Photos capture a nation Photographs capture
'A Thousand Hills'

By DENISE FAVRO SCHWARTZ

DEERFIELD - "Milles Colines." It means "A Thousand Hills."

Lhoest monkey in Rwanda. Simon Camp photo.

And it is the French "nickname" for the country of Rwanda and the name chosen by photographer Simon Camp for his show of color and black-and-white photos of Rwandan landscapes, wildlife and people on display through Oct. 31 at GoNomad Café in South Deerfield.

"A Thousand Hills" describes the rolling landscape of western Rwanda that Camp got to know well during his 13 months living there with his wife, an environmentalist doing research in the Rwandan rainforest, and their 2-year-old daughter.

Born in England and having worked as a teen in an elephant park in Windsor, Camp eventually found himself traveling around Africa for a few weeks taking in the wildlife, scenery and lay of the land. He returned home but it wasn't long before he realized that "Africa was in his blood," he said.

Soon, he was in Nigeria working on a primate conservation project. While there, he "learned to do everything, from building bridges and homes to doing veterinary work and repairing vehicles." He also met his future wife. They returned to the states, married and, after a time, returned to Africa, this time to Nyungwe Natural Park in Rwanda. Their 2-year-old daughter went to Africa, too.

"This time, while my wife worked, my primary role was to be a dad," Camp said from a table in GoNomad Café.

During the family's year in Rwanda, Camp took "thousands" of photos of wildlife in the nature park and of villagers who lived nearby. "The Rwandan people are so photogenic," he said. Yet, he often found it difficult to photograph them because "they would run away or demand money." Many people seemed to be amazed that Camp wanted to take their pictures, he said.

The Rwandans did not hide their amazement at seeing Camp's daughter, however. "When you're two and white with frizzy blonde hair, you're a major attraction there," he laughed. "She was swamped by hundreds of kids. They wanted to see her, touch her." A photo of Camp's toddler daughter, her back toward the viewer as she stares through an open door into a crowd of Rwandans, captures that situation.

Standouts in the photo exhibit include a thought- and smile-provoking shot of a chimpanzee crossing a road to reach fruit trees on the other side, a playful yet somber picture of young boy peering at the photographer through imaginary binoculars, and a gorgeous portrait of a lhoest monkey with gleaming red eyes.

Camp hopes that people who see his show "come away with a feeling about the physical beauty of the country," he said. "The forest, volcanoes, the lakes and savannah; the wildlife, the chimps that not even the local Rwandans get to see; a place where people are gracious and welcoming. It's amazing given the genocide was only 13 years ago. Everyone has stories about it yet they are amazingly optimistic. It's difficult to comprehend how people can go on after something as appalling as that."