Back from travelling

[garvik@groupenet.com (Oddmund Garvik)]

Lads,

I am back again, and dropped by after some months off - days of hard working. 

I was in Northern Norway, photographing whalers. Then lately in Southern
Spain and Morocco, trying to get some images of southern immigrants. A lot
of work, and hopefully some income soon. I was starving through the spring,
and financial problems drove me on the road again. 

Whaling is a controversial and difficult item. The activity is surrounded
by a lot of paranoia, a national paranoia. It is the story about poor,
little Norway being persecuted by other nations (foreigners) for their
innocent whale hunting. Norwegians always hunted whales, leave us alone,
and so on... The trip was a deception, but we got some fine material at last.

Back in France, and then off alone to Morocco. I brought only two cameras:
a M4 with a 35mm and a 50mm lens, and a Contax T2 (38mm Zeiss Sonnar). No
flash, no tripod, only Tri-X and APX 100. Very little clothes. Just one
packing. Simplicity. 

I went south by bus, like an immigrant on my way "home". A different act,
closer to "my world". You don't necessarily need Leica glass, I thought, as
I thought many times before... You need SHARP eyes, a clear analysis, a
strong heart and a good mind. You need time to dive into the southern
world, and a lot of patience. You need conviction. 

I went by boat from Algeciras to Tanger, passing Punta de Europa, crossing
Estrecho de Gibraltar, our Rio Grande. I stayed in Tanger some days, and
went to Ceuta by bus. I went to "Nostra Senora del Vaille", a church. I met
Africans bounding north. It costs over a thousand dollars to get over at
the other side, in open boats, without guarantee. During the last four
years about a thousand of these travellers died, drowned, disappeared
without a trace. No stones show their names, few books tell their stories.

I went back to Algeciras. I went to Tarifa, where the open boats arrive,
full of scared Southerners. I met several of them, and I met other
immigrants. People who have been there for a while, who are waiting. They
don't expulse them. They tolerate them, but they don't find any solution. 

This goes on at any border between the rich and the poor world. If nobody
soon faces the situation frankly, a whole world will start the Long March
North. There are no choice. There are only survival. Men, women, children
will arrive, and no power in the world will be able to stop them.
Governments and deputies may discuss immigration quotas, security problems,
and measures against illegal immigration for days and months, and late at
night. They may talk about "aid" to Africa, South America, "aid" to the
"poor" as much as they want. Short term arrangements will not resolve the
situation. A long term strategy is necessary. 

The paradox is that the southern immigrants come from some of the richest
countries on the planet. When you see the villas and palaces of third world
"leadership" along the Riviera and elsewhere, you understand that there is
a problem. When you see that Baby Doc Duvalier left Haiti with the national
funds, and still lives quietly in France and Switzerland, you understand
some more. When you see the palace of Mobutu near Cannes, you understand
there is a system. You can see examples many places. European and American
multinationals are still exploiting the natural resources of "poor"
countries as they did for centuries, and as if it was their private
property. They need to "control" the situation. They need a "contributory
factor". They need local gorillas. And they support them.

We have already discussed the power of a Leica, so I drop that question. As
you know I am only using my Leica to contribute a little bit, trying to
push in another direction. For me it is important to expose the lies of the
official misinformation, even if I know it is just a drop in the sea. 

The Leica M is fine for this kind of photography. It is such an easy and
intuitive camera. It is a photographers camera par excellence. You don't
need any technical trivia to make good pictures with it. You need a clear
idea, and you need to understand light. It helps if you know some basic
principles of composition as well. 

In the beginning you may complicate things. You may use a lot of different
films, a lot of different lenses, even different cameras. You shoot in all
directions. You shoot anything. Then comes the frustration, and you will
have to sit down and think. If you are lucky, rigorous, and honest towards
yourself, you will find your way. You will find out which lenses you
prefer. You chose one, or two films, one, or two developers, one, or two
papers. You find your style, your point of view. You understand that
simplicity is the main principle. 

Right now it is good to be home with wife and children - just the small
world. I am cleaning the cameras, slowly organizing the images. Wondering
if I could ever afford another old M-body. Difficult to get rid of this
magic monster, and old habits. I am very satisfied with my two Contax
cameras (TVS and T2), though. They are solid and efficient, and I need at
least one of them each time the Leica is too heavy and obtrusive...

Regards,

Oddmund <garvik@groupenet.com>  //  Chinon, France