The Moment

Affinities between photographers in the Tender Photo archive

Pictures taken with the attentiveness of intuition, not just skill or deliberation.

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“Itafaji”

The photo sums up the whole accident of that period. It has a cause and effect feel to me. It raises questions that beg to be answered.

— Olaoluwa Adamu

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“Owo Da?”

I had observed the agbero—as they are popularly known in Lagos—having a disagreement with the bus conductors and one thing led to another and they were at each other's throats. I quickly composed myself and my gear and took this photograph just as the bus conductor got into the bus and the driver was about to drive off. The agbero, clearly not having it, didn't want to let go. 

— Jean-fidèle

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“Untitled”

During a walk around Cape Town's CBD, I noticed a crowd of people gathered, all looking up and pointing to a small open window across the road. Through the sirens of fire trucks and an ambulance, I heard someone scream “jump” followed by laughter from the crowd. The window was too small for a person, I thought. Turns out it was just a false fire alarm and an open window. 

— Jansen van Staden

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“The Jump”

This photograph was taken in Gao, Mali, in 2013. I was covering the French military intervention in Mali and I was wandering around town when I came across kids playing on the roof of the local soccer stadium. I took a bunch of pictures and was lucky enough to make this composition.

— Joe Penney

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“People First”

The photo was taken at the Giza Pyramids complex in Egypt where tourists take selfies with the great pyramids in the background. When I noticed all the people consumed by their phones trying to take a photo of themselves, I tried to fill all the spaces in the frame so I can portray what it feels like in that moment. 

— Aly Hazzaa

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This is the fourth edition of AFFINITIES. Every Friday in March and April, I’m rereading the statements by the 100 photographers featured between February 9, 2022 and January 10, 2024, and finding affinities between how they describe their themes or process. Read the previous editions here, here, and here.

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TENDER PHOTO is a bi-weekly newsletter on African photography. Every Wednesday we feature a photograph and a short caption about it, and include a statement from the photographer. Every Friday, we publish commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter. Our goal is to engage with early to mid-career African photographers by creating a platform in which they lead the cataloguing and engagement with their work.