Photography, of course!

That's me atop the Abyssinian pony. His name is "Haile" and he belongs to Kero Abebe, far right. We're returning from an outreach trip to a nearby village called Muti. It's a 2 1/2 hour hike over steep muddy hills. We vaccinated over 300 children this day against an array of diseases. My colleagues you see here with me, left to right, Aselifich gave lectures to the students on health care and preventative behaviors. Jamal, center, was the "zabenya", guard who kept the children in line and the line moving. He did this with a long stick and aggressive noises from his mouth. He would also help restrain the children who resisted getting their jabs. The last fellow, Kero Abebe was a "primary health worker", who was trained in preventative education, wound care, and vaccination administration. PHW's are like nurses' assistants.
The unseen member of this group, who was the outreach coordinator, and is the photographer of this photo, is Belay Haile. Belay was a shifty guy, but a good business man and a hard worker.

My four colleagues here, mocked me as we walked back from Muti to Chiri. They laughed when I slipped in the mud, muttering "tachua", which means sorry in kaffinya, followed by childish giggles. They spoke much in their own language that I couldn't understand, but I'm certain somewhere in the exchange of kaffanoonoo dialoque there was a comment about the soft, weak white man...there had to have been. The final insult came when they all stopped and insisted that I ride the pony the rest of the way home to the health center. I know I could have made the walk, and I also know I could have been really stubborn and refused the damn pony. But, how often do you get to ride an Abyssinian pony named Haile adorned in tufts of red yarn and a homemade sadle?Not often, and it was a great way to travel. A new perspective on the trip, a different vantage point for photographs, and I didn't have to worry about tripping. God bless the beasts of burden, and we humans who enslave them.
Welcome to my photo journal. Here is where I will put new work, and bodies of work in progress. I'm not much of a writer, and most often can't really articulate the true meaning of a body of work until it's complete. But, I will use this space to post my photographs, talk about events, share news of me and my family, and above all, share my love of photography. There are voices, images, and people out there in the world who inspire me. I will bring them to this site to consider, comment, and challenge.
Cheers!
Jeff