January 2011

My latest photos from the ‘Festival au Desert’ in Mali are now online in the Travel gallery – http://www.placesandseasons.com/festival-au-desert-timbuktu-2/  I was commissioned this year as the festival’s ‘Official Photographer’, and had full access to the stage during the concerts; I was therefore able to capture completely exclusive images of the concerts and artists which will not be available elsewhere. I was also present on the site to photograph the festival from start to finish – from the construction to the dismantling of the stage, and everything in between….

Most of the photographs are available for purchase; the selection on my website is a very small sample of the images available. A wider selection should shortly be appearing on the Official Festival website, but if there is a particular artist that played / gave a press conference at the Festival that you are interested in, please contact me: [email protected]

The 11th edition of the ‘Festival au Desert’ in the Sahara Desert in Mali took place in spite of numerous difficulties – including the advice of several European governments to its citizens against travelling to the Tombouctou region. Those of us who ignored such advice and made the journey were treated to a unique and unforgettable experience full of inspiring people and astonishing music – including impressive performances from Bassekou Kouyate, Oumou Sangare, Vieux Farka Toure, Khaira Arby, Koudede, Amkoullel, Tartit, Etran Finatawa, Samba Toure, Baba Salah, many invited artists from across Europe and the USA, and of course numerous incredible Touareg musicians who came from all over Mali and from Niger.  This year’s edition also hosted a visit from the President of Mali, and camel races to mark the 50th anniversary of Mali’s independence.

A selection of my photos of the Festival can also be viewed on  the official festival website: http://www.festival-au-desert.org/index2.cfm?m=3