Page 82 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 3

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ertainly Ngong of armed rangers, to protect the finder of a professional digital
Hills on the hikers from wildlife and people camera to capture a landscape
fringes of Ngong who, quite sadly, use the hills for photo. I remember being very
town in Kajiado, nefarious purposes. excited about that day, especially
Kenya is Ngong Hills may mean many when my first landscape photo
beautiful. Made things to different people, but subject was the amazing Ngong
Cup of seven for me, it simply reminds me of Hills with its assortment of scenery,
hills, it derives its name from where I took my first shots with gigantic windmills with larger than
the Maasai language. Ngong or a professional DSLR camera. life blades, that cut through the
Enkong is a Maasai word meaning If you are conversant with the never ending strong wind that
the knuckles of the hand of God. professional digital camera, surges over the hills of Ngong. I
This is because the shape of the you will know that it has various remember running from one part
hills resemble the knuckles of a shooting modes, depending on of the first hill to another pushing
person. Folklore has it that God what you want to capture and the camera capture button. I took
rested there and when He got your level of skill with the camera. lots of photos. Did I tell you I was
up, He placed His knuckles on Modes range from auto, to aperture shooting in auto mode? Oh my
the ground to push up from, thus priority, to shutter priority, to God... I hated the outcome.
forming the hills. manual. For many professionals, Have you been in a situation where
The hills are ideally situated to give manual mode is the preferred you spend your money to buy what
one a view of Nairobi city from its shooting mode and that’s because your heart has always wanted,
peaks and also the various Great it gives you total command over dashed home to unpack only to
Rift Valley mountain ranges and the camera, especially when you realize that it all got damaged while
the valley itself to the West. Ngong want to control the outcome of you were en route? Or you didn’t
Hills is also the location of a major your shooting. Nothing is as sweet even buy the actual thing you had
wind farm. and beautiful as when you finish wanted? That’s how my first photo
Many come to the hills to hike, a work of art and it resonates the shoot at Ngong Hills was.
share meals with friends, pray and exact mood or message you want Because I didn’t know better than
spend time together. Often these it to send. Art has such power to to use the auto mode and because
hikes, especially those that take either make one or break one. of the time of the day (the sun was
one deeper into the seven hills, For me, Ngong Hills was where blazing) the camera was using
need to be made in the company I first peeped through the view automatic settings that literally