Practiced by many African cultures, scarifying the skin is akin to making a tattoo, but involves scratching, etching, burning / branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification. And after asking many who have done it, I have been repeatedly told , the process “hurts like hell but the ‘beauty’ that results is worth it!” While several tribe members helped me out by holding a large black piece of cloth, I asked asking these young ladies from the Mursi tribe if they would “line up” in front of this black background and under the bright but stark light of this overcast morning, this image was the result.
Rarely do I use Spot Metering, but in this case I did, and I took my spot meter reading from the blue dress worn by the young lady, second from the left. Composing without their faces was also deliberate, as I wanted all of the photographs attention on the ‘art’! Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-120, F/11@1/200, 640 ISO, Daylight/Sunny WB
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