Vanuatu
208 creative works found
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In 2003 I experienced a life changing event when I travelled to Tanna in Vanuatu in the Melanesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean with two friends. Tanna is populated by about 10,000 Ni Vans who mostly live in subsistence farming communities. Tourism infrastructure and foreign investment have been limited to less than 50% which has largely preserved their way of life from too much foreign influence. The last time foreigners descended on mass was in WWII when the American soldiers practically took over a few of the islands. This overwhelming influx of the modern world on a traditional culture permanently altered it when a number of cargo cults started up fashioning themselves on American military camps. Many Ni-Vans so overcome with the amazing technology and physical power of these soldiers decided being American must be pretty good so henceforth considered themselves adopted Americans. To show how American they were they rebuilt their villages in the style of the military camps, saluted the stars and strips and even made planes and jeeps out of bamboo. Mixed into this infatuation was aspects of ‘Kustom’ (native) religion and Christianity into a cult called the John Frum cult (short for ‘John from America’). Ever since WWII the John Frum followers have been waiting for the second coming of John Frum with his ship full of cargo for the faithful. Just before my trip the cult had become so troublsome that the army had been called in to disperse them. They did this by simply burning the village down so people would be forced to go home to their native villages (the village happened to be constructed on the side of an active volcano as well which didn’t impress the authorities much either). On their previous trip my two companions were invited to go and speak in the John Frum Village and meet their leader the prophet Fred a rare privilege for an outsider. I spent two weeks in Tanna climbed an active volcano and spent time getting to know the locals who kindly put us up in their village while we ministered to the local church. Two of the people I got to know the best were Jeremy a boy who took me under his wing and Willie an inspirationally spiritual man who was a church leader down there. I took this shot of my friends on the second last day I was there in the local river just below the village of Lonimilo. Having never been out of a western culture before experiencing village life, food, water (yuck), music (with no radio or TV the sound of acoustic guitars and singing were almost constantly in the background, yum) and living with such beautiful family oriented people profoundly effected my whole way of seeing the world. Jeremy and Willie’s smiles kind of sum the whole thing up. P.S. I don’t really see myself as a portrait/ people photographer but the bubble is such a great place to try out new things I thought I’d post it and see what people think. The shot was taken with my first ever SLR camera that I bought duty free on this trip. To get this shot I got into the river with Jeremy and Willie paranoid I would slip on the sloping bottom with my new baby, fortunately I kept my feet and got the shot, a precious memory. I’ve also been really inspired by Melinda Kerrs work too. To my great surprise this shot won the ‘B&W – Character – People Shots’ groups Indigenous People Competition in August 2008. It was also a finalist in the Black and White groups Emotion competition back in May 2008.
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photograph – Mt Yasur, Vanuatu / My film Vanuatu
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Macro of a head of stoney coral. / View my underwater collection here Take a look at my other photos /
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the sunset just got more and more red
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Moorish Idols Zanclus cornutus Family Zanculidae at Million $ Point Santo Vanuatu / View my underwater collection here Take a look at my other photos / Add me to your watchlist / / !
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Brothers from the volcano village ..Tanna Island.
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Macro shot taken of some coral in Vanuatu.
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The Cascade Waterfall in beautiful Vanuatu.
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I met these fellas on Tanna Island.
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About this photo Pools in tropical rainforest at Mele, Vanuatu.
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Clown fish peeping from it’s anemone / View my underwater collection here Take a look at my other photos /
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From loss comes life in the waters of Espiritu Santo Vanuatu, where soft coral and a featherstar have made their home on the hulk of a sunken ship the Henry Bonneaud. This photograph is featured in a National Geographic’, South Pacific Photo Gallery. Check it out here. View my underwater collection here Take a look at my other photos / Watch my video Dive the Coolidge Add me to your watchlist / /
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Tanna – Vanuatu
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Tanna – Vanuatu
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Champagne Beach, Vanuatu. A tiny little beach – glowing white sand, crystal blue water – what more could you ask for? We had the beach to ourselves for the afternoon, swimming, running around and just enjoying the peace and quiet. The place is just a ready-made postcard photo.
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A mother and child in Vanuatu, South Pacific
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One of the many beautiful gorgonian fans that we saw on a dive on Hideaway Island, Vanuatu. There was an amazing variety of colours among them. This one even had a few feather stars perched on top.
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Photograph – Mt Yasur, Vanuatu / My film Vanuatu
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Take a look at my other photos / Add me to your watchlist / /
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Take a look at my other photos / Add me to your watchlist / /
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In 2003 I experienced a life changing event when I travelled to Tanna in Vanuatu in the Melanesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean with two friends. Tanna is populated by about 10,000 Ni Vans who mostly live in subsistence farming communities. Tourism infrastructure and foreign investment have been limited to less than 50% which has largely preserved their way of life from too much foreign influence. The first European to visit Tanna was Captain Cook who came across it after seeing the orange glow of the erupting Yasur volcano reflected in the clouds. This same volcano is still erupting today and is an amazing sight. Just before we visited a huge storm beset the region wiping out many crops. Near the ash laden slopes of the volcano the ground level had risen almost two meters overnight wiping out one of the local towns as well. The government soon supplied the starving locals with additional rice but there was still some hardship despite their happy exteriors. It was therefore an added bonus for us to be able to bring in some extra food and supplies while ministering to the local churches. I took a few hundred balloons with me to give to the kids who were delighted and delightful in the many games they played with them. Needless to say I was soon very popular with the kids which made me miss my own even more. I had played with this gorgeous girl over a few days before asking if I could take her picture which she unselfconsciously posed for. A beautiful people in a beautiful place.
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photograph. / The boar tusks are a sign of wealth.
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