Maasai Children Love The Camera: Ryn Clarke

The dirt road gives way to dust, clogging our throats, as we drive along the ribbed path to the Maasai village along the border of the Ndarakwai Ranch, an 11,000 acre private reserve in central Tanzania. By mid-afternoon, we reach the first manyatta, a circular wall of woven thorns enclosing the wattle and daub Maasai huts, preventing animals from attacking their livestock and children. We are looking forward to visiting with the Maasai, but need to wait until the young boys return with their herd of cattle, goat, and sheep. Thomas, our Maasai guide, is our interpreter as we are finally permitted to visit with the women and children.

We thought it interesting that there were no men in the village, only women and children and the very young herders. Where were the men? Some said that they are in charge of security and spend their days up in the hills.

The women are typically dressed in colorful plaid red sheets that are wrapped around their body adorned with lots and lots of beaded jewelry placed around the neck and arms and hanging from ears and lips. The children’s dress is a catch-all of international discards. When we were invited to start shooting photographs of the children, they swarmed like bees to honey. Each child was fascinated and couldn’t get enough of seeing themselves as they hung on the back of each photographer’s camera. They would pose and look and laugh and point, over and over again. Getting them to stand still was nearly impossible, so I gave up and just shared in their fun. Using Live View, I taught one of the older children to compose an image of her siblings. She was fascinated. I showed them a video on my camera – they stood transfixed and stared. It seems strange that this was the first time any of them had ever seen a moving picture!

As a photographer, I felt that my digital camera enabled me to make a special connection with the children – a bridge that could capture and communicate their feelings or emotions, without the use of words. It was at that moment that we all wished we had the opportunity to leave prints behind for them to remember the visit. Hence, I am honored to be a small part of PRINTS FOR PRINTS.

– Ryn Clarke, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA