Ethiopia Group Photography Exhibition

©John Spillane

The photography expedition to Ethiopia has been one of the most challenging but rewarding trips I have ever organised. Since my first visit in 2012, I fell in love with the country and I knew this would be a perfect destination for a photography expedition.

From November 21st to December 2nd, with extension to 8th of December, a group of eleven photographers joined me on this incredible adventure.

There were opportunities to photograph people everywhere, from the tribes of the Omo Valley in the south to the Christian Orthodox pilgrims in Axum and Lalibela in the north.

We even had the chance to travel to one of the most incredible landscapes on Earth: The Danakil Depression in the Afar Region, a place hard to describe with words. Its red soil and the colourful sulfuric volcanoes, make this place to look more like Mars.

Every village, every town and every market we visited, was a new opportunity to take great photographs.

The following images were exhibited for a month in Bogotá, Colombia, with an opening on 23rd May 2019 and because a lot of people have been contacting me asking where to see those photos online, I’m posting them here.

The exhibition was curated by the Spanish curator Raquel Villar-Perez, who works for the Tate Gallery and Tate Modern in London and collaborate regularly with art magazines in Africa and Europe.

Our second curator was the photographer Javier Hirschfeld, a BBC Picture Editor in London and a very well known artist with exhibitions in Centre Pompidou and Picasso Museum in Malaga and several galleries in France, Senegal, Brazil and the UK.

The exhibition ran from May 23rd to June 30th at Paideia, Bogotá Colombia.

If you want to be part of our next photography expedition, email us on expeditions@johnquintero.com or subscribe to our newsletter

Ethiopia Photography Expedition with John Quintero

Girls from the Karo Tribe in Omorate, Omo Valley. ©Silvia Fernández

A shepherd from the Arbore Tribe / A Mursi Tribe girl, Omo Valley. Shot on film by ©Luis Pérez

Christian Orthodox monk and nun walking at the Obelisk site in Axum, Tigray region. ©Verónica Trujillo

A Karo tribe man with his body painted with white chalk. ©Mariana Sarmiento

Silhouettes of Dasanech tribe people at sunset in Omorate, Omo Valley. ©Verónica Trujillo

A Christian Orthodox priest in one of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. ©Pablo Villota

A young shepherd in a field of wheat, Ahmara Region. ©Rodolfo Garcia / A boy covered in a blanket, Amhara Region. ©Andrea García

A girl from the Arbore tribe in the Omo Valley. ©Rodolfo García

A shepherd wearing a sheep' skin to protect from the cold at 4000 metres, Amhara Region. ©Rodolfo García

A portrait of a Karo girl in the Omo Valley. ©Orielly Simanca

A Christian Orthodox priest at the entrance of Abuna Yemata, a monolithic church, famous for its dome and wall paintings dating back to the 5th century. ©Verónica Trujillo / An Orthodox monk in Axum, Tigray Region. ©Juan José Fernández

The colours of the Ethiopian flag are displayed in this natural wonder. Dallol is a cinder cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range, Afar region. ©John Quintero

The rocky landscape of Gheralta, Tigray region. ©Orielly Simanca

Dasanech Tribe women at sunset in Omorate. ©Mariana Sarmiento

A priest poses with an old Christian Orthodox book at Abuna Yemata. A video of this magnificent church can be seen at the bottom of this post. ©Mariana Sarmiento

Karo tribe children in the Omo Valley. ©Juan José Fernández

Girls from the Mursi Tribe with their faces decorated with soil; Omo Valley. ©Juan José Fernández

An Orthodox monk and pilgrims in Axum, Tigray region. ©John Spillane

The silhouette of a boy with the morning light in Amhara Region. Shot on film by ©Luis Pérez

Lake Chamo at sunset, Arba Minch. ©John Spillane

A young man from the Hamer tribe during the Bull Jumping ceremony in the Omo Valley. ©Andrea García

A Christian Orthodox priest poses with an old religious book made of sheep skin. ©Juan José Fernández

Children in the Amhara region. ©Andrea García

Women outside the Biete Maryam Church in Lalibela during the Virgin Mary annual festival. ©Pablo Villota

A boy from Dorize Tribe in Gamo Gofa / A Hamer Tribe woman in a market in the Omo Valley. © Silvia Fernández

A Hamer tribe father and his son at dawn in the Omo Valley. ©Pablo Villota

A Christian Orthodox priest in Gheralta, Tigray region. ©Gustavo Parra

Women with children, Mursi tribe, Omo Valley. ©Gustavo Parra

A camel caravan, carrying salt that was mined by hand, is led across a salt plain in the Danakil Depression. ©John Quintero

A boy overed with a blanket to protect himself from the cold weather in the Amhara region. ©Andrea García

A portrait of a woman from the Mursi Tribe with a lip plate. ©John Spillane / Children from Hamer Tribe at sunset, the Omo Valley. ©Orielly Simanca

A salt miner and his camel crossing the salt flats of Danakil Depression, Afar region. ©John Quintero

Bana tribe boys on stilts in the Omo Valley. ©Gustavo Parra

A group of men from the Arbore Tribe pose in their village in the Omo Valley. ©Orielly Simanca

A park ranger poses at one of the many colourful hot springs discharging brine and acidic liquid in the Danakil Depression. ©John Quintero

ETHIOPIA’S CHAPEL IN THE SKY

Abuna Yemata, one of the churches and perhaps the most spectacular that we visited during our expedition, is perched on a cliff at 250 metres and has to be climbed on foot to reach.

The following video has been made by the global media company Great Big Story. Be sure to subscribe to their channel as they create amazing content from all over the world.