Loading the Salt Caravan
Mali, West Africa 2005
Touareg men load salt slabs on the backs of their camels in preparation for another day of travel through the Sahara Desert. It was dawn and it was cold. We stood far away from the caravan. If we had moved closer the animals might panic. I’m no good at estimating distance, but I was glad to have my 300mm lens.
The men worked fast, running to catch a camel, running as they carried the slabs to the couched beast and then repeat a hundred times. That is the morning. They did the same, only this time unloading, in the evening when the caravan stopped which could be in the wee hours of the morning.
Caravan Leader
There had been a sand storm the night before. Stupidly, I had removed my contacts and there was no way to replace them as sand was everywhere. I trusted my camera to focus where I pointed it, but it wasn’t fun!