African Photo Magazine Issue #2

Local Perspectives. African Insights.AUGUST 2015ISSUE #2Industry Insights fromPablo, Mwarv & SirePhotographerShowcaseDronesRead the latestlegislativeupdatesNikonCOMES TOTOWN!+GIVEAWAYS!!Photography TipsVideo TutorialsKPAAwardsspotlightAfricanphotogsLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

KPAAWARDSSEEWHOWON{HIGHLIGHTSONPAGE12Local Perspectives. African Insights.

Tutorial &Tips18New Agencyin town289Behind the scene withBoniface MwangiKenya PhotographyAwards (KPA)WINPage 32SWAGAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 4

AmateurCorner2221MagazineLaunchVideo HighlightsPhotographer’s12The Canon Kenya PhotographyShowcaseAwards winning submissionsPART 2:Africa’s photographyhistory1024Reflections fromPaul MurungaLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

Letterfrom theEditorWelcome to the second Issue of the African PhotoMagazine!The team at the magazine is extremely excitedabout the contents in this edition. Our currentcover speaks to the contents of the magazine,echoing the theme from the second issue wherewe recognize the “newness” of the photographyindustry in our part of the world whileacknowledging at the same time the long historythe industry has had with our beloved Continent.What makes photography so new to Africa is thepractitioners of it; we now have firmly in place,Africans crafting African stories. The world isslowly being oriented to a new perspective whereour truth as we know it, is being presented byus to a world that is starting to appreciate thisnext frontier. As with all things new, there is aburgeoning of ideas, practices and problems aswell, but underlying all this is an excitement ofwhat the future portends.In this issue we cover a whole host of newinitiatives that are taking place and that will shapethe future of the industry in the foreseeablefuture. The full gamut of our content runs fromfeaturing winners of the recently staged 2ndKenyan Photography Awards to highlighting newdevelopments in the Agency arena that will nodoubt impact the industry. The magazine alsotouches on the problems being grappled with by aerialphotographers and issues concerning the regulatoryenvironment that has yet to catch up with the speedwith which photography in the region is spreading itsproverbial wings. In all of this we still march on with ourWalk Through History, as we continue to examine thefascinating events that took place and brought us towhere we now are. As with the first issue, we explore andshare ideas on photography through the video tutorialsand step-by-step photo tips using software tools andtechniques preferred by professional photographers.The magazine is also careful not to forget our buddingphotographers and their valid contribution to theindustry, featuring Simon Rwigi’s walk towardsprofessionalism, and Nyamu Wanyoike’s foray into thenew horizons opening up with the fast rising cameraphone field of photography. We wrap up our editionwith a personal introspective from Mwangi “Mwarv”Kirubi on the challenges that come with embracingthis fairly young industry and Paul “Pablo” Murunga onembracing change when at the cross-roads of life.I have thoroughly enjoyed curating the content of thissecond issue, and I trust you will most assuredly beentertained, enlightened and challenged to be betterphotographers by it!The Editor,AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 6

Mwangi Kirubi’sJourney to creatingClick Pictureworksand PichaDuka30Publishers:House of FotographyEditor:Sharon MitchenerLayout Designer:Christina N. Mugambinkirotemugambi.comEditorial Offices:House of FotographyP.O. Box 25190-00603 Nairobi, KenyaTel: (+254) 702.680.797 | 714.745.924hello@fotohouse.co.keA SPECIAL THANKSTO THE FOLLOWING:Currentlegislationon drones26To Boniface Mwangi of PAWA 254 and PAKfor their immense support and contributiontowards this second issueTo photographer Njeri Ngige-Olang of Houseof Olang, and to our amateur photographers,Simon Rwigi and Nyamu Wanyoike for theircontributions to this issueOur video partners, Jemedari Media for theirinvaluable contribution to the production ofeducational videosPaul “Pablo” Murunga and Sire Edgar Kwachfor their insightful contributions and reflectionson the new initiatives impacting the industryAnd ultimately, to our Almighty God forHis continued faithfulnessThe views expressed in this magazine should onlybe ascribed to the authors concerned and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the publishers.The printing of an advertisement in thismagazine does not necessarily mean that thepublishers endorse the companies ororganizations, product or service.All rights reserved. No part of this magazinemay be reproduced by any means withoutpermission in writing from the publishers.Local Perspectives. African Insights.© 2015

EVENTSThe ManagingDirector for NikonMiddle Eastand Africa,Takashi YoshidaNikon chooses Nairobifor debut showroomNikon, a Japanese manufacturer of high-end cameras,has opened a multimillion-shilling showroom in Kenya,marking the latest local venture by investors from theAsian giant. The Tokyo-based company has investedin a Sh20 million showroom at TRM shopping mallon Thika Road, targeting the country’s photographyenthusiasts and demand from the nascent film industry.The tech firm, whose products include cameras,lenses, binoculars, micro-scopes and measurementinstruments, currently has a presence in 30 Africancountries, but the Kenyan showroom is the first ofits kind on the continent, with similar showroomsexisting only in Europe and the United States. “Kenyahas a growing culture in photography and it has alot to offer in terms of beautiful scenery, people andwildlife making it the perfect place to nurture nextlevelphotography with the best quality and readilyavailable equipment hence the need to launch a Nikonpartnership.” said Mr. Takashi Yoshida, the managingdirector for Nikon Middle East and Africa region.The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competitionorganised by the World Photography Organisation, are open for entries. Now in its ninthyear, the awards are an authoritative voice in the photographic world. Free to enter atwww.worldphoto.org, photographers of all abilities are invited to submit work to any ofthe awards’ five categories: Professional; Open; Youth; National Awards and Student Focus.The story of today’s Africa needs to be told. As a company committed to supporting localcapacity in Africa, Agility wants to capture the hope, aspirations and confidence of a newgeneration of Africans and the continent that they are rapidly reshaping. We are looking forimages that will open the eyes of the world to today’s vibrant, modern African reality.AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 8

THE KENYAPHOTOGRAPHYAWARDSThe Kenya Photography Awards (KPA) is an annualevent organized by the Photographers Association ofKenya (PAK) and PAWA 254. Contestants submit theirwork in different categories, selected to cover diverseareas of interest and professions, which include News,Daily Life, Portraiture, Nature, Sports and Creative. Thewinners who are selected by a panel of renowned localand international judges, are feted at a gala event heldin Nairobi.The Brainchild of multiple award-winningphotojournalist and founder of PAWA 254, BonifaceMwangi, the idea that gave birth to the Awards startedto shape during a discussion over a cup of tea betweenhim and the Swiss Ambassador to Kenya, JacquesPitteloud, a photography enthusiast and publishednature photographer in his own right.“It really rattled my nerves that no Kenyanphotographer had ever been selected to take theKenyan President’s official portrait,” sighed Boniface,during a sit-down with African Photo Magazine.“I was approached to be the official photographer forthe current sitting President but turned the generousoffer down for personal reasons, so as we speak, thestatus quo remains. This very fundamental unpatrioticanomaly gave rise to the KPA Awards and theestablishment of PAK.”Set up with the aim of nurturing, appreciating andrecognizing excellence in the science and art ofphotography in Kenya, the first edition of the Awardstook place in 2013. The event took a break in 2014, toreturn for its 2nd edition in 2015.Canon has also been a huge support to these awards.Canon’s corporate philosophy is Kyosei –“livingand working together for the common good”. Inaccordance with this spirit, Canon is working inKenya to provide a creative learning environmentthat nurtures young talent and allows emergingphotographers to take their skill to the next level.Dubbed Canon Kenya Photography Awards, the 2ndEdition was held in May 2015, with Canon as the mainand Title sponsor with additional support, once againfrom the Swiss Embassy.Over 1,200 submissions were received across 9categories, with Alice Oldenburg scooping the overalltitle. It is our great pleasure to showcase the winningsubmissions in this issue on page 12. Enjoy!Local Perspectives. African Insights.

Our walkthrough Africa’sphotography history Part 2Continuation from Issue #1AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 10

Xhosa missionaries to Malawi (1876): Black Europeansor African Christians? What is also implied is the closeconnection between religious conversion and culturaltransformation. To become Christian in the latenineteenth-century meant not simply a conversion toa new religious faith but also adoption of many of thetrappings of European civilizationDr. T. Jack Thompson visited the Centre of AfricanStudies, University of Edinburgh, in May 2003 wherehe shared his research project on the history ofphotography in Africa. Below are fascinating excerptsfrom Images of Africa: Photography in the NineteenthCentury:.This early introduction of photography into thecontinent primarily by the missionary proved to beas much of a blessing as it was a curse and deeplyframed photography of all things African, creatingstereotypes of Africa in the eyes of the world. Letus begin by highlighting briefly several types ofmissionary photography.First there is a type of missionary photographywhich we may define as anthropological. On thesurface such photography is apparently scientificor factual. It often shows examples of particulartypes’ of Africans. Indeed, it is likely that the oldestsurviving photograph of a black African (Thiesson’sphotograph of a woman from Sofala) was originallyin this form. It is true that only one daguerrotype,showing the African woman in profile, has survived.Such photographs were very common — both inmissionary and non-missionary sources. Often,however, rather than being merely factual, they weremeant to show the subject as ‘the exotic other’, andto emphasize difference.King Cetshwayo, the last great ruler of Zululand, iscaptured and sent into exile by the British followinghis defeat in the British-Zulu War, leading to Britain’sinvasion of Zululand in 1879.British missionaries with men holding hands severedfrom victims named Bolenge and Lingomo by A.B.I.R.militiamen, 1904.The second type of photography of the Africanat this period was a development of the first, andmay be called the social Darwinist approach. Suchphotographs were more common in non-missionarycircles, and indeed the philosophy underlying themwas opposed by many missionaries. At the same time,however, the missionary attitude to this approachmay be characterized as ambivalent. The purpose ofsuch photographs was clearly to show the Africanas inferior to the European. This could be done for aEuropean audience in several ways — by choosingAfrican specimens who seemed particularly uglyto the European eye, by placing them against abackground (perhaps a broken down hut) whichseemed to indicate African backwardness, by showingAfrican women in what (to Victorian eyes) would bean unacceptable state of undress, by juxtaposing the‘barbarous‘ African with a ‘civilized’ European.A third variation on this theme may be called thetransformative photograph. This was particularlybeloved of missionaries. It is what is sometimes calledthe ‘before and after’ photograph. Here a pair ofphotographs is placed together on a page: the oneshowing a group of ‘heathen’ Africans, the other agroup of African Christians. Some of the techniquesof the previous type were used here: contrasts inclothing, hairstyles, housing, agriculture could be usedto emphasize the transformation which was possibleonce the African came under European (and especiallyChristian) influence.Finally, there was a genre of photograph which maybe called the crusading. These were missionaryphotographs taken specifically to draw Europeanattention to some African injustice. The mostoutstanding example of such a crusade was thatcarried out by the Congo Reform Association tohighlight the atrocities of King Leopold’s rule in theCongo at the beginning of the twentieth century.The most interesting feature of the movement isthat many of the most startling and shocking of thephotographs used to publicize their cause were takenby missionaries.Photographic ManipulationIn our next issue, we will start to see how the missionaryphotographs which have come down to us in theirthousands, are not a random assortment of snapshots,but represent rather, the deliberate reflection of Europeupon Africa.To be continuedLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

Photographer’sSHOWCA S EThe Canon Kenya Photography Awards were held in May 2015.Over 1,200 submissions were received with Alice Oldenburg scooping the overall title.It is our great pleasure to showcase the 5 photographers and their winning submissions.AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 12

Category: CreativeSIEGMUND KAMAUPhotography has been a passion of mine since my first year in architectureschool, when I acquired my first camera, a Sony CyberShot.I have an interest in all photography genres, with specific focus on architecture,concerts, landscape and portraiture. I love how photography evokes emotionsin humans; makes us ask questions and forces us to reflect on the worldaround us. I believe that the photographs I capture bring joy and cause viewersto reflect on their inner selves, their surroundings and the times we live in.instagram.com/skmp2012www.siegmundkmphotography.wordpress.comLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

Category: NewsTHOMAS MUKOYAMy earliest memory of photography is looking at pictures in thenewspapers in 1984, when drought ravaged the Horn of Africannation of Ethiopia. I took a keen interest in photography froman early age and specialized in photojournalism while studyingjournalism in Nairobi. The assignment which left the biggest markon me was covering the famine and drought in the Horn of Africain 2011. I witnessed the resilience, suffering and death of people inSomalia, Ethiopia and Kenya where the United Nations had declaredthe famine the worst in 60 years. The biggest lesson I’ve learnedis that patience pays in photojournalism. I’m grateful that I can usephotography to change the global perception of different cultures,social status and economic values. I salute my camera as an agentof positive change for the next generation.@thomasmukoya | https://wordpress.com/tag/thomas-mukoyaAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 14

Category: PortraiturePETER NDUNG’UI am a 20 year old law student and part-time photographer. I always had a passionfor media studies but ended up in Law School. Sometime in future, I shall fuse mylegal knowledge with media studies. I have only been taking pictures for less than ayear now. It all began as a hobby and I was inspired by Kenyan photographers suchas Mutua Matheka whose work I stalk (I’m not afraid to say that), Osborne Machariawho is a very very creative guy, and Ben Kiruthi for his style of wedding photography.There are also international photographers like Joey L and Adrian Sommelling whoseworks I really admire.I have faced my fair share of challenges namely finances for equipment, balancingschool work and having a bit of a lack of belief in myself. I am only at the beginningof this journey and I hope to make this hobby a story that I will pass on to the futuregenerations.www.petersize10.com | instagram.com/petersize10/ | twitter.com/petersize10Local Perspectives. African Insights.

Category: Daily LifeALICE OLDENBURGI am a documentary photographer and videographer. I hold a BA in PoliticalScience and an MA in Documentary Photography from the London College ofCommunication where I graduated from in 2011. I have since moved back toKenya on a full time basis to concentrate on local stories. I am currently workingon a story concerning a group of elite rangers trained to combat the on goingpoaching crisis in the Northern part of Kenya.www.aliceoldenburg.comInstagram: aliceoldenburghttps://aliceoldenburg.wordpress.comAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 16

Category: Climate ChangeJOHN WAMBUGUI am a fellow of the Mohamed Amin Foundation having beenawarded the Reuters Film and Television scholarship. I was drivento study the art of Film and Photography in Spoleto, Italy afterone of my films won the prestigious Klima-Clima environmentalawareness award in Greece in 2010. At the age of 10 years, myuncle ignited my deep passion to tell stories when he let me operatehis beautiful old Kodak camera during family gatherings as well asbring me children’s storybooks filled with beautiful drawings. Evenafter graduating with a degree in B.com-actuarial science major fromKenyatta University, I chose and followed a different path to becomea storyteller using the camera as a medium.www.johnwambugu.comfacebook.com/john.wambugu.1257@johnsonwambuguLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

PhotographyTipsResultafter13stepsPHOTOSCIENCEDouble Exposure, or Multiple Exposure, is aphotographic technique that combines 2 ormore different images into a single image.Traditionally the double exposure effect isproduced by photographers using nothingbut their camera to combine two separatephotographs to create an abstract and surrealimage. However, we can also mimic the effectin Photoshop, which actually gives us morecontrol over the final output with the ability toadjust and preview the effect as we go. Followthis step by step tutorial to create a doubleexposure effect yourself. We will blend twoexisting photographs together with the help ofsome simple clipping and masking techniques.The reason for using this technique varies, butoftentimes double exposures are simply createdfor beauty and uniqueness.RECREATE THE FINISHED IMAGE!We have included the two images used to create the finished image on our FB page as JPEGs soyou can try the technique for yourself. Click this link www.facebook.com/AfricanPhotoMagazineto download the images in the album named “Double Exposure Tips” and follow the steps belowsave as you go!Be sure to savechanges as youwork to avoidany mishapsSTEPTo open both images in Photoshop go to‘File’ and select images. Click ‘Open’ foreach image to open in its window. Click onthe ‘Model’ image window to start.STEP01 02In the ‘Layers’ panel, create a copy ofthe model by dragging the layer called‘Background’ to the icon indicated(paper with folded corner).AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 18

STEPIn the ‘Tools’ panel, select the ‘Clone StampTool’ and clone the backdrop to conceal thestrobe light and cord. To do this, hold ALT+rightclick in a clean sample area and release the ALTbutton. With the stamp now loaded, move overto the area to be concealed. When done go tothe ‘Tree’ image window.STEP03 04In the ‘Tools’ panel, click ‘Rectangular Marqueetool’ and drag over the image until all is selectedwith the marching ants along the image border.Or use keyboard short cut command+A (mac)or control+A (pc). Once selected, use keyboardshort cut of command+C (mac) control+C (pc)to copy the image.STEPReturn to the ‘Model’ image, then usecommand+V(mac) control+V(pc) to paste‘Tree’ image on top. Use command+T(mac)control+T(pc) to Free Transform / Resizethe photo of the tree across the model bydragging a corner.STEP05 06While Free Transform is active, lower ‘Opacity’in the ‘Layers’ panel to reveal underlying imageof the model. Position the tree branch to sit inthe middle of her hat and change ‘Blend Mode’in the layers panel from “Normal” to “Screen”mode. Return Opacity to 100%. Click checkmark to confirm the edits.STEP07In the ‘Layers’ panel, add a ‘Layer Mask’ byclicking the icon indicated (the circle in thecenter of a rectangle) at the bottom of thelayers panel. The mask allows you to modifyimage again and again or go back to the originalimage if you’re not satisfied.Local Perspectives. African Insights.

STEP08In the ‘Tools’ panel, select the ‘Brush’ tool.At the bottom of the same panel, use thedouble-headed arrow to switch ‘Foreground’color to black and ‘Background’ to white.STEP09In the ‘Layers’ panel, click the ‘Layer Mask.’Use ‘Brush’ tool and paint on the backdropof model image to clean up appearance oftrees around the model.STEP10In the ‘Layers’ panel, select the ‘LayerMask’ Thumbnail and hold down theOption-ALT button and left click andrelease. This will change the image ofmodel to thumbnail and allow betterclean up of the background. Once done,hold Option-ALT and left click to returnimage to its normal view.VIDEOTutorialsThese are the first of many FREE tutorials we willbe posting online (via the magazine’s YouTubechannel) primarily to educate on photographytechniques and the business elements of aphotography operation. These educational videosare the pre-amble to the photography school wewill be starting towards the latter part of the year.Food PhotographyAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 20

STEPGo to the ‘Adjustments’ panel and selectSTEP‘Brightness-Contrast’ icon. Adjust the11 Brightness slider to 10 and the Contrast slider 12to 65 to bring more punch to the image.In the ‘Adjustments’ panel, select ‘Levels’icon. Adjust the black slider to 65 to bringin darker tones.STEP13In the ‘Layers’ panel, click on the pull downmenu, then select ‘Flatten Image’ to collapselayers. Save completed image by going to‘File’ then ‘Save As’ and you are DONE!WATCH THEAPMLAUNCHHIGHLIGHT VIDEOCS Anne Waiguru, O.G.W, Cabinet Secretary,Ministry of Devolution and Planning shares herremarks at the African Photo Magazine launchheld on April 16, 2015.Local Perspectives. African Insights.

AMATEUR CORNERThe journey beginsimonSIMON RWIGI is a budding professionalphotographer. In the first issue of the magazine, weshared his experiences as an Intern with House ofFotography. In this issue, as a valuable full-time memberhe shares a photo captured during a commercial shootassignment with head photographer, Teddy Mitchener.I like to call this picture “secret doorway.” It is actually a pictureof a painting taken through a slightly open doorway with a floralarrangement blurred in the foreground. This floral arrangement, thepositioning of the camera and a f-stop of 5.6 captured the depthof field dimension I was looking for. What intrigues me about thispicture is that it does look like an open doorway to some fascinatingaisle, in a church maybe? Not sure, but it does intrigue me enoughto make me want to push the door open just a little further, tofind out. I am fast learning that the pictures I take must first, betechnically proficient, but most importantly they must communicateor evoke a feeling or at least get a conversation started.AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 22

Camera Phone RevolutionNYAMU WANYOIKE has embraced this culturalNyamurevolution. “I love to explore things that I am passionate about and Artin all its forms allows me to do just that. I love to be involved in creatingand I have a deep love for nature. As I don’t currently have funds for acamera, I have found that my phone is very handy for taking the naturepictures I enjoy so much” remarks an animated Nyamu.Seeto learn some tips we picked from ourdiscussions with Nyamu about how tomake best use of your camera phone!page33Local Perspectives. African Insights.

Life never works out how we plan or how wehoped and if we are truly honest with ourselves,if we are brave enough, there comes a timewhen we reach a cross-road that begs thequestion, “Do I just continue and hope for thebest or do I reconfigure my life?”Paul, better known as Pablo, reached that pointin his life and his musings give a wonderfulinsight into how life twists and turns, and how,if we recognize the intersections where we needto get off and hit the reset button, maybe, justmaybe, we will hit the next upward trajectoryas Pablo is now doing, and reinvent ourselves.African Photo Magazine firmly believesthat to become better photographers andindustry practitioners, it is vital that persistentsoul searching takes place, constantly, bothwithin and with the ‘old heads’ in our vastlyinterconnected industry; iron sharpens ironthey say, and without further ado, our chatwith Pablo.“I was done with theelse and the lack oflifeARECONFIGUREDReflections from Paul MurungaAPM: Who is Pablo?PM: This is really the most importantquestion because that then informs why Ido what I do and why I am passionate aboutcertain areas. For a long time I didn’t evenreally know who Pablo was and at 40 all thatchanged. I hit the reset button and startedover. At 40, I changed jobs, starting a businessventure that failed and found myself withouta Plan C and totally broke because my muchanticipated Plan B fell flat. My plan A wasto quit my job because I was simply tired ofwhat I had been doing for the last 20 years,having worked in the advertising industryin one form or other (but mostly in ClientService) and quitting at my zenith as a GroupAccount Director with Scanad (a subsidiaryof Scangroup as listed on the NSE); I hadstopped growing and learning, so it was timeto leave the building. I had hit the end of theroad as far as knowledge was concerned andthe direction I wanted to venture into, mybosses at the time were unwilling to take. SoI bit the proverbial bullet and headed out inAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 24

to the great big unknown. That day will live long inmy memory; little did I know that it would mark thebeginning of a series of events that would completelytransform my life.APM: What direction is this you were so passionateabout?PM: Brand Strategy. Today I work with a group ofmassively talented individuals doing this very thing,and there, we have coined our definition of brandas this: Brand = (Label x Meaning) action . Most localAd Agencies invest heavily in the communicationcomponent especially around the creative elementsof Art Direction, Copy Writing and Creative PostProduction. Few pay attention to the planning process,the strategic thinking and process that informs thecommunication pieces that they so lovingly create. Itis a specialist area, and, for a long time Ad Agenciesfelt that our market wasn’t ready for it. But I feltthat the market was begging for us to really beginunderstanding the psychology of the end consumer;understanding that brands actually belong to theconsumer and the perceptions about the brandsAPM: What role did farming play in developingthis Plan C?PM: In those 3 years people thought I had quit life,dropping out of the scene like that, but I didn’t quitlife, I reconfigured it, I changed how I consumed it.I examined my life and realized that my wife and mytwo boys were the most important aspect of my life -that was lesson #1.I also started to question everything and thisenabled me to unpack who I was and at 40, I startedover! Farming was very incidental since I had timeon my hands and my brother-in-law (Chris) hadcome into a large farm that needed working and in3 years of farming, I learnt what advertising couldnever teach me. Farming taught me the value ofgetting to the root of the matter; to get down anddirty and understand the basic elements. Farmingis also not an ‘instant coffee mix’; farming involvestime, patience, disappointments, seasons, and mostimportantly, faith that you will reap what you sow(Alas! That one was tough to learn). Farming taughtme that it’s not all about me; that there are so many18-hour days working for someonebalance in my personal life.”are shaped and driven by the consumer. This is aconcept that is a lot harder to sell but I was of theopinion that we should build up the capacity aroundthis new way of serving our clients; understandingintimately the thinking behind how stuff works!APM: How does stuff work?PM: People have always been my thing and thereasoning behind their behavior resonates with me.The behavior of people in relation to one another,how they see things, how they buy things, how theywant things; the behavioral aspect of the consumeris what I believe drives a brand!APM: How did Plan C begin to take shape?PM: Once I knew that this was the directionI wanted to take, I knew it was time to quit.Furthermore, I was done with the 18-hour daysworking for someone else and the lack of balancein my personal life. At this stage in my life I startedto desire a life where home and work were the samething; the perfect work-life balance situation. In allof this Plan C was still a long way off. I became afarmer in Kajiado for the next 3 years!people involved in making a crop successful and youmust find partnerships, nurture networks and hangonto them for dear life; farming taught me lessons#2, #3, …#10; farming changed my life!APM: So where is all this leading?PM: My passion is still this thing called The Artsbut now I have gravitas; I am grounded, I am rootedand I now understand that with nothing you canstill be something. So we have to come at the thingsthat we consider important to us from not only ourown perspective but also from the perspective of thepeople we want to influence. If we want to changeothers, we have got to hear, see, feel the world fromtheir perspective and that is why for me Brand iscentral. Most Corporates try to control consumerbehavior without understanding the root (or theinsights that inform) and we must apply theseinsights with the knowledge that behavior exists ina communal space and feeds off interactivity withothers.So now, 50% of my time is spent watching people,listening to people and figuring out where toContinued on page 33Local Perspectives. African Insights.

OF DRONES& CURRENTLEGISLATIONAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 26

There has been a tremendous amount of interest from aerial photographers on what the official policyis regarding the operations of drones and the necessary licensing requirements. The Kenya Civil AviationAuthority (KCAA), the agency mandated to license the drones, said those flying them are doing so illegally,and through Communications Manager Mutia Mwandikwa, KCAA said its hands were tied because of lack of aregulatory framework.On 2 July 2015, KCAA held a consultative stakeholders meeting to frame a policy around this issue, and iscurrently working with the Ministry of Transport to come up with regulations on the operation of drones.Below is an extract of the DRAFT Kenya Policy On Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) under discussion.It is Kenya Civil Aviation Authority policy that RPAS operating in Kenya must meet at least the same safety andoperational standards as manned aircraft. Thus, RPAS operations must be as safe as manned aircraft insofar asthey must not present or create a greater hazard to persons, property, vehicles or vessels, whilst in the air oron the ground, than that attributable to the operations of manned aircraft of equivalent class or category.Classification of RPASWeight Classification Civil Category Mass (kg) Broad Military Civil RegulationGroupEquivalent1 Small Unmanned Aircraft 20 or less Micro (< 5 kg) National2 Light UAS More than 20 to 150 Mini (< 30 kg) National3 UAS More than 150 Tactical (State Aircraft are National)REGULATORY REQUIREMENTSAll civil aircraft fly subject to the legislation of the Civil Aviation Act, 2013 and the associated Rules of the AirRegulations 2013. The KCAA may exempt RPAS operators from the provisions of the Act and the Rules of theAir, depending on the UAV’s potential to inflict damage or injury and the proposed area of operation. SmallUnmanned Aircraft (SUA) are exempted from most of the provisions of the Act and Rules of the Air Regulationsby the provisions of development, operation and maintenance and decommissioning procedure. It is CAAPolicy that any UAS outside a Kenyan Restricted Area will not increase the risk to existing users and will notdeny airspace to them.NEXT STEPSA select committee that was setup after the first meeting, to consolidate viewpoints and draft an updateddraft regulatory framework for a second stakeholders forum is to be held before September 2015. This secondmeeting will be the preamble to obtaining parliamentary legislative approval and will finalize on issues such asoperator training required, licenses and approvals needed.Notices of this second and final meeting will be posted in the dailies and also on KCAA website: www.kcaa.or.keLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

Once in a while, but not very often, a subtle shift occurs, not so much sothat one’s attention is held captive for long but when it happens, thereis no turning back and in the blink of an eye, nothing is ever the sameagain. And that slight change in the winds is happening good people.In a June 2015 presser, 34 and Berge Farrell announced that they hadcombined forces in Africa and launched their first office in Nairobi, Kenyaled by Sire Edgar Kwach, the previous Client Service Director from theEast African WPP juggernaut, Scanad. Of note, Scanad is a central partof Scangroup, the behemoth straddling the advertising market in thisregion, with a commanding 80% market share.African Photo Magazine had a sit down with Sire, as he is affectionatelyknown, to understand what this portends for the advertising landscape as weknow it and specifically, how the photography industry will be shaped by thechanges that will come with a much needed shifting of the sands.APM: Who are 34 and Berge Farrell?Sire: Founded in 1998, Berge Farrell Design is a strategically drivendesign and branding consultancy that today is South Africa’s largestexporter of design. In a nutshell, what sets this outfit apart is thatthey craft strategies in partnership with their clients before creatingANYTHING; they believe strategy is an essential partner of design. Theyare all about strategically-led problem solving creative ideas to helpclients build brands and drive sales in retail environments. In partnershipwith 34 who specialize in innovative marketing, Nairobi should beprepared for change! Already, BF.34 is working in Kenya with Unilever,Kimberly Clark and Safaricom.APM: What can we look forward to, having Sire at the helm?Sire: All of my professional life, 13 years in all, has been in advertisingand as most industry insiders know, the one constant is change. It istherefore hardly surprising to hear of the variety of agencies I haveAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 28

placed my mark on. My career gives one a mad-dash crash-course in howKenya’s advertising landscape has shaped itself to what we know it to betoday. From a cultural perspective, no one but a Kenyan is better placed toestablish BF.34’s foothold in this region; as a career Ad-man, no one is betterplaced to understand the nuances that underlie the region’s advertising andshopper buying experiences and expectations; and as an avid and fiercechange agent, no one is better placed to drive BF.34’s innovative approach tobranding and design.APM: Final words Sire?Sire: Change is in the air…the advertising landscape is changing and with it,all associated industries, such as film, photography, production, and so forth.There will be an opening up of the competitive landscape especially for localtalent, and with it, an elevating of industry standards in terms of creativity,economic opportunities, skill levels and ultimately the client experience. Wewill all be beneficiaries of BF.34 coming into town; we will all be better for it.Local Perspectives. African Insights.

This photographeris changingAfrica’s Image onepicture at a timeby Alice M. MithamoTo many young East Africans, photography is just anotherside job, reserved for weekends or holidays. To MwangiKirubi, however, photography is a profession. Kirubi, knownas Mwarv, dared to follow his dream. It was the best decisionhe ever made. That dream would take him on a series ofphotographic road trips around East Africa, including hishome country of Kenya. Through his photos, he countersnegative stereotypes about the continent with regal portraits,awe-inspiring landscapes, and iridescent city show.Interestingly, Kirubi was not always a photographer. Infact,he did not study photography at all; rather, he studied graphicdesign, but his fancy for storytelling led him to an entirelydifferent career path working as an advertising copywriterfor some big advertising and radio companies in Nairobi.During his copywriting gigs, he came across beautiful worksof photography and took a keen interest in the same. In 2009,he dropped everything and decided to follow his new-foundpassion, and he has never looked back.“My biggest achievementas a photographerinvolves making peoplelook at Kenya and Africain a whole new light.”Mwangi KirubiAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 30

FOLLOWING YOUR DREAM ISN’T EASY.Kirubi confesses that pursuing your dream is not alwaysrosy. You’re never guaranteed that your dream will amountto anything meaningful. With passion, however, you canfind meaning even in the smallest successes. In Kirubi’scase, his passion led him to join other equally ambitiousphotographers and cinematographers and form OneTouchLive, a collaborative project to capture the beauty of EastAfrica with photos and videos.In 2013, under the “OneTouch Live” banner, Kirubi andhis team embarked on a 17-day expedition from Nairobito Bujumbura. Even the absence of external funding didnot stop them, and they found support along the way fromonline followers around the world.‘YOU’VE MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH NAIROBI AGAIN.’In recent years, the photographers have taken several roadtrips to different parts of Kenya to showcase the country’sbest sights. Kirubi explains that the expeditions are adeliberate way of changing the country’s negative narrativeand showcasing Kenya’s beauty, stories, landscapes, andcultures.“My biggest achievement as a photographer involvesmaking people look at Kenya and Africa in a whole newlight. From simple comments on my photos like ‘I neverknew Kenya was so beautiful’ to ‘You’ve made me fall inlove with Nairobi again ‘ These are my greatest conquests.They make the sweat sweet and not salty.” says Kirubi.Challenges and the pursuit of anything worthwhile arebedfellows, as Kirubi has found out. The OneTouch LiveAfrica expedition, for example, was extremely tiring.The crew had to drive, shoot, reverse to capture some moreimages, and continue driving. At the end, the team of 10photographers and cinematographers spent twice as muchtime on the road as planned.CHALLENGES ARE GUARANTEED.During the pursuit of individual projects, Kirubi sayshe encountered several roadblocks. For example, hisphotographic equipment was stolen in 2013. Additionally,when traversing East Africa. he was once detained by theUgandan police for five hours and they confiscated hispassport and equipment, yet, Kirubi takes all the challengesin stride. “I don’t think there’s anyone who has it rosy.Challenges are guaranteed and my responses to thechallenges are also guaranteed — I handle it all in goodstride,” the amiable Kirubi says.The relentless pursuit of his dream led Kirubi to establish hisown photography company — Click Pictureworks. He alsoestablished PichaDuka, a site where people from all overthe world can buy quality images and footage from Africa. Inaddition to his own photos, Kirubi and his team catalog andsell pictures for other African photographers on PichaDuka.GET OUT OF THE SOCIAL PRISON!For his parting words, Kirubi has some advice for Africa’syoung people ‘Get out of the social prison.’ “You don’t haveto conform to what the world expects of you. Follow yourheart and by doing so, you will find peace that surpassesall understanding. Believe me; you’d rather be broke andhappy than rich and sad.”Alice M. Mithamo is a freelance writer and journalist. She also runs amodern farm and blogs about it at smartfarmingkenya.comChallenges areguaranteedThe OneTouch Live Africaexpedition crew at MagadiAll photos courtesy of Mwangi KirubiLocal Perspectives. African Insights.

FROM US TO YOUAfricanPhotoMagazine@african_photoFollow us on Twitter and LIKE us on FB!We will randomly select the lucky winners from our fansusing #AfricanPhoto in their tweets and FB postings!African Photo Magazine wants to encourage our readers toshare their unique stories and pictures and engage with thecommunity growing around this magazine! The one storyor picture (associated with the hashtag above) that speaksto our collective hearts, wins this Issue’s SWAG and befeatured in our next issue!Sony Smart Watch• Size: 1.6”• OS: Tizen OS, 200MHzQualcomm M3 CPU• 128 MB of RAM, 4GBof internal storage• 2 megapixel camera• Bluetooth 4.0 LE• Accelerometer andgyroscope• Dust & Water-proof• Pairs with your phoneusing a BluetoothconnectionWINNER From Issue #1One winner, Macharia Njuguna, came to collect his swag and ended upspending the entire afternoon with African Photo Magazine and sharedhis amazing story. Macharia reminded us that we all individually have astory to tell and the depth of each ultimately is determined by how ourstories shape and intertwine with the lives of others. Macharia’s storyis shaped by the negative ethnicity deeply entrenched in Kenya and hefelt driven to develop positive stories that see beyond the language wespeak. ‘Ask My Shoe’ is an idea he began toying with since he listenedto the song Uliza Kiatu by the H-Art Band. To see more on Macharia’sintriguing story, see his blog: https://askmyshoe.wordpress.comAFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE 32

Continued from page 24connect with them. I am now a part of an outfit calledBSD and this is where I learn Brand, teach Brand andexecute Brand strategies for our clients. BSD exists totell African brand stories from an African perspective,in photography, videography, in our creative work, tohave our own voice and to spin it in our own way. BSDbelieves we must collectively mobilize our dreams andour voices to rebrand Africa!APM: Final words?PM: To me, Brand is the new currency of business (ofbeing even); if you want to succeed, if you are tryingto be something or sell something, Brand is central!Brand addresses how you will succeed; it informsthe market how to perceive you and thereafter reactto you. In closing, and on a personal note, success isnot measured only by awards and milestones of greatrenown. Success counts if we learn to cultivate a beliefbeyond self and understand that the greatest power wehave is the ability to give something back, to build alegacy that allows future generations to grow becausewe have been good stewards and have charted a paththat they can follow. We must think about ourselves,not in isolation but in the context of others.I still farm and the initial 100 acre farm is now 500acres and growing, but that is a story for another day!In the meantime, I will be true to me and if you canfind me, we could swap stories and discover a wholenew perspective to this life. #LifeIsForTheLivingSeepage23to get a glimpse intowho Nyamu is fromhis feature in theAmature CornerCameraPhonesthe new frontierThese days digital cameras are found in a variety ofother gadgets – including cell phones and watches!In fact Camera Phones are one of the fastest growingsegments of the digital camera market and with theimprovements in the quality of what is being offered insome phones (higher megapixels, better lenses, highcapacity storage) some believe that they are beginningto win market share away from the low end offerings ofmany digital camera manufacturers.The increased accessibility of the mobile phone camerahas allowed more people to capture everyday momentsin their daily lives which would otherwise go unnoticed.Here are some tips about how to make best use of yourcamera phone:1. Light Your Subject Well The better lit your subject is the cleareryour image is likely to be.2. Get Close to Your Subject One of the most common mistakeswith camera phone images is that their subject ends up being atiny, unrecognizable object in the distance– so fill up your viewfinder with your subject if possible.3. Keep Still As with all digital photography, the more steady yourcamera phone is when taking your shot the clearer your imagewill be.4. Follow Rules of Composition Learn some basic composition‘rules.’ (for example – the rule of thirds – i.e. don’t place yoursubject squarely in the middle of your frame but a third of the wayin). Simple tips like this can bring life to your photos.5. Observe Camera Phone Etiquette While there is no formal setof rules for using camera phones – it is worth considering howyou use it and what impact it might have upon others. There aremany cases of camera phones being abused to take sneaky orvoyeuristic photos. Ask permission to photograph strangers!Local Perspectives. African Insights.

At House of Fotography,we produce imagery thatseeks to speak to theheart; our photographylingers in ones mindas we passionately craftimages that come to life!Aerial PhotographyCommercial &IndustrialPortraitureWeddingsfotohouse.co.ke