I’ve now been back from Ethiopia for five days, and I’ve had a chance to go through a good number of the 4600 pictures I took while I was there. This was my second trip to Africa in two and a half months. Each time I get back from Africa, I have a number of photos that I like initially. Whether they stay favorites is still yet to be seen. Like music, I find that I grow tired of some pictures quickly, while others I had not initially liked grow on me as their complexities and nuances mature until they become some of my favorites. The thing about traveling so much is that each time, it’s harder to get that “wow” factor, at least in my own mind. Though a photo may be new and exciting to someone else, I find it harder to impress myself.  I think I could categorize this under the law of diminishing returns, though not in the economic sense, of course. Ethiopia was excellent though for a number of reasons. It was a new country for me, and I had excellent access to real people in their everyday lives, with their struggles and joys. It’s truly an experience to be fully immersed in the culture and experience life WITH them, rather than just making observations OF them. I’m also going to make a quick plug for the Petros Network, whom I was with. If you’d like to help with the work they’re doing, their website is http://www.petrosnetwork.org. So with that, here are some of my initial favorites. I will have more later, since I currently have too many favorites. (It’s a good problem to have.) All pictures can be clicked on for a bit larger look. Enjoy.