The endangered Omo Valley people in Ethiopia were ready for their close-up — one photographer’s effort to capture the tribes before tourism and modernization forever alter their traditional way of life.

Massimo Rumi photographed the Hamar, Daasanach, Karo and Mursi tribes from October to November of last year.

“In a world that has become increasingly globalized, I wanted to travel to this remote area of Africa before modernization completely changed the life of these ancient tribes,” Rumi told Barcroft Media.

“Considering that Ethiopia was recently nominated tourist destination of the year, this change can only get worse with time,” he lamented. “Every time I was approaching a tribe village, I had to negotiate a fee with the village chief for taking pictures or sometimes I had to pay the people that I wanted to photograph directly. I felt as if I was casting for a fashion shoot.”

In his travels, the Italian shutterbug captured a rarely seen ceremonial bull-jumping event.

“When a man of the Hamar Tribe comes of age, he has to leap over a line of cattle. This ceremony qualifies him to marry, own cattle and have children. The timing of the ceremony is decided by the man’s parents and usually happens after the harvest,” he said.