African Photo Magazine Issue #6

Local Perspectives, African Insights 

+ Redefining + Ghana + 

Beauty 

World’s first albino beauty 

pageant in Kenya defies 

deadly stigma 

Photography 

Spotlighting Ghana’s 

community of 

photographers 

Yellow Rubber 

Duckie Project 

From physician to 

inspiring Instagram 

photographer 

[ 

ISSUE 6 

JUNE 2017 

[

[ 

contents 

[ 

[ 

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 

12 

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! 

04 30 

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 

We release the 6th issue of this publication, continuing to be absolutely 

thankful to God for deepening the zeal we have for crafting each issue. We 

are also deeply thankful for the various partners and contributors who have 

come on-board to walk beside us, making this a great collaborative piece that 

demonstrates the old adage, “alone we go faster, but together we go further”. 

In this issue, we salute Ghana as she celebrates her 60 years of independence 

from colonial rule, and for being the first country in Africa to break the heavy 

yoke of colonialism. We take a brief look at her very rich colourful past and 

celebrate her future by spotlighting Ghanaian photographers showcasing their 

works on GH Photography’s instagram page. It would be remiss of us to not 

specifically mention the cooperation and enthusiasm we received from the 

team at GH Photography while compiling this piece. 

We recognize, as well as the rest of the world, that African photographers 

and artists are emergent and we applaud the efforts of organizations such as 

Performa, Nataal and Red Hook Labs, of New York, for being on the forefront 

of this movement. Their shared commitment to showcasing and elevating art 

arising from Africa is commendable and they have our heartfelt thanks, for 

their work and for their support of this publication. 

awa 

winne 

4 

04 Yellow Rubber Duckie Project 

From physician to inspiring Instagram 

photographer 

24 Photo Competitions to enter 

Select year-round competitions to enter 

60 The DJI Spark Drone 

Reaching new frontiers in Drone 

photography 

It is our pleasure and honour to showcase the works of one Ahmad El Abi, an 

Egyptian physician turned instagrammer. The works of Ahmad are such a joy to 

behold and his extremely warm response to being featured in this publication 

encourages our Pan-African vision immensely. Additionally we welcome 

AFRICANPHOTOMAGAZINE Georgina Goodwin, a 2 Kenyan-based photographer Local Perspectives. whose African work Insights. has earned 

international recognition for highlighting social justice and human rights issues 

impacting the Continent. Georgina reminds us that we all have a responsibility 

to be our brothers’ keeper and to use our gifting’s and talents to lift one another 

up. We also showcase “Upcoming Photographer” Brian Otieno in this issue and 

his exciting work in the genre of art photography and are encouraged that the 

future of photography rests in capable hands. 

08 In defence of our heritage 

2nd installment of Arusha Cultural 

Heritage Centre 

12 Performa 

November 2017 Biennial featuring 

African performance artists 

16 Redefining Beauty 

World’s first albino beauty pageant in 

Kenya defies deadly stigma 

25 Photo Galleries to visit 

On the trail of Africa’s hidden gems 

25 Festivals to attend 

Showcasing photography on the 

Continent 

26 Old is Gold 

Celebrating Ghana, Africa’s first country 

to be free from colonialism 

64 Upcoming Photographer 

Emergent photographer, Kenyan 

Brian Otieno 

64 

In keeping with our practice of reaching back to our past while looking forward 

to our future, we continue our pictorial series that looks at our shared African 

culture, so lovingly preserved in the Arusha Cultural Hertiage Centre. This 

publication firmly believes our African heritage must be preserved and retold 

anew using our own words and our own images to restore its authenticity and 

dignity. 

At the close of 2016 we celebrated the 170 year anniversary of PSSA, the very 

first African photographic society established by our brothers in Cape Town, 

South Africa, back in 1846. PSSA publishes a quarterly magazine named IMAGE, 

which covers all aspects of the Society’s activities and photography in general. 

IMAGE has so very graciously come alongside us to promote our efforts and in 

this issue has contributed Photoshop tutorial techniques we know our readers 

will find most instructive and beneficial. 

19 Rising African Photographers 

Red Hook labs in collaboration with 

Naatal features emerging stars in 

photography 

30 Ghana Photography 

Spotlighting Ghana’s community of 

photographers 

Lastly, in this issue we share with you what we consider interesting developments 

in terms of the latest gear that has debuted, in this case the latest news on the 

Drone front, as well as interesting festivals and galleries to visit, books to read 

and competitions to enter. 

24 Books to read 

A photographer’s must read 

2 africanphotomagazine 

50 Photoshop Tutorial 

South Africa’s IMAGE magazine with tips 

to better photography 

Our next issue will come out end of September 2017 but in the meantime stay 

connected via our website, http://www.africanphotomag.co.ke/ and social 

media pages. 

Asante Sana, and enjoy! 

ISSUE 6 JUNE 2017 3

www.instagram.com/ahmad_abi 

“B 

etween 2014 

and the end of 

2015, Instagram 

changed – it 

became more 

powerful. It went 

beyond just a social networking site 

where people shared their photos; 

and established itself as a platform 

for people to display their work and 

their creations. 

When Ahmad El Abi emerged 

onto what we now refer to as the 

Instascene, he did so with an 

army of yellow rubber duckies at 

his back, which soon became an 

intrinsically bound element of his 

online persona, rapidly launching him 

into the online stratosphere as one 

of this generation’ s newly coined 

“Instagram influencers.” In a sea of 

accounts vying for digital attention, 

Abi’ s unorthodox conceptual art 

positioned him uniquely. “You have 

to have a certain identity,” he says of 

standing out on Instagram. “When 

something comes genuinely from a 

person – if they’ re not trying too hard 

to do it – that’ s the thing that reaches 

people.” 

Through his hyper-defined identity, 

the medically-trained Abi was 

4 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 6 JUNE 2017 5

essentially able to shift careers and 

establish himself in the art world. His 

journey was shaky, to say the least. 

“My parents’ approval I suppose 

was the biggest thing – my dad’ s 

disapproval to be specific. He is a 

doctor and I became a doctor, so 

the idea of me leaving medicine was 

difficult for him. If someone important 

in your life is not confident that you are 

doing something right, for a moment 

you wonder if maybe you are wrong. 

But I had to dive in. I had to make a 

decision because I was unhappy.”But 

through his unwavering perseverance 

in his chosen field, Abi managed to 

shift perceptions not only within his 

own family but he serves as living 

proof of the downfall of traditional job 

roles in Egypt. “My father has kind of 

accepted the idea. When he heard 

about a CNN interview I did – and I 

know he didn’ t see it – but he heard 

about it, he was pleased. 

”“I am still in the process of discovery, 

and love conceptual photography 

because it gives me the space to 

create something out of nothing. In 

photography actually I didn’ t plan to 

do colorful pictures but it all emerges 

from my imagination as long as I was 

happy so it reflected my mood. I do 

not have a certain deep message but 

what I can say is that ideas come into 

my mind and I tend to show them to 

people as concepts. They are nothing 

but simple pictures sending a simple 

message: Happiness. 

”Abi has come a long way since his 

first ‘ yellow rubber duckie project” 

which we spotlight in this edition. 

Editorial: 

La Vie Boheme 

CairoScene 


Cultural Heritage Centre, Arusha Tanzania 

In almost all African societies, 

the most important role of women 

is to bear children. Whatever else 

– farming, cooking, or their role 

in women’s associations – their 

primary responsibility is to produce 

and nurture children. In many West 

African communities women are 

the most important members of the 

society in terms of magic power and 

statues glorify women. Women’s 

magic is demonstrable in the act of 

giving birth and as nurturer of life, just 

as her magic invigorates the magic of 

the earth. She represents the womb 

of the earth in which life and death 

repose. The female child is therefore 

also revered as a continuation of that 

legacy. 

In Defense of our 

Heritage 

s 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 showcase our 2nd installment of artifacts 

from the Cultural Heritage Centre in Arusha, Tanzania, in celebration our African heritage and capturing it 

through the photographer’s lens. (Photography Teddy Mitchener) 

A(See the 1st installment in issue #5 for the back-story on the Cultural Heritage Centre) 

The North East monsoon carried on its winds Arab trading dhows on an ancient sea route to the east coast of 

Africa and stashed away in holds of the exotic dhows were large numbers of elaborately decorated wooden boxes. 

These boxes, found all over bustling port cities where the Arabs traded and settled, were originally crafted by Indian 

carpenters. They were in great demand in the Arab world, as prized pieces of furniture, occupying the place of pride in 

homes. Over hundreds of years of migrations, the origins of the chests became blurred, as they began to be reproduced 

in the Arabian Gulf, and the coastal cities of East Africa. They were usually classified by their distinctive hasps, hinges, 

handles, wood and style of decoration. 

In Africa, south of the Sahara, wood 

is the natural material for carving. In 

the 20th century sculpture in wood 

is still very much a living tradition. 

Tribal carving was done for a clear 

and practical purpose. A figure may 

represent an ancestor, destined to 

stand in a shrine. A mask may be 

intended for use by a shaman just 

once a year in a special dance. A post 

may be designed to prop up a chief’s 

verandah or to form part of a palisade 

round his house. An elaborate chair is 

likely to be for the chief himself to sit 

on, and so on. 

The characteristic sculpture of 

Africa, which forms the largest part of 

what is usually considered primitive 

art, can be seen as early as 500 BC 

in the Nok culture - named from 

the village in Nigeria where pottery 

figures of this kind were first found. 

The Nok statuettes are mainly of 

human subjects. Made of terracotta, 

they combine strong formal elements 

with a complete disregard for precise 

anatomy. Their expressive quality 

places them unmistakably at the start 

of the African sculptural tradition. 

Traditional African birthing chairs 

were intended to provide balance and 

support to mothers giving birth. The 

birthing chairs supported the bottom 

of the women in labor and often have 

a slender, sloped back for comfort 

and to allow birthing assistants, who 

are positioned behind the mother 

in labor, to massage or support her. 

The chairs were usually only 8 to 10 

inches off the ground specifically to 

allow laboring women to brace their 

feet against the ground in a squatting 

position to help in pushing. 

ISSUE 6 JUNE 2017 9

Historians estimate that between 10 

and 18 million Africans were enslaved 

by Arab slave traders and taken 

across the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, 

and Sahara desert between 650 A.D 

and 1900 A.D, long before the Atlantic 

Slave trade. At the height of the Indian 

Ocean slave trade, it was estimated 

that 80,000 Africans died each 

year before ever reaching the slave 

markets of Zanzibar. Zanzibar was 

once East Africa’s main slave-trading 

port, and under Omani Arabs in the 

19th century as many as 50,000 

slaves were passing through the city 

each year. 

The earliest findings of cast bronze 

artefacts were excavated in Igbo-Ukwu, 

Nigeria (9 A.D). The tradition of bronze 

casting in West Africa reached its 

peak during the great kingdoms of 

the 14th-19th century. The demanding 

cire perdue technique was used for 

the production of different objects by 

bronze casters who, in West Africa, 

formed special guilds and occupied 

an important position in society due to 

the ambivalent nature of their work – 

working with metal. Only the king had 

the authority to order the production 

of objects in bronze, control their 

distribution as well as the use of metal. 

Nkisi or Nkishi are spirits, or an 

object that a spirit inhabits. It is 

frequently applied to a variety of 

objects used throughout the Congo 

Basin in Central Africa that are 

believed to contain spiritual powers 

or spirits. Close communication with 

ancestors and belief in the efficacy of 

their powers are closely associated in 

Kongo tradition. Among the peoples 

of the Congo Basin, especially the 

Bakongo and the Songye people of 

Kasai, exceptional human powers 

are frequently believed to result 

from some sort of communication 

with the dead. People known as 

banganga work as healers, diviners, 

and mediators who defend the living 

against witchcraft and provide them 

with remedies against diseases 

resulting either from witchcraft or the 

demands of bakisi (spirits), emissaries 

from the land of the dead. 

The Senufo of northern Côte d’Ivoire 

produce a rich variety of sculptures, 

mainly associated with Poro, a society 

guided by a female ancestral spirit 

known as “the Ancient Mother.” Several 

types of mask are used in conjunction 

with Poro. Kponyugu masks exhibit 

many variations in name, style, animal 

references, and symbolism. Their 

iconography—a composite of a wide 

range of animals—refers to the origin 

of the world, to important legends, 

and to the roles of certain animals in 

carrying out obligations to ancestors 

and nature spirits. The kpelie masks, 

small human faces with delicate 

features, represent female spirits and 

encode aspects of Poro knowledge. 

The masks are involved with initiation 

and also perform at funerals, where 

they help encourage the soul of the 

deceased to move on to the ancestral 

realm. 

Makonde sculpture, old and 

modern, represents an artistic 

tradition which evolved in response 

to the historical and economic forces 

affecting the Makonde, of southern 

Tanzania, throughout the twentieth 

century, especially after the 1930s. 

The carvings are both traditional and 

contemporary, reflecting a tribal past 

as well as modern response to urban 

life. The most common is the “Tree 

of Life” which depicts the members 

of an extended family, including 

past and present generations, gently 

supporting each other, generation 

after generation, around the family 

ancestor 


Produced with permission 

S 

ince its inception, 

Performa has been a 

leader in commissioning 

artists whose work has 

collectively shaped 

a new chapter in the 

multi-century legacy of visual artists 

working in live performance. Founded 

by art historian and curator RoseLee 

Goldberg in 2004, the organization 

is dedicated to exploring the critical 

role of live performance in the history 

of twentieth-century art, as well 

as its enormous significance in the 

international world of contemporary 

art. 

This year, the Biennial examines how 

artists in several cities on the African 

continent consider performance 

as an extension of their creativity in 

multiple disciplines—music, dance, 

film, image making—and how each 

artist takes us into distinct histories 

and sensibilities. The themes focus 

on a cross cultural dialogue between 

Africa and the West, and examine 

immediate and critical concerns 

confronting our urban centers, the 

shifting political and cultural currents 

of our turbulent world today, and 

ultimately the role of the arts and 

of artists in supporting afflicted 

communities. 

The November 1–19, 2017 Biennial 

will be showcased at locations 

throughout New York City and 

commissions Include: 

Yto Barrada (Morocco) 

Barrada’s work focuses on Tangier, illuminating the city in ways often unexpected by Western perspectives. Using 

photography, sculpture, and film, she explores the ways in which physical, political, and psychological barriers frame 

the lives of the city’s inhabitants. Barrada has an eye for showing everyday details that open up a mass of issues. That 

classic symbol of all things exotic, the palm tree, is the star of her works - Because of its protected status, a slender 

mop-haired tree is the only thing standing in the way of a Tangier landowner developing a scrappy patch of ground. 

Zanele Muholi 

(South Africa) 

A South African artist and visual 

activist, Zanele has documented 

black lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender and intersex people’s 

lives in various townships in South 

Africa for over a decade. Responding 

to the continuing discrimination 

and violence faced by the LGBTI 

community, in 2006 Muholi embarked 

on an ongoing project, Faces and 

Phases, in which she depicts black 

lesbian and transgender individuals. 

These arresting portraits are part of 

Muholi’s contribution towards a more 

democratic and representative South 

African homosexual history. Through 

this positive imagery, Muholi hopes 

to offset the stigma and negativity 

attached to queer identity in African 

society. 

Julie Mehretu (Ethiopia) 

A key African artist of her generation with growing international exposure, Ethiopian-born Julie Mehretu’s large-scale 

paintings draw inspiration from aerial mapping and architecture. With an underlying calligraphic complexity, Mehretu’s 

energetic pieces represent accelerated urban growth, densely-populated city environments, and contemporary social 

networks. Mehretu creates each painting by adding consecutive, thin layers of acrylic paint on canvas, finalizing her 

work with delicate, superimposed marks and patterns using pencil, pen, ink, and streams of paint. Mehretu’s work 

compresses time, space, and place. From Constructivism to geometric abstractions and Futurism, Mehretu describes 

her paintings as “story maps of no location.” 


Kemang Wa Lehulere (South Africa) 

Fueled by a fear of performing (in his words, “I continue to do performance because it scares the shit out of me,”) 

Kemang Wa Lehulere uses performance, together with a range of media, including murals, painting, and installation, to 

plumb the troubled history of his native South Africa and the ongoing ramifications of Apartheid. His practice seeks to 

revisit past moments in an attempt to understand the present. Via numerous media – drawing, sculpture, photography, 

performance and video – Wa Lehulere addresses the intersections of personal narrative and collective history, its 

disintegration and partial amnesia. 

Wangechi Mutu (Kenya) 

In collages, films, sculptures and installations Wangechi Mutu reflects on sexuality, femininity, ecology, politics, the 

rhythms and chaos of the world and our often damaging or futile efforts to control it. First recognized for paintings and 

collages concerned with the myriad forms of violence and misrepresentation visited upon women, especially black 

women, in the contemporary world, Mutu’s work has often featured writhing female forms. Their skin an eruption of 

buboes, mutant appendices like gun shafts or machine gears sprouting from the sockets of joints, their bodies half 

human, half hyena, they offer a glimpse at the perversions of the body and the mind wrought by forces active in the 

oppression of women. More recently, exploring and subverting cultural preconceptions of the female body and the 

feminine, in her works Mutu proposes worlds within worlds, populated by powerful hybridized female figures. Her 

practice has been described as engaging in her own unique form of myth-making, one in which the interweaving of 

fact with fiction opens up possibilities for another group of symbolic female characterizations, markedly different from 

those that appear in either classical history or popular culture. 

Tracey Rose (South Africa) 

Born in Durban, South Africa and currently residing in Johannesburg, Tracey Rose is an established contemporary 

multimedia artist and outspoken feminist, best known for her bold performances, video installations, and arresting 

photographic works. Rose confronts the politics of identity, including sexual, body, racial, and gender issues. Rose’s 

themes often convey her multicultural ancestry, and the experience of her mixed-race reality in South Africa. She 

skillfully combines elements of popular culture with sociological theories to evoke powerful depictions of South Africa’s 

political and social landscape. Rose has held solo exhibitions in South Africa as well as Europe and the United States. 

William Kentridge (South Africa) 

Having witnessed first-hand one of the twentieth century’s most contentious struggles—the dissolution of apartheid— 

Kentridge brings the ambiguity and subtlety of personal experience to public subjects that are most often framed in 

narrowly defined terms. Using film, drawing, sculpture, animation, and performance, Kentridge transmutes sobering 

political events into powerful poetic allegories. In a now-signature technique, Kentridge photographs his charcoal 

drawings and paper collages over time, recording scenes as they evolve. Working without a script or storyboard, he 

plots out each animated film, preserving every addition and erasure. Aware of myriad ways in which we construct the 

world by looking, Kentridge uses stereoscopic viewers and creates optical illusions with anamorphic projection, to 

extend his drawings-in-time into three dimensions. 


Albino Beauty Pageant 

REDEFINES BEAUTY AMID PERSECUTION 

I 

n Africa, Albinism is associated 

with many negative 

misconceptions and 

superstitions. Seen as a 

punishment from God or 

bad luck, even a contagious 

‘disease’, people living with albinism 

(PWA) in Africa often suffer stigma, 

alienation and physical abuse. 

According to the Albino Association 

of Kenya, 90% of people with albinism 

in Kenya come from broken homes, 

raised by single mothers. Albinism has 

the potential to affect young people 

both emotionally and psychologically 

with social attitudes often affecting how 

they perceive themselves. Evidence 

from research suggests that for a child 

to be socially competent he or she 

needs to have a positive self-concept 

and demonstrate socially acceptable 

behaviours. In October 2016, under 

the banner “Beauty Beyond The 

Skin”, the world’s first Mr and Ms 

Albanism Pageant was organized by 

the Albinism Society of Kenya (ASK) 

to fight the stigma associated with 

albinism and to build the confidence 

of albino youth in Kenya. Not only 

raising money for Albino’s cancer 

treatment, counseling and for the 

provision of sunscreen lotion which 

helps in prevention of skin cancer, the 

Pageant event championed for better 

medical services for the challenges 

that are characteristic of the condition 

and brings to light the need to address 

all violations of human rights. 

These images are of people with 

Albinism taken on assignment for 

CNN, by Georgina Goodwin, during 

the world’s first Mr and Ms Albinism 

Beauty Pageant held in October 2016 

[ Georgina Goodwin 

https://georgina-goodwin.squarespace.com 

[ 

in Nairobi, Kenya. 


PHOTOGRAPHERS 

R 

ed Hook Labs in New York, in collaboration with Nataal, spotlighted six photographers from 

Africa and its diaspora, both emerging and widely acclaimed. The photographers in the 

fields of art, fashion, documentary and portraiture, are telling the stories of Africa in the 21st 

century. 

Red Hook Labs is a public-benefit corporation dedicated to establishing creative 

communities and self-sustaining businesses in developing areas. Through their unique relationship with 

creative industries and commitment to education, events, and programming, they are able to connect 

education and continuing skills training to mentorship, internships and job placement. 

Nataal is a new global media brand celebrating contemporary African fashion, visual arts, music, travel 

and society and collaborates with partners globally to curate unique exhibitions and events. 

| 

ISSUE 6 JUNE 2017 19

Fela Gucci 

Kristin-Lee Moolman (South africa) 

Kristin-Lee Moolman’s photography 

is capturing the idea of a ‘new Africa’. 

Having grown up in a “backwards 

Afrikaans town” before the end of 

apartheid, her work explores issues 

like sexuality and segregation without 

being overtly political. Her world is a 

stark departure from traditionality and 

conservative attitudes in the region. 

Putting her friends and local creatives in 

front of the lens, Moolman deconstructs 

restrictive definitions of masculinity and 

femininity. What’s more, she places 

her gender-nonconforming subjects in 

mundane suburban landscapes, using 

a sun-bleached pastel aesthetic to 

tweak the everyday into the realms of 

the surreal. In short, Moolman is pushing 

to make the alternative the norm – and 

that in itself contests uniformity. 

Produced with permission: Red Hook labs, New 

York. 

Yellow T-Shirt 

Owise Abuzaid (Egypt) 

Owise Abuzaid is an applied arts 

graduate working in Cairo, having 

finished his studies in 2014 yet the 

following year the young photographer 

and filmmaker’s Yellow Shirt series 

won two prizes at the Youth Salon, the 

Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s annual 

national arts competition. The body of 

work was also exhibited at LagosPhoto 

2015 and in 2016 he was selected for 

the New York Times Portfolio Review. 

Having lived through the “Arab spring 

revolution” in Cairo, Qwise was tempted 

to become a photojournalist but when 

his Canon EOS 550D got broken in a 

clash on the streets, he decided to 

stick to using an iPhone and turned his 

attentions to more abstract views and 

perspectives. The Yellow Shirt series is 

a documentary project whereby Owise 

shot events that were happening to 

him using a yellow shirt to represent his 

presence. 

Produced with permission: Red Hook labs, New 

York. 

Let It Be 

Lakin Ogunbanwo (NIgeria) 

Working at the confluence of fashion 

photography and classical portraiture, 

young Nigerian photographer Lakin 

Ogunbanwo creates enigmatic portraits 

with an erotic and subversive undertone. 

His subjects exist defiantly in the frame 

often masked by shadow, drapery and 

foliage. His use of vibrant flat colour and 

bold compositions form a more minimalist 

homage to the african studio photography 

popular in the 1960s and 1970’s. 

Produced with permission: Red Hook labs, New York. 

Highness-Hybrid 

Delphine Diaw Diallo (senegal) 

Senegalese photographer Delphine Diaw 

Diallo has quickly developed a style 

that juxtaposes reality with imaginary 

consciousness, fashion with documentary, 

and tradition with modernity. As 

a commercial shooter Delphine’s 

photographic range is amplified by her 

distinct and creative eye. Delphine mixes 

mediums of expression in a powerful 

way to describe the world she is trying 

to capture. Delphine juxtaposes reality 

with imaginary conscience; fashion with 

documentary photographs; tradition with 

modernity to produce photography that 

emits a kinectic energy 



Morayo 

Atong Atem (S. Sudan) 

Atong Atem is a South Sudanese artist and her work 

explores postcolonial practices in the diaspora, the 

relationship between public and private spaces and the 

politics of looking and being looked at. 

“The first time I realised I wasn’t just black, but very black – 

blue-black, berry-black, midnight-black – I was on a school 

excursion to Canberra, Australia and someone confused 

me for a black marble sculpture of a dead coloniser. At first 

I was worried she’d had a heart attack but then my concern 

about looking like a dead white coloniser took over. I have 

learned to sit very still in public, and limit my movements to 

make people comfortable and unafraid, but even then the 

fact that I can’t count how often I’ve been confused for a 

sculpture, even in the middle of a supermarket, means that 

people aren’t expecting a thing as black as me to be real 

and human “ (Read more of this fascinating photography on 

http://www.gal-dem.com) 


Untitled 

Namsa Leuba (Guinea) 

Namsa Leuba is a Guinean photographer and her diverse 

photographic practice examines the representation of 

African identity through the Western imagination. Spanning 

documentary, fashion and performance, Namsa Leuba 

creates a visual imaginary that explores the signs and 

symbols of her cultural heritage, from rituals and ceremonies 

to statuettes and masquerades. Whether executed on 

location or in the constructed studio environment, Leuba’s 

projects combine an anthropological interest in traditional 

customs with an aesthetic that is informed by fashion and 

design sensibilities. Adopting a theatrical approach with 

careful attention to props, colors and gestures, Namsa 

Leuba questions the relationship between fact and fiction, 

action and representation, and the sacred and the profane. 



Photo books to read 

Photo galleries to visit 

Everyday Africa 

(available on Amazon.com) 

30 Photographers Re-Picturing 

a Continent, published by Kehrer 

Verlag, showcases photos of ordinary 

life in Africa that find beauty in stories 

rarely seen—shifting perception 

from the sensationalized extremes 

to a more textured, familiar reality. 

Photographs run alongside sections 

of Instagram commentary inspired by 

the images. The comments can be 

lighthearted one moment and caustic 

the next, speaking volumes about 

widely held perceptions of Africa 

while underscoring the continent’s 

increased connectivity in a globalized 

world. 

Haute Africa 

(available on Amazon.com) 

This book presents a different side 

of a continent where fashion and 

design, crucially generate wealth. 

This flourishing creativity is expressed 

within a vibrant and growing fashion 

industry. International and African 

photographers and artists are 

increasingly visible within the fashion 

scene with their inspired take on 

African identity. 

Anthology of African Photography 

(available on revuenoire.com) 

Presenting a comprehensive 

chronicle of African photography, this 

work includes over 500 images by 160 

photographers from the mid-1800s 

to the present. From photography’s 

introduction to Africa by European 

countries that needed to keep an eye 

on their colonies, to its recent use as 

a documentary tool against apartheid 

and for independence, its history 

encompasses, like the continent 

itself, a colorful and multi-faceted 

narrative of oppression and struggle, 

liberation and birth. 

Art Twenty One, Nigeria 

1415 Adetokunbo Ademola Street, 

Victoria Island, Lagos 

Art Twenty One is a space dedicated 

to fostering the growing art scene in 

Lagos. The gallery presents local and 

regional artists, as well as new contemporary 

art projects. 

Photo festivals to attend 

First Floor Gallery, Zimbabwe 

31 Lyric Heights, 3rd Floor, 149 

Samora Machel Avenue, Harare 

As Zimbabwe’s first international 

emerging art gallery, First Floor Gallery 

Harare supports the career development 

of young local artists. This 

artist-run gallery fosters education, 

experimentation, and exchange to 

develop a promising future for the 

artists it represents. 

Espace doual’art, Cameroon 

Place du Gouvernement, Douala 

Located in the historic center of 

Douala, Cameroon, doual’art space 

is a contemporary gallery and studio 

that focuses on promoting new practices 

in African art. The gallery hosts 

seven exhibitions a year in addition to 

seminars, workshops, and lectures. 

P hoto competitions you should enter 

Rencontres de Bamako 11th edition, co-produced by the 

Ministry of Culture of Mali and the French Institute, will be 

held from 2 December 2017 to 31 January 2018. 

The 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. 

www.pdnonline.com/contests/ 

http://shoottheframe.com/ 

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/apoy 

Organized since 1994, with the support of the Africa and 

Caribbean Creations program, whose aim is to work for 

the development of contemporary African creation, the 

Rencontres de Bamako is the first and largest event devoted 

to photography and video in Africa. A key event for 

cooperation between France and Mali, a real place of 

discovery, exchange and visibility, the Rencontres de Bamako 

is an essential platform for the revelation of African 

photographers. 

LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival 

of photography in Nigeria. The festival presents photography 

as it is embodied in the exploration of historical 

and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes, 

and the reclamation and engagement of public 

spaces in showcasing contemporary photography. The 

eighth edition of the annual LagosPhoto Festival will run 

from October 21 to November 20, 2017, and is themed Regimes 

of Truth. 


1. Ancient early urban settlements of 

the Ghana Empire. ©historum.com 

Old 

2. 14th century Larabanga Mosque. 

The oldest Mosque in Ghana. 

©historum.com 

3. Saharan salt-caravan ©James 

Michael Dorsey 

4. Elmina Castle, built in 1482 

5. Osu castle, built in 1661 

02 

04 

is 

6. Dungeons holding slaves, with 

evidence of blood, urine, defecation, 

and vomit still caked onto the 

ground. 

03 

gold 

7. Slave-chains 

07 06 

05 

01 

In this issue, we showcase the work of our brothers and sisters in Ghana 

(see page 30) and in doing so, we present a brief history of this proud African 

nation. This publication continually reminds our readers that we must 

never forget our deep and rich history, and that we must always remember 

that we stand on the shoulders of giants! “We are the dream and the 

hope of our forefathers and they were mighty men of old!” 

T 

he Ghana Empire 

(400A.D. until 1200A.D.), 

properly known as Awkar 

(Ghana or Ga’na being 

the title of its ruler) was 

located in what is now 

southeastern Mauritania and west- 

ern Mali. Complex societies based 

on trans-Saharan trade with salt and 

gold had existed in the region since 

ancient times. But the introduction of 

the camel to western Sahara in the 

3rd century A.D. gave way to great 

changes in the area that became the 

Ghana Empire. By the time of the Muslim 

conquest of North Africa in the 7th 

century, the camel had changed the 

ancient more irregular trade routes 

into a trade network running from 

Morocco to the Niger river. The Ghana 

Empire grew rich from this increased 


trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt 

allowing for larger urban centres to 

develop. It furthermore encouraged 

territorial expansion to gain control 

over the different trade-routes. 

Between the 9th and 11th centuries, 

the kingdom of Ghana was so rich 

that its dogs wore golden collars, and 

its horses, which were adorned with 

silken rope halters, slept on plush carpets. 

Based on animal luxuries alone, 

it is no wonder that foreigners touted 

Ghana’s kings as the richest men in 

the world, and they began greedily 

calling the land, the Gold Coast. 

Recorded history shows that in 1471, 

the Portuguese were the first Europeans 

who actively sought to settle in 

the coastal regions of West Africa in 

order to promote trading. In 1482 they 

built a castle at ‘El mina’ (the mine), 

near the beach of the present town 

Elmina. The Danes were among the 

last Europeans to arrive in Ghana in 

1650. They built one of the most imposing 

castles in Africa in 1661. They 

called the castle, Christianborg but 

it is now popularly called the Osu 

Castle, which currently contains the 

President’s main offices. 

Beyond this point is the sad tale of 

trade where the products were human 

beings. The vast continent of 

America was short of labourers for 

their cotton and cane farms. Where 

initially the Portuguese had arrived in 

the Gold Coast for the sole purpose 

of trade in goods, it became clear that 

trading slaves, in human beings, was 

much more profitable. 

So for over 300 years the Portuguese, 

British, French, Swedish and the Germans 

saw the Gold Coast and the 

neighbouring African countries as 

bounty fields. In addition to the gold 

and mineral resources which were 

shipped, were human beings chained 

and packed like sardines for the long 

and torturous journeys to the Americas. 

By the 1870s all European countries 

but Britain had left the Gold Coast 

after some bargaining arrangements 

with Britain. Most of the Gold Coast 

was still under the control of native 

chiefs. The one area offering the stiffest 

resistance, was the Ashanti region. 

But in 1874, Britain declared the Gold 

Coast as a crown colony even though 

there were still vast areas opposing 

their occupation. In the same year, 

however, Britain with the help of the 

southern part of the country attacked 

and took over the stronghold (Kumasi) 

of the Ashanti tribe. 

Accra became the capital of Gold 

Coast in 1877 and between 1884-85, 

with the scramble for Africa, the Berlin 

Conference resulted in most of 

Ghana, as we know it now, becoming 

a British colony. 

When the Gold Coast in 1957 became 

the first country in sub-Saharan Africa 

to regain its independence from colonial 

rule it was renamed in honor of 

the long gone empire from which this 

great nation was birthed. 

Sources: 

Wikipedia 

Ghana Mumtie 

US History.Org 

8. The origin of Kente cloth is 

explained partly with an intriguing 

legend. A man name Otaa Kraban 

and his friend Kraku Amoagya from 

Bonwire learnt the art of weaving by 

observing a spider weaving its web 

in the year 1650. Taking the cue from 

the spider’s web they wove a strip 

of raffia fabric and later improved 

upon the skills. They reported their 

discovery to their chief who in turn 

reported to the Asantehene. The 

Asantehene adopted the royal arts 

as precious and prestige cloth, and 

became the custodian of Asante 

Kente. 

9. Medicine Man- Gold Coast, West 

Africa. (1899) 

10. King Mate Kole of East Krobo. 

Gold Coast Ghana. July 1892 © 

Basel Mission 

11. Fanti women from Sekondi, 1900 

© Basel Mission 

12. King Prempe after his 

reinstatement, Kumase, Ghana, 

January 1926 © Basel Mission 

13. The War of the Golden Stool, 

also known as the Yaa Asantewaa 

War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, 

the Ashanti Uprising, or variations 

thereof, was the final war in a series 

of conflicts between the British 

Imperial government of the Gold 

Coast (later Ghana) and the Empire 

of Ashanti, a powerful, semi-autonomous 

African state that fractiously 

co-existed with the British and its 

vassal coastal tribes. 

When the Ashanti began rebelling 

against British rule, the British 

attempted to put down the unrest 

and demanded that the Asante turn 

over to the British the Golden Stool, 

the throne and a symbol of Asante 

sovereignty. The war ended with 

the Ashanti maintaining its de facto 

independence. Even though the 

Ashanti were annexed into the British 

Empire, they ruled themselves 

with little reference to the colonial 

power. However, when the British 

colony of the Gold Coast became 

the first independent, sub-Saharan 

African country in 1957, Ashanti was 

subsumed into the newly created 

Ghana. 

14. Ashanti warriors. 

15. March 6th Ghana 1957 

commemorates independence 

from Great Britain, celebrating the 

end of colonial rule and the dawn 

of their independence. The photo 

is that of Kwame Nkrumah, the first 

Prime Minister of the state. Ghana 

was the first African nation to throw 

off the terrible yolk of colonialism. 

10 

11 

08 

09 

12 

13 

14 15 


@bobpixel - Pray for our elderly 

Photographer 

showcase 

@nfoningraphy - ONLY THE FEARLESS, BECOME LEGENDS! 

@redkytestudios - Maybe life isn’t about avoiding the bruises... maybe it’s about 

collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it 

@crossfocs_foto - father 

Ghana Photography (GH) was founded in 2015, and is a non-governmental organization for Ghanaian 

photography and industry stakeholders. GH seeks to impact lives, develop communities and 

project the image of Ghana and Africa positively, using photography. Their social media platforms 

create vibrant communities of professional photographers and promotes visibility of their work. 

Ghana Photo Challenge (#GHPC17) on Instagram is an annual initiative by Ghana Photography in 

collaboration with the Association of Professional Photographers Ghana (APPG), Snap Shop, Ghana Fashion 

Marketing and target Solutions and it seeks to promote and reward creative art talents. 

With a formidable and engaged Instagram following of 88K, GH Photography is the preeminent leading light 

for photographers on the Continent. In celebration of Ghana’s 60th independence anniversary (In 1957 Ghana 

became the first African country to gain independence) and in recognition of the lead they have taken in crafting 

photography, this publication showcases some of the photographers works that grabbed our attention. 

@dreamvilleworks - Sherlock Holmes @vikpix89 - Mr DJ in Blue @ansahkenphotography - Grace Jones 

Enjoy! 

30 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 6 JUNE 2017 31 

Produced with permission by GH Photography

@denisvejas - Ghana’s Fire eaters 

@phloshop - Splash! 

@unlimitedstudios - freedom 

@sekendlyf - waiter 

@bobpixel - end of life 

@bobpixel - love and basketball 

@mumblephotography - lets dance @justserenemodel - cloud of confusion @felixcrown - just do it! 


@femellestudios - seeing the Carnival 

@theseyekehinde - a colourful life 

@stylifphotography - lets go bridal 

@tybello - a mother’s love 

@dextdeephotography - new beginnings 

@bobpixel - Queening 

@studiofaya - Mona Lisa 


@focusghphotography - Along for the ride 

@papa_amorstudios - The Rains are here... 

@focusghphotography _ Colour my world 

@islandboiphotography - Always on the edge. 

What a terrifying, but wonderful feeling 

@islandboiphotography - Live every moment, Laugh 

every day, Love beyond words 


@iamjamesanthony - all the queen’s men 

@dextdeephotography - Vertical Dance 

@iam_k0d3d - THE JOURNEY OF TWO BROTHERS 

Walking the roads of our youth, Through the land 

of our childhood, Be near me, guide me, always 

stay beside me 

@hinsonghphotography - black and white 

@ben_cobbina - Ebony 

@dfams - the patriot 

@bezalelandaholiab - Disturbia 

@islandboiphotography - There is no force 

more powerful than a woman determined 

to rise 

@1grandberry - 1960’s vibe 

@jema_photography - a fashionable walk 

down the street 


@bvaphotos - Taking a seat 

@keelsonstudio - beautiful 

@frameitgh - war 

@bobpixel - race against time 

@nana_gaza - black & white 

@dextdeephotography - Flash Dance 

@dextdeephotography - Mystique 

@cliq_kofi - she’s got it 

@kelechiamadiobi - my city 

@dextdeephotography - musical butterfly 


@sheyo_becks - Social media; where everyone 

displays the best part of their lives 

@kwesi_mufasa - old skool 

@esdomp - passion drivers 

@dnamediacompany - a personal audience 

@mbphotographyzz - Exhausted 

@sekendlyf - will you marry me 

@sekendlyf - What a man can do 

@sethappiahphotography - cigar bar 

@s3s3_nfoni - Night rider 

@mfonyin_plix - red shoes 

@akyeaa - reading my news 

@chasquido_studios - Roadtrip! 


@solmac_studios - welcome to the world 

@jema_photography - All things work together for our good 

@remedy_photography - swag kids 

@kwabenaawuku - thinking of how to move 

Ghana forward 

@niidjarbeng_lightville - street party 

@efphotographygh - when its your turn to swing 

@lexonart - They remind us what it means 

to truly live. Pretty sure he won’t allow her 

to drive him anywhere again 

@o.s._kev_dezignstudio _ A child in his own 

world 

@bobpixel - joy in Asesewa 

@kwesi_mufasa - Sunset on the Volta laker 

@creative_vision_photography - my first ride 

@photogerard - dock dive 


@chief__josh - You never know how fast or hard 

someone is falling, be kind 

@yilmazofficiall - life does not get better by chance, 

it gets better by change 

@holisonconcept - MbangbaCultureroupe 

@highway234 - in another world 

@hendrisuhandi - tamblingan lake 

@_fotome - We see your hard work...we acknowledge your 

efforts...we thank God for being such a formidable pillar in our 

everyday lives. 

@bobpixel - Nzulezu village has no roads, the village 

is built on stilts sitting on the river. Only way in and out 

is via canoes. 

@mumblephotography- Gold member 

@bobpixel - Barefooted, he went through the thickets to 

the river where the next stage of separating of earth from 

diamond will begin. 

@apagstudios - our future 


@apagstudios - ghost ship 

@eyinkart - scrap at sea 

@bobpixel - Sometimes the unexpected brings in 

beautiful things we must be ready to seize. 

@crossfocs_foto - end of day 

@dlittletins - country road 

@destination.africa2017 - Osu at night 

48 africanphotomagazine

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL 1-3 what went wrong 

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS - 

1 BACK-LIGHT CONTRAST: 

Ad light in with curves p. 

2 COLOUR BANDING: 

Saturate without banding p. 

3 UNSHARP IMAGE: 

3a - smart sharpening p. 

3b - low-pass sharpening p. 

3c - tips for digital salons p. 

The reference photo I took early in November of baobab against sun at 

Kubu Island, Botswana. Nikon D300S - 10-24mm Nikon lens at 14 mm - 

1/125 sec - f8 - ISO 200 

PSSA (Photographic Society of South Africa) is the oldest photographic society on the 

Continent and recognised by the South African Government through the Performing 

Arts Council. PSSA is consulted on all aspects affecting photography in South Africa 

as well as being able to negotiate protection and exemption for photographic clubs 

and members. 

1 BACK-LIGHT 

CONTROL 

An under-exposed 

subject is normally 

the result of the 

camera’s built-in 

reflective metering 

system p.13-18 being 

'fooled' by an overlybright 

background. 

To fix this in 

Photoshop, we are 

going to use the 

Curves Adjustment 

Layer. 

1 

step 

Open file hit ctrl - J to 

create new layer (this is 

a good practice to 

always have original 

image to go back to 

when doing complex 

manipulations). 

With layer active click on 

the Fill or Adjustment 

Layer icon at the bottom 

of the Layers palette 

Window - Layers 

select Curves from list. 

PSSA publishes a magazine named IMAGE, which covers all aspects of the Society’s 

activities and photography in general. 

This is a submission by IMAGE, sharing photoshop tips and techniques, with readers 

of our publication. 

2 

step 

a) Now only concentrate on the subject 

(tree) and push the Curve upwards. 

The Curve should not touch the top 

edge of the box, you can click on the 

Curve to create a new point to move 

it away from touching the top. 

b) Once the Curve is set click on mask 

in Curves 1 (indicated in red below) 

and start painting the background 

black using the Brush Tool in 

normal mode. Start with a 50% 

opacity and small brush size next to 

subject (tree) and increase as you 

move away from 

subject. Ignore dark 

spots you accidently recreated 

on subject. 

c) Fix accidental dark 

spots by changing to 

white and then paint 

over these dark spots. 

© Hein Waschefort 


Hein Waschefort for VSS Creative, PSSA and Africa Photo Magazine 

step 3 

2 PUSHING 

SATURATION 

Click Laer 1 and Curves 1 

(holding shift) right click and 

choose Merge layers. 

Go to Image - Adjustment - 

Levels and move sliders for 

better tonal range. 

Burn and dodge for more 

dramatic lighting. Do not take 

exposure above 20%. 

When Saturation is increased 

some colours block out 

(posturise, banding) to a pure 

red/pure blue, etc. (picture on 

right pushed to +31 from picture 

on top) This would happen when 

Saturation is boosted beyond a 

certain point. This is called 

'clipping' the same happens 

when Levels are pushed too 

much when attempting to boost 

contrast. 

Here is a good trick to solve this 

problem... 

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL 3 

step 3 

step 2 

Go to Image - 

Adjustments - 

Hue/Saturation 

(Ctrl+U) and push it 

higher up than you 

normally would, to 

prove a point (I have 

pushed it all the way up 

to 41 which is in the 

zone where ‘clipping’ 

really becomes 

evident). 

Click on drop-down arrow next 

to Normal at the top in the 

Layers palette, and choose the 

Blending Mode to Color from 

the list. The blurring will 

disappear and allow the detail 

from the original to show 

through. With the blurred Layer 

highlighted, you can still 

change the saturation, click 

Ctrl+U and re-adjust saturation 

to your liking. You can push 

colours much more on the 

blurred image, there's no fine 

detail present to get ‘clipped’. 

You can des-aturate areas with 

excessive colour casts using 

the sponge tool, in this case the 

rocks got a bluish tint which 

needed to be de-saturated. 

step 1 

Make 2 copy Layers 

(click on background in 

LAYER pallet then click 

Ctrl+J x 2). 

With copy Layer 

highlighted at top of the 

Layers stack, go to 

Filter - Blur - Gaussian 

Blur. Move the Radius 

slider to blur the detail 

effectively without 

changing the shape or 

form of the image too 

much. 




3 SHARPEN 

IMAGE 

Sharpening cannot fix 

Ÿ poor technique 

Ÿ blur caused by camera shake 

Ÿ out-of-focus subjects 

Ÿ subject movement 

Ÿ image softening caused by dirty 

lenses 

Ÿ lens flare 

Ÿ atmospheric haze 

Sharpening is the last effect that 

should be done to an image. 

Although sharpening techniques can be used to 

improve ‘slightly soft’ photos, a photo cannot 

effectively be refocused. 

Sharpening is meant to provide a solution to an 

abberation created by the nature of digital capturing. 

A digital sensor converts an image into a magnitude 

of coloured squares ‘Picture Elements’ (or pixels). 

Camera manufacturers use a filter over the sensor to 

blur the image slightly. This blurring - known as ‘antialiasing’ 

- lets the sharp edge of each 'step' bleed 

over into surrounding pixels and allows the jagged 

squeres to appear more natural (more akin to the 

way our eyes see). In doing so there is a slight 

softening of the entire image. The anti-aliasing filter 

adds a degree of fuzziness to the total image 

resulting in a 'softer but more realistic' photo/image, 

forcing the use of a sharpening ‘software device on 

almost all digitally recorded images. 

As with all things in Photoshop, there are lots of 

different ways of adding sharpness. 

3a UNSHARP 

MASK FILTER 

The name ‘Unsharp 

Mask’ is derrived 

from a film process 

in which a blurred 

(unsharp) low 

density positive copy 

of the photo is 

placed together 

(sandwiched) with 

the original negative. 

This cancels out the 

blurring and the edges 

in the resulting print is 

given extra definition. 

step 1 

A camera sensor sees the world in a mosaic of 

small squares, unnatural jagged edges 

(sawtooth) are created on diagonals 

To compensate for this a filter is used to soften 

the edges for a more natural effect. This creats 

slightly softer images which needs some 

sharpening. 

HOW SHARPENING WORKS 

None of the sharpening methods truly sharpen 

the actual image - they all increasing the 

contrast on edges within the picture. 

Sharpening process creates an apparant 

sharpness. 

Sharpening is the last 

process used on an 

image. 

Before sharpening 

always save a copy 

(some stock agencies 

like Alomy insist on 

images which has not 

been sharpened). 

I always make a 

duplicate before starting 

any manipulation. Click 

on the Background in 

the Layers pallet to 

highlight the 

Background and click 

(Ctrl+J) to make a copy. 

SHARPENING 

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL 3a 

step 3 

step 2 

Go to Filter - Sharpen - 

Unsharp Mask, and click on 

the part that you want to 

sharpen, and it'll appear in the 

Preview, magnified to 100% (to 

change preview size you can 

toggle + and - underneath 

preview). 

The Amount slider controls 

contrast on the edges, I start 

with 150% on bigger files (when 

halos appear go lower). To keep 

fine detail sharp I normally stay 

below a Radius of 0.5 for fine 

detail to be sharpened. Click 

and hold on the Preview pane, 

to see the 

The horizon appears to sharp 

and unnatural. The whole 

image was sharpened 

indiscriminately, areas such 

as the horison did not need 

any sharpening. 

The way to fix this is to use a 

Adjustment Layer. Click the 

Create new Fill or 

Adjusment Layer icon at the 

bottom of the Layers palette, 

fill with white and paint areas 

to view bottom layer with 

black when there are not 

much of the unsharpened 

view to allow throug. Fill 

whole area with black and 

paint with white brush (for 

sharpened areas) it there is 

less areas (regions) you wish 

to have sharper. 

In example I only wanted to 

have the horizon less 

sharpened and used a white 

mask to paint 

with black. 

original shot. Click OK to sharpen whole image. 

The trees on horizon created an unnatural posturised halo 

around them after sharpening (above), wheras the image before 

sharpening rendered these trees in a soft natural manner (below). 




TUTORIAL 3b SHARPENING 

3b LOW PASS 

SHARPENING 

When more than the 

Unsharp Mask start 

to break the image 

with haloes and bad 

contrast without 

giving enough 

sharpening the ‘High 

Pass filter’ is the 

next option. This 

option is great for 

nature and wildlife. 

step 1 

Make sure that this 

process is the last 

one to do. Click on 

the Background in 

the Layers pallet to 

highlight the 

Background and 

click (Ctrl+J) to 

make a copy. 

PHOTOSHOP 

B R I N G I N G I T A L L T O G E T H E R 

Original photo RAW converted to TIFF Curves for fill-in light p.22 Pushing saturation p.23 

step 3 

step 2 

With this copy Layer 

highlighted go to Filter - Other 

- High Pass. and the dialog 

box will appear. Move the 

Radius slider to 0, for a neutral 

grey screen. Nudge the slider 

bit by bit, until some good 

detail can be seen, it will start 

to look like an embossed 

etching as you increase the 

Radius. Avoid blurred haloes 

around the edge, move the 

slider until halos appear and 

then move back until the 

haloes are minimised but the 

detail is still present. 

Click OK to activate the filter. 

Click on drop down arrow 

next to where it says Normal 

in the Layers palette, pick the 

Overlay Blending Mode from 

the drop-down list. The High 

Pass etched blends into the 

original colour picture, and 

delivers good sharpening of 

the detail and texture of 

photo. 

If the effect is too strong, 

change the Blending Mode to 

Soft Light. For slightly 

higher-contrast use Hard 

Light instead (I went with 

hard light for the Kubu 

baobab). You can adjust the 

blend between the 

sharpening and the original 

picture, click on the Opacity 

slider and reduce it to pull 

back the intensity (i used 80% 

for a slightly more natural 

effect). 

Unsharp mask p.25 

Low pass sharpening 

(Overlay) p.27 


(Soft Light) p.27 


(Hard Light) p.27 



My final photo using Low Pass sharpening with ‘Hard Light” and blend to back with 80% opacity. Pushing 

saturation brought out the red bark of the Kubu baobabs and gave the mauve tinge to a before surise sky 



TUTORIAL 3c SHARPENING 

REDUCING AND SHARPENING FOR DIGITAL SALONS 

3c 

When reducing pixels 

considerably the image will loose 

definition and (apparent) 

sharpness. The default reduction 

mode in Photoshop is ‘Bicubic 

(best for smooth gradients)’ 

which is not the recomended 

reduction setting. 

To reduce for sharp image from 

big files click Image - Image Size 

click on arrow at bottom drop 

down menu and choose Bicubic 

sharper (best for reduction). 

Choose the pixel size for image 

to be reduced to (I chose 1022 

pixels on width to ad a 1 pixel 

border all round later which will 

take image to 

1024pixels wide).Make 

sure your pixel size 

does fall within the 

required salon 

specifications. Click OK. 

Resize image to 100% 

and press ‘F’ twice and 

evaluate image, press 

‘F’ again to return to 

Photoshop platform. 

Should image still need 

slight sharpening go to 

Filter - Sharpen - Smart 

Sharpen. 

Choose % 

amount, never 

go higher than 

30% at this size. 

Radius always 

at0.1 for this 

size, tick More 

Accurate and 

OK. Re-evaluate, 

sharpness my 

now be to much. 

Make decision 

and enter at club, 

salon or for 

honours. Do 

realise that 

judging dynamics 

for these three 

groups differ 

considerably. 

PHOTO AND TUTORIAL: HEIN WASCHEFORT © 


[ 

[ 

[ 

GEAR 

DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY 

[ 

GEAR 

The Spark 

Drone manufacturer DJI has released 

a new, small form-factor drone, 

called the DJI Spark. A pilot can use 

hand gesture controls monitored by 

the drone itself to fly the unit. Other 

gestures allow the pilot to control 

a steady range from the pilot, and 

the drone will actively track the user 

even in motion. Waving at the drone 

commands it to return to the user, 

and land in the user’s out-stretched 

palm. 

As we embrace this new technology, 

we take a look at some spectacular 

drone photography produced on 

our continent. This publication looks 

forward to showcasing much more 

footage in the coming years, as 

licensing regulations of in various 

countries get underway. 

Inequality in South Africa @Johnny Miller 

Dead trees in Lake Siwandu, Tanzania @donald Miralle 

Natures valley South Africa @Braai Brothers 

Cape Town, South Africa @Colourful Rebel 

Cape Point, South Africa , tip of Africa @Jasmine Stone 

Skeleton coast, Namibia @Eddie Oosthuizen 


[ 

[ 

GEAR 

DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY 

Camel Caravan in the Sahara @Hanbing 

Cheetah in the wild @maxresdefault 

Migration @ Drone Africa 

Chobe Bostwana @Paul Souders 


[ 

UPCOMING PHOTOGRAPHER 

[ 

Brian “Bray” Otieno 

Is a 23 year old self-taught Art Director and Photographer from Nairobi, Kenya who prides 

himself in the creativity and resourcefulness of his approaches, coupled with a keen eye 

for lighting and detail. Previously a student of Psychology at Kenyatta University, Bray now 

specializes in Portrait, Fine-Art and Nude photography. Bray seeks to tell the African story, 

to inspire others but most importantly to celebrate the African as proud of their Black skin. 

www.behance.net/brayotieno 

www.facebook.com/brayotieno 

WE ARE 

Creative & Digital 

Disruptive thinkers | Creative Doers | Innovative Actors 

Our mission is to providing leadership in integrated creative and digital 

space that catapults action and delivers sustainable outcomes for our partners. 

We are disruptive in our thinking, creative in our process and Innovative 

in our execution. 

www.jamodesigns.com 

64 africanphotomagazine

[ 

[ 

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 6th issue, 

particularly the contribution from GH Photography; the photographers displayed 

showcases the greatness that is African Photography! 

A community of 

African photographers 

dedicated to sharing news and tutorials on 

techniques, business and marketing essentials for today’s photographer. 

To Ahmad El Abi (Eqypt) and Georgina Goodwin (Kenya) for their very enthusiastic 

support of this publication and the commitment to their craft 

A joint initiative of 

To Red Hook Labs, Nataal and Performa in New York for their dedication to the 

arts and to establishing creative communities and self-sustaining businesses in 

developing areas. 

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 Mumber Mutisya and Jamo Designs for a spectacular layout design and ensuring 

this publication continues to see the light of day 

And 

Ultimately, to our Almighty God for His continued favor and faithfulness 

Watch more videos on our 

channel 


Free yourself, Free your creativity 

fotohouse.co.ke

African Photo Magazine Issue #6

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