Sunrise in the Sudan

Sometimes a photographic opportunity falls into you lap at the most unlikely times… this shot of a man riding out of the rising sun on his donkey was captured early one morning on the road to Dongola in Sudan.

After driving all through the night we hit soft sand whilst attempting to cross from one road to another. The truck became bogged and I remember thinking “we’re gonna get stuck”… I’d been on the truck for nearly five months and travelled through many deserts along the way. After a while you can tell by the look of the sand, and you get a feel for what the truck can do.

Anyway this was a blessing because we’d been driving all night on Sudan’s bumpiest roads and tracks (the worst I’ve ever encountered – despite what the guide book said!) and we were all glad of a break.

As the sun rose we had to dig the truck out, but the sun rise was beautiful. The sun light filtered through the sand thrown up by trucks on the so called ‘road’. And, then a local man came by on a donkey – an opportunity not to be missed.

So, it just goes to show that for every negative there is usually a positive…