Turkana tribe dancing

A beautiful tribal festival for peace

by Piper on • (6 comments)

Each year, hundreds of tribal people walk for days across the serene barren terrain to gather along the shores of Lake Turkana for a peacemaking festival. As many as 15 tribes/ethnic groups, such as the Randille, Samburu, Turkana, Dassanach Gabra, Borana, El Molo, Konso, Sakure, Garee, and Waata, gather in a kaleidoscope of color, dressed… Read more »

Off the Grid in a Soulful Place

by Piper on • (12 comments)

“That area is unsafe, the roads are terrible, the people are dangerous, and you should not go.” When I hear these comments, it draws my interest to a place, one that was most likely sparked by an image I viewed that made my heart pound with curiosity and possibility. These were the comments I heard… Read more »

Travel Africa – double page spread of the Turkana Tribe

by Piper on • (4 comments)

It is an honor to share that one of my images of the Turkana Tribe is gracing the pages of Travel Africa Magazine this quarter (page 4&5); the most prestigious travel magazine about Africa. This image was captured last year during the Turkana Festival. I have been visiting this tribe for the last four years… Read more »

Africa Calling

by Piper on • (18 comments)

I had no idea, when I wrote about becoming a nomad for a year, how such a risky decision would turn out. In the modern world, we are conditioned to play it safe, work a real job, buy a house, save our money, and travel the world when we retire. Living in such an environment… Read more »

Tribes of the Omo – Last Chance

by Piper on • (2 comments)

The tribes of the Omo Valley are some of the most ornate on the continent of Africa and around the world. Although I had been traveling to Africa for many years before stepping foot into Ethiopia, it was my first trip to the Omo Valley that really defined the focus of my work in Eastern… Read more »

Dropping into a National Geographic wildlife documentary

by Piper on • (4 comments)

If you ever dreamed of being dropped into the middle of a National Geographic wildlife documentary film, then come on safari to the Maasai Mara! Not only are the drama, suspense, action and excitement far beyond your expectations, but chances are that you will be sitting along side a film crew and the top wildlife… Read more »

A photographer’s life in the Bush – What a week!

by Piper on • (10 comments)

Well, you can say, “It has been one of those weeks.” Those wonderful, “African Rains”, of which everyone dreams and Toto sings, have made a huge mud pit of the Mara, and it is the dry season!!   At one point in my life, I thought it would be amazing to tough out the mess during… Read more »

Artistic vision beyond the obvious

by Piper on • (3 comments)

FAR too often we get too caught up in the excitement of our subject to take a step back, take a deep breath, and allow our own artistic vision to flow. We arrive at an exciting destination and switch from artistic vision to, “getting the shot”. We travel half way around the world dreaming of… Read more »

TOO many vehicles in the Mara, really?

by Piper on • (3 comments)

I am always curious about a person when I receive an email, or read a comment complaining about too many vehicles in the Mara. I often wonder what their personal motivation is behind discouraging others from coming to one of the most renowned wildlife reserves in the world, a reserve immortalized by countless BBC and… Read more »

Living with Lions

by Piper on • (3 comments)

A gentle wind blows across the plains as prides of lions lie in the shade of the acacias, waiting patiently in anticipation. At any moment now, a dust cloud will gather over the horizon, as thousands of wildebeest thunder through the tall grasses of the Maasai Mara; marking the arrival of the Great Migration. During… Read more »