Photographic Backtracing

Update: Check our photogallery for new photos.

Thursday August 26

We are leaving lake Turkana and its 50 degree heat. We are now heading to nearby Kulal mountains.

Sunday, August 22

After a few days of not having access to any forms of communications we are sending another update. We reached lake Turkana and on the way we saw amazing nature (which we hope to share with you soon through our photos).

Tuesday August 17

We are OK and camping in a real paradise. We are setting up a dark room to develop some of the photos we just took. Cross your fingers for us. We will send a few photos soon.

Sunday August 15

Greetings to all our fans! The expedition has been going well and we would like to thank you for all the messages you’ve sent us. We are working with KWS rangers and elephants are drinking water just near our camp.

Saturday August 14

Another successful day of capturing the Marsabit jungle with old analogue technology. For now we are sending you a few photos of rhinos we met at the beginning of our journey.

Thursday August 12

Our expedition brought rain to this mostly dry region. We are camping in a crater of the Marsabit mountains. When we have a better signal, we’ll send a photo. Nakutakia siku njema!

Tuesday August 10

Another short message from the expedition: We are in Marsabit and the view is breathtaking. We should be arriving at Lake Paradise today.

Expedition team meets with Gita Fuchsová, Ambassador for the Czech Republic in Kenya

Sunday, August 8

The expedition team has been invited to meet with Her Excellency Gita Fuchsova, Ambassador for the Czech Republic in Kenya. Incidentally we found out that the Czech embassy is located near the house where Johnsons lived. Today, the expedition is heading to meet Czech rhinos.

Saturday, August 7

First night in Nairobi. [...]

The curator of Johnsons Safari Museum Jacquelyn Borgeson (archive J. B.)

Your name alike Martin´s seem to have roots in Scandinavia – the country of wandering spirit. Are you also a globetrotter?
Yes, Borgeson is a Norwegian name. In addition to my Viking heritage, I am equal parts Gypsy and Native American (Sioux); so wandering is in my genes. Between my work for the Safari Museum and my own personal treks, I have visited 44 of the 50 USA states, and foreign countries on five continents.

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Making expeditions into remote and distanced places is common for both Backtracing and Johnsons work (c) Safari Museum

Photographic Backtracking 2010 Expedition follows in the footsteps of pioneering documentary filmmakers such as Martin and Osa Johnson.  More importantly it captures the spirit and essence of their work to document our diverse natural and cultural world.

By Conrad G. Froehlich

The Johnsons understood the need both to leave this record for future generations and to generate a passion for wildlife and native cultures among audiences in the first part of the 20th century.  Their films and writing inspired many later [...]

The youngest admirer

In co-operation with children summer camp Vysocina in Czech republic was organised a programme for children aged 7-14 years. Expedition team showed them old pictures of african wildlife and demonstrated the modern progress in technology by comparance modern digital camera with old clockwound Bolex RX 5. The most exciting experience for children was playing with 30m-long 16 mm film.
The programme lasted for 1 hour and involved also the competition of children t-shirt designed by the leader of the expedition, Jan Svatos. See the pictures below:

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Bill Kasper...In the middle of the concert

Introducing Fans. An interview with Bill Kasper, an American guitar-player from the United Flavour Band, who is observing the expedition from its origin to its final realisation…

Why did you become a fan of the Photographic backtracing expedition?
Well first and foremost I’m a fan of Jan, He’s a great guy,a great story teller and has a real passion for what he does. His articles in ABC have even inspired my step son, Antonin. I think the whole concept of the expedition is fascinating, exciting, and a real challenge.

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Fotografie levharta pořízená v průběhu přípravného kempu. Foto: Jan Svatoš

Filming with old analogue technology, opening of new exhibition about Dr. Emil Holub and an attack by a group of rhinos – expedition team Photographic Backtracing has been able to experience all those things as it was preparing for its departure to Africa in a few weeks.
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Dance group TiDiTaDe

Tři Studně (5.7.2010) The expedition has embarked on a journey through Kenya from the smallest square in the world in a company of 400 people who watched as Kenya was added to a local guide-post.

Africa in Moravia

The expedition team entered the world’s smallest square in Moravia as African drummers played, dancing group TiDiTaDe  presented beautiful African dances and kids from the area were running around in their African masks.

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NP Gorongosa. Once it was the economic engine of central Mozambique, and now, its getting its lost status back. (c)Paul Kerrison, courtesy NP Gorongosa

The rehabilitation of Gorongosa National Park in Central Mozambique represents one of the great conservation opportunities in the world today. Gorongosa is a region of high species diversity and ecological features found nowhere else. The key to continued species diversity on the planet is to protect critical areas and to take lecture from the past, in which almost all animals were killed during the protracted civil war.

VASCO  GALANTE,  a NP´s Marketing director, was interviewedby Jan „John“  Svatoš and tells the detailes about   Gorongosa from behind the scenes…

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From Science daily

The world-famous nomadic Maasai tribe is known for their limited diet consisted mostly of milk and blood, which as nutritionists expected would result in a poor health situation. As the research has shown, the opposite is true.

Kenyan scientists from the Jomo Kenyatta University and German researcher Nadja Knoll from the Jena University have analysed the diet a nomadic Maasai in Kenyas Kajiado District to look into the health impacts of the Maasais legendary milk and blood diet. The results, published in Ms Knolls recent thesis, proved a surprise. “The surprising results of the field study show that the Maasai are in a good health status in spite of a limited diet,” Ms Knoll concludes.

More information on http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517111910.htm

By Conrad G. Froehlich

The films Martin and Osa Johnson were pioneering and inspiring for movie goers of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.  They introduced America and Europe to the natural and cultural wonders of distant, exotic lands.  The quality and impact of their work still resonates among audiences in the 21st century.

The Johnsons left behind an invaluable documentary record.  This legacy includes hundreds of can of surviving film footage and thousands of photographs.  Wait-A-Bit News readers know that Johnson film regularly appear on television programs.  Martin and Osa also authored 18 books and over a hundred magazine articles.

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