Outside
In a park engulfed by the greens of grass, leaves, and tree trunks a multicolored cloud of balloons pops out over the shoulders of a person walking along a path. Nearby, to the right, there are a few people on basketball courts. The person wears wedged heels, dark blue jeans, a long-sleeved floral top with a brown bag slung over the left shoulder. Where hair might have appeared there’s the word "HAPPY" on a balloon with a rainbow background, and a swooning Minnie Mouse on another. An onlooker, sitting on a bench a short distance ahead, is the sole person lucky enough to see the person’s face.
— Sibongakonke Mama
“There’s something satisfying about capturing reality unaltered.”
There’s something satisfying about capturing reality unaltered and being able to notice things in a photograph that I hadn’t seen while capturing it. Something that leaves me inquisitive about the subject matter.
This photograph was taken in Astoria Park, New York, sometime in June 2023. It was a hot and humid summer day and some friends and I decided to go on a walk. We walked around the neighborhood and headed to a park. A curved concrete path cut through the park and, as we crossed from the grassy area to the pavement, I happened to look to my side and saw a lady walking on the path. The balloons slung across her shoulder drew me in. I happened to have a film camera on me.
Film photography has been a pivotal part of my process over the past few years. Sometimes the image isn’t as clinical as digital and this has made me embrace and appreciate imperfection more. My approach mostly relies on intuitively and spontaneously capturing a moment and relying on an emotional connection. For this reason, I tend to oscillate between street and documentary photography styles. It could be something as mundane as walking down a street, people talking to each other, or even the juxtaposition of our built environment with the presence or absence of people.
There was something nostalgic about the moment as the lady was walking away. The balloons brought back a child-like feeling of joy and happiness. I think it was also something about the minnie mouse balloons, which I hadn’t seen in a long time. I wondered where the lady was off to, a birthday party or perhaps another celebration.
— Tracy Keza
About Tracy Keza
Tracy Keza is a Rwandan freelance, multi-media artist working in photography and video. Through her work she sets out to explore notions of identity, culture and conservation. Tracy hopes to use her work to document stories that inspire people’s connection to each other and the planet. More of her work on her website.
LAST WEEK — “Tro-Tro” by Vadu Rodrigues
Everything was new to me. I was riding on public transportation (Tro-Tro), commuting from my location to the city center. The bus driver’s “assistant” was announcing the bus destination by shouting – ACCRA, ACCRA, ACCRA – in a melodic sound. I found it fascinating how he put his head outside the window, while trying to get passengers. I wanted to experience that feeling, so I put my head outside as the bus was moving. That was when I saw the shot and decided to point my camera and photograph it.
This is the 114th edition of this publication, edited by Sibongakonke Mama, 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. Last year, we published commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter, including CORRESPONDENCES, CONCORDANCE, KINDRED, and INDEX. The ongoing series, AFFINITIES, will run from March 1–April 26.
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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What a delight to see this wonderful picture of a place I know and love pop up in my inbox! Before reading the artist's description, I didn't know where it was -- my expectation was that it was a place in Africa, and my first thought was, wow, where is it that looks so much like New York?
Astoria Park is about a 15 minute walk from where I live and I have been there many, many times. It's so great to see a place that is so familiar become mysterious, and to see it through someone else's eyes. In addition to this image just being amazing and beautiful apart from all that. A cathedral of trees.