Kenya from the Air

Kenya is a land of excesses, contrasts and living forces. Viewed from the air it is a jagged, volcanic Africa where shapes and colours clash violently beneath flashes of lightening; it is also an immense, flat land that the sky seems to reflect out to infinity. Lush and green lands at high altitudes dominate desolate plains. This wild Kenya can be experienced by only a few privileged flyers. Yann Arthus Bertrand's aerial view makes it possible here to observe a medley of landscapes and populations: a herd of elephants or gnus in toy-like detail, a pink swathe of millions of flamingoes or the vibrant patchwork of wares laid out on blankets in a marketplace. We see dense green plantation carved out by meandering rivers, washed by the Indian Ocean in the east and bejewelled by lakes to the west, contrasted by the rich textures of the plateau. We peer over the snowy lip of the volcano Kilimanjaro. Anne Spoerry began flying over Kenya as a bush doctor. Anne Arthus-Bertrand lived in Kenya for three years studying the behaviour of lions in the Masai Mara. Yann Arthus-Bertrand has made photo-reportages devoted to Africa for some 20 books.