In Summary
Merely appreciating Uganda’s natural treasures was not enough for him. He had to get a camera and capture the magical moments. After a couple of shots, he was hooked. Today Gooch is a seasoned photographer of nature despite the fact that he has a career in a totally different field.
When Andy Gooch was 10, he was given a box brownie (cardboard box camera). He was going camping as a young scout. He loved the photographs he took then, but looking back he says they were rubbish.
“When I was 13 or 14, I bought a SLR camera with my paper round money, the bug stayed with me on and off. I even remember putting down becoming a photographer on my careers choice when I was 16, and went into sales instead,” he recounts.
Doing sales was a good experience, but he was destined to become a photographer and today he defines it as his big passion. “By the time I left the UK, I had a dark room kitted out in my loft. This was a long time before the age of digital, now everything is done on a lap top,” he recollects.
And he is not ignoring technological advancement. He stores his images on a laptop from which he shows me priceless photographs he took during his stay in national parks. It is from this beautiful collection that he has been able to sustain a photography column in this magazine. But for a long time, he couldn’t have time to dedicate time to take as many photographs as he wanted in the African pearl because of the pressures of work.
But like luck would have it, his work led him to the great sights in Kabwoya Game Reserve. Sadly though, for some time, he could only appreciate the wild life.
“I was lucky enough to work in Kabwoya Game Reserve, on the shores of Lake Albert, with Equator Catering and Tullow Oil. I used to spend time driving from drill site to drill site and soon wished I had a camera, so the next trip home to see my parents I ordered one and never looked back. It was always with me on the passenger seat and I would stop whenever I saw something interesting,” Gooch recounts.
First time in Uganda
He came to Uganda in June 2002 in the middle of the World Cup. “Hot, dusty and very green,” as his first impression of Uganda. He was looking for new and different surroundings. “It could not have been more different from Watford (near London) where I was living at the time. I remember sending my mate an email saying this place needs a sweep, a dust and a coat of paint,” he further recollects. “But also very friendly and a lot of fun,” he adds.
The people, scenery and wildlife impressed him more as a photographer. Of course like any stranger making friends was certain and his list of new friends were not socially defined. He made friends with boda boda riders, bar staff and advocates.
Uganda culture was soon to impact on him. “I hate the word “sorry” and the word “what” or at least the over use of them.” And the friends he’s made and people he meets don’t want him to stay single forever. “I find it funny that when Ugandans find out I am not in a relationship and childless, they then want to find me a wife regardless of whether I need one or not,” he says.
Perhaps his eyes were for game. “I have many ideas for books, various stages of development and cash flow will dictate if and when they come out,” he discloses. He tells me that he is in completion stages of the books.
Collection of nature
He has about seven or eight ideas all on different subjects and more focused than the first book titled Uganda the beauty and some beasts. His plan is to present Uganda is a positive light, as it has so much to offer residents and tourists.
He plans to capture East African Primates, 10 to 12 species of primate found in Uganda. He will be looking at their life, habitat and activities he planned to publish finding by end of 2011. He will do the photographs and Lettice Bell, a primatologist, will do the text.
He plans to photograph over 150 species of East African Birds as well as tell the story of the River Nile as it flows through Uganda from Jinja to Sudan, looking at people, trade and wildlife. On this project, he will do the photos and words will be by Andrew Roberts.
But all this was triggered off when Gooch sent a bunch of good photos to his friends and family instead of a Christmas card. They thought it would be fun to do something longer-lasting with them, hence the encouragement to do the first book. “It ended up being a huge learning curve and so much fun and hard work,” he tells.
His aim is to prove that there is so much more about Uganda than its troubled past. “…we have a lot of great stuff that will interest people from all around the world. People back home still talk about the bad times in the 70s.” He adds, “I really hope Uganda can develop and become a major centre of tourism, agriculture and industry in the future, it’s not going to be easy or happen overnight, but it could happen.”
by Joseph
No comments:
Post a Comment