Whilst it may not always be comfortable in the broadest sense (the weather can be challenging, insects annoying etc) I am in my comfort zone when it comes to wildlife photography. This doesn’t mean I always find it easy, far from it, and I frequently make mistakes.
When it comes to photographing people, particularly people I do not know, I am definitely out of my comfort zone. It is not a field that I have specialised in. In order to develop and broaden my skill set, I have recently dipped my toe in the world of street photography. This has taken me even further out of my comfort zone. The results have been what you would expect, a very high failure rate with most images deleted.
When the opportunity came to visit a Samburu village in Laikipia whilst staying in the @loisaba_conservancy in Kenya, the opportunity presented itself to photograph the iconic dance of the morans, the young male warriors. In this dance the young men leap high in the air to a rhythmic beat, attempting to out perform one another. Leaping from standing without bending their knees, this dance is an impressive site that I was privileged to watch.
Image made with the Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens at 34mm. 1/800 second, f16, ISO 1800 with -0.3EV.