Yemeni kids: Soura! Soura!

Throughout Yemen, kids would see my camera--or sometimes just me with no camera--and pose for a photo, yelling "Soura!" (Arabic for photo). Super cute.




Boys aged 8-12 really run the show in Yemen after noon each day, when their fathers retire from the family business to chew qat. I arranged a taxi tour for the next day with a kid who couldn't yet reach the pedals of any car, and bought a painting from one who needed a stool to get it down from my eye level.

Obama Yes We Can

During the Bush years, many people abroad would respond to the revelation that you're an American with something to the effect of "Bush bad, America [and its tourist dollars] good." The immense enthusiasm about Obama is a welcome and widespread contrast. I've never see it stronger than in Ethiopia: public buses, restaurants, gas stations and of course children are named after him, and "Obama yes we can" is as ubiquitous as "Where are you from?"

Tribal Ethiopia

The remote Lower Omo Valley is home to dozens of tribes that live a life removed from the conveniences we know, with one exception: they're very acquainted with the digital camera, and aggressively demand money (5-25 cents) for each shot you take. I took many:

Mursi baby and women. The Mursi are among the most visited (and photographed) tribes because of the lip plates worn by their women, and they've become quite aggressive about demanding photographs.


Left to right: Karo boy on stilts, Konso waga (each erected in honor of a deceased clan dignitary), Hamer warrior


Left to right: Dorze children dancing in the road for money, interior of a Dorze hut.