During my time in Ethiopia I photographed everything I could. Primarily pointing my lens out of our moving taxi, I tried to capture candid moments of daily life. Addis was a vibrant city full of colorful city streets and equally as colorful people. After combing through thousands of pictures, here are some of my favorites.
The man in yellow who accompanied us on our walk around the church on top of Mount Entoto
Referred to as blue taxis, these old toyota corollas drove us around the city through the most congested traffic I’ve ever experienced.
One of the artisans’ daughters who liked to kick around her soccer ball
A van full of flowers
A dancer performing at a cultural music club that we visited one of our first nights in the city
Two camera shy children at a daycare for one of the artisan groups we visited
This man stopped while walking by a church entrance to pray. Ethiopia is a majority christian country
A group of young boys conversing in the street
One of the artisans that we got to work with. Face tattoos weren’t uncommon among women.
Hanging out by the fence
Street view
Over 4 million year old remains of an early hominid child displayed in the National Museum of Ethiopia.
Little drummer boy
A woman and her donkey. Ethiopia has the second largest donkey population in the world.
They are everywhere and very helpful when transporting heavy cargo
But a donkey is not always needed
Healthcare in Ethiopia can be hard to receive but it has undergone drastic reform over the past few years
One of the many people repairing clothes in the merkato. Once repaired, the sell the clothes to a vendor right across the street
A fruit vendor looking after his merchandise
People of all ages work in the merkato. These boys were selling leggings
A man wearing a pesi jumpsuit standing in the rain on the outskirts of the merkato
Gotta stay hydrated
Waiting out the rain. Ethiopia experiences three months of heavy rainfall every year. Luckily we visited a few weeks before it started
Nike car decals could be seen all over the place. The brand is heavily associated with their national soccer team and showing off the iconic swoosh is a seen as a way to show your support
After struggling to scale a cliffside on our hike near the Blue Nile Gorge, this guy patiently waited to pass us
A group celebrating a newly wed couple
A young boy herding some goats. Livestock products are one of Ethiopia’s largest exports. Despite the large livestock population, their herding methods are considered to be very sustainable and humane. Small groups of livestock are looked after by a large number of individuals ensuring that all livestock are free range and naturally raised.
One of the artisan’s concerned about showing her tattoos during a photoshoot. I happily told her to show them off!
When these doors light up, the night life begins
These vans were always jam packed with passengers. This one was struggling to make its way to the top of Mount Entoto
These little guys were all over the city. This one was more modest with its decorations. Though small, these can be very expensive in Ethiopia. They cost over 5000 USD due to cars being considered luxury items by the government
The rare streetlight. Although they seemed to serve more as a recommendation for drivers than enforcement
Habesha beer. Ethiopian brewed with a cool little logo
A common food platter called a gebeta topped with a layer of injera and various stew and curry dishes
Julia getting offered to smell the roasted coffee beans during a coffee ceremony. Ethiopia is known for being the birthplace of coffee and it remains to be their largest export to this day.
A rare sight of an empty street. However, some of the main roads are closed every sunday which gives people extra space to do activities such as playing soccer
Two boys posing for the camera right before grappling onto me and asking for gifts
On our way back to the airport I convinced everyone to stop at the local “In N Out”. Can’t find one of those in Minnesota
*Steven is a student at the University of Minnesota, one of three students that accompanied the Fair Anita team on our trip to Ethiopia in June 2018. He's got a keen eye for design and photography!