Hamar Warrior
Ethiopia 2013: The Market in Turmi
I was glad to get a chance to shoot a market. It’s what I’m familiar with. I’m confident in the markets unlike the posing we had been doing when we stopped to visit the various tribes in the Omo Valley.
But I did pose this man in that I asked him to stand in front of a hut. I asked him to stand on one leg in the time-honored pose of shepherds everywhere. (He had been standing on one leg when I first saw him.) And when none of these ideas turned out to be satisfactory, I asked him to move in front of a darkened doorway to give the dramatic black backdrop that makes this photo.
This portrait reminds me of the sketches made by the artists who drew likenesses of the Native Americans in the days when our country was being explored. It’s not only his headdress that makes me think that: it’s the strength and dignity in his expression.
How old do you think he is? J.
Hi, Jerry.
I guess he is mid or late 40’s…maybe 50 ish. He is still a strong man. I wouldn’t want to antagonize him!
People in our group (us Americans) kept saying that the tribes people who looked as if they were in their late 60’s were only 30 or 40…I did not agree with that. I don’t think living in the bush makes you look older than you naturally would.
Best, Rosemary