African Photo Magazine Issue #5

+ + + Gear
Canon
Fashion photography
workshop
Photography Tips
Turn your photos from
every day snapshots to
epic masterpieces
Fujifilm GFX 50S
Canon 5D Mark IV
SONY a99ii
[
ISSUE 5
MARCH 2017
[
Local Perspectives, African Insights
Africa Passing Away
A Creative Concept
Ernest cole
PHOTOGRAPHER OF APARTHEID
the big five
Photographer Showcase
Allan Gichigi | Brent Stirton | David Ballam | Jimmy Nelson | Lyndsey McIntyre

[
contents
04
04 Africa Passing Away
A photography concept depicting
Africa’s face decaying due to the
onslaught of modernity.
06 Cultural Heritage Centre
Discovery of the Arusha Cultural Heritage
Centre.
11 Behind The Scenes
A peek into the world of judging
photography competitions.
12 Photographic Society of
South Africa
PSSA, Africa’s oldest photographic
society, celebrates 170 years!
14 My Africa
Mo Ibrahim Foundation celebrates its
10th Anniversary with Photography.
28 Gear
How the latest DSLRs hitting the market
stack up against each other.
[
[
practitioners in various fields, have a poor grasp
of the rich history behind their chosen fields
and the blood, sweat and tears their fore-fathers
shed to allow them to craft the present. These
African greats stood up at the dawning of a new
Africa; as independence movements gathered
steam in the 1950s and 1960s, a new breed of
photographer was about to take the stage.
This publication has the very great honor of
featuring some of our greats in this edition,
such as Malick Sidibe of Mali, Mohamed Amin of
Kenya (now deceased) and Obie Oberholzer of
South Africa. We have created a “Hall of Framers”
to showcase the amazing work and talent of
these greats and will endeavor to feature at least
one great in every issue we publish ~ they must
not be forgotten!
29 Ernest Cole
The voice of the voiceless in apartheid
South Africa.
34 The Big Five
The Photographers Showcase.
56 5 Photographers On
Behance
Featuring works of photographers on
the creatives platform.
57 5 Must Read Photo Books
Expand your photography horizons and
pallet.
58 5 Photo Competitions
Year-round contests with a wide variety
of photography genres.
59 5 Photo Galleries
See the best artworks the African
Continent has to offer.
14 34
60 5 Photography Tips
Turn your everyday snapshots into epic
masterpieces.
64 Canon Photography Workshop
Developing young talent in the region.
65 The Spotlight
Featuring works of amateur photographers.
renowned photojournalist and Canon Master Gary Knight.
With the support of local partners, Canon is using its core
imaging skills to help local people develop livelihoods in
professional photography or print. The next workshops are
slated for Saturday 14th - Friday 20th May, 2016 and will be
co-hosted with House of Fotography, a local outfit based in
Nairobi, Kenya.
Lastly, we tip off our hats to our African photographers that
came out tops in the recently concluded SONY and Hamdan
bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International
Photography Award (HIPA) competitions. These are the
largest photography competitions in the world and Africa
took its place amongst the very best. Kudos to our winners!
It is an absolute pleasure to bring this magazine to you and I
The Editor,
trust you will enjoy
Sharon
it as much
Mitchener
as I do!
The Editor,
Letter from the Editor
This publication has finally arrived at its 5th issue and we are utterly thankful to
God for this milestone. The compilation of Pan African material that we believe our
4
readers will love is an arduous task but a labor of love that we hope will translate into
many more issues into the foreseeable future.
In this particular issue, we have narrowed our sights down to the wonderful African
historical and cultural heritage we all share and that has so lovingly been captured
in our Photographers Showcase by our Big 5; namely Jimmy Nelson, Brent Stirton,
Allan Gichigi, David Ballam and Lyndsey McIntyre. The tremendous response and
encouragement we have received from these photographers or in some cases, their
representatives (Getty Images and teNeues Media) strengthens our commitment to
the vision for this publication.
We would be remiss not to point out that these Big 5 and many like them stand on
the shoulders of giants such as Ernest Cole, captured in our Hall of Framers, who
paved the way in crafting a love, an identity for telling the African story; our heartfelt
appreciation goes to the Ernest Cole Family Trust and the Hasselblad Foundation for
generously sharing his works with us, and Carole Naggar for sharing his story.
In keeping with our practice of reaching back to our past while looking forward to
our future, we have begun a pictorial series that looks at our shared African culture,
so lovingly preserved in the Arusha Cultural Hertiage Centre. The image of most
things African was distorted throughout history as photographs of Africans and
their culture were often used to evoke powerful emotions, and they almost always
represented a particular slant on reality that was oftentimes biased towards the
telling of a particular negative narrative. This publication firmly believes our African
AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE heritage must be preserved 2 and retold anew Local using Perspectives. our own African words Insights. and our own
images to restore its authenticity and dignity or Africa will pass away.
At the close of 2016 we celebrated the 170 year anniversary of the very first African
photographic society established by our brothers in Cape Town, South Africa back in
1846, not too long after the invention of photography in 1839. There is evidence that
experiments in 1835 with “Photogenic Drawing” were done by Charles Piazzy-Smyth
at the Royal Observatory in Cape Town well before the “official” date of photography
invention, but that is a story for another day.
It is therefore in keeping with such a rich historical photography tradition that
this publication will have its very first print run being showcased at the PH Photo
Centre in Cape Town. A big asante sana to famed South African photographer, and
mad man, Obie Oberholzer (obnoxious and arrogant, a moustached binge-drinker
with an aggressive disdain for ignorance but who has consistently taken beautiful
photographs of South Africa’s most isolated places, and the people who inhabit
them) for the introduction to PH Photo Centre and his belief in this publication.
This publication also celebrates another anniversary, the 10th, for the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation, by presenting a truly amazing compilation of images produced from all
over Africa, for its inaugural MyAfrica photo competition. MyAfrica competition was
held to showcase imagery of a vibrant and dynamic future for Africa; from looking
back we now look forward to our future!
We wrap up this bumper 5th issue with a look at five interesting things we would
like to share with our readers, in addition to the latest gear hitting the market and a
look at a recently concluded photography workshop held by the publishers of this
magazine, in conjunction with Canon.
Our next issue will come out in mid 2017 but in the meantime stay connected via our
newly launched website, http://www.africanphotomag.co.ke/
Asante Sana, and enjoy!
2 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 3
awa
winne

[
“O
ne of the most
serious mistakes,
if not the most
serious mistake,
made by the
colonial powers
in Africa, may have been to ignore or
underestimate the cultural strength
of the African people. Evidence shows
how strongly the African resisted the
attempts of both the colonialists
and the missionary to dehumanize
and obliterate their cultural identity.
These outsiders failed to realize
that as long as a people can have
a cultural life, foreign domination
cannot be sure of its perpetuation” ~
African Theology, Inculturation and
Liberation by Emmanuel Martey.
The erosion and domination of
African people was not going to
come via use of force of arms or
theological indoctrination; it was
going to come through the backdoor
with the insidious creep of ideas
through global media, Hollywood
and the new bogeyman called social
media. Our world is now a suffocating
small village where we are ruled by
the headlines and the number of
Likes and Shares and Trends one can
muster.
We are witnessing the death of
originality, the death authenticity and
the cheapening of information and
communication. We are witnessing
the slow erosion of our own true
African selves and what held for
millennia is slowly passing away in
the face of modernization and with
the least amount of resistance.
This creative concept was birthed
by the photographer during the
photoshoot of the ethnographic
collection of masks at the Cultural
Heritage Centre in Arusha, Tanzania.
Each mask shows half of a proud
regal African face in a state of decay
or deterioration and is presented to
showcase conceptually, the cultural
erosion that we are witnessing
among the so-called millennials and
within the public discourse today.
[
Teddy Mitchener
Concept, Photography, Makeup and Styling:
Teddy Mitchener
Models:
Charlotte Ashly Nyachucha, Diana Machi and Sharon Mitchener
4 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 5

In Defense of our
From the beginning, this
publication has had a
singular focus on Africa and
dedicated the first issues to
documenting the history
of photography on the
African Continent and its journey to
the present day (see past issues for
the serialized historical journey). In
our chronicles we became painfully
aware that our beloved mother Africa
is evolving fast and is quickly losing
the majority of her ethnicity and
authenticity. The original evidence
of African cultures and civilizations is
fading with residual evidence being
encased in books, museums and old
peoples memories.
Fortuitously, at the end of 2015 on our
way to Arusha Tanzania to visit with
an original Black Panther in exile,
Pete O’neal, we literally stumbled on
a hidden jewel; the Cultural Heritage
Centre. The Centre is a treasure
trove of all things African, past and
present! With the kind permission
of its owner and creator, Saifudin
Khanbhai, Teddy Mitchener of House
of Fotography captured endearing
images of sublime art and artifacts
produced by our African peoples
long gone. As Africans, we owe a debt
of gratitude to people like Saifudin
who realize the incalculable worth
Heritage
of African historical works of art and
have dedicated their life’s work to
preserving our heritage, even when
we ourselves are so quick to move
on and embrace all things new, and
mostly foreign.
As publishers of this magazine, we
feel very deeply about cherishing
our heritage as our past is what has
forged our present and will mold
our future. It is to this end we are
beginning another series celebrating
our African heritage and capturing
it through the photographer’s lens.
Coincidentally, in our Photographers
Showcase, we feature photographers
who have dedicated themselves
to capturing disappearing Africa,
peoples and places.
It is our hope that as we continue
with our publications celebrating the
art of photography on the Continent
and our African peoples, our readers
will awaken and take hold of the
legacy of the Black Man, proudly
claiming and preserving His heritage.
In the words of the great Bob Marley,
“If you know your history, then you
would know where you are coming
from, then you wouldn’t have to ask
me, who the heck do I think I am.”
Our first installment showcases a
Cultural Heritage Centre, Arusha Tanzania
small selection of masks, mostly
of West African origin. One of the
main characteristics of our culture
was the use of masks in rituals and
ceremonies. It is believed that the
earliest masks were used before
the Paleolithic era (Stone Age that
began about 2 to 2.5 million years
ago). Masks represented spirits of
animals or ancestors, mythological
heroes, moral values or a form of
honoring of a person in a symbolic
way. They were made from wood,
pottery, textiles, copper and bronze.
Details could be made from animal
teeth, hair, bones and horns as well
as feathers, seashells and even straw
and egg shells. The maker of the
masks had a high rank in the village
because it was believed that he had
contact with the spirit world and
making masks was a craft passed
down in the family. The mask wearer
was a sort of medium that allowed
for dialogue between the community
and the spirits (usually those of
the dead or nature-related spirits).
Masked dances were an integral
part of most traditional African
ceremonies related to weddings,
funerals and initiation rites.
In capturing these masks, the
photographer birthed a creative
concept in celebration of masks as
an ode to the passing away that we
are witnessing. The concept is an
interpretation that shows half of a
proud regal African face in a state
of decay or deterioration and is
presented to showcase the cultural
erosion that we are witnessing
among the so-called millennials and
within the public discourse.
Saifudin Khanbhai
Owner & Creator of Cultural Heritage Center
Masks
Saifudin Khanbhai, Cultural Heritage Centre
Photography
Teddy Mitchener 01
6 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 7

01
N’toma Initiation Mask
People : Marka, Mali, Burkina Faso
Materials: Wood with sheet metal
Muslim merchant communities at the time of the Mandika peoples (founders of the
Mali Empire in the 13th Century, and are part of the Mandé ethnic group, whose earliest
known history can be traced back to sites near Tichitt (southern Mauritania), where
urban centers began to emerge by as early as 2500 BC.), the Marka largely controlled
the desert-side trade between the Sahel communities and nomadic Berber tribes who
crossed the Sahara.
The masks of this type were used in two rituals, during the circumcision ceremony of
adolescents, and when circumcised men advanced from one grade to another. The
masks have a superstructure of horn forms, which some researchers have related to
the seven seeds created by God for the building of the universe.
02
Guro Mask with Figure on top
People : Guro, Ivory Coast
Materials: Wood, Paint
02
The daily life of the Guro was dominated by secret societies called “zuzu”. Guro masks
are elegant and generally the most colorful of African masks. The masks belong to
the category of Je masks and are the first to appear to warm up the audience prior to
the appearance of the anthropomorphic masks (masks for love, war, fertility, rain, etc)
which are considered to be the most important during the performance.
03
03
Guro Zamble animal antelope mask head
People : Guro, Ivory Coast
Material : Painted wood
This mask represents the mythical creature that has Antelope features. The Guro
people are mostly farmers, therefore, their craftsmanship embraces imageries tied to
the land and to agrarian practices. The antelope is beloved for its grace and speed and
for the folkloric belief that a mythical antelope taught men to farm.
05
06
04
Dan Mask with Cowrie shells
People : Dan, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Guinea
Materials: Wood, Paint
The Dan originated perhaps from among the Mandinka people,
As with all Dan masks, this mask is considered sacred and a guiding spirit of the tribe.
Symbolically, cowrie shells are a representation of a spirit within all natural things.
03
05
Oba Leopard Mask
People : Kingdom of Benin (1440-1897), present-day Nigeria
Materials: cast bronze and carved ivory
Leopards are one of the most commonly portrayed animals in African art. Intelligent
and courageous, they often serve as metaphors for powerful individuals.
Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin - a divine ruler for
whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. Before the
British invasion in 1897, domesticated leopards were kept in the palace to demonstrate
the Oba’s mastery over the wilderness.
06
Bamileke Beaded Animal Mask
People : Bamileke, Cameroon
Materials: cast bronze and carved ivory
04
Bamileke masks were usually worn during ceremonies and rituals such as funerals and
annual festivals, and some, according to tradition, had been created and consecrated
by the ancestors themselves and therefore inspired great fear.
07
08
8 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 9

07
Bambara Brass Mask
People: Bamana/Bambara , Mali
Materials: Brass
The Bamana originated as a royal section of the Mandinka people.
This Brass mask would have belonged to a prominent member of the society as it is
made from metal, an exceptionally rare and valuable resource in pre-colonial Africa.
The artistic tradition of the Bamana is rich, filled with pottery, sculptures, beautiful
bokolanfini cloth, and wrought iron figures fashioned by blacksmiths. They also have a
rich masking tradition, used as a form of social control and community education.
09
08
09
Okuyi Mask
People : Punu, Gabon
Materials:Wood
Organized into villages, clans and lineages, with neither a centralized power structure
nor a strict political hierarchy, the Punu group has a culture based on the cult of
ancestors, a general respect for the deceased, and a fear of the spirits of the wilderness.
Punu masks have realistic, mostly white but sometimes black faces with protruding
pursed lips, high-domed foreheads, and characteristic rigid high coiffures reflecting
the Punu women’s hair styles. A dancer on tall stilts performing a ceremony would wear
such a mask tilted forward on his head. He would also wear costume of skins as well as
raffia cloth and carry a whip of dried grass in each hand.
Bambara Brass Mask
People: Bamana/Bambara , Mali
Materials: Brass
Masks are revered as channels to extremely powerful protective spirits who convey
messages, frighten away evil, cure illnesses and encourage fertility.
Have you ever wondered what goes on
behind the scenes of a photo judging
competition?
In September 2015, a locally held photo competition in Nairobi Kenya announced it’s winners
and after receiving 3,000 entries, the five judges — Fashion photographer Barbara Mnishi and
Commercial photographers Osborne Macharia, Teddy Mitchener, Neil Thomas and Rahim Kara
— had to come to an agreement on a single grand prize winner and the winner of nine categories
(advertising, architecture, abstract, documentary, fashion, landscape, street, wedding and wildlife).
10
10
Kwele Mask of the Forest Spirit Ekuk
People : Kwele, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon
Materials: Wood with animal skins
The Kwele fled the coastal area of West Africa during the 19th century, after their
traditional enemies acquired firearms from the slave traders. This altercation is often
called the “Poupou” war.
The Kwele masks are used in initiation rites and at the end of periods of mourning. Representing
benevolent forest spirits, they have zoomorphic or anthropomorphic traits,
or a combination of two. The faces are usually painted in white kaolin earth, a pigment
associated by the Kwele with light and clarity, the two essential factors in the fight
against evil.
This short video is a behind-the-scenes look at how winners are selected.
11
Pumbu Mask
People: Pende ,Kasai River area, Congo
Materials: Wood
The Pende tribe can trace their origins to modern day Angola, between the Atlantic
Coast and the Kwanza (Cuanza) River. They were forced north to their current region
during the Lunda expansion in 1620, which also resulted in numerous cultural influences.
Of the three masks belonging to the chiefly regalia of the Pende people, Pumbu is
deemed the most dangerous and is reserved for only the most powerful chiefs. The
Pumbu mask represents the part of the executive branch that must deal with war and
execution. The Pumbu, unlike the majority of other mask, is only danced on special
occasions such as, when the chief is seriously ill, in times of illness or famine, when
other issues are causing disruption in the community or when the chief feels threatened.
Through the dancing of the Pumbu the chief asserts his authority.
11
10 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 11

Photographic Society
of South Africa
The Continent’s oldest known photographic society
South Africa holds the
honor as having made the
first strides in cementing
the photography practice
on the Continent, with the
opening of the first studio
in Port Elizabeth by Jules Léger in
October 1846, a little over 170 years
ago!
The Continent’s oldest known photographic
society is still in operation
today, the Cape Town Photographic
Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg
and the new baby Society at East
London). This central body would
keep in closer touch with things photographic
overseas and in general
help the various societies assisting
our pictorial work.” A nationalist
mindset gained momentum and
the first National Congress was
held in Durban in 1954, becoming
the inaugural congress of the Photographic
Society of South Africa
(PSSA), electing the office bearers for
educational seminars and competitions.
The society also runs a youth
division with the aim of promoting
photography at the school level.
Mission Statement
The Photographic Society of South
Africa was founded in 1954 as a
non-profit organization.
PSSA aims:
• to bring together all people
interested in photography;
• to promote the highest possible
standards of photography;
• to promote the interests of photography
amongst all its members and
fosters their interests at all levels.
Society, established in 1890. Port
Elizabeth followed in 1891 with their
Amateur Photographic Society.
The question of a National Photographic
Society for South Africa
occupied the minds of photoclub
members towards the end of WWII
with enthusiast Will Till writing in
1933, “there is a movement afoot to
endeavor to form a central photographic
body membered by representatives
from each of the six
societies (Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,
the ensuing year, with the first official
PSSA newsletter being published in
April 1955.
PSSA is currently active in many
ways, locally and internationally by
means of their members being on
committees of other photographic
societies around the world. PSSA is
represented locally at various photo
expo’s and annual national and
regional congresses are organized
to promote the profession through
Goals of PSSA?
PSSA aims to weld together the photographic
and associated efforts of
individuals and photography clubs
into one strong unit.
PSSA is recognised by the South
African Government through
the Performing Arts Council. It is
consulted on aspects affecting
photography in South Africa as well
as being able to negotiate protection
and exemption for photographic
clubs and members.
PSSA publishes a magazine named
IMAGE, which covers all aspects
of the Society’s activities and
photography in general.
For more information visit PSSA
website: www.pssa.co.za
Courtesy, PSSA Public Relations Office
12 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 13

Photo Competition
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African
foundation, established in 2006 with a singular
focus: the critical importance of governance and
leadership in Africa. It is the organization’s belief
that governance and leadership lie at the heart
of any tangible and shared improvement in the
quality of life of African citizens.
In 2016, the Foundation announced the winners of
MyAfrica, a photography competition to capture
visions of Africa’s future as seen by Africans. The
Foundation received thousands of photographs
and the best photographs showed a vibrant
and dynamic future for Africa and tell a story
of opportunity and hope. MyAfrica celebrates
Africans – through their own images and words –
speaking for themselves rather than being spoken
for. The final three winners each received a prize
of $10,000.
The winners:
• Jeri Muchura from Kenya (Professional)
• Samar Baiomy from Egypt (Amateur)
• Phindulo Tshidzumba from South Africa (Student.)
All finalists’ photographs were displayed at the
Foundation’s 10th anniversary celebration, which
took place in London in October 2016 and at the
Annual Governance Weekend in Marrakech in
November 2016.
It is with such pride and pleasure that African
Photo Magazine showcases MyAfrica!
Photo Credits: courtesy Mo Ibrahim Foundation
The competition, launched in early 2016 for the
occasion of the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary,
and was open to photographers of all abilities
and ages. It sought to encapsulate what
Africans feel will shape their continent over the
next decade across the different themes of the
Foundation’s work.
Samar Baiomy [ Egypt ] WINNER
A fisherman using his fishing net in Al Qalyubiyah city in Egypt.
14 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 15
(http://samar-baiomy.tumblr.com/)

notable mentions
Jeri Muchura [ Kenya ] WINNER
This is an image of a boy and his fish. It was taken on an island in the middle of Lake Turkana, Kenya.
It is one of my favorite places because of its tranquility, enhanced by the very few ripples in the
water. My prayer for my continent is that in the next ten years, peace will prevail, and children will
grow up ignorant to the ugly face of war. I hope that every child has access to food and a safe place
to play. I hope that every African child can grow up like a child should, carefree and happy.
(www.instagram.com/photosbyjeri/)
Lebohang Moleko [ South Africa ] A text upon
which social realities are inscribed. So much importance
and value is placed upon the colour of
our skin. This body of work highlights the idea of
race in our society and attempts to eradicate the
pressure put on skin tone.
(http://llmoleko.wix.com/photographer)
Kweku Yeboah [ Ghana ] This image represents
the many Africans who have had their dreams
shattered because of colonial masters. However,
with good African leadership, we are now on our
way to freedom.
(www.instagram.com/Kweku_yeboah1/)
Folasade Adeoso [ Senegal ] As a female Nigerian
artist, I understand first-hand the challenges
that young African women face every day trying
to pursue their dreams. Whether it’s the right to
receive an education, start their own business,
or simply play sports, young women in Africa
can face significant social barriers to receive the
same treatment and access to opportunity as
their male counterparts.
(www.instagram.com/lovefola/)
Phindulo Tshidzumba [ South Africa ] WINNER
Sadly Africa is known for bad things, especially conflict & poverty. But for me, Africa is a place full of creativity
and love. This image shows the reflections of Africans going about their daily lives. I hope this photograph will
change people’s perspectives towards Africa and show them in a more positive side.
(https://www.instagram.com/rigby_ranks/)
Hassan Kadry [ Egypt ] Culture and education are the future for Africa.
For children to have a better future away from poverty, ignorance and
unemployment, we need to cultivate a culture of reading. In this photograph
a child is reading a huge book, symbolising the huge importance of
education in Africa.
(www.instagram.com/hassanoov1980/)
Hussein Alshafai [ Tanzania ] This is an image of a Tanzanian woman. She
works in the coffee fields every day, contributing to the development and
success of Africa.
(www.instagram.com/hussein_alshafai/)
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 17

Akinwunmi Ajose-Adeogun [ Makoko, Lagos-State ] This photograph
was taken at Makoko. Makoko is a fisherman’s colony whose source of
livelihood is in the art of fishing. While on a volunteering mission with an
NGO (Slum2School Africa), the need for an immediate intervention that
would see that all the children who weren’t currently receiving any form
of education would be enrolled into schools and supported to achieve at
least a basic education was birthed. Encouraging and actively supporting
the enrolment of all out of school children who live in slums all over Nigeria
such as Makoko is a vision that would not only effectively transform the life of
the children and their wards but will impact positively our social environment.
(www.instagram.com/officialheycube/)
Bernard Kalu [ Nigeria ] In the next ten years, Africa will be shaped by
the individuals that dare to dream. One of my favourite quotes is by Ellen
Johnson, the first female president of an African country. She said, “The size
of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them.”
This image shows a child in the slums of Lagos, reaching up high with his
hand. For me, it depicts the average African daring to dream and working
to achieve his dream, regardless of his present conditions or situation. The
future belongs to dreamers. And in ten years, Africa will be the land of our
dreams.
(www.instagram.com/kabenny_/)
Brian Otieno [ Kenya ] This is an image of a kid
splashing water during a swimming session in
Kibera. He is playing in murky pool water, formed
as a result of torrential rainfall. Apart from swimming,
many children living in the urban slum also
like to play football.
(https://www.behance.net/brayotieno)
Ahmed Hassan Elsawi [ Egypt ] My photo represents
how most of the workers do, see and feel
about their jobs. A lot of jobs in Africa are done
with bare hands and this is very hard on them.
(www.instagram.com/elsawiiii/)
Eman Tokhy [ Egypt ] The photo depicts a
normal woman living in poverty in a village in
Upper Egypt.
(www.instagram.com/ema.eltokhy/)
Adrian De Kock [ South Africa ] Optimism and positivity will help Africa
progress into the future. This is an image of children from an informal
residence playing with their homemade kites. Their feelings of pure joy and
happiness while playing are emotions we can all relate to.
(www.instagram.com/adrian/)
Jaryd Van Straaten [ South Africa ] It is important that while Africa is growing
and developing, we continue to preserve our beautiful environment, and
protect our nature from harm.
(www.instagram.com/jarydvs_photography/)
Temitope Adeniyan [ Nigeria ] The picture symbolizes the unseen women
and the unheard voices of the abused. This is a call for redemption and
emancipation from mental and all physical slavery. In ten years, I hope this
kind of suffering will cease to exist.
(www.pictaram.com/user/tope_adeniyan/1428284294)
Mauro Vombe [ Mozambique ] Africa will be a peaceful and happy
continent once it gives women space to grow. Africa should be a continent
committed to all human development. Women are the light of life and
need to be treated fairly.
(www.facebook.com/mauro.vombe)
Abdellah Azizi [ Malawi ] The photo was taken in
a classroom in rural Chongoni. I was there with
the CorpsAfrica organisation, where I currently
work as a volunteer in Malawi. This photo depicts
students in their classroom taking an English
class. It shows how people in rural areas around
Africa have started to notice the importance of
education, and the difference it makes in their
future, regardless of their lack of access and
resources.
(www.instagram.com/AZIFOTO/)
Armstrong Kiprotich [ South Sudan ] I took
this photo when I was visiting the indigenous
tribe of Mundari in South Sudan. I took this
image to create awareness around women’s
rights, particularly highlighting the girls who are
forced into early marriages and lack access to
education. I believe that if people know more
about this issue, solutions will be found and this
problem will decrease in the next ten years.
(www.instagram.com/armstrongtoo/)
Kweku Yeboah [ Ghana ] I took this image for
all suffering people who feel hopeless and lost.
It represents the importance of trying to keep
our heads up, because The Lord almighty will
always be there to help and rescue us from our
different situations in life.
( www.instagram.com/Kweku_yeboah1/)
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 19

Thomas William Neil Van Schalkwyk [ Namibia ]
I believe that by honoring the diverse range
of cultures Africa has to offer, the continent
will thrive. Diversity is key to any society, and
Africa has a lot of diversity. This image shows a
traditional Himba woman adorning her traditional
hair; dreadlocks are cut from brothers and woven
into their own to symbolise connection to their
family and community. Although Western society
is encroaching on these traditional customs
I believe that going back to our roots will keep
us true to our African Heritage and make people
proud to be African. Stay true, Stay African!
(www.instagram.com/neil_is_drawntolight/)
Yasser Mobarak [ Egypt ] Mud-brick house in
the old town of Shali in Siwa Oasis in Egypt. It
is very important to document places in Africa
now because they will soon be history in the
future.
(www.flickr.com/photos/yasseralaa/)
Muhammad Salah [ Sudan ] We have been
enslaved, abused, and misused. We have been
colonised, and forcibly mobilised. We have been
ripped out. But now we gather our pain and our hope
and we look to the future. This is our time because
we are the future and the future belongs to us.
(www.instagram.com/m.salah.abddulaziz/)
Issembe Sonier [ Gabon ] Spiritual tradition will remain present in the soul of every African, whether they live in a small
village or at the top of a skyscraper. The Bwiti dancer photographed here represents the universal contrast.
(www.instagram.com/issembesonier/)
Blaize Itodo [ Internally Displaced Persons, IDP
Camp, Abuja ] The IDP camp is a survival of the
fittest environment, and the continent Africa
shares the same fate in the global scheme of
things. In my picture, I see courage, I see resilience,
I see determination, I see an audacity of
hope, I see Africa coming alive again, I see an
Africa where we, Africans, will begin to look inwards
thereby coming together to help each
other, bridging the divide we presently suffer.
I see ten years of Africans working round the
clock tirelessly to bringing Africa on her feet in
the committee of nations.
(www.instagram.com/blaizeitodo/)
Sabiha Teladia [ Morocco ] The women’s eyes
in this picture exude confidence. Although
they are mysterious and their faces cannot be
seen, the women hold their pose, many looking
straight into the camera, standing their ground.
They don’t mind having their photo taken. They
actually seem to welcome it to show they are
strong women. This is how I see the future of
Morocco and of Africa. Women are the future
leaders of Africa. African women are fiercely
strong and independent. They have made
significant strides in gaining more rights and
respect and will continue to shape the continent
(www.instagram.com/telads/)
Marco Silva [ Cape Verde ] The sadness
reflected in this wrinkled-faced African woman,
is the result of an unfair life, and an intense
struggle for survival, prosperity, and dignity.
Her look is sad, but by no means empty. She
is thoughtful, and thoughtfulness can also be
a sign of strength. She has not given up and
remains the leader of her destiny. Her offspring
will use her example as a springboard to social
mobility, lifting themselves out of poverty, out
of fear and out of resignation. This is what will
shape Africa in the next ten years: the belief
that, through good and sensible leadership,
change is possible, and Africans themselves can
make it happen.
(www.instagram.com/maky.silva/)
David Sakyi [ Ghana ] This photo was taken in the town of Elmina, situated in the south coast of Ghana. This picture demonstrates
the history, culture and heritage of our people, given that Elmina was a major port during the slave trade era. A lot has
changed in Elmina, but it has still managed to maintain its history. In this image you can see both an ancient bridge and a new
bridge under construction. This represents how Africa should act moving forward. We should always remember our history,
but still look to the future.
(www.instagram.com/kwaku_david_photography/)
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 21

Muhammed Ibrahim [ Egypt ] My photograph captures a child’s freedom.
Children are the future. I hope we manage to preserve their innocence,
and shield them from the horrors of war. If we do this, they will grow up and
create a peaceful, conflict-free, and united Africa.
(www.instagram.com/this.is.muhammed/)
Nokuthula Mbatha [ South Africa ] This picture was taken in Johannesburg
at Waterworks settlement in Soweto. It illustrates that despite living in dire
poverty, sports like football give children hope for a brighter future. Through
playing sports, these children have hope of changing their situation.
(www.instagram.com/Thuli_Mbatha/)
Idorenyin Ekpa [ Nigeria ] This picture represents Africa breaking free from
the negative influences of modern day slavery, brought to her by western
nations. In the next ten years, I see Africa taking a huge leap towards total
independence and absolute greatness.
(http://www.weeshotit.com/)
Sari Omer [ Sudan ] No more wars. We want security. The conflict in Sudan
needs to stop or more and more people will be forced to live in Sudan’
refugee camps, such as this one, Camp Sortoni.
(www.instagram.com/sawrasari/)
Yaser Abouelghit [ Egypt ] My passions are nature, landscape, cityscape,
wildlife, documentary and astrophotography. For me, photography is a
great mix of art and humanity. It can touch people’s emotions and make
them experience deep feelings. I am working to improve my photography
skills, and eventually want to change my career from an architectural
designer to become a professional photographer.
(www.instagram.com/yaserelamir/)
Timothy Erau [ Uganda ] My photograph illustrates how I feel about the
continent and its future in the next ten years. The blackness represents the
dark days Africa has encountered. Contrastingly, the light symbolises the
hope and development of Africa. Moreover, the position of my subject is
artistic and evokes thoughts of dance and music. This embodies the creativity
and joy of the African people.
(www.behance.net/timothyerau)
Ihsaan Haffejee [ Zambia ] This photo shows thousands of students
protesting peacefully outside of the African National Congress Headquarters,
in the #feesmustfall student protest, a South African effort against a
proposed 10% increase in tuition. A few days after this protest President
Zuma announced that all university increases would be cancelled and that
they would look for ways to increase funding assistance to students. This
movement proved that the youth of Africa can enforce positive change,
and are not afraid to take on the government. It also showed unity, as
students from all economic backgrounds and races took part. By standing
up for what they believed in the youth inspired the entire country.
(www.instagram.com/ihsaan_haffo/)
Angus MacKinnon [ Mauritania ] This image depicts a man transporting
local produce to the market using a very old, run-down car.
This symbolises the resourcefulness of African people in the face of
tough economic conditions. This resourcefulness is contrasted by the
newly developed infrastructure of a smooth tarred road and a modern
development in the background, both built by the Chinese. The influence
of Chinese development, investment, and economic activity in Africa is
both a challenge and an opportunity that the continent needs to address
with caution. The next 10 years will be pivotal in determining whether we
flourish or fumble in the company of outsiders.
(www.instagram.com/mackmangus/)
Zelalem Belachew [ Ethiopia ] The narrative that Africa is rising is complex.
Although access to primary education has increased significantly over the
past decades, it has occurred at the expense of quality education. Millions
of students in Africa have to go through a dysfunctional learning system,
with a limited supply of educational material and qualified teachers. This is
a photo taken in an elementary school in rural Ethiopia where students are
attending class in an unfinished classroom. For Africa to realise its bright
future, we must invest in quality education. With the right policy and implementation
of quality education programs, Africa can tackle this issue.
(https://500px.com/zalalemphotography)
Djibril Drame [ Senegal ] For more than 10 years I have been documenting
graffiti all around Senegal. What I have learned from this experience is that
most graffiti has messages of optimism, good governance, and family. The
exhibition I created from all of these images, called “My Colourful City”, represented
these values. Almost every photo was positive and spoke about
art, sports, peace or love. I believe that these themes are what will shape
the continent over the course of the next ten years.
(www.instagram.com/gadaay/)
Nikita Little [ Zimbabwe ] This photograph was taken in Nyanga, Zimbabwe.
I feel that it represents the astounding beauty of the land while looking out
into the exciting future that Africa holds. Combining the history and the
future of this great continent is the African way.
(www.instagram.com/nikitaafrica/)
Nader Saadallah [ Egypt ] This is Karim. He is working in his dad’s
workshop, casting metal. The temperature in this workshop reaches up to
60°C, while the temperature inside the furnace goes higher than 1000°C. It
is very hard work and a tough life. You can see this represented on Karim’s
blackened face and clothes.
(https://www.behance.net/nadersaadaff37)

Mohsen Taha [ Uganda ] Rural electrification is the process of bringing
electrical power to rural areas. At least a billion people still lack household
electric power - a population equal to that of the entire world in the
early 19th century. The IEA estimates that if trends do not change that
number will rise to 1.2 billion by 2030, especially affecting populations in
Sub-Saharan Africa. If rural Uganda can gain access to electricity it will
help with education, healthcare, safety, productivity, and overall comfort
of living. There are immense social and economic benefits to rural electrification
and Uganda is suitable for renewable energy. This is an important
problem that needs to be addressed.
(www.instagram.com/mohsentahaphotography/)
Tanisha Bhana [ South Africa ] This image ‘Lines of Power’ depicts the
constantly developing metropolitan landscape among the natural forest,
and captures the movement of various identities in the economic value
chain. Although immigrants are a key part of any developing democracy,
they often hold no permanent residence and are disregarded by local
formal residents, mistaking them for criminals. Appearing almost hidden
from direct sight, they persist with hope and resilience. Inspired by the silent
voices of discarded people and places, this work invites us to remember
who we are in the burgeoning marketplace.
(www.tanishabhana.com/)
Mvondo Akoa Alfred Steve [ Cameroon ] Poverty is a political problem in Africa. All African nations are endowed with vast
natural resources, and, as a result, all of the media agrees that Africa is the future. However, if you take a look at the majority
of the population, you will find people struggling not to live, but to survive; working to pay for the right to be alive. So, what
will shape Africa in the next 10 years? Good governance, transparency, social justice, and equal opportunities. The riches of
the continent should not just be a slogan, but reflected in each citizen. The government should actually appreciate people
in the centre of politics, not just use them as a tool during elections.
(https://twitter.com/stvmvondoarts)
Germano Miele [ Angola ] I call this picture: “Ricardo, the world is yours”.
We were in Ilha de Luanda. He was completely captivated by the lights of
Luanda that shone in front of him. He looked like he was thinking about his
future. So why do I think Ricardo will shape the continent over the next ten
years? Because the children of Africa are our biggest hope. This new generation
has a lot of work to do, but I believe in them and I believe in Ricardo.
(www.instagram.com/germanomielephotography/)
Renà Solomon [ Mauritius ] Atish weaves three wires into an intricate mesh.
I approach him because of the grand design that sits under his feet, but it
is his attitude that impresses me more. As I pull out my camera, Atish says,
“I would like it if you took a photo. No one ever really appreciates our work.”
You see, Africa’s future is just as dependent on the large industries as it is
on the individuals and communities working hard every day.
( www.instagram.com/dhamiritruth/)
Lunga Mhlakaza [ South Africa ] Ask any man what he sees in this picture
and he will say that he sees a graduate who is suffering from unemployment.
However, maybe the goal shouldn’t be just to create graduates
who need jobs, but also to create graduates who produce the jobs. This
graduate must take ownership of Africa, and lead the way to a land of milk
and honey. Africa has given birth to a new graduate, and all the people will
eat from his fruit in the next 10 years and further.
(www.instagram.com/Lungamhlakaza/)
Yasmin Abdulwassie Abubeker [ Ethiopia ] In my eyes, this photo
represents transition. A man is walking his ox down an abandoned railway
line that was once used as a connection to Djibouti. Ethiopia is now constructing
a new railway line, parallel to the old line, and developing its infrastructure
at a rapid pace. This same route will now be used to deliver
large quantities of goods into the country from the Djibouti port. This will
encourage investment and play a key role in economic growth. I also
stopped to take this photo because I thought the shot was truly beautiful.
Sarah Waiswa [ Kenya ] The photo was taken at the Nairobi ivory burning in April 2016. 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and 1.35
tonnes of rhino horn were burnt to show the world that poaching will not be tolerated. President Kenyatta stated: “For us, ivory
is worthless unless it is on our elephants.” This photo proves the magnitude of the poaching crisis, and that extreme measures
need to be taken to save our wildlife. For me, the most striking part of this image is the juxtaposition of the armed ranger
guarding the tusks of the slaughtered elephants. He should have been protecting them when they were alive. This highlights
that African governments are too often only reactive to issues, and not proactive.
(www.instagram.com/lafrohemien/)
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 25

Wangui Kimari [ Kenya ] This picture was taken in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s
largest poor urban settlements. It was taken from an unfinished window
of a precarious tenement building and captures the other inadequate
housing in the area. At the same time the scene is vivid with possibilities;
multi-coloured clothes blowing in the wind, small businesses marked by
wall art, children heralding the day on their balconies, and blue skies. For
me this picture visualises both the grave inequality that is on our continent,
but also the energy available to do all the work needed to make our home
better. Essentially, while this may be an incomplete window it sure brings
in rays of possibility for a more complete life.
(www.facebook.com/wanguikimari)
Sushil Chauhan [ Uganda ] The Kazinga Channel is a wide, 32km long
natural channel. It links Lake Edward and Lake George and is a dominant
feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is an oasis that quenches
the thirst of both humans and numerous animals. The channel attracts a
variety of animals and birds, with one of the world’s largest concentrations
of hippos and crocodiles. Africa’s greatest asset is its wildlife. These young
boys will cherish their heritage and try to preserve Africa’s wildlife. As we
sat in the Channel boats, which were filled with tourists from around the
world, these boys smiled as if to say – welcome to the wild. My hope is that
children in Africa become the protectors of wildlife in Africa.
(http://www.sushilchauhan.com/)
Hicham Gardaf [ Morocco ] This image metaphorically represents the future of the continent, while keeping its present
and past in mind. The dark grey earth in the foreground represents how Africa is shaped by its nature and traditions.
In the future, Africa will need to focus intensely on its potential and strength in natural resources, while still keeping its
identity. The wall in the background represents the obstacles ahead, while the gap in the wall shows there is optimism.
Lastly, the ambiguous figure signifies that it is the African people, their endurance, inner strength, determination, and
persistence that make Africa the continent it is. Africans themselves will make all the changes needed.
(www.hichamgardaf.com/)
Felix Masi [ Congo ] This is an image of the junior members of the Kinshasa
Symphony Orchestra practicing at the centre’s headquarters. It is Africa’s
only black, and self-taught, orchestra. It was founded by former Congolese
pilot, Armand Diangienda, after he taught himself how to read music and
play a couple of instruments. Today, his group has over 200 volunteer
members, including junior members. They get together up to six days a
week, rehearsing and performing, in an empty warehouse. Using a mixture
of homemade and donated instruments, the orchestra repertoire ranges
from Berlioz to Beethoven. Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra has toured and
performed in the U.S.A, Italy, UK, Germany and France.
(www.instagram.com/Felixmasiphotography/)
Mutesi Didi [ Uganda ] Urbanisation is the population shift from rural to
urban areas and is the process by which towns and cities are formed.
The UN projects that by 2050 64% of the developing world and 86% of
the developed world will be urbanized. That is approximately three billion
urbanites by 2050, many of whom will be in Africa and Asia. The three main
causes of urbanisation in Uganda are a lack of resources in rural areas, an
assumption (usually a wrong one) that the standard of living in urban areas
will be better, and the natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates
while birth rates remain high.
(www.instagram.com/tesididi/)
Jonathan Lekwot [ Nigeria ] African children are the key to shaping our
continent in the future. Therefore, we must prioritize their health, education
and happiness. Careful and purposeful investment in health and education
will result in intellectual capital that pays off in terms of higher productivity
and a more successful Africa.
(https://www.artlimited.net/11247)
Rugia Omer [ Sudan ] This photo was taken at a weekly Nubian wrestling event. I was amazed to see the amount
of people from all communities there to support the wrestlers. This photo shows the wall of supporters. I feel this
photo represents ‘’My Africa’’ because it shows a side to Sudan that many don’t get to see. There are still hidden
parts of Sudanese culture which show community, sportsmanship and spirit. Nubian wrestling is something that dates
back hundreds of years. The wrestling builds group identity and displays the prowess of young men who represent
themselves, their families and their village
(https://www.instagram.com/rugiao/)
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 27

[
GEAR
Ernest
Cole
Fujifilm GFX 50S
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f/2. The company is expecting to hit
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Development of Professional-use
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[
[
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I
Ernest Cole,Johannesburg, December 1965.
Photo Credit Struan Robertson
PHOTOGRAPHER OF APARTHEID
Article reprinted Courtesy, Carole Naggar for Aljazeera America, September 2014
(http://www.carolenaggar.com)
n the introduction to his only book, “House of Bondage” (1967), South
African photographer Ernest Cole, who would soon be forced into exile,
wrote, “You may escape but you carry your prison smell with you.” His
powerful images and the tragic ending of his life 22 years later open a
window on how blacks lived under the apartheid regime.
If the photographs have preserved their emotional impact, it is in large part
because they were taken from the inside, as a black man in Pretoria, Soweto,
Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
One of the first black photojournalists in the country, Cole knew the lives he
was depicting intimately because it was his life too. He understood and had
access to the people and places he photographed. Working unobtrusively,
without a flash, he would occasionally hide his camera under a sandwich
and an apple in a brown paper bag with a hole when he went to mines and
nonwhites’ hospitals; he even had himself arrested so he could photograph
prisoners in several jails.
It is his own world that Cole presents with rigor, subtlety and elegance and
with no pretense of objectivity. The photographs are political, but they do
28 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 29

According to Struan Robertson (a photojournalist and a friend
of Cole’s) : At a mine dance, white spectators were divided from
black spectators by a rope.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
According to Struan Robertson: Get-together in a compound room.
The usual drink was Bantu Beer, a fermented millet, undistilled. Hard
liquor was forbidden on the mines but the local breweries made this
beer. It was quite strong and people could get merry on it very quickly.
In tribal society it was each wife’s job to brew her husband’s beer.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
30 africanphotomagazine
Earnest boy squats on haunches and strains to follow lesson in heat of packed classroom.
[Caption from House of Bondage]
not illustrate political ideas. Instead,
they are faithful to the complexities
of life and show both miserable and
happy moments — homeless boys
sleeping in a park at dawn, homes
being razed as residents stand dazed
with nowhere to go, naked children
on a lawn playing with a water hose,
children jumping rope in Mamelodi,
where Cole lived with his mother.
He was born Ernest Levi Tsoloane
Kole in 1940 in a black township on
the edge of Pretoria, the fourth of
six children, into a family of modest
means. His father worked as a tailor
and his mother as a laundress. A
loner, Ernest was a curious child. His
fascination with photography began
when he was quite young, when
a Roman Catholic priest he knew
from attending Mass — Cole was
very religious — gave him a camera.
“I couldn’t get over it,” Cole says in
“The Photographer,” a 2010 collection
of his work. “For the first few days I
carried it around with me wherever I
went — even to school. I went around
taking snapshots of school friends,
beer parties, babies, and I made quite
a bit of money.” When a friend gave
him a catalog from a photography
correspondence school, he realized
that he could take up photography as
a profession. He practiced for hours
getting the camera up to his eye fast,
shooting and then dropping it back
under his jacket.
After holding several menial jobs —
According to Struan Robertson: Washing conditions at the mines
were primitive. Shower rooms were crowded with men trying to
bathe while others did their meagre laundry.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
Africans throng Johannesburg station platform during late
afternoon rush hour. [Caption from House of Bondage]
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
According to Struan Robertson: Miners leaving a compound at the
end of their contract, carrying the various things, like blankets, that
they’ve bought during their time on the mine.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
Caption unknown.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 31

he was a messenger and sweeper
and sold magazines door to door
— Cole became an assistant to a
Chinese photographer at the age
of 15, and with his earnings bought
a Yashica C camera with a flash.
He also performed odd jobs for
Zonk magazine. With the proceeds
from his work, he bought two Nikon
Rangefinder cameras and lenses, a
significant upgrade.
In 1958 his career took off after he
went to see Jürgen Schadeberg,
the picture editor of Drum, a Zonk
competitor and the leading South
African photography magazine of the
time. Drum published essays on the
lives of South African blacks by noted
photographers such as Ian Berry and
Peter Magubane. Schadeberg hired
Cole to design page layouts for Drum,
where he learned about editing and
sequencing pictures and became
more political. While working at the
magazine, he enrolled in a correspondence
course in photography,
later taking a position as a photographer
at Bantu World, the black daily
newspaper of Johannesburg. By the
early 1960s, Cole was a well-known
name in photography in South
Africa, freelancing for a number
of newspapers and magazines,
including The Rand Daily Mail, Sunday
Express, New Age and Drum.
Thanks to Struan Robertson, a British
photographer with whom he shared
a studio in early 1964, Cole came to
study the work of famed French photographer
Henri Cartier-Bresson. He
was impressed by Bresson’s theory of
the decisive moment and his refusal
to crop his photographs. Another
important influence was New York
Times foreign correspondent Joseph
Lelyveld, with whom he collaborated
in 1966 on long text and photo essays,
including a profile of Helen Suzman, a
relentless challenger of apartheid.
In 1966, Cole was arrested while
on assignment for Drum for a story
on tsotsis, township gangsters who
mugged whites on the streets of
Pretoria. He had gone along with
them on several robberies without
incident, but this time, the undercover
police were watching, and he was
arrested with the gang. When he
protested that he was a photojournalist,
the police asked him to tell them
everything he knew about the gang
and give evidence in open court or
face prosecution. To keep his promise
to the tsotsis that he would not
identify them in his story, Cole went
into hiding and, with Lelyveld’s help,
got a passport and a plane ticket to
the United States via France.
He would never return from exile. A
year later, his book was published
and was immediately banned in
South Africa; it sold out everywhere
else. Contraband copies of the book
were circulated in his homeland, and
the book was republished in England
in 1968. The photographs in it and
in the exhibition are a record of the
oppressive conditions under which
the black population lived in South
Africa and of the myriad effects of
apartheid — a student kneeling on
the floor to write in a primitive school
without chairs, a group of naked
black men lined up for a medical
examination, a crowd waiting for
transportation to the mines, concrete
barracks for miners crammed with 20
bunks, an African township bulldozed
to make way for a white expansion.
With their dark, defiant and bitter
vision but classic and rigorous compositions,
the images form a counterpoint
to the optimistic, apolitical and
humanistic tradition that the “Family
of Man” exhibit, first shown at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York,
and book expressed in 1955. While
“The Family of Man” sought to show
the unity of the human condition
throughout the world among different
races and cultures, Cole’s pictures
demonstrate that under apartheid,
black lives were lived under
profoundly different conditions from
white lives’ and that it was futile to try
to compare them.
In a way, Cole never recovered from
exile, and when he lived in the United
States, mostly in New York, his photographic
projects of the early 1970s
on the conditions of African-Americans
in the South, funded by grants
from the Ford Foundation, were not
successful at all. He found it difficult
to understand their lives, and in some
ways found the racism in the United
States even more extreme than in
his native South Africa. “Is this the
America of Ebony?” he asked angrily
in “The Photographer.” On the far
side of the hill, the grass was not any
greener.
In the early 1970s he suffered from
mental health problems, which
culminated in paranoia. Cole died
at 49, broke and homeless, from
untreated stomach cancer, just a
week after Nelson Mandela walked
free.
According to Struan Robertson: Black bus stop with a huge
crowd waiting for the bus. According to Struan Robertson, this
picture was taken in Rosebank near the junction of Oxford Road
and Athol-Oaklands Road. He also remarked that there were too
few black busses for the numbers of black commuters – yet at
the same time, the more numerous white busses were underutilized
and often ran almost empty.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
All stand packed together on the floors and seats. [Caption
from House of Bondage] (According to Struan Robertson, tsotsis
[thugs or street criminals] used the extreme crowding on
black trains to rob passengers, especially on payday.)
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
During group medical examination the nude men are herded
through a string of doctors’ offices. [Caption from House of Bondage]
According to Struan Robertson: A crowded classroom which,
even now, is the norm in black schools.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
Caption unknown. According to Struan Robertson and others:
Johannesburg city benches were for whites only and were so
inscribed. There were no ”blacks only” benches in Johannesburg;
blacks sat on the curbstones.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
Caption unknown. According to Struan Robertson, this is almost
certainly from Frenchdale banishment camp.
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
© The Ernest Cole Family Trust / Courtesy of the Hasselblad Foundation
32 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 33
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 33

THE
BIG
FIVE
[ Allan Gichigi
Allan Gichigi featured in our #4 issue, being a runner-up
winner in the very prestigious 2016 SONY National Awards
category.
Allan is a guy with a camera, with a curious eye for storytelling
about everyday human interaction, and capturing the
beauty of humanity and nature around us. An independent
filmmaker and photographer based in Nairobi, Kenya,
Allan holds a masters degree in Film production, from the
University of Canterbury, Christ Church, UK.
Allan is one of the few Kenyan photographers that has
developed a passion for telling the story of the marginalized
[
ones. This passion led him on a personal photo project
of the Turkana peoples of Loiyangalani, a small town
located on the southeastern shore of Lake Turkana in
Kenya. The town has 1000 inhabitants and is home to
the Turkana people. The Turkana are pastoralists whose
lives are shaped by the extreme climate in which they
live. Each day one must seek to find the blessings of
life—water, food, livestock, wives, children—in a manner
that appeases the ancestral spirits and is in harmony
with the peace within the community. The Turkana tribe
originally came from the Karamojong region of northeastern
Uganda. Turkana oral traditions purport that
they arrived in Kenya while pursuing an unruly bull.
D
ue to the development of new road
and telecommunication networks,
areas that were previously shut from
the outside world have become
more accessible and globalization
is rapidly making its mark on them.
Many of these regions have very hostile environments
and being very remote and inaccessible, they
enjoyed cultures that largely remained untouched
by the outside world.
34 africanphotomagazine a very keen interest in capturing these cultures
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 35
On the flip side, cultures that were once celebrated
and locales that flourished centuries ago are also
experiencing the brunt of modernization, as the
world’s attention moves on to the bright shiny city
lights or to other areas better suited to economic
exploitation.
This sudden exposure or lack of the same is having
a detrimental effect on some of these ancient
cultures and it is therefore not coincidental that
many a photographer, including our Big 5, share
before they pass away.
Photo Credit: Courtesy, Allan Gichigi
www.allangichigi.com

Photo Credit: Courtesy, Allan Gichigi
www.allangichigi.com
Photo Credit: Courtesy, Allan Gichigi
www.allangichigi.com

[
Calligrapher and Copyist Buboubacar Sadeck teaches students the art of ancient calligraphy on a Timbuktu
rooftop, September 8, 2009. Timbuktu is a historical Malian city, a long established centre of learning for Africa,
Islam is at the heart of that learning as is medicine, science, law and technology. All of that knowledge has been
preserved in manuscripts written out by men like Buboubacar since the 11th century.
[ Brent Stirton
Brickmakers on the outskirts of Timbuktu make the clay bricks used for centuries in the construction of the
mythical Northern Mali city of Timbuktu.
Photo Credits: @ Brent Stirton/Courtesy of Getty Images
Brent Stirton is a Senior Photographer at Getty Images’
New York, mostly working for National Geographic
Magazine, the New York Times and Newsweek projects.
His award-winning work has been widely recognized for
its powerful depiction of issues related to conflict, health
and environmental issues.
Born in 1969 in Durban, South Africa, Stirton holds a
degree in Journalism from his native South Africa, where
he began his career photographing apartheid issues. In
working to visually interpret a story, Stirton often works in
tandem with journalists from the world’s leading publications.
In the last few years he has worked regularly with
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Anderson Cooper on
topics such as the tsunami disaster, religious fundamentalism,
HIV/AIDS, environment, poverty, conflict and postconflict
recovery, and women’s empowerment issues,
compiling still documentaries on topical news events
which are then voiced over and aired.
Stirton’s most endearing legacy will be on the work he
does in shooting global campaigns on the relationship
between people and their environments. Some of his
work has focused on Timbuktu, a historical and still-inhabited
city in the West African nation of Mali, situated on
the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
Founded in the 5th century as a seasonal settlement,
Timbuktu became a permanent settlement early in the
12th century. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu
flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves.
The economic and cultural apogee of Timbuktu came
about during the 15th and 16th centuries, with the city
flourishing as an important centre for the diffusion of
Islamic culture with the University of Sankore and 180
other Koranic schools with 25,000 students and thus
became an important market place where the trading of
Islamic manuscripts was negotiated. This was the Golden
Age of this great city and the mosques and holy places of
Timbuktu played an essential role in the spread of Islam
in Africa at an early period.
Different kingdoms and tribes governed Timbuktu until
the French took over in 1893, a situation that lasted until
it became part of the current Republic of Mali in 1960.
Presently, Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from desertification,
threatening traditional architecture and the
vestiges of the old city, the mosques and mausoleums.
The once prestigious past of Timbuktu is slowly fading
with the passage of time and the works of Brent and his
ilk seek to preserve its glory for future generations.
Local women walk past Songeray Mosque in a sunset, late afternoon street-scene in Timbuktu.
Photo Credits: @ Brent Stirton/Courtesy of Getty Images
www.brentstirton.com
38 africanphotomagazine

[
[ David Ballam
David was born and schooled in Johannesburg, South
Africa. He first attended university in Cape Town but later
moved to Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape. He was
introduced to the camera by Obie Oberholzer (see more
on him in issue#4 of this publication) and in 2004 gained
his Fine Art Degree with Honors in photography. David
returned to Johannesburg and after a number of years’
experience in the commercial world of photography
he reverted his attention back to his Fine Art roots.
Intrigued and inspired by different faces, places, cultures
and customs, David focuses his attention on taking any
opportunity to travel and explore the African landscape,
finding and creating images that transcend the subject
matter.
David Ballam spent some time with the tribes people
of the Bana, Mursi and Karo of Ethiopia documenting
these ancient peoples and their tribal art. These tribes of
Ethiopia are primarily located east of the Omo River and
north of Lake Turkana. This area, called the Lower Omo
region, has remained one of the most inaccessible and
least developed parts of East Africa.
The tribal peoples in the Omo Valley are very concerned
with their appearance and ornament themselves
extensively. Body painting and scarification, lip and
ear piercing as well as metal jewelry, beads, cowries
and feathers can denote age sets or celebration in the
conquering of an enemy tribe.
One striking characteristic of the Bana men is that they
indulge in elaborate hair-dressing. They wear a clay “cap”
that is painted and decorated with feathers and other
ornaments. Much time is spent in preparing the hair, and
care must be taken to protect it from damage. . A welldressed
man will wear a toga-like cloth and carry a spear
and a stool
The Mursi undergo various rites of passage, educational
or disciplinary processes. Lip plates are a well known
aspect of the Mursi (and Surma), who are probably the
last groups in Africa amongst whom it is still the norm for
women to wear large pottery or wooden discs, or ‘plates,’ in
their lower lips. Girls’ lips are pierced at the age of 15 or 16.
Occasionally lip plates are worn to a dance by unmarried
women. Ceremonial dueling (thagine), a form of ritualized
male violence, is a highly valued and popular activity of
Mursi men, especially unmarried men, and a key marker
of Mursi identity.
The Karo tribe, consisting of about 1,500 people, is the
smallest ethnic group in the Omo Valley of South-western
Ethiopia. Karo men and women decorate their faces
and bodies with paint made from chalk and ochre to
increase their attractiveness to the opposite sex, while
looking intimidating to rivals. The Karo people differentiate
themselves from many of the neighboring tribes by
excelling specifically in body and face painting. They paint
themselves daily with colored ochre, white chalk, yellow
mineral rock, charcoal, and pulverized iron ore, all natural
resources local to the area.
These small tribes, numbering no more than 20,000 by
the government last census’ held in 2007, have lived in
the Lower Omo region for centuries. The Omo Valley is
a remote and volatile region in Southern Ethiopia, which
is close to the borders of Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. The
Ethiopian government is damming the Omo River and
reducing it to a fifth of its size due to its hydro-electric
potential. This has led to extreme competition for land,
resulting in conflict within the region and the erosion
of traditional life. We are today witnessing the end of a
people and their ancient culture.
Mursi Woman With Ear Disc
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
40 africanphotomagazine www.davidballam.co.za
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 41

Bana Man
Bana Man with Panga
Bana Man Bull Jumping Ceremony
Karo Woman Clay Paste Hair
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
www.davidballam.co.za
42 africanphotomagazine

Mursi Woman with Lip plate and head adornment
Mursi Elder
Mursi Scarring
Mursi Scarring And Body Paint
Karo Elder painted with white ash
Mursi Man
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
www.davidballam.co.za
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
www.davidballam.co.za
44 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 45

Karo Scarring
Mursi Lip Plate And Corn Headdress
Mursi Woman
Mursi Woman with lip plate and headdress
Mursi Boy with Body Paint
Bana Man
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
www.davidballam.co.za
Photo Credit: Courtesy, David Ballam
www.davidballam.co.za
46 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 47

[
[Jimmy Nelson
Between 2010 & 2014 Jimmy Nelson travelled the world
to document some of the most fantastic indigenous
cultures left on the planet today. Jimmy’s projects are
titled ‘Before They Pass Away’ and intended to be a controversial
catalyst for further discussion as to the authenticity
of these fragile disappearing cultures in the face of
modernity.
Born in the United Kingdom in 1967, Jimmy Nelson started
working as a photographer in 1987. Having spent 10 years
at a Jesuit boarding school in the North of England, he set
off on his own to traverse the length of Tibet on foot. The
journey lasted a year and upon his return his unique visual
diary, featuring revealing images of a previously inaccessible
Tibet, was published. Jimmy went on to cover a
variety of culturally newsworthy themes ranging from the
Russian involvement in Afghanistan and the ongoing strife
between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, to the beginning
of the war in former Yugoslavia as well as producing
literary Portraits of China, a 40 month project that took him
to all the hidden corners of the newly opening People’s
Republic. From 1997 onwards, Jimmy began accumulating
images of remote and unique cultures photographed
with a traditional 50-year-old plate camera, creating the
subsequent Before They Pass Away.
This publication has extracted the African cultures that
Jimmy covered in this incredible project (to see the total
project, visit http://www.beforethey.com/)
The Dassanech live around the Omo delta on the northern
side of Lake Turkana. Their name means People of the
Delta. Despite the lake and delta, this is an incredibly
dry region; there is nothing but desert to the west and
southwest. Cattle are central to the lives of the Dassanech,
just as they are for the other tribes of the Omo valley.
When they lose their cattle to disease, drought or raids by
neighbouring indigenous groups, they turn to the world’s
largest desert lake for sustenance, hunting fish, crocodile
and the occasional hippo.
The indigenous religion is a mixture of monotheistic
muslim and traditional animist beliefs, resulting in what is
actually polytheism.
The Karo are a small indigenous people with an estimated
population between 1,000 and 3,000. They live along the
east banks of the Omo River in southern Ethiopia and the
crops that are grown by them are sorghum, maize and
beans. Only small cattle are kept because of the tsetse
fly menace.
The biggest ceremony in the Karo culture is called Dimi.
Its purpose is to celebrate and bless a man’s daughter for
fertility and future marriage. When he has gone through
Dimi, a man becomes an elder. Like the Dassanech, the
Karo practice ritual dancing and singing. To prepare for
a ceremony, they paint their bodies and faces with white
chalk mixed with yellow rock, red iron ore and charcoal.
According to their own oral history, the Maasai originated
from the lower Nile valley north of Lake Turkana and began
migrating south around the 15th century, arriving in a long
trunk of land stretching from what is now northern Kenya to
what is now central Tanzania between the 17th and late 18th
century. Maasai are pastoralist and have resisted the urging
of the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt a more
sedentary lifestyle. Traditional Maasai lifestyle centres
around their cattle which constitute their primary source of
food. The measure of a man’s wealth is in terms of cattle
and children.
The Samburu people live in northern Kenya, where the
foothills of Mount Kenya merge into the northern desert and
are related to but distinct from the Maasai. The Samburu
are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but
also keep sheep, goats and camels.
Proud, happy, friendly, they defy the modern world to go
about their traditional business and still cherish the customs
and colourful ceremonies of their ancestors. Belief in the
spirits of the ancestors and even witchcraft are common.
This publication would also like to celebrate our ancient
black brothers, the Melanesians, in the far reaches of the
Pacific rim also captured by Jimmy Nelson in his “Before
They Pass Away” project
It is believed that the first Papua New Guineans migrated
to the island over 45,000 years ago. The Huli all speak one
language and are the largest language group in Papua
New Guinea and therefore the South Pacific. The Huli are
grouped in clans and have engaged in low-scale inter-clan
conflict for millennia, fighting over land, pigs and women.
Great effort is made to impress the enemy. They paint
their faces yellow, red and white and are famous for their
tradition of making ornamented wigs from their own hair.
They believe they are all descendants from one ancestor
called Huli and unlike other parts of the South Pacific the
Huli do not practice sorcery or cannibalism.
The Ni-Vanuatu settlement of the Vanuatu islands
dates back to around 500 BC. There is evidence that
Melanesian navigators from Papua New Guinea were the
first to colonise Vanuatu. Over centuries, other migrations
followed. Presently, all the inhabited islands have their own
languages, customs and traditions with 113 indigenous
languages actively spoken in Vanuatu, marking it as having
the highest density of languages, per capita, of any nation
in the world.
Karo of Ethiopia
Photo Credit: © Jimmy Nelson Pictures BV/ Courtesy of teNeues Media
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 49
www.beforethey.com

Samburu of Kenya
Photo Credit: © Jimmy Nelson Pictures BV/ Courtesy of teNeues Media
www.beforethey.com
Huli of Papua New Guinea
Maasai of Kenya & Tanzania
Dassanech of Ethiopia
Ni-Vanuatu of Vanuatu Islands
Photo Credit information: © Jimmy Nelson Pictures BV/ Courtesy of teNeues Media
www.beforethey.com

[
[ Lyndsey McIntyre
A professional photographer and travel writer, Lyndsey’s
parents moved from Scotland to Eastern Africa in 1953
where her father worked as the harbour master in charge
of the port of Mombasa and Dar-es-Salaam. Sadly, her
father died when she was only five years old and the
family moved to Nairobi.
“It was my brother-in-law who said to me that not much
talent was needed to take a good photograph in Morocco,
where with every turn of your head, never mind the road,
another urgent shutter pressing moment arises. For keen
photographers, the challenge is more about ungluing
your eye from the camera and absorbing the atmosphere,
than finding a great picture.”
Lyndsey is well known for her annual ladies tours to the
old cities of Morocco, to revel in the sights and sounds,
before they pass away.
Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest
continuing university in the world, Al Quaraouiyine (Est.
859 A.D) , Fez reached its golden age in the 13th–14th
centuries when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the
Kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments
in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences,
mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although
the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat
in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country’s cultural
and spiritual centre.
The Medina of Fez constitutes an outstanding example
of a medieval town created during the very first centuries
of Islamisation of North Africa and presenting an original
type of human settlement over a long historical period,
from the 9th Century to the present time. Years of neglect
have taken their toll on the medina, with many local
residents happy to sell up to foreigners and swap their
medieval living conditions for a modern lifestyle in the
newer parts of the city.
Chefchaouen is a city in the Rif Mountains of northwest
Morocco and was founded in 1471. The city is known
for the striking hued blue-washed buildings of its old
town. There are several theories as to why the walls
were painted blue. One popular theory is that the blue
keeps mosquitos away, another is that the blue is said to
symbolize the sky and heaven, and serve as a reminder
to lead a spiritual life.
Back when caravans arrived loaded with gold, Saharan
tribes crossed paths at the hitching post in Tinejdad,
quenching their thirsts at the natural springs of de Lalla
Mimouna, sleeping peacefully in well-fortified Ksour in
the Ferkla oasis and conducting business at 1000-yearold
Ksar Asir, a medieval commercial centre that housed
an Almoravid mosque and a sizeable Jewish community.
Water, shelter, business and Baraka (blessings): what
more could a nomad need?
The port of Essaouira was founded in 1770 and until the
first half of the nineteenth century, the port was the most
important trading port between Europe, Africa and the
Americas. “The port was known as the “Port of Timbuktu
” because most African products for export ended up
there, including slaves. The founder, Sultan Ben Abdellah,
promoted free trade policies by reducing customs and
encouraging the settlement of rich merchants and Jews
to handle trade with Christians. Major problems currently
are deterioration of the extensive ramparts around the
Medina but Essaouira still remains one of the major fishing
harbours of Morocco.
Fes Tanners Quarter where barefoot workers tread skins in dyeing pits
Photo Credits: Courtesy, Lyndsey McIntyre
https://www.facebook.com/lyndseyphotoskenya
52 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 53

The Sahara, on the way to Tinejdad
Fishing boats in the port of Essaouira
Ancient tunnels of Tinejdad
Chefchaouen blue walls
Photo Credits: Courtesy, Lyndsey McIntyre
https://www.facebook.com/lyndseyphotoskenya
Photo Credits: Courtesy, Lyndsey McIntyre
https://www.facebook.com/lyndseyphotoskenya
54 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 55

THE
FIVE
As we roll out the 5th issue, yes the 5th,
we want to celebrate with 5 things that are
currently on our radar…enjoy!
5 photo books every photographer should read
A Useful Dream; African Photography 1960-2010
(available on Amazon.com)
5 photographers on Behance we have our eye on
Jebet Naava [ Kenya ]
(https://www.behance.net/jebetjn)
A 21-year-old artist using photography as her medium, Jebet uses portraiture, particularly
self-portraiture, as a way to express aspects of the human condition through her eyes. “I
like to think my art is unique and unconventional. It can be a bit dark and lonely, but it is
raw, and it is me.”
Justin Makangara [ DRC ]
https://www.behance.net/justinmakangara
A self-taught photographer and social worker living and working in Kinshasa, for Justin
photography is a real way of expressing emotions, and feelings of everyday life. Justin is
working on a life-long project to document life in Kinshasa, especially life in South Kivu,
where he hails from, with special emphasis on capturing the social consequences of modernization
on cultures and human interaction.
André Silva Pinto [ Angola ]
https://www.behance.net/AndreSilvaPinto
André was an air traffic controller in Portugal, before moving to Luanda, Angola to pursue
his passion for photography. Andre is an advertising photographer and retouch artist and is
the owner of Face Studio in Angola.
Photography has proved a particularly essential art in the African continent’s
postcolonial era, both for recording the numerous seismic moments in its recent
history, and for reclaiming the imagery of Africa from its colonial portrayers. As
Africa has begun to step beyond its colonial subjugation, photography has also
assumed a leading role in providing African countries with individual identities. A
Useful Dream tracks the blossoming of postcolonial photography in Africa, from
1960 to the present, celebrating 50 years of African photography. Among the
34 photographers gathered in its pages are Rui Assubuji, Nabil Boutros, Loulou
Cherinet, James Depara, Samuel Fosso, David Goldblatt, Bob Gosani, Pierrot
Men, Zwelethu Mtethwa, Eileen Perrier, Ricardo Rangel, Malick Sidibé and Patrice-Félix
Tchikaya. The volume includes an introduction by Simon Njami and a
text by Frank Vanhaecke
Peter Beard
(available on Taschen.com)
After spending time in Kenya and striking up a friendship with the author Isak
Dinesen (Karen Blixen) in the early 1960s, Beard bought a piece of land near
hers, known as Hog Ranch, which became his home in Kenya. He witnessed the
dawn of Kenya’s population explosion, which challenged finite resources and
stressed animal populations and he documented what he saw—with diaries,
photographs, and collages. He went against the wind in publishing unique and
sometimes shocking books of these works. Beard used his photographs as a
canvas onto which he superimposed multi-layered contact sheets, ephemera,
found objects, newspaper clippings that were elaborately embellished with
meticulous handwriting, old-master inspired drawings and often swaths of
animal blood used as paint.
In 2006 TASCHEN published the book that has come to define his oeuvre,
signed by the artist and published. It sold out instantly and became a highly
sought after collector’s item. Now the book has been reprinted and is available
online.
The Man who moved the World, Mohamed “Mo” Amin
(available on Amazon.com)
Aimen Ashur [ Libya ]
https://www.behance.net/aimenashur
A photographer living in Tripoli Libya, Aimen displays a fun-loving but firm grasp of
landscapes photography, digital and portraitures producing a unique blend of photographic
imagery.
Justin Dingwall [ South Africa ]
(https://www.behance.net/justindingwall)
Describing himself as a Contemporary Artist and Professional Photographer, Justin Dingwall
was born and raised in Benoni, and pursued a degree in Photography in Pretoria. In 2007
he started working professionally as a photographer in Johannesburg. He is renowned for
his fearless art series ‘Albus’, where he explored the aesthetics of albinism in contrast to
the commonly perceived misconceptions of ‘beauty’. He was awarded the Multi and New
Media/Photography Merit Award in 2013.
A Kenyan photojournalist noted for his pictures and videotapes of the Ethiopian
famine, Mo developed an interest in photography at school. During the 1970s, he
became one of the most relied-upon African news photographers, reporting on
wars and coups all through the continent, and his pictures were often used by
Western news media. Amin’s most influential moment came when his photos,
along with Michael Buerk’s reporting of the 1984 Ethiopian famine brought international
attention to the crisis and eventually helped start the charity wave
that resulted in Live Aid concerts.
Apart from Ethiopian famine, he contributed exclusive photos of the fall of Idi
Amin and of Mengistu Haile Mariam, and was author of numerous books and
covered various themes like East African Wildlife and the Uganda Railway.
In 1991, Amin lost his left arm during the Ethiopian Civil War and ironically lost
his life in 1996 when his flight Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was hijacked and
crashed into the ocean near Grande Comore island off the coast of East Africa.
56 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 57

[
[
5 photo books every photographer should read
Diesel Dust by Obie Oberholzer
(available on Amazon.com)
Born in Pretoria South Africa, Oberholzer travels extensively producing quirky
pictorial travel books. With the publication of Obie’s 13th Photobook, we revisit
Diesel & Dust, his 9th and one of his most entertaining!
In Diesel & Dust, there’s Jimmy the gardener, up at 5am to be at work in Bryanston,
looking directly at you in his torn hat and shirt. There’s Fabulous, who worked
as a kind of bodyguard for Oberholzer while he photographed inner-city Johannesburg.
He died of Aids a few months after Oberholzer photographed him.
Oh, and there’s Bulelani, sitting outside his shack in the Klein Karoo, amid all
that emptiness and heat and cold. Next to the photograph, Oberholzer writes:
“Sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am sad, but a humanist all the same. I find
photography easy, but sometimes, like here in the Klein Karoo, when I stopped
to take a picture of Bulelani’s hovel near Kuduskloof, it’s difficult. The cracks
beneath the outer veneer of cool professionalism open up and the trickle of old
memories turns into an underground stream.”
Unbounded, by Boniface Mwangi
(available on Amazon.com)
Boniface is an award-winning Kenyan photojournalist involved in social-political
activism.
His first initiative was the project Picha Mtaani, Swahili for street exhibition,
showing photographs of the violence in 2007 after the Kenyan national elections,
between the different tribes. This travelling street exhibition was shown around
the country for people to discuss reconciliation and promote national healing.
Following this initiative, Boniface started to develop a stronger human rights
stance in his work on fighting (political and corporate) impunity, speaking out
against bad and corrupt political leadership and promoting a message of
peace with initiatives called MaVulture and Team Courage. Team Courage is
a Nairobi-based lobby that strives to enable a patriotic citizens’ movement to
take bold and effective actions in building a new Kenya.
Boniface has come a long way from his life as a teen selling books on the
street, to now producing his own photobook, Unbounded, a pictorial narrative
of his social-political activism work.
[
5 photo galleries to visit
Circle Art Agency [ Nairobi ]
Circle is East Africa’s first arts agency, set up in Nairobi, to provide a consultancy
service for artists, art institutions and the contemporary art market. Through
their gallery, consultancy and auctions, they aim to give the region’s most
talented artists greater visibility and increase access for collectors to the
region’s lively and fast-developing art scene.
For more: http://www.circleartagency.com/
Nike Art Gallery [ Lagos ]
Nike is owned by Nike Okundaye, a Nigerian female artist who, without a high
school education, has gone on to build an enviable international career as an
artist. The Nike Art Gallery, located in Lekki, is made up of four floors housing
about 15,000 works of art. The gallery only shows and sells work done by
Nigerian artistes and is said to be the largest gallery of its kind.
For more: http://www.nikeart.com/
Cultural Heritage Centre [ Arusha ]
Cultural Heritage is a unique cultural centre on the outskirts of Arusha with a
truly stunning art gallery! 5 floors full of artworks, including photography, from
known, and unknown, artists from around Africa!
For more: http://www.culturalheritage.co.tz/
Gallery Misr [ Cairo ]
5 photo competitions you should enter
Opened to the public in June 2011, the gallery has managed to quickly
become one of Cairo’s most popular galleries for modern contemporary art.
Dedicated to exhibiting works by Egyptian artists, the gallery hosts solo and
group exhibitions for paintings, sculpture, drawings, audio & video installations,
and photography.
For more: http://www.misrgallery.com/
These sites are a beginner
photographers dream when it
comes to finding and getting into
photo contests. They provide
a number of small contests
running year round and in a wide
variety of photography genres.
http://www.dpmag.com/photo-contests/
http://www.popphoto.com/contests
http://jpgmag.com/contest
http://www.rangefinderonline.com/Contests
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/
SoMa Art + Space [ Johannesburg ]
A funky gallery situated in the happening Maboneng Precinct in downtown Johannesburg.
SoMa aims to “soothe the savage soul through art”.
For more: http://somaartspace.co.za
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 59

5 fundamental photo tips you should try
Joe Were, a prolific photographer based in Nairobi Kenya, recently
penned a blog offering 5 very interesting photo tips that will turn
your photos from every day snapshots to epic masterpieces.
The 5 concepts shared can apply to any kind of photography one
would like to do. All the images taken (see below) were taken under
some kind of limitation/restriction/impediment whether it was
time, space or equipment and by showing them Were hopes to;
• Illustrate that the best camera is the one you have in your hand at
the moment ~ any camera including one attached to a phone
• share some of the fundamental things one can focus on every
day when they think about taking a photo.
Stay Up Late
When the sun goes down and you have
clear skies, the stars come out to play.
Sometimes it doesn’t dawn on us to
look up and marvel at the night sky. The
best time is from around 11pm (because
the Milky Way usually has risen around
this time and makes for interesting
night photography). There are a few
limitations to shooting stars though; It
requires you to be in a relatively dark
area and for your camera to have raw
shooting capabilities. To add some
contrasting context to your image, it is
a good idea to capture a little bit of the
surrounding elements, if possible.
[
5 fundamental photo tips
Shot on Nikon D610. f/2.8, 30sec, ISO 2500 Set on 10Sec timer at 16mm
[
[
1. Take your landscape photos at
odd hours
Yes, I do mean odd as in “not even”.
Let me explain.
So in the words of Were, here goes.
Shot on Samsung NX300 with the kit lens.
2. Use Leading Lines
Humans are extremely visual beings. You
draw the line, we will follow it (Or cross it
even). Leading lines basically “lead” the
viewer’s eye to what they are supposed
to see. And you, as the storyteller, decide
what we see in an image. These are the
two ways I have mostly used this:
Shot on FujiFilm X100S. f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 2500 at 23mm
Wake Up Early
Waking up at 5am means you can set up
either on a tripod or flat surface and capture
the sky as it’s transitioning from black to
blue (Depending on where in the world you
are and what time sunrise is). Sometimes
that soft light from the rising sun (But before
it comes up from the horizon) can be very
flattering especially when you have bodies
of water. The blue of the sky reflects well on
water bodies and gives your photo a nice
colour palette (Try bringing that up at the
dinner table... Go ahead, Impress the peeps).
Using Straight Lines
This is possibly the easiest and most
common way to use leading lines.
Straight lines are everywhere you
look ~ roads, buildings, power lines,
everywhere. The farther the lines go
away from you the more they converge,
leading our eyes to a point.
Get Out Late
In most places around the world, the sun
sets from around 6:30 to 7pm. This is perfect
for taking photos of cityscapes at dusk. 7pm
means you have a fading blue sky and city
lights in buildings as work comes to a close.
I make it a point to find out if I can access at
least one rooftop in whatever city I’m going
to. If there is booking and paying involved,
it goes in my budget for the trip. Just like
above photo tip, the need of a tripod or
steady surface where you can place your
camera is necessary. In this case, my tripod
was not allowed up the “Top Of The Rock” in
New York City. I had to improvise by placing
my camera on a book I had carried and
used the camera’s timer so as not to get a
blurry image.
Shot on Nikon D5000. f/11, 2secs, ISO 200 at 50mm
Using Curved Lines
The potential of curved lines to be
visually pleasing is high because they
ensure the viewer’s eye is travelling
through the entire frame of the shot.
Curved lines ensure we notice every
other element in the photo that we
otherwise would not. For example, in
the photo to the right, it is easy to think
that the tree is the main “character” of
the story, and without the tire tracks,
that would actually be the case. The
tracks on the sand let us know that
there is a more “important” character
in the story we should be focusing on,
tossing the tree into the supporting cast
character of the story.
Shot On Samsung NX30. f/7.1, 1/1000sec, ISO 200 at 18mm
ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 61

[
5 fundamental photo tips
3. Isolate Your Subject
When your photo does not have a clear
subject, a “star of the show”, then the
viewer is forced to look around to try
and see what catches their eye first. It
is vital that the star of your show stands
out, and there are a few ways to make
sure of this.
[
[
Shot on Nikon D610. f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 200 at 35mm
In this next photo I entered the baseball
field and sat for a few minutes watching
the game and framing the shot in my
head before I took out the camera. I
then waited again to study the pitcher’s
movement and waited for when he
would raise his leg to throw the ball..
[
5 fundamental photo tips
Shot on FujiFilm X100S. f/2.0, 1/250sec, ISO 2500 at 23mm
[
[
Using Colour
This is one of the simplest ways of
isolating your subject, especially if your
subject is dressed in brighter, more
dominant colours than the background.
Something you would not want is
for your subject to be competing for
attention. Solid coloured backgrounds
work well for this.
Using Frames
Frames could be anything from doors
to pillars, leaves, windows, columns,
anything that pretty much surrounds
your subject in a way that leads the
viewer’s eye to them directly. For
example, in the photo to the right, my
friend Michelle is in frame within the
small corridor.
4. Wait For It... Waaaait for it!
By far the most underrated aspect
of making epic images is Patience.
Sometimes the difference between OK
and Great is the WAIT. In the photo to
the right, I waited a few minutes after
framing the shot and then shot. It would
have been a rather boring shot if I had
only the flamingos in the distance. The
three flamingos in the front give the
photo more depth, more visual meaning.
Shot on FujiFilm X100S. f/2.0, 1/250sec, ISO 500 at 23mm
Shot on Nikon D5300. f/11, 1.250sec, ISO 100 at 300mm
5. Experiment With What You
Have!!
This is actually my favourite part. I just
loooooove to experiment. There was a
time when I had only a 50mm lens with
my old Nikon D5200 camera. I shot so
much with it I did not think I needed
another lens. Then I got a 35mm, same
drill. It was like listening to that one song
in the album until it scratches. Nowadays
I shoot with my phone (Huawei P9)
almost all the time. In fact, for a recent
documentary project I was on, I shot
almost exclusively on the phone, with
the help of an unlikely accessory~A
selfie stick. Who knew turning a selfie
stick the other direction (Away from
you...no selfies, please) could create
such magic! Here is one way you can
experiment shooting with a phone.
Get Up High
Here is where a selfie stick comes in
handy. The beauty of shooting with a
phone is that it forces you to think about
your shot; the framing, the composition,
the angle. In my opinion, the phone is
the most powerful camera you will ever
have because you always have it with
you.
Experiment with angles; sometimes the
difference can be just a few inches. The
image to the immediate right was shot
with the phone in my outstretched arm.
The image right after was with the selfie
stick which added just about 4 inches
but made a huge difference to the shot.
That’s about it for now. 5 tips that can
make all the difference.
Happy shooting!!
Shot on Huawei P9, f/2.2, 1/280sec, ISO 50 at 4mm, with a selfie stick
Courtesy, Joe Were (http://www.joewere.net/)
62 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 63

Fashion
Photography Workshop
Nairobi, KENYA
the am·a·teur corner
R
eaffirming a commitment to developing young
talent in the region, Canon, a world leader in
imaging solutions, in partnership with House of
Fotography and Kenya Fashion Awards, hosted
a professional photography workshop in Nairobi
between August 16th -19th, 2016.
The educational sessions were intended to provide
emerging young fashion photographers the skills and
training needed to gain more knowledge in their field, whilst
harnessing new talent and giving Kenya’s youth hands-on
access to Canon’s cameras. The workshop also encouraged
participants by providing live, hands-on training during a
fashion show that was held at the Michael Joseph Centre
on August 20th, 2016.
Canon is committed to the Africa region and recently
established Canon Central and North Africa, a division
under Canon Middle East, to be closer to its customers
in Africa. The workshop is part of the company’s efforts
to enhance its presence in the strategically important
Kenyan market, through social responsible activities
which form a core part of the company’s corporate
philosophy, ‘Kyosei,’ a Japanese word meaning living
and working together for the common good.
With access to Canon equipment and Canon Trainers,
attendees are advised on their projects and will greatly
benefit from these private tailored lessons and creative and
technical sessions which will introduce them to leading,
cutting-edge technology in the world of photography.
[
Rodgers Ouma ‘Ojwok’
This publication is delighted to turn its spotlight on
Rodgers Ouma ‘Ojwok’, a participant of the fashion
workshop sponsored by Canon, in Nairobi, Kenya between
August 16th -20th, 2016.
Ojwok, born 1992, in Nairobi, Kenya, developed a love
for photography while perusing his parents old photo
albums when growing up. “I wanted to tell stories using
photos and Ojwok Photography was born when I finished
my high school studies in 2012.”
Ojwok joined Multimedia University of Kenya to pursue
a Media and Communications degree and carries out a
variety of small photo assignments to pay for his studies
and upkeep but his heart is in fashion photography.
[
“To me, photography is the art of observation. It is about
finding something interesting in the most ordinary of
places. I have found it has little to do with the things you
see and everything to do with the way you see them. In
photography there is a reality so subtle that it can become
a new reality. Photography is a way of feeling, of touching,
of loving. What you have captured on film is captured
forever. It is the memory of the little things that lingers
in eternity, long after you have forgotten and moved on.”
https://www.behance.net/ojwokphotography
Photo Credit: Courtesy Ojwok
This is an abstract fashion piece using installation from Dust Depo, GoDown Railways Museum, Nairobi
64 africanphotomagazine
64 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 5 MARCH 2017 65

[
[
Publishers & Acknowledgements
[
Publishers:
House of Fotography
Editor:
Sharon Mitchener
Layout Designer:
Mumbe Mutisya | Jamodesigns.com
Editorial Offices:
House of Fotography P.O. Box 25190-00603 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: (+254) 702.680.797 | 714.745.924
hello@africanphotomag.co.ke
A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING:
To all the photographers and artists who contributed towards this 5th issue; the
expertise, passion and graciousness displayed makes this the breakout edition.
To the Ernest Cole Family Trust, the Hasselblad Foundation, Getty Images and
teNeues Media for enthusiastically permitting this publication showcase images held
in their trust .
A community of
African photographers
dedicated to sharing news and tutorials on
techniques, business and marketing essentials for today’s photographer.
A joint initiative of
To the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for its exemplary leadership on the African Continent
and for its support of the Arts and this publication.
To Saifudin Khanbhai of the Cultural Heritage Centre in Arusha Tanzania for his
singular dedication to preserving our shared heritage.
To the Photographers Association of South Africa (PSSA) for its immense contribution
to the growth of our industry on the Continent and its support of this publication.
To Mumbe Mutisya for a spectacular layout design and Jamo Designs for ensuring
this publication continues to see the light of day.
And
Ultimately, to our Almighty God for His continued favor and faithfulness
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