This is the 160th edition of Tender Photo, a digital platform of African photography.
This photograph was taken with an Olympus OM-20 from the window of a house in Lekki, Lagos. On several occasions over the course of a five-year period, I took multiple photographs of this view, aiming, sometimes unsatisfactorily, to capture the unrehearsed assortment of outdoor things. Most of those photographs had a lone human presence. Often, there were parked cars and plastic chairs.
As I look back and attempt to measure my impulse, I might say I was compelled by the relative ease of turning my lens towards that view. It seemed unlikely anyone could see me or hear the click of the shutter, and I liked the monologue. Since I rarely pictured people I felt no guilt. The painted wall on the right suggests this as the backyard of a nursery or primary school, and on a number of occasions there was a mass assembling of cars, perhaps for a parents and teachers meeting.
My ignorance could have been assuaged if I ventured within. But in Lagos, I scarcely attempted to use my camera to close the gap between self and landscape. I cared very little about getting up close. Instead, I favoured the camera as a tool for looking outwards from within—for seeing home from afar—and for seeking out the order of a built, cacophonous world.
— Emmanuel Iduma
We have allowed a different format to today’s newsletter to point to what’s ahead: from next week until August 20, our editorial fellows will take charge of the publication. We are thrilled by the work they are developing, and look forward to sharing with you.
About Emmanuel Iduma
Emmanuel Iduma is the founder of Tender Photo. His books include the travelogue A Stranger’s Pose and the memoir I Am Still With You. More of his work can be found on his website and on Instagram.
RELATED — “Cartel Talk” by Luyolo Fihla
While interrogating the architectural landscape of Dube Village, in Soweto, I walked up Thabo Street and came across a group of men sitting under a tree. They were listening to soft music; it was a Sunday morning. These men are locally known for illegal activities. When I approached them for an impromptu group photo, they swiftly agreed given that they have known me since a tender age. While doing so, two men who were nursing a cup of tea with whiskey rose from their chairs and placed the cups on the boot of the BMW M5. I knew that was the photograph.
LAST WEEK — “Between the Niles” by Muhammed Salah
Carrying my camera and a bucket, my friend and I descended the stairs of the bridge down to the water to fetch water for the car. Submerging my feet, washing my face gently, I felt the grace of being close to a Sunut tree (Acacia nilotica). Standing beneath the Acacia's branches, looking up at it, and feeling it look back at me, roots beneath my feet, branches above my head, I took the photograph, sun behind the tree, Nile ahead.
TENDER PHOTO is a digital platform of African photography, founded by Emmanuel Iduma. Our newsletter aims to engage with life on the African continent through photography. We publish narratives about the people, places, and events pictured in photographs, contributing to nuanced and layered perceptions. The newsletter also read on web (best for viewing images), and via the Substack iOS/Android apps.
Every Wednesday we feature a photograph, a short caption about it, and a statement from the photographer. In the past, we have published commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter, including CORRESPONDENCES, CONCORDANCE, KINDRED, INDEX, and AFFINITIES.
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