Printing Over The Ocean

I'm going to be at the Over The Ocean show at the Norva tonight in Norfolk, Virginia. Not only am I going to be taking pictures during the set, but I'll be sitting behind the merchandise table for the better part of the evening, selling this piece, and 5 other like it.

I was commissioned by the band Over The Ocean(who are also some really very good friends of mine and excellent musicians) to create some art that utilizes the the lyrics from some of the band's songs.

These pieces are not available for purchase online, and can only be found at one of their live shows until sold out. They are 8"x8" color prints on semi-glossy paper.

It has been a long time since I've done any sort of graphic art, but I'm very pleased with this series, and will continue to post more here for purchase and conversation.

If you find yourself in Norfolk, Virginia tonight, please do stop by the Norva and treat yourself to some music and art.

Right Before The Lions Got Him

This was taken on the Masai Mara in Southern Kenya. I snapped this photo seconds before the lions pounced and ruined our trip.

Just kidding.

It didn't ruin our trip.

I'm now offering 8x10 prints from my trip to Africa, as well as from various other photographic experiences at prints.levibethune.com but you can purchase limited edition prints straight from this blog.

Wearing a Kenya Hat

I was just telling my good friend Craig that I never posed anyone while I was in Africa earlier this year. I always had my cameras on and around my neck, so I would grab whatever photo I could, whenever I could. Because I was pulling double-duty by recording video and still images, I had my mind going in two different directions at all times. The subject matter made it easy to always get a good shot. It's a target-rich environment in third-world countries, you can basically just close your eyes, lift the camera, and snap away.

This woman had just returned from the field where she was either herding the goats or hunting. She was my favorite woman in the village we were at during the day because of her glasses. Plus, you can't beat that knit cap in the middle of an African Summer.

This One is For Lindsay

When I was in Africa this past February, Lindsay asked specifically for pictures of trees. She was on the team as a hygiene training instructor, and she has such a loving heart for the people of Africa.

Why does the sun seem so much bigger in Africa?

East Africa, Old West

This is a photo I took while in Africa last February. I never really noticed it before, but while sorting through photos to get printed, I realized how "old west" it looks. I could totally see that building in Arizona somewhere. Instead, it's in Kenya.

Branches And Sky

One of the rare "clear skies" day in Africa. This was taken toward the end of the day, hence the long shadows, right before we got to the safari park in the Masai Mara.

Buy Prints

You can now order prints of my photos directly from my blog. You can stop trying to drag the image to the desktop, open it in Paint, erase my watermark, and print it on the HP printer that you got free with the purchase of an Emachines desktop from Circuit City five years ago only to find that the photo you stole is a low-resolution version anyway.

Get glossy prints of your favorite photos from my blog with simple clicks through Fotomoto.

This is one of the photos that I brought back from Africa when I went with the zao water project in February of this year. Click on "Buy Print" below the photo to purchase it in your choice of 3 sizes.

Nearly all the photos on my blog are for sale through this system, and additional sizes, including direct to canvas, are available by contacting me. Some of the larger sizes are limited edition, and prices are low right now, so get while the getting is good.

Check out more of my photos from Africa.

African Baby

I'm backing up my photos today and this photo catches my eye like never before.

I want to go overseas again.

And I want to kiss this kid on the cheek.

This Might Be My Favorite

This photo that I took in Kenya of a little girl holding another little girl is one of my favorite photos of all time. Today. I just can't bring myself to pick one. Or even five.

Taking Matt Lockett's suggestion, two weeks ago I submitted a series of five photos to the 50th Annual Communication Arts Photography Review. It's a pretty big deal, and highly sought after by photographers and designers. Kind of like the Oscars, or jellybeans.

Oddly, this photo wasn't one that I submitted.

This Is Africa

This is one of the first photos I snapped in Africa, and probably my favorite out of the thousands that I brought back. When our plane flew into West Kenya, and we landed on the Migori Airstrip, within minutes, we had a swarm of kids welcome us to their land.

I took this photo with my Nikon d50 outfitted with the legendary Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens. Looking back, I should have carried the 50mm on the d80 and kept the 15mm on the d50. Well, looking back even further, I would have bought two d700's and gone without food for a couple years.

The photo of these kids just speaks to me about what Africa is. I don't know how to explain it in words, and there's no phonetic replacement for the experience you have when you visit this place. Even this photo, however moving it may be, does not do these boys justice, nor does it hold a candle to the magnificence and beauty of the countryside and it's people. All I know, is that it's hard to look at this picture, and it's equally hard to look away.

Laying Hands

The only Sunday morning I spent in Kenya, I visited a church plant that had nothing but a lean-to made from sticks and grass, and bamboo stalks for pews. It was a life-changing experience. It's hard to take yourself and your local church seriously after seeing these people with nothing worship like they have everything, and nothing to lose.

This photo was taken at that church as the congregants left the covering of their grass-thatched roofing to lay hands on and pray for the sick among them. Every single person in that community of believers left their seats to get prayed for, and every single one of them was praying for someone else. Unbelievable how selfless they were.

Flowers For Your Turquoise Door

Another door of remarkable color contrasted with the brown mud and wood of the house walls. This time, the door is graced with simple flowers, and not with exotic people.

Despite the focal point of this photo, I still feel like the door is the primary subject. He even has his turquoise window chillin' next to him for company. This just looks like a sweet place to come home to.

A Hole in the Ground

One of the the main reasons for traveling to Africa was to work with ZAO Water in their constant effort to give clean drinking water to the people of Kenya through sustainable wells and springs. This photo was taken at the site of a new well that ZAO is digging in a remote village just north of the Kenya-Tanzania border.

This little boy was standing near the well with an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment at the hole being dug in his backyard. He listened closely as the workers discussed their next move and watched intently as they continued to dig out the well by hand.

Like a construction supervisor inspecting his workers' task, he stands, with hands on hips, surveying the dig, waiting to see water.

Kids and Tobacco

I really like the framing of this photo, but the choice to frame this kid was made mostly due to the fact that he didn't have any pants. Or underwear.

Kids were standing around everywhere. This little boy couldn't have been more than 2 years old, just hanging out on a hillside next to a tobacco curing shed.

That's another thing that was everywhere. Tobacco is a major source of income for most farmers in Kenya. Oddly enough, I didn't see any people smoking. Especially this little boy.

Roadside Hotel

There is this small part of me that wanted to stop at one of the many roadside hotels we saw along the roadsides in Kenya. Of course, I wouldn't have wanted to stay overnight there, but I certainly would have liked to see and photograph the inside.

I'm sure they have great rates, but probably no cable.

Turquoise Door

The colors in Africa are outstanding. Maybe it's not so much the colors, but the contrast between any color and brown. The grass seemed greener, the sky seems to be a deeper blue, and the paint used to decorate their homes cried out loud. I guess there isn't much you can paint on a mud hut; it's not like you have shutters or siding.

I have a series of pictures that feature mud next to vibrant color. It's everywhere. Like a third-world Clorox commercial.

From a Blog to a Phlog

Ok, so I made up the term Phlog. I guess the technical "Web 2.0" term would be PhotoBlog, but I think I'm going to stick with Phlog.

I'm transitioning this site into more of a gallery with stories blog, where I'll feature a photo I've taken and a story to go with it.

This photo was taken in Africa a couple weeks ago as the ZAO Water team was about to board a charter flight from Nairobi, Kenya, to a remote gravel airstrip in Migori, Kenya, just north of the Tanzania border. From there, we took a truck to the village we would be working out of.

To Africa and Back

I've been intimidated to write a blog the past few days back in the states because there is so much to talk about. I feel like I wouldn't do all the stories justice in one entry. However, if I split it up into multiple entries, what do I write about first? Such is life.

I'm back from Africa, and tanner than ever. I didn't get sick like you would expect a world traveler to get sick, but I did get some mild sun poisoning. A bunch of small blisters popped up on the back of my hand and my forearm, and at night I scratched them because they itched, so they bled, and now I'm going to have scars that look like my hand got in the way of a shotgun blast.

As part of the ZAO Water Team, I documented the trip and ZAO's work there via photos and video. Right now, I've got about 4800 photos to sort through, and close to 13 hours of video to import. I'll be taking all that material and editing a series of promotional and informational videos for ZAO.

Knowing now what ZAO does on the ground, and seeing the impact that they have on the community really makes me excited about this project. ZAO isn't the only Non-Government Organization in Africa that digs wells and protects springs, but as far as I know, they are the only ones who have a local staff made up entirely of native Africans to maintain and repair the wells that break down. And they all break down. Now, I don't want to slam the good work that other people are doing, but something that most people don't realize is that when an NGO goes and digs wells, most of them just walk away afterward. They gave people clean water, and that's that. All things tend toward entropy, so when the pump handle breaks, or the seal dries out, the people in the community then have to go back to the water source that got them all sick in the first place. If no one maintains the wells and springs, then it's like giving someone a cellphone without a charger. It's good until the battery dies, then it's useless.

ZAO is unique in that they actually care about the community and the people using the well because the majority of the ZAO staff actually rely on their own wells for their own health. Suffice it to say, I believe in what ZAO is doing, so I'm excited about this project. Now, I just need a few more hard drives to hold it all.