Some stories from a trip need to be told separately. I didn’t walk around with all my cameras all the time, but when I did there were some amazing opportunities.
The journey that I have undertaken, meeting people from all walks of life and learning from them, has been my biggest achievement. Aamir Khan
I was walking on the beach with my FujiFilm (this camera has been to Europe, Egypt, Thailand, Mozambique and the Maldives) and Instax Mini when I saw Fathima picking up sea grass at around 6pm (low tide). She was etched against the sky and sea in her colourful garb and I asked if I could take a photo of her and in return I would give her a photo like the Instax photo I was holding.
Fathima held onto the instant Instax photo and smiled as she started appearing in the frame. Her smile widened and she said “this photo she will show to her baby one day and tell him/her about the day she had it taken”. By the time I took the digital photo of her holding her photo she was smiling from ear to ear.
I am glad I took my Instax to the beach so I could give her a special photograph for her baby.
I saw Fathima the last morning we were in Zanzibar. She was harvesting sea grass again and when she spotted me she waved and yelled, “Hello Susann, it is me Fathima”. I waved back and took a picture of Fathima etched against the sun.
I know what you think…
In Zanzibar the people do not have that much and I didn’t see many smartphones. This woman by chance stumbled on someone that just happened to have an Instax and could give her a photo on the spot.