In 2003, when Karutijambja left her village to fetch water at the Kunene River, a crocodile grabbed her and dragged her under. Her dog attacked, and the croc let Karutijambja go, grabbing the dog instead. Karutijambja was flown out to the hospital by the good folks at the Serra Cafema Lodge, and, amazingly, lived to tell the tale. Part of her right breast is missing, and when her daughter suckles, she can use only the left. The attack has given Karutijambja somewhat of a wild reputation, along with the horrible nickname “Krocodilla” among tourists.

Karutijambja, above, wears a headpiece that signifies that she is a married woman.

The Himba are descendants of the Herrero peoples who live spread across harsh Kaokoland in northern Namibia. Nomadic pastoralits, they are known for having upheld their traditions in the face of pressure to modernize. The women cover their bodies in a paste of red ochre and butterfat, which protects their skin from the sun and desert wind, and from mosquitoes. As well, this scented paste blocks odour; it is often impossible, with only croc-infested waters nearby, to bathe. The Himba women and girls have unique hair and jewellery–pre-pubescent girls wear their hair in two braids spiking forward over the face; pubescent girls wear multiple braids of shorn hair and ash pulled forward and roped back off their faces; married women wear long ochre-bound plaits. The tribe wears few clothes beyond loin cloths; when night begins to fall, they wrap themselves up tight in blankets.

Stay tuned to my upcoming travel site for more. Once it’s up, it will feature a slideshow of the Himba people.

A cool thing happened on the way to…not winning. This year I was awarded seven honorable mentions.

Wildlife Category: Long-tailed Macaque, Bali
Children: The Child Bride #9
Sunset: Nusa Dua Dawn
Flowers: 3 Flowers, a series
Portrait: The Child Bride #9
Nudes: Nude 4
Landscapes: Mount Batur, BaIi

Above is the entry Long-Tailed Macaque, Bali. I am just now building my travel and fine art web sites and I’ll include some of these images there, if I remember. Prod me if I forget. Hope to have at least the travel site up by mid-December, but if not, certainly by the end of January, presuming life doesn’t intercede.

Does anyone else feel the way I do about monkeys? I could spend hours and hours and hours observing and photographing them and never tire. I got the best photos of long-tailed macaques both times I was in Bali. They’re wild there, but habituated at the temples. They steal people’s sunglasses and hats, but sometimes return them in exchange for food or water. They are always so very thirsty, as witness above. It takes them some effort, but eventually they can wrangle off bottle caps from the bottles they thieve, and drink.

When I was young, I vascillated between a career in ethnology, studying the peoples of the world, and primatology. Jane Goodall still makes me gaga. But then, photographing the Himba in Namibia was the most amazing photographic experience I’ve ever had. Yanking me away from baboons on safari in Africa this September was some hard thing to do. In fact, if you go to fellow photographer Stan Jirman’s Tanzania journal you’ll see the poor guy was beside himself being stuck in a vehicle with Joy and me, a troop of Chacma baboons just outside the window. Hey, what say we invite him on a baboon-only safari!

As for the rest of the nominees above, all shot on location in Bali or New Brunswick, Canada, except for the nude which was shot in Vancouver, they’re indicative of my wild love for travel photography. I leave for the Bahamas and Cuba in a couple weeks and can’t wait.