On a Now-or-Never Journey

For several years Maynard Switzer has been photographing indigenous people all over the world and documenting ways of life that often have remained unchanged for centuries. This ongoing self-assignment has taken him to India, China, Burma, Africa and the Altiplano region of Bolivia.

Most recently the project took him to Mali, where his pursuit of the past ran up against the realities of the present. His plan included a camel caravan to the salt mines north of Timbuktu, but there were two problems. "Four or five days on a camel has got to be pretty tough when you're from Manhattan," Maynard says of the first obstacle. The second problem was a lot more serious: "The State Department had warned travelers not to go to Timbuktu, and certainly not north of the city. They said Al-Qaeda had training camps in the desert up there. Then the guide who arranged the trip, and who would accompany me, said that if I wanted to go north beyond Timbuktu I'd have to hire two or three armed guards and travel in a four-wheel-drive vehicle."

Deciding that discretion was the better part of any self-assignment, Maynard ruled out the salt mines. But Timbuktu, he felt, was still possible. "I'd always wanted to go," he says, "and I thought if I waited, things would only get worse and I'd never get there."

Fortunately, everything went well. "I have an incredible fascination for indigenous people and how they've preserved their way of life, and I got access to many people, especially the Dogon because my guide was Dogon. In fact, he is in line to become a Hogan—a spiritual and cultural leader of his village—when he turns fifty. His grandfather is the Hogan now. You must come from a certain family to be a Hogan."

With access provided by his guide, Maynard was able to get permission to photograph the daily lives and ceremonies of the people. "He spoke several different dialects and knew people from all over the area. All the ritual dancers I photographed were from his village."

Maynard carried three cameras—a D3, a D3X and a D700—and five NIKKORS—an AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G ED, an AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G ED, an AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED, an AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED and an AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.

You'll note Maynard's preference for prime lenses, which has to do with the fact that he's often in situations where the light is low and flash would be obtrusive. The one or two stops he gains over a zoom lens is not only important when he shoots wide open, but also when he composes the image in low light. And he likes the fact that small lenses look a lot less intimidating than most zooms.

His 60mm Micro-NIKKOR served a double purpose. "From time to time I use it as a portrait lens. When there are some details of a person's clothing or surroundings, it's nice to have the 60mm on the camera, take a portrait and then be able to move in fairly tight to get the detail shot—all without losing rapport with the person. It makes for a smooth process."

And on a trip where four-day camel caravans and State Department warnings came into the conversation, smooth was a nice word to hear every now and then.

Maynard's travels are documented at his website, www.maynardswitzer.com