An edition of Camera Trails in Africa (2001)

Camera Trails in Africa

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Last edited by VacuumBot
July 29, 2012 | History
An edition of Camera Trails in Africa (2001)

Camera Trails in Africa

Martin and Osa Johnson went to British East Africa in the 1920's in order to photograph wild animals, many of which were disappearing with the advances of civilization. They ended up falling in love with the country and as soon as they got back to the U.S. they wanted to return: "I have been home just four months, and as soon as I can I am going back. I know exactly the spot I will make for. It lies away out in the 'blue,' a good thousand miles' trek from Nairobi...It is paradise, literally as well as figuratively."It is no wonder that Johnson came to love British East Africa so much, considering that he got to spend his days wandering around in the bush, stalking such awesome creatures in such incredible settings as these: "Can you imagine a parched brown plain rolling off to a deep blue line against a turquoise sky, and in the foreground a group of zebras drinking from a pool that is gold in the afternoon sun - perfect little horses, elegantly striped in black and white...a herd of giraffes feeding among the gray-green thorny mimosas, animals eighteen feet tall, their deep burnt-orange hides covered with an irregular network of white lines...ugly rhinos snorting like great angry pigs just outside your hut...big as motor cars...King Lion himself...not the moth-eaten, stupefied lion of the zoo, but a free animal with healthy skin and mane, and an easy step, and live muscles that play visibly under his hide?"Most of the book is dedicated to describing his adventures as a photographer, waiting all day in a blind to get the perfect photo at a water-hole, or cranking up his motion-picture camera as a lion prepares to spring. Johnson and his wife also have some exciting times hunting animals for meat, like when Osa saves Martin's life from a herd of stampeding elephants. Although most of the area they covered was uninhabited by people, they did have many native servants who accompanied them on their travels, and they encountered Masai and other tribes of people along the way. Johnson sums up his feelings on the native peoples of Africa in certain terms: "There is something about primitive peoples that appeals to me. I have no illusion about them. I know that they are ignorant and filthy in their habits and often, from my point of view, immoral. But for all that, a savage untouched by civilization has dignity. He is himself. I respect him as a human being. His code is not my code, but unless he has been contaminated by association with whites, he usually lives up to it. And that is more than you can say for the majority of people in civilized countries."Martin was once a member of Jack London's boat crew (see Cruise of the Snark, available from The Narrative Press), and may have picked up some skills from that famous author: Camera Trails in Africa is a beautifully-written book. It makes you want to "safari off to some country that is still God's country" and not only that, it makes sitting perfectly still in the bushes for twelve hours sound like a lot of fun.

Publish Date
Language
English

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Edition Availability
Cover of: Camera Trails in Africa
Camera Trails in Africa
May 7, 2004, Kessinger Publishing, LLC
Hardcover in English
Cover of: Camera Trails in Africa
Camera Trails in Africa
May 30, 2004, Kessinger Publishing
Paperback in English
Cover of: Camera Trails in Africa
Camera Trails in Africa: A Photographer's Safari in British East Africa
August 2001, Stackpole Books
Paperback in English
Cover of: Camera Trails in Africa
Camera Trails in Africa
2001, The Narrative Press
Electronic resource in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Published in
Crabtree

The Physical Object

Format
Electronic resource

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL24254507M
ISBN 10
1589761383
OCLC/WorldCat
54845494
OverDrive
D6F53E7F-77ED-43FD-9F91-4B65B21F57E7

Source records

marc_overdrive MARC record

Excerpts

THE daily train for Nairobi left Mombasa at five o'clock in the evening.
added anonymously.

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Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 29, 2012 Edited by VacuumBot Updated format 'electronic resource' to 'Electronic resource'
April 30, 2011 Edited by OCLC Bot Added OCLC numbers.
June 19, 2010 Edited by ImportBot Added new cover
June 17, 2010 Created by ImportBot Imported from marc_overdrive MARC record