A photo essay worth sharing.

[ontiK]

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I've been lurking for a while and reading Nuts & Bolts as I await delivery of my Canon 500D. This is a great site and my Dad and myself are starting to get a bit of a taste for photography (We have the luxury of being able to claim the Canon as a company expense ). Thus far DPS is by far the best resource we've found for guys like us. (I'm 37 BTW)

But my reason for this post is to share something I finished reading tonight that is worth sharing. I'm a motorcycle nut (road & vintage bikes) so I was kind of drawn to this but it is quite an epic tale of some average South African blokes touring Angola on dirtbikes, often in insane conditions. It's an amazing story with some (but not all) killer photos that have been taken to support the tale. You don't have to be interested in bikes to enjoy this, I promise. And you get a great story with some amazing photos mixed in. You'll probably need a good hour to get through it all, but it's entirely worth it.

Before you start, I feel it is my duty to advise that there is the odd topless African women amongst the collection (some of them confrontingly young or at least appear that way) and a touch of colourful language (but not too much) so if this offends, please decline my recommendation.

Folks, this is: Angola, "it's not like they said." (ADVrider)

Here's some random examples from a couple of hundred...





Outrunning the TIDE!




ontiK.

[RichardTaylor]

Thanks for the post. Fascinating reading and some great pics.

[ontiK]

Cheers Richard.

That's what I thought too. He's done about 4 others as well. One was a 'family holiday' that involved him, his wife, two bikes and their 7 year old (I think) daughter referred to as "Peanut" in Namibia. Gripping reads, all of them with great photography to boot. In that one, the 'Giant's playground' was something special I thought.

It's all good and well to take fancy snaps in the local gardens but to go to places few have seen and represent them well in image is another thing. Let alone to accompany them with a good story....

As for the photography, some of it is stunning. This trip is littered with captivating images.

Shoot purity and innocence...



Shoot intensity...



Shoot naivety, solitude and wisdom beyond years...



Shoot 'Mission'



What I like about this is that it's not the effect of one great image. It's how the collection of great images embeds you in the journey and takes you right there with some basic but well structured narrative. I just want to keep reading his stories and starring at his pictures.

I only wish I can document my own adventures this well in time, even if I never embark on such courageous trips. I've missed my calling and my time has passed, I could weep at times.


ontiK.

[FrankLamont]

It's best, for images that aren't yours, to link to them instead of reposting.

[gturner]

Thanks for the link.
Angola is an extraordinary place, but not for the faint hearted. Many white South Africans in their late 30's to 50's visited compliments of an anti-avoidance government assisted work program called "the army". Conscription was a bitch.

There is some unbelievable fishing to be had up that coast, but you do need to plan. These boys are doing it the right way.