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One of (2?) of their front loaders
A fantastic paint scheme for this truck. Looks great and sounds great too.
Assignment:
The topic for this weeks assignment is Natural Reflections. This can be interpreted in any way you want but must be natural in some way or another (natural as in it doesn't look set up or natural as in in nature)
Restrictions:
Must be nature orientated, can be set up but then must look natural or have natural elements in it.
HAS to have some form of reflections
This is a reflection of a lake taken at 1/40 of a second. Basic adjustments in LR
I was hiking with friends, a very long trip to get to this place but luckily for us, we had a guide with a horse and we loaded all the bags there. Unfortunately for the horse, we were around 12 photogs, and you can assume the amount of gear there was :)
Anyway, to get to the point. I was there to take pictures obviously, not that i enjoy that much hiking for no reason :P After shooting the whole night for stars and milky way, i think the morning after i captured a bit of a better looking photo, at least that's what i think
The atmosphere looked nice and the sky was great, but i decided to ruin this peaceful place with my presence in it :) so that's me, and basically this is a selfie, just you cant really see my face, but its fine :D
I shot 3 exposures, and blended them all in Photoshop, a really painful process since i couldn't stay still in all of them... But i managed to get it all good, i think :D
Even though many people are watching the new announcements from APPLE today about their new things, i think my photo is not that boring, is it?
If it is, here you go (The link to the apple live stream)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uzr27cYjRw&feature=youtu.be
Enjoy, which one you prefer :P
I haven't been active on the street portrait front for absolutely ages- life gets busy, and I've felt pulled into some different things with my camera, but also posting a lot less to Flickr. Having said that, I do keep a look out at what the other guys in the group get up to fairly regularly and have been inspired to get out shooting again by the amazing portraits I've seen and encounters I've read.
I decided to take my camera out with me today- 'just in case', but was almost ready to give up when I saw James standing outside a pub and smoking his pipe.
I introduced myself and he was kind enough to oblige with a chat and some portraits.
James is from my home town of Glasgow and we spoke briefly about the city and the football ( & religious) divide in the city. He prefers not to choose blue or green and instead will just watch the rugby!
I gave James a Moo card and he tells me that he gets on the net, so hopefully he'll find the shot here.
Thanks for being part of my project James- I hope you like your portrait.
The second generation of the Hyundai i20 was built from 2015 until 2020. This is the more rugged looking Active version, a version, sold in some European countries. It has a 1.4 litre engine with 100 PS.
The brightly glowing bar portion of NGC 4151 as seen by Hubble. It is a Seyfert galaxy, which means that it has an actively accreting black hole at its nucleus, which presents itself to us as an intensely bright source. The two brighter portions near the top and bottom of the frame are where the bar terminates, and some fainter spiral arms extend outward from them. A widefield view of the galaxy by Adam Block is available to help with context: Click!
Mitchell Revalski of Georgia State University contacted me regarding the possibility of processing some of the objects he is using in his thesis, and I have been looking through the data to see what I can do. What's important in this galaxy are the brightly illuminated and glowing hydrogen clouds near the nucleus. They are a bit difficult to make out in this image because the narrowband filters required to highlight these structures were not available in a matching field of view, but some older WF/PC2 data of only the nucleus was available, so I made use of that in another image.
An article discussing this galaxy using a radio / visible / x-ray light image is available here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/multimedia/11-029.html
Data from the following proposal were used to create this image:
A Cepheid-Based Distance to the Benchmark AGN NGC 4151
Color saturation was greatly enhanced for the whole image.
Luminosity: WFC3/UVIS F350LP
Red: WFC3/UVIS F814W
Green: Pseudo
Blue: WFC3/UVIS F555W
North is NOT up. It is 30° counter-clockwise from up.
Nezu Shrine, Tokyo, Japan
Leica M6 TTL
Leica Summilux 35mm F1.4 ASPH FLE
Ilford Hp5+
Kodak HC110
DSLR Scan
Negative Lab Pro
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Telescope: Coronado SM90 h-alpha solar scope
Mount: iEQ45
Software: BackyardEOS
The sun is quite active today.
Flickr Explored on June 18, 2011.
Photo of equip setup:
This scene required 3 days of careful preparation, planning beforehand and a bit of luck, of course.
First, we had to figure out where the stags usually cross this active fork of the river. Just 2 days prior to this photo, due to low water, they could cross that shoal with the water barely covering their hock, which looked much less dramatic. Luckily, the water level ran high rather quickly in just a couple of days.
The rut was reaching its peak, stags were rutting in all direction. It was a challenge to get to the riverbank still in dark with the rutting stags not noticing our presence. We made it somehow, set up a photoblind, me and my photographer fellows were ready to go. Two stags were rutting just above the riverbank, where we were sitting.
This was the first stag to cross the river, which I encountered at least two more times during the rutting season by the way. Later in that sequence, he was rutting in the water, as well. 15 minutes later the other stag crossed the river, also.
It was a morning to remember!
Narcotic Thrust - Safe From Harm
Right-click link. Select "Open in New Window
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyu7YXYUFjo
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Narcotic Thrust, Yvonne John Lewis
I see my reflection
I don't like what I see
I'm losing my way
I need someone to find me
And do me right and keep me safe from harm
Help me 'cause I'm losing
My direction don't know where to turn
Life is so confusing
I'm just wondering will I ever learn
I see my reflection
I don't like what I see
I'm losing my way
I need someone to find me
And do me right and keep me safe from harm
I need protection
To find me a way out
Somebody to hold me
So I see the day out
To the night and keep me safe from harm
Helping get back my life
Nothing feels right
Don't know who I am
Something's taken over
Going away don't know where I stand
I see my reflection
I don't like what I see
I'm losing my way
I need someone to find me
And do me right and keep me safe from harm
I need protection
To find me a way out
Somebody to hold me
So I see the day out
To the night and keep me safe from harm
To the night and keep me safe from harm
Songwriters: Stuart Crichton / Scott Miller / Robert Davies / Kim Miller / Andrew Morris / Earl Raymond
Safe From Harm lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Cabo Espichel lighthouse
Portugal
1790. Active; focal plane 168 m (551 ft); white flash every 4 s. 31 m (102 ft) tapered hexagonal stone tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a large 1-story keeper's complex. 4th order Fresnel lens in use. The lighthouse is covered with white tiles except for unpainted stone trim; lantern roof painted red. Fog horn (one 8 s blast every 31 s). Cabo Espichel is a very prominent cape about 27 km (17 mi) south of the Tagus. Monks of the monastery of Nossa Senhora do Cabo (Our Lady of the Cape) are said to have displayed navigational lights here as early as the 15th century. Serving as a landfall light for Lisbon, the lighthouse was long considered one of the more important in the country. The site is rather isolated; the lighthouse was not electrified until 1989, and it is still staffed by rotating crews of three keepers. Located atop a spectacular vertical cliff about 11 km (7 mi) west of Sesimbra. Site open; the navy's web page indicates that tours are sometimes offered on summer evenings.
www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/prt.htm
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O farol do Cabo Espichel é um farol português que se localiza no cabo de mesmo nome, em Sesimbra, freguesia do Castelo, Distrito de Setúbal, Portugal.
Torre hexagonal de alvenaria e edifícios anexos.
Há notícias que já em 1430 a irmandade de N.S.ª do Cabo tinha instalado um farolim predecessor do actual farol.
A torre actual foi inaugurada em 1790, em 1865 era alimentado por azeite, mudando de combustível em 1886, quando a sua luz passou a ser alimentada por incandescência de vapor de petróleo e, muito mais tarde em 1926 por electricidade.
Em 1983 este farol tinha instalado um aparelho iluminante chamado de primeira ordem que emitia luz em grupos de quatro clarões brancos, em vez do antigo sistema de luz fixa. Com este novo sistema passou a ter um alcance luminoso de vinte e oito milhas náuticas (quarenta e cinco quilómetros).
A estrutura de apoio ao farol foi aumentada para os lados por volta de 1900.
Em 1947 entrou numa nova era no que diz respeito à iluminação. Foi montado um aparelho óptico aeromarítimo, que já tinha estado ao serviço do Farol do Cabo da Roca. Esta nova óptica dióptica - catadióptica chamada de quarta ordem, um modelo de grandes dimensões, apresenta trinta centímetros de distância focal, produzindo lampejos simples, agora com um alcance luminoso de quarenta e duas milhas náuticas (cerca de sessenta e sete quilómetros).
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farol_do_Cabo_Espichel
20060827_350D_IMG_5911_CaboEspichel
This Great Horned Owlet is the smaller of two and he was very active today , flying and climbing...His sibling stayed put in another tree and mom was sleeping nearby as well...until the crows arrived....
Maker: Benjamin Wyles ( - 1908)
Born: UK
Active: UK
Medium: heliotype
Size: 4 5/8" x 3 1/2"
Location: UK
Object No. 2017.354f
Shelf: PHO-1879
Publication: Alfred Alsop, Ten Years in the Slums, John Heywood, Manchester,1879
Other Collections:
Provenance:
Notes: contains heliotypes of photographs taken by Benjamin Wyles of Southport
To view our archive organized by themes and subjects, visit: OUR COLLECTIONS
For information about reproducing this image, visit: THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE
Maker: Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)
Born: USA
Active: USA
Medium: photogravure
Size: 6 in x 4 5/8 in
Location: Netherlands
Object No. 2025.484
Shelf: C-4
Publication: Camera Notes Vol. 2 No. 3, January, 1899
Other Collections:
Provenance: Fine & Decorative Arts, Hoch, Ltd, September 21, 2025, Lot 0358
Rank: 400
Notes: Stieglitz made a number of images of fisher folk at a coastal town in the Netherlands and claimed that this one was his favorite because of how it typified their very existence. It expresses the life of a young Dutch woman; every stitch in the mending of the fishing net, the very rudiment of her existence, brings forth a torrent of poetic thoughts in those who watch her sit there on the vast and seemingly endless dunes, toiling with that seriousness and peacefulness which is so characteristic of these sturdy people. All her hopes are concentrated in this occupation – it is her life. (source: Stieglitz, Alfred, Richard Whelan, and Sarah Greenough. Stieglitz on Photography: His Selected Essays and Notes)
Through his activities as a photographer, critic, dealer, and theorist, Alfred Stieglitz had a decisive influence on the development of modern art in America during the early twentieth century. Born in 1864 in New Jersey, Stieglitz moved with his family to Manhattan in 1871 and to Germany in 1881. Enrolled in 1882 as a student of mechanical engineering in the Technische Hochschule (technical high school) in Berlin, he was first exposed to photography when he took a photochemistry course in 1883. From then on he was involved with photography, first as a technical and scientific challenge, later as an artistic one. Returning with his family to America in 1890, he became a member of and advocate for the school of pictorial photography in which photography was considered to be a legitimate form of artistic expression. In 1896 he joined the Camera Club in New York and managed and edited Camera Notes, its quarterly journal. Leaving the club six years later, Stieglitz established the Photo-Secession group in 1902 and the influential periodical Camera Work in 1903. In 1905, to provide exhibition space for the group, he founded the first of his three New York galleries, The Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, which came to be known as Gallery 291. In 1907 he began to exhibit the work of other artists, both European and American, making the gallery a fulcrum of modernism. As a gallery director, Stieglitz provided emotional and intellectual sustenance to young modernists, both photographers and artists. His Gallery 291 became a locus for the exchange of critical opinions and theoretical and philosophical views in the arts, while his periodical Camera Work became a forum for the introduction of new aesthetic theories by American and European artists, critics, and writers. After Stieglitz closed Gallery 291 in 1917, he photographed extensively, and in 1922 he began his series of cloud photographs, which represented the culmination of his theories on modernism and photography. In 1924 Stieglitz married Georgia O'Keeffe, with whom he had shared spiritual and intellectual companionship since 1916. In December of 1925 he opened the Intimate Gallery and in 1929 opened a gallery called An American Place, which he was to operate until his death. During the thirties, Stieglitz photographed less, stopping altogether in 1937 due to failing health. He died in 1946, in New York. (source: The Phillips Collection)
To view our archive organized by Collections, visit: OUR COLLECTIONS
For information about reproducing this image, visit: THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE
Here is a set of pics from my summer! I know I haven’t been as active posting, but it’s only because I’ve been actively living! Karaoke nights, dance nights, it has been hard to keep up. But it’s been a great summer 😁
This weekend for the first time I found a jumping spider (Sitticus pubescens) in the house. Right in front of where I'm typing now. This pic it's actually on my keyboard (as you can probably tell). It would not stay still though, much more active than the ones I've found outside!
I knew in the Autumn you get more spiders in the house but I didn't know I'd find one of these. Anyone else have them in the house?
Right got to start sorting my stuff for Norway!
PS before anybody asks I didn't bring it into the house!
Airbus A330 - MSN 344
Status : Active
Registration : C-GFUR
Airline Air Canada
Country : Canada
Date : 1937 -
Codes AC ACA
Callsign : Air Canada
Web site : www.aircanada.ca
Serial number344
Type330-343X
First flight date15/06/2000
Test registrationF-WWYC
Plane age17.5 years
Seat configurationC37 Y228
Engines2 x RR Trent 772B-60
30/06/2000Air CanadaC-GFUR
Master of the Bartholomew Altar (active 1470-1510)
Inv. Nr. 1183, 1184, 1185.
Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
Provenance: In the Boisserée collection in 1825.
Sulpiz Boiserée (2 August 1783 - 2 May 1854) was a German art collector and art historian. With his brother Melchior he formed a collection that ultimately formed the basis of that of the Alte Pinakothek. He played a key role in the completion of Cologne Cathedral.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulpiz_Boisser%C3%A9e
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The saints are depicted standing on a narrow platform with their clearly shown attributes.
In the right panel:
St. James the Less was beaten by a fuller's staff. (A fuller's staff is a tool used to produce a finish on woolen cloth.)
About St. James the Less:
James was given the nickname “the Less” so that he would not be confused with the other Apostle named James, whose feast we celebrate on July 25. We believe that it means that he was younger than the other St. James, who was called “the Greater.” James the Less was the son of Alphaeus. His mother stood at the Cross with Mary on the day Jesus was crucified.
After Jesus’ Ascension, James the Less became an important part of the Church’s growth in Jerusalem. Tradition tells us that he led an important meeting of the early Church, the Council of Jerusalem, in the year 50 AD. At this meeting, St. Paul, St. Peter, and other Church leaders discussed whether Gentiles, or people who were not Jewish, could become followers of Jesus. James listened carefully to the discussion and helped the group to decide that the Church was open to all and that all people could be saved by living as followers of Jesus.
Like Philip, James was martyred for spreading the Gospel.
saintsresource.com/james-the-less-apostle
St. Christina is shown with the attributes of her martyrdom - a millstone and arrows.
About St. Christina:
" In Tyre, on Lake Bolsena in Tuscany, St. Christina, Virgin and Martyr. This virgin broke up her father's idols of silver and gold and gave them to the poor because she believed in Christ. On her father's orders her flesh was torn with lashes, she suffered other cruel tortures, and she was thrown into the sea weighted down with a great stone. She was saved by an angel, however. A second judge succeeded her father in ordering even more severe torments. Finally, under the prefect Julian, after five days in a burning furnace and after overcoming an attack of snakes with the aid of Christ, she achieved martyrdom when her tongue was cut out and she was pierced by darts. – Roman Martyrology for July 24."
www.christianiconography.info/christina.html
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About the artist:
The Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece (sometimes called the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altar,[1]) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Germany between 1475[1]/1480 and 1510.[2] Despite his anonymity, he is one of the most recognizable artists of the early Renaissance period in German art.[3]
Almost nothing is known of his life, including his name; nevertheless, his hand is distinctive enough that scholars have found it fairly easy to trace his career.[2] His name is derived from an altarpiece dated to between 1505 and 1510, depicting Saint Bartholomew flanked by Saint Agnes and Saint Cecilia. The painting is known to have hung in the church of Saint Columba in Cologne; the inclusion of a Carthusian monk in the picture indicates a possible connection to the Carthusian monastery in that city.[1] The identity of the Master remains unknown; it has been suggested, given the number of commissions he executed for the Carthusian order, that he may have been a member himself.[1]
It is now believed that, despite his associations with Cologne, and with German artistic circles, elements of his style suggest that the Master was initially trained in the Netherlands - a point of origin in Utrecht, or in the Gelderland region, has been posited.
A Book of Hours, open to an identifiably middle Netherlandish text, in the hand of Saint Columba in a panel attributed to the Master conserved at Mainz,[4] offers a clue to his cultural origins.
It is further suggested that he emigrated to Cologne in about 1480.[1][2] His early style may be seen in the miniatures he painted for the Book of Hours of Sophia van Bylant; the Flagellation in this collection is dated to 1475, the earliest date associated with the Master. The calendar in the book is that of the diocese of Utrecht; nevertheless, certain oddities of language indicate an affinity with Arnhem, which was also the home of the donor.[1]
Other early works, dated to the 1480s, include an Adoration of the Kings and a Madonna and Child with Saint Anne, both of which exhibit affinities with northern Netherlandish painting and may have been created in the Netherlands.
Among the very few works attributed to the Master for which the original location is documented are a pair of altarpieces commissioned for the Carthusian monastery in Cologne by a lawyer, Dr. Peter Rinck,[1] and the Deposition, now at the Musée du Louvre, that was executed for the hospital of the Antonite brothers in Paris.[5]
Style
It has been said that the Master is the last "Gothic" painter to be active in Cologne. Approximately twenty-five paintings have been attributed to him[1] on the basis of his highly individual style, which does not seem to bear any affinity to that of any other school then active locally.[2]
Despite the fact that he seems to have been the leading painter of his time in Cologne, no evidence of any followers, or of a school in the usual sense, may be found.[1]
A number of influences, mainly Netherlandish, have been traced in the Master's paintings. These include Dirck Bouts and Rogier van der Weyden,[6][7] whose influence may be seen in the Munich Madonna and Child with Saint Anne.
Stylistically, the Master's paintings are characterized by their use of bright, enamel-like colors[7] and an affinity to the International Gothic style of painting.[8]
The Master's work may be found in a number of international museum collections. Three panels from the altarpiece which gave him his name are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and the Deposition for the Order of St Anthony is at the Musée du Louvre.
There are four works in the National Gallery, London[9] and a double-sided panel of the Journey of the Magi (or Three Kings) and the Assumption of Mary at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.[2]
A Baptism of Christ is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[1]
Other paintings are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;[10] the Philadelphia Museum of Art;[11] and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne.[12] A Death of the Virgin formerly in Berlin is now lost.[8]
Active Assignment Weekly: May 9 - 16: Self Portrait
WIT: I just got a new haircut, not sure if I like it yet, but here it is. Wanted to experiment with a very narrow DOF with focus on the eye. It was difficult as I had to use the timer, since for some reason my remote on my phone wouldn't work, so took some tries to get the eye in focus - I have rather short arms, and was using autofocus. I was also by a window, so used the natural light from there.
In post, brightened the colour a bit, softend the skin a bit (the camera is very unforgiving so close up!) and cropped to square, as I was going for a tight frame.
Active Top - Cycle House
Tights - generic
Very Short Bike Shorts - also, pretty generic
Runners/Sneakers - Nike Free Run 3
Maker:
Born:
Active:
Medium: glass positive
Size: 5 1/4 x 7 in
Location:
Object No. 2023.1213
Shelf: C-40
Publication:
Other Collections:
Provenance:
Notes: TBAL
To view our archive organized by themes and subjects, visit: OUR COLLECTIONS
For information about reproducing this image, visit: THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE
Shot for Active Assignment Weekly, theme "Dreams"
WIT
No idea where it comes from, but every month I have a dream about taking exams in high school or university and failing miserably. Those times are long gone, so is the slide rule, replaced by digital calculators.
Leggs Sheer Energy Active Support Suntan Pantyhose and boots 👢 on a cool night. They do keep me warm.
Maker: Robert Murray (1822-1893)
Born: Scotland
Active: Egypt/UK
Medium: albumen print from a paper negative
Size: 7 1/8 in x 9 3/8 in
Location: Egypt
Object No. 2016.202
Shelf: A-19
Publication:
Other Collections:
Notes: In 1880 Murray recalled, in the British Journal of Photography, that he taught himself photography “entirely from a shilling guide book (published by Messrs. Horne and Thornthwaite), while residing on the banks of the Nile, far from professional assistance.” In 1856 J. Hogarth offered an extensive portfolio of Murray’s views in Malta and Egypt, accompanied by a text by Joseph Bonami, the prominent Egyptologist. The published views were albumen prints made from Murray’s negatives, although he is known to have made salted paper prints from them himself. A second edition was offered in 1858, this time including only views from Egypt. The Athenaeum was ecstatic, saying, “All previous photographs of Egypt ‘go down’ before the large and finely-wrought views published by Robert Murray, late chief engineer to the Viceroy of Egypt. . . . He has engraved them, by the aid of sunbeams.”
He joined the Amateur Photographic Association and between 1863 and 1870 exhibited prize wining photographs of England and Wales. He returned to his native Scotland and in 1882 present a volume of Scotch Views to HM Queen Victoria which are now held at Windsor Castle.
Cleopatra's Needle is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The obelisks in London and New York are a pair, and the one in Paris is also part of a pair originally from a different site in Luxor, where its twin remains. Although all three needles are genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, their shared nickname is a misnomer, as they have no connection with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and were already over a thousand years old in her lifetime. The London and New York "needles" were originally made during the reign of 18th Dynasty Thutmose III. The Paris "needle" dates to the reign of 19th Dynasty Ramesses II and was the first to be moved and re-erected. The New York "needle," was the first to acquire the nickname, "L'aiguille de Cléopâtre" in French, where it stood in Alexandria.
From more information about Robert Murray, visit: ROBERT MURRAY NEGLECTED CALOTYPES
To view our archive organized by Collections, visit: OUR COLLECTIONS
For information about reproducing this image, visit: THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE
I'm not a morning person. I hate getting out of bed! However when I can get out of bed this way it makes it much better!
Active Assignment Weekly: Something new. So I had a look at lists of techniques. There was one that I'd tried many times and failed (panning) and one I'd never tried (smoke). All the other's I'd done. So I went and bought some incense in a shop that I guess you could call interesting. I put the incense on a plate on the hob, put my black background under and back and secured it with a Ribena bottle on one side and the kettle on the other. I had to have the fan on, which I know is a no-no. My on-camera flash also had to fire, which I know is another no-no, but that's the only way I could get my external flash to fire (I put it in slave mode). So the external flash was on full power. The on-camera flash I put on 1/32 (minimum). I put the light on, put my finger where the smoke was going to be, focused on that, put the focus on manual, lit the incense and took some shots. Processing: Cropped out the top of the hob and my hand. Changed the colour from white to purple in Lightroom by changing it to blue and then changing the hue. I tried to get the background as dark as possible, because it got lit up a little from the on-camera flash. So, here is my first ever attempt at smoke photography using incense.
Yay! Family is heading back up north!!! Still having back issues, so no heels for a while but hopefully soon!
The incumbent President of the Cameroon National Youth Council (CNYC), Jean Mark Afessi Mbafor has urged every Cameroonian youth to continually hammer the phrase: “CHANGE DEPENDS ON ME” in his or her mind every day.
During an interview with Positive Youth’s Africa(PYA), he prescribed this as an antidote to the defeatist mentality of Cameroonian youths. In the interview which follows, Mbafor says this phrase was his main take-away from the last edition Young African Leaders Initiative(YALI) which took place in Washington DC. Read on…
PYA: As the President of the Cameroon National Youth Council, you are definitely a leader to reckon with. We would like to believe that your desire to lead must have germinated from somewhere. Could you briefly tell us how you came to reach this stage in your life?
President of CNYC: I come from a family where leadership is more of a gift. My Dad is a leader, he leads a church. My mum is leading an initiative for an orphanage. Leadership kind of runs in the family. From class three, I was head boy. In church, I was either youth leader or leader of the choir. Now what inspired me to run for the position of the President of the CNYC was a quote from Martin Luther King Junior: “One day the world would repent, not for the evil that wicked people have done but for the appalling passivity of good people.”This quote revolutionized my whole concept of leadership and pushed
me to wish to create an impact on my generation. I heard about the CNYC, I came there a couple of times and was not very inspired by what I saw. When I first discovered the National Youth Council in 2010, I pulled away but when I saw that quote in 2012, I got inspired to run for the Presidency of the National Youth Council. So I put up a campaign strategy and in December, 2013, I was elected President.
PYA: Reaching this milestone in your life, you must have cultivated certain values and skills that sustain you as a leader, so what are some of those values and skills?
President of the CNYC: First of all dreaming. People do not think that dreaming is a value. I had a dream like Martin Luther King. When you have a genuine dream, you get another value we call vision which will in turn produce another value I call passion. When you are passionate about your vision, you would get another value I call commitment. When you are committed, you are prepared to suffer for that dream from which emerges another value known as sacrifice. Many Cameroonians are not willing to sacrifice for their dreams and we think leadership is about seating on a rolling chair in an air conditioned office. No that is a result of leadership and not leadership.
PYA: These values, coupled with your professional experience must have contributed significantly to your being selected as a Laureate for the YALI. Could you tell us what YALI is all about and how many Cameroonians were represented?
President of CNYC: YALI is the acronym for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).It is a program under the Mandela Washington fellowship program. Twelve Cameroonians were privileged to be selected for this program. It is an initiative by President Barack Obama and I think it is his own way of giving back to Africa. I think this is a major gift because there is nothing more than giving to Africa people who are empowered. In Cameroon, 1500 applied for the YALI.180 were shortlisted for interviews and 12 Cameroonians who are doing remarkable things to change their societies were selected. I had sessions with President Obama, Michel Obama, Suzan Rice and I tell you it was a life-changing event.
PYA: What was your take away from this event?
President of the CNYC: My take away is that change depends on me. If everybody, every youth in Cameroon incarnates that feeling that change depends on him. If every Cameroonian gets up every morning and tells himself: “Change depends on me”, then by 2035, we would not be emerging but emergent.
PYA: During the JCI National Convention, you introduced a concept known as servant leadership. Could you further explain the concept?
President of the CNYC: It is one of the things we were taught in YALI. Towards the end, we were baptized as the Mandela Washington Fellowship. At that time, I asked myself why? I think it was to crystallize the whole concept of servant leadership which we have been hearing for six weeks. The idea behind this concept is that leaders have to serve their servants because these servants made them leaders. Mandela is a glaring example of a servant leader. A servant-leader puts the good of his people before his good. To summarize this, I would like to say, you never find common interest in working for personal interest but you will always find personal interest in working for common interest. A real leader works for common interest because he knows that in achieving common interest, he will find personal interest.
PYA: We are gradually moving from Millenium Development Goals(MDG) to Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) because the MDGs are far from being attained
just a few months to the deadline. Would you attribute this to the lack of leadership
.
President of CNYC: I have been privileged to be part of high panel discussions on the MDGs and SDGs. I think this can be attributed to will. We have many issues such as lack of resources, instability and unemployment but lack of will is the main problem. When we look at economies like Singapore that got transformed in 10 years, it means it can be done in Cameroon if only we have the will. Also, looking at a country like Srylanka that is just coming out of war and its level of development, we can deduce that Cameroon which has been at peace for long can do even better. Until each person accepts his share of responsibility and not just look at the government. In the human development index, Cameroon is ranked 150 out of 183.This is shameful. With all the degree holders we keep throwing out every year. It is man that makes development and if we are so low in our human development, it will be difficult for us to progress. It comes down to man and our will to want to change things.
PYA: You have been privildged to travel to other countries in Africa and the rest of the world. You have equally been very active in Cameroon. How do you compare the mentality of youths in other countries to that of youths in Cameroon?
President of CNYC;
Youths everywhere have the same problem. We all have the same problem, unemployment, social insertion issues amongst others but I think what surprises me most with the Cameroonian youths is the level of passivity as compared to youths of other nations. By passivity, I mean there is a surrender, there is a giving up. The average Cameroonian youth wants to leave Cameroon for greener pastures. We forget that in other countries, life is harder. Curiously, it is youths from Nigeria, Benin, Chad who are coming to Cameroon and making it. Look at the fishing industry, go to Kribi, go to Limbe, Idenau,its these people fishing. These youths are sending the money back to their countries. Cameroonian youths have giving up. They have a defeatist mentality. They have forgotten this notion that to eat you must work and work hard. The average Cameroonian youth does not listen to news. Youths have damaged their thinking about what real life is all about. Our youths are neither willing to serve our nation. Outside, you see youths who are active, who are full of energy and passion. It saddens me that most of our youths have lost passion. We do not have youths who are daring.
PYA: What is the CNYC doing to remedy the situation?
President of CNYC:
The CNYC has three objectives. Get the youths to be part of their council. Youths have to support the council. We should make the council that machine of the youths. We are trying to build credibility with the government and the youth. Youths say the council must serve them but we cannot serve youths if they do not support us. No institution will take us seriously if the youths do not stand by us. It should be a give and take. When the youths give us their support, we now have the power to fight for them.We are trying to open doors, look for partnership .But all that will be weak if the youths do not support their council. Until the youths and the council became one, things will not change. The youths should get involved with who they put at the head of the council.
PYA: We see that you are working hard to improve the situation of your country, so what kind of Cameroon will you wish your son or daughter to grow up in.
President of CNYC:A country which truly utilizes its human resources and other resources for the benefit and improvement of its citizens. I dream of a Cameroonian where every body’s voice, interest and welfare is seriously taken into account. Until everyone is equal before the law, it will be difficult to attain to that. I dream of a Cameroon where everyone (Northener,Southerner,Anglophone,Francophone) are equal before the law.
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