A Beautiful Coincidence

A photograph by Queila Fernandes

An elderly woman is seated in a van, looking sideways. Her crossed hands rest on her lap. The buttons of her waistcoat are round as her earring and the head of the solitary ring on her left hand. A bit of grey hair is left uncovered by her headscarf. A portion of her silver necklace falls onto her long-sleeved blouse. To her right, through the van’s side window, a young man is pictured with one arm akimbo and the other stretched wide enough to show a rectangular tear in the underarm of his shirt. His lips are parted in a half-smile, revealing a section of upper teeth. Notwithstanding their differing demeanours, and whatever other points of difference between them, there is an angle within the orbit of this photograph where the two subjects meet, eyeline to eyeline.

— moshood

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“It feels good when beautiful coincidences happen when you are doing what you love.”

I took this picture in November 2022, in Paúl, on Santo Antão Island, Cape Verde. 

I was in the minivan, headed for the mountains to photograph the daily life of the people who live there. As soon as I got into the vehicle, I noticed this lady near the window. I was fascinated by her beauty and her gaze as she was immersed in her thoughts. I watched her for a while, until one point when the driver of the minivan stopped in front of a grocery store to make purchases for the people of the village. I asked the lady if I could photograph her, because I found her radiant. She answered—yes—with a smile on her face. 

I started photographing her and whatever was around her. Then a man in a red outfit appeared behind her, outside the minivan, laughing with his co-worker. I immediately thought it would be beautiful if he was in the photo too. I took the picture and showed it to her. "I like how I look,” she smiled, “and the boy behind me is my nephew.” I was so surprised by the coincidence and I told her straight away. I chose this photograph because it feels good when such beautiful coincidences happen when you are doing what you love.

My approach to photography is to try and follow my intuition as much as possible. I love to create in places where I feel at peace. And I like to create images in moments of spontaneity, to not anticipate too much. I take pictures of the daily life of my family, my friends, the people I meet; and, in doing so, of myself.

— Queila Fernandes

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About Queila Fernandes

Queila Fernandes, born in 1994, is a self-taught freelance photographer residing in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Interested in photography and cinema from an early age, she began taking photographs at 17 with her first compact camera. Over the years, photography has become her way of expressing what she feels, and a channel through which she connects with her roots and with people around her. More of Queila’s work can be found on Instagram and through this feature on People’s Stories Project.

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LAST WEEK — “Against All Odds” by Bamvi Jauro

This photograph was taken in a village in Pankshin, Plateau state, Nigeria. I was opportune to be part of a team facilitating an agricultural capacity building workshop in that village. There is no electricity in the classroom we used and the participants needed to fill in their response letters. Everyone needed a source of light for that purpose no matter how small. I suddenly saw this woman using the light from her phone, while others who don't have phones, or whose phone batteries were out of power resorted to other means, like the ray of light streaming in from the windows.

Read more.

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This is the 102nd edition of this publication, edited by moshood, one of our editorial fellows. The newsletter also read on web (best for viewing images), and via the Substack iOS/Android apps.

TENDER PHOTO is a 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. The most recent series is INDEX.

Our goal is to work with African photographers by creating a platform in which they lead the cataloguing and engagement with their work.

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