New York Times Portfolio - Guy Peterson Photography

Portfolio

I spent 3 weeks in Rabat in early 2020 learning French, while I was there I walked all over the city everyday with my camera photographing people. A consistent theme I found was the display of public male power in a physical way. Everywhere I went there were groups of boys or men working out playing sport and subtly emphasising the fact that they are manly men. This was highlighted more because of the lack of women publicly doing the same thing, rarely did you see women taking up similar activities publicly. The shift in firm gender roles was an interesting thing to photograph through out my time in Morocco.

A team of fisherman carry a large net through the surf onto a pirogue before heading out in the morning fishing off the Mauritanian coast outside of the capital Nouakchott. Nouakchott is the largest city and capitol of Mauritania, and has largest small vessel fishing operation in the country. With no harbour the boats are launched, landed, loaded and unloaded straight from of the beach. All of the fish that passes through the market on the beach is caught in nets by hand on the pirogues. A team of fisherman carry a large net through the surf onto a pirogue before heading out in the morning fishing off the Mauritanian coast outside of the capital Nouakchott. Nouakchott is the largest city and capitol of Mauritania, and has the largest small vessel fishing operation in the country which thrives on sub saharan migrant work force. With no harbour the boats are launched, landed, loaded and unloaded straight from of the beach. All of the fish that passes through the market on the beach is caught in nets by hand on the pirogues. Early in 2020 I spent three months traveling from Morocco to Senegal overland to photograph the gradual shift in culture and people from North Africa to Sub Saharan Senegal. I hitch hiked and took buses for 4,000 km spending 3 weeks in Mauritania one of the most interesting and overlooked countries I have ever photographed this is where I photographed this image.

The sunrises over five men sleep in an empty freight car as others stand in separate cars ahead of them while riding the heaviest train in the world 750km into the Sahara Desert to Choum and then onto an iron ore mine in Zouerat. Remote communities in the desert rely heavily on this train as it is the only form of transport to many of these villages which have only been able to survive because of this vital link to the coastal town of Nouadhibou.

As boats are beached in front of the fish market in Mauritania’a capitol Nouakchott porters are hired to carry plastic baskets full of fish from the boats to are area designated for the boats catch to be sorted. The porters are payed for each the of baskets they carry making for some fierce competition between them as they run up and down the beach as fast as possible with the heavy loads on their heads.

The money made from selling the meat goes to subsidise the student school fees. Each pig weighs between 200-300 kgs and can make up to $300, with school fees at $32 a year, each pig sold provides an education for 9 students. There are currently 36 pigs on site.

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A selection of page spreads taken from my book “All Roads Lead to Amman“.

Two men light a fire to make tea while riding in the back of an empty freight car while heading overnight from Noudhibou to Choum and onto Zouerat 750km East into the Sahara Desert. The train is filled up with Iron Ore mined in the Mauritanian Desert. Remote communities in the desert rely heavily on this train as it is the only form of transport to many of these villages which have only been able to survive because of this vital link to the coastal town of Nouadhibou.

A PE lesson just out side the school grounds. The bright red soil is distinctive in this area of Zimbabwe and provides beautiful dirt football fields and volley ball courts.

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A selection of page spreads taken from my book “A Generation Looking Forward“.

Students play 6 large Marimba’s made from the wood of the gum trees at the school with a crudely welded steel frame to hold each one together. This represents extra curricular opportunities that Sihlengeni School is able to provide the students who attend which may be out of reach otherwise.

Luggage is lifted and strapped onto the roof of a shared taxi to the closest town, Atar, three hours away, and is where many passengers are aiming to get to once off the train. Atar is another transport junction where you can continue further into the desert to Chinguetti and beyond. Remote communities rely heavily on this train as it is the only form of transport to many of these villages which have only been able to survive because of this vital link to the coastal town of Nouadhibou.

A broken down car is repaired on the outskirts of the oasis town of Chinguetti 75km East of Atar. This is one of the last towns before only nomads roam the desert. This small town has survived because of a natural spring creating an oasis on the outskirts of town where crops are grown and dates can be harvested. Where the water has not reached the sand from the desert create dunes in-between houses and on the streets only getting larger and more desolate the further from the spring you go.

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A selection of page spreads taken from A feature in “All About Photo” Magazine. (June 2020)

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