"This picture was taken in a village of the Suri tribe mountain range near the border to South Sudan. When I asked this young mother if I could take her picture, she slowly walked towards my little studio I had set up. Standing in front of my camera, she behaved like a supermodel knowing how to look and pose. She turned her head perfectly towards me and looked straight into the camera like it would be the most normal thing for her. I released the shutter of my 4x5 camera and here it is."
Jan C. Schlegel
For “Essence”, Schlegel aimed to convey the beauty, dignity, pride, and hope of a people who both live and cherish native traditions and cultures. These include tribes from Kenya (Turkana and Rendille, Pokotand Massai), Ethopia (Mursi, Suri, Ebore, Hamar, Kara), Namibia (Himba), as well as Egypt and Lybia (Beduine), Algeria (Taureg), Afghanistan (Hazar and Nuristani), and Pakistan (Kalash and Pashtun). Using a handmade wooden Ebony (SV45 Ti) 4×5 field camera, a gray canvas backdrop, and Portable flash system outfitted with a 90cm softbox, Schlegel captures details, textures, scars, imperfections; and via an abiding intimacy and intensity, the intrinsic humanity that he seeks.
More info: https://echofinearts.com/artists/jan-c-schlegel/works/mother-with-mushroom-suri-tribe-ethiopia-2018/