This is Africa: Video Travels in Uganda and Tanzania

In March 2013 I took a trip to Uganda and Tanzania with two of my siblings to visit my sister who was volunteering at the time for Jenga, a community development organisation in Mbale, Uganda. This is a glimpse of our time there.. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Shot/directed/cut by Benjamin Dowie Music written and produced by Oliver Dowie feat. vocals from the En-Kata Choir, Tanzania • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Shot on 5D Mk3 Cut & graded with Final Cut 7 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Thank you to Peter and the guys at KCM, Pastor Willy and family in Mbarara, Tash & the Pamoja crew, the amazing Maasai people, and Robby & co at Jenga. En-Kata Choir http://www.en-kata.com/ Lyrebird Studios (Oliver Dowie) https://soundcloud.com/lyrebird ▲ http://www.facebook.com/BeanpoleProductions http://beanpole.com.au/ ©2013 BEANPOLE PRODUCTIONS

Australian Benjamin Dowie has created this great video of his travels in Uganda and Tanzania in March of 2013. 

 

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Online Miniseries: ‘The New African Photography’ on Al Jazeera

The series kicks off with a vivid adventure, as Emeka Okereke leads a busload of artists and photographers for the Invisible Borders road trip of a lifetime as they search for new ways to portray their continent and explore their art. "A photograph is a window, and not the view.

Al Jazeera English just premiered the first episode of their new show, “The New African Photography.” Aiming to replace the images of famine and war with images that show an emerging 21st Century Africa, the show is told through the eyes of photographers. 

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5 - The Star Filled Dark Skies of Namibia

It's not easy to come up with something new when you visit the same place every year for more than a decade. Over the years Marsel has created the most extensive and most popular night photography portfolio of Namibia on this planet, and two years ago he decided it was time to take it to the next level. The idea was to create a night photography timelapse video featuring his most popular subjects in this amazing country: the fairytale-like quivertrees and the eery, dead camelthorn trees in Deadvlei - something that had never been done before. But instead of going for static scenes, Marsel decided to add movement to the scenes by using a dolly system. All scenes were shot during the night with Nikon D3, D3s and D4 cameras. We used small headlights for selectively lighting trees and rocks, and we sometimes used the moon. The brighter the scene, the more moon there was at the time. For the arch scene we timed our shoot exactly with moonset, which involved quite a bit of calculating and planning. But the hardest one of all was probably the mist scene in Deadvlei. Mist in Deadvlei only occurs around five times a year, so we had to keep a close eye on the weather predictions and many attempts were unsuccessful. When we finally got it right, the results far exceeded our expectations and show Deadvlei as no one has ever seen it before. Each second of video consists of 30 photographs. In total, Marsel shot more than 16,000 images over a period of two years for this project. The video won First Prize in the 2012 Travel Photographer Of The Year Awards. Marsel & Daniella Credits: Director: Marsel van Oosten Editor: Daniella Sibbing Composer: Simon Wilkinson Produced by: Squiver Equipment used: Cameras: Nikon D3, D3s and D4 Lenses: Nikon 14-24/2.8 and 24-70/2.8 Tripods: Gitzo Dolly: Stage Zero, Dynamic Perception Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Squiver Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marselvanoostenphotography

Getting to a place with clear, dark skies can pay off with some of the richest, most nuanced views of the starfields. Namibia, apparently, is one of those places.

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5 - Vibrant Timelapse of Nairobi and Kilifi

This is my first time-lapse collection photographed in Nairobi and Kilifi. Many thanks to Vinnie @vinieO for access to Lonrho roof top. Thanks to Joe Were @jaydabliu for putting together the audio. Thanks to Just-A-Band @justaband for the music [http://www.just-a-band.com]. Video shot exclusively on the Nokia 808pureview http://mutuamatheka.co.ke/

I am a bit chagrined to admit I had no idea what Nairobi looked like. This vibrant timelapse gives me an idea. Really want to see it for myself now.

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2 - Kuduro

Born of Angolan renaissance in the Information Age, Kuduro, which means 'Hard Ass,' is the cultural expression of a new international and post-war generation. Os Kuduristas, a global initiative designed to introduce Kuduro internationally, is bringing Kuduro's powerful form of expression to Paris, Amsterdam and New York through interactive events and programs in September and October, 2012.

Kuduro is a music, dance and fashion culture emerging from an Angolan sub-culture. ​

Os Kuduristas is a global program launching in Paris, Amsterdam and Stockholm this September 2012 to promote and raise awareness of Kuduro.

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