Category: Marcus’s Photography
Our Stories:
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Self-Declared Nomad With a Cam
Guess who’s been camping at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi for a week? Jonathan Fontaine – winner of a 2023 World Press award for documentary photography! He popped by for “just a couple of nights” (famous last words), and ended up sticking around much longer, bewitched by the calm charm of our village haven. Have a…
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How to Get Out of Musanze Caves with Photos You’ll Treasure
It’s always nice to be surprised, to come across something unexpected. A field of wildflowers on your game drive, perhaps. Or a cave system when you think you are in Musanze merely to hike the Virungas and see gorillas? It’s a nice way to spend 2.5 hours with an expert local guide, and you don’t…
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Does a Responsible Traveller Take Photos of Locals?
100mm, f/5, 1/800s, ISO125 Photographing people is, understandably, a somewhat contentious activity. When we travel — and this we means absolutely anyone — we tend to do so because we are intrigued by exotic places, animals and cultures. “Exotic” simply means different, by the way, so Swedish culture can be just as exotic to a…
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Is Tracking Gorillas Ethical?
105mm, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO1600 Questions like this are tricky, mainly because only one of the parties involved — that would be us, the humans — can truly understand what’s happening and why. Let us explain … Mountain gorillas were almost extinct by the early 1980s, and only a concerted conservation effort brought them back from…
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Will Cultural Experiences Feel Commercialised?
11mm, f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO400 Quite some years ago I guided a group of tourists to Rwanda and Uganda for a Swedish tour company. They had a couple of “cultural experiences” as part of the program. They weren’t my cup of tea, to say the least, and most of my guests felt the same way. A…
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Idealistic Without Being Naïve (Gorilla Highlands 2012-2015)
This is the twelfth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I.
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Should I Be Cautious of Wildlife?
100mm, f/4, 1/250, ISO640 This is actually a well-worded question. Had it been whether you should be worried about wildlife, my answer would have been no. But cautious? Well, a bit of caution never hurt anyone. Animals come in all shapes and sizes, and people often worry about the wrong ones. Spider and snake bites…
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Should I Expect Very Basic Accommodation Facilities?
120mm, f/8.0, 1/250s, ISO250 Hotels in the Gorilla Highlands region range from cheap and very, very basic — though rarely dirty — to the kind of opulence you would expect to be able to find in most big cities. Outside of urban areas, however, hotels probably aren’t where you want to spend your nights when…
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What Photography Gear Should I Pack for Rwanda, Uganda or DR Congo?
There are a dozen ways to answer this question, and it is obviously very subjective. What kind of equipment do you own? How important is photography to you? What’s your budget like? The Gorilla Highlands region is very diverse, and different activities call for different equipment. Still, there’s no point in bringing more than you…
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