Dylan Schmeling ’24.5, a Biology and Physics double major and an international student, finds inspiration in his home country of Tanzania. Working at his art for 12 years, he’s been influenced by famous wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen and portraitist Martin Schoeller. Dylan’s photography shows the Tanzanian countryside, and thus documents the people, animals and landscape he grew up around. He takes photos as a scientist would, capturing the infinitesimal moment with an objective eye. His work shows us a way of life and an environment that is increasingly threatened by contemporary society. Concerned about unsustainable practices across the world, he is a member of the Middlebury Environmental Council. The people shown in the photos are Hadza- one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes in East Africa. They are also Dylan’s friends and neighbors, individuals he had the privilege of growing up with and learning from.
Dylan sitting in a Baobab tree
Two Hadza men prepare arrows in the afternoon
A warthog in Tarangire National Park
Pelicans on Lake Eyasi
A Hadza man climbs a Baobab tree to collect honey
"Toothpick" the elephant in Tarangire National Park
A fisherman on Lake Eyasi
An abandoned fishing boat on Lake Eyasi
A baobab tree at sunset
Uhuru Peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro
Mt. Kilimanjaro as seen from Kibo hut
Giraffes in the Serengeti
Mt. Oldeyani
A cheetah in Tarangire National Park
Hadza men around a fireplace
