On Assignment in Angola

In August, I spent two weeks in Angola, on assignment for Todos magazine. I had a wonderful time, and assembling photos for this post makes me miss Africa very much. Here are a few making-of shots, scenes from the road and outtakes.

I photographed almost every day, and loved it. I got dust everywhere — in my camera bags, my laptop, my lenses. We had crazy expensive coffee and natas in Luanda and bought laundry detergent for $50.

 

Twice, I traveled with TAAG (the official Angolan airline), once to Ondjiva, close to the Namibia border, and once to Cabinda (a province enclaved by Congo and the DRC). This exotic African jet set life was so exciting!

 

In Ondjiva, Roque, the master of disaster (a.k.a. head of production), and I went running every morning at 6 AM during sunrise. And man, do they have sunrises in the desert! I’ve never seen anything like it.

 

In Luanda, I swam all by my lonesome in the Piscina do Alvalade Olympic pool. I asked a girl from our team why it was so deserted!? She replied it was “too cold for Angolans to go swimming.” (For the record, even though it was officially wintertime in Angola, it was still a balmy 25ºC).

 

I filmed kids on an improvised trampoline. I even picked up a bit of Portuguese! Muito obrigada, when can I go back? My bags are already packed!

Thank you, Mai-Thu, for probably the best making-of photo anyone ever took of me, ever!