Angola wedding
Flying to Angola for the first time to assist in shooting a wedding was rather exciting. Who does not love a job that lets you travel the world. A destination wedding is always exciting. Going to a foreign country where everything is different to what you are used to , can be a little scary. So flying over Luanda I was quite suprised to see how HUGE the city is. Luanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola’s coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola’s chief seaport and administrative center and has a population of at least 6 million.
Luanda is one big juxtaposition. It is surrounded by poverty but its been voted the most expensive city in the world. The roads are chaotic, there is permanent traffic and you can practically buy anything from airtime to the toilet seat from the street vendors. But go to a restaurant and buy a cup of coffee be prepared to pay $10. Everything is imported so the costs are mind blowing. Coming from South Africa and paying $40 for a meal is just ludicrous.
However the people of Lunada are so friendly, willing to help, generous and always smiling. Jo-Ann and I were sitting at the airport waiting for a driver to collect us and after 40 minutes a lady went and bought airtime so we could make a call on her phone to our driver. We always felt safe. On the Sunday evening before we were to fly out we went to a restaurant for supper only to be told its closed. I explained we had no car and hadn’t had dinner, so they put a plate together so we could share and proceeded not to charge us for it. The hospitality was wonderful. Our hosts were also fabulous.
Being able to speak a little Portuguese did certainly help. I think it will be very difficult to shoot a wedding or work in this city without some Portuguese. I am definitely grateful to my Ava at times like this who insisted on speaking to me in Portuguese when i was little. I would love to become more fluent though. I don’t think i have ever spoken so much Portuguese as I did in the 5 days we were there.
Aqui estao algumas das minhas fotos que eu acho que representam a beleza, a pobreza eo caos de Luanda. As fotografias de casamento vai ser no meu blog em breve.
