Feb 2023, view from Hyrax Hill. 

Tried recreating the same image June 2023 including waiting for a fuel tanker. Tried to get similar composition in the other photos too. 

As a native of Nakuru City, I've observed notable weather patterns. February is dry, while May and June are wet. Dust storms during the dry season drastically transform the city's green appearance. To document these changes, I took photos in February 2023 and recreated them in June. Each February photo has a corresponding June comparison. This photo story emphasizes the importance of trees in urban landscapes. The story is a documentation of changing realities in nature. The focus was on having similar composition by getting the photos from the same place.

In Kenya, there are quite a number of towns named using Maasai words; Nairobi, for instance, means a place of cool waters. Nakuru, which is also a name with similar origins, means 'dusty place' or 'a place of dust storms'. As someone who was born and raised in Nakuru, I have, for long, observed the weather patterns. Over the last few years, February has been among the driest, if not the driest month in Nakuru, while the wettest have been arguably May and June. When it is dry in Nakuru, there are a lot of dust storms, and the area looks totally different from when the city is green. To document this changing reality that occurs over time, I took several photos in late February 2023 and attempted to recreate the same photos in terms of composition by shooting the photos from the exact locations and trying to have similar subjects, just to show changes over time. These are changes that keep occurring, but people may fail to pay attention to them.  Each February photo has a corresponding June comparison.  In February, the grass was very dry, and there was dust all over, but the Jacaranda trees were flowering and were still reasonably green. In the June photos, the Jacaranda trees are very green but not flowering because of seasonal differences. The green trees in the dry period show the importance of trees not only for urban beautification but also for cooling. Jacaranda trees are an important part of the identity of Nakuru City. The history of the Jacaranda trees goes way back to the colonial period, where Frank Walter James, who was also known as Jacaranda Jim, was given the role of Nairobi Town Planning Consultant in 1926 and focused on planting a lot of Jacaranda trees. The idea later spread to other towns, Nakuru being one of them. While the idea behind the story was relatively straightforward, executing it required immense patience especially in getting similar compositions. Through this project, I hope to raise awareness about the evolving nature of our environment and the invaluable role trees play in our urban landscapes.