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KeldBach β Chaos in the Swamp
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Published: 2012-04-02 20:02:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 978; Favourites: 36; Downloads: 16
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Swamps are some of the most interesting to photograph. I do like the shot.
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Glad you like it, and thanks for the fav. Swamps are indeed fascinating, but not always easy to capture. I hope to get back another time when the lighting is better, and hopefully with some mist in the background
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I like the colors and how sharp the photo is.
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Thanks very much. Glad you like it
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Thanks, Dennis. I'm sure a lot of symbioses are happening here, although it looks a little lifeless this time of year. I only saw a couple of Mallards and a few early Mosquitoes, but I'll make sure to return during summertime when everything is green and full of life
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you're welcome Keld... swamps are most fascinating. years ago I floated a cypress swamp in my canoe near where my sister and brother inlaw live. we slept over night in hammocks hung between trees. still one of the funnest things I've ever done.
I look forward to your return.
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Sounds like a great experience. Any alligators in that swamp?
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lol, yes there were. that was always mildly disconcerting to me. we only saw small ones and they weren't aggressive in the slightest. of course we didn't try to aggravate them either.
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That was a wise decision
I once went crocodile hunting on the Zambezi river in Zambia in the middle of the night. We were out there in two canoes and tried to attract the crocs with flashlights. When they got close enough, they were shot with bows and arrows through their open gob, and then hauled inboard with some ropes. Well, actually we only caught on croc (about 5 feet) that night, but it was quite a thrilling experience. I tanned the skin afterwards and hung it on my wall
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I thought it a prudent one.
.. and holy smokes, that had to have been a spectacular experience. how heavy is a five footer?
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Well, the tail makes up for about half of its length, but the weight was probably close to a 100 US pounds. And it was still alive when we got it inside the canoe and resisted fiercely. The powerful tail is almost as dangerous as its sharp teeth. It took us four men to hold it down and turn it onto its back so that one of the men eventually could cut its throat with a long knife.
I don't think I would have the guts to do things like that today, and I'm not into hunting or killing of animals at all, but it's some 30 years ago and at that time I couldn't pass the chance for some wild action
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outstanding!
that had to be beyond thrilling... and I hear you. I grew up in a land where hunting and fishing was a way of life. I think by age 18 I had shifted to only shooting things with the camera. lol, I bet the canoe felt small all of a sudden.
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We all get a little wiser over the years, I suppose. Well, most of us, at least
Yes, the canoe definitely felt small at that time, but most of them were actually quite large. They were traditional dug-out canoes, and were easily capable of ferrying some 12-15 people across the river at a time, including hens, goods and other luggage.
At one time I went almost 200 miles down the Zambezi river together with a Dutch friend. We wanted to attend the annual Kuomboka Ceremony ( [link] ), but unfortunately the trip took longer than expected, so we misted it by one day. It took us eleven days to get down to a town called Mongu where the festivities took place, but the trip itself was an exiting experience with some close encounters with Hippos and Crocs, both in the water and on land at night. The Hippo is actually the most dangerous animal in Africa, even it's not a predator. Many people get killed every year and a big one could easily have damaged our canoe severely, had we not been careful, or perhaps a bit lucky
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lol I'm still working on it.
what a grand adventure. well done Keld.
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Thanks, Dennis. The three years I spent in Africa still stand as one of the best and most exciting periods in my life. I was on a Danish volunteer contract (called Peace Corps in the US) and when it expired, I was scheduled to return home just in time for Xmas. However, that didn't appeal to me, so me and another volunteer decided to get our air tickets refunded, and slowly travel home by bus, train, boat and a good deal of hitchhiking. We passed through some 17 countries in Central and West Africa before we finally arrived home about four months later.
Back home, hundreds of colour slides from Africa were waiting for me, and once I got them all organised and put in frames, I started to arrange slide shows at libraries, schools and other public places. They became quite popular in the local community because the pictures could often document the sometimes wild stories I told the audience. I haven't seen them for many years now, but this winter I've started to scan some of them and a lot of memories came to mind. I was thinking of making a special website for them, but they are probably mostly of interest to myself after so many years. Anyway, I think that's a good way to preserve them, and now I can edit and crop them the way I like.
I just uploaded a couple of scans to my Scraps if you're interested. The first one is from the mentioned trip down the Zambezi River [link] and the other one shows my girlfriend at that time [link] Hope you like them
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what an opportunity and experience... I would have to imagine your world view expanded a million fold. it's serendipitous you mentioning this. in just the past week I received official notice that my oldest son has been awarded an ambassadorial scholarship and will be spending his senior year of high school abroad in the coming year.
I know I will miss him but am just ecstatic when I think of his opportunities for adventure. Not of the like of wild rivers and crocodiles... but those would have been better suited for me. He will be in Europe which with his polyglot nature and thirst for history seems a hand in glove fit.
youth and adventure... good times.
love the pictures and the story. I can imagine some things are never forgotten. I tend to hoard the old images as well. I come by it honestly as my family has been ardent keepers of it's own history since before the time of photographs. the old images are special in that they do store memories. you look and remember again.
you're canoe was much bigger than mine... but gf was every bit as cute as yours.
a narrative with images would make for a great journal and you could put it on your website as well.
::hint hint nudge nudge::
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Yes, my world view did indeed expand a great deal during that period, and I think I learned more from the Africans than they learned from me. Of course it was a completely different world to be in, but a bigger culture shock actually hit me when I got home. Nothing seemed to have changed the slightest bit since I left, and my friends were occupied with the same trivial activities as usual. Going to the same pubs, following the same football teams, watching the same TV programmes, etc. So I teamed up with an old girlfriend and started to travel some more. First a few months in southern Europe, then a trip to east Africa, and finally a long trip to south-east Asia, before I eventually settled down back home and found myself a job. I'm sure your son too will get some great adventures and useful experiences from such a stay, even Europe isn't that different from the US. He will grow as a person and hopefully have some exiting stories to tell you when he gets back home
As for the website, I'm not so sure. First of all, it will take me a long time to scan and edit all those photos, and secondly, I have forgotten many details, particularly names of people and places. Also, many of the photos aren't that good, although I had a decent SLR camera at that time. The most important thing for me is to preserve and hopefully restore the original quality, as the colours have faded a bit over the years. But perhaps some day I will publish them, you never know
NB: Perhaps I exaggerated a bit about the length of my canoe. It was more likely around 16 feet, I think, but long enough to give me a hard time when wanting to turn up against the strong current.
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