THROUGH THE LENS OF NAIROBI’S PHOTOGRAPHERS- GEORGINA GOODWIN

#PHOTOGRAPHY MONTH WITH @UP Magazine/ #WeLoveNairobi

Georgina Goodwin (Photojournalism)

 Georgina has no qualms about picking the camera and plunging in the thick of things; from skirmishes in the city to documentaries in the remotest African heartlands. “I have always loved taking photographs and started feeling the need to consistently take images when I sailed the Indian Ocean in 2003-2004,” says the freelancer of her beginnings. Passion soon grew to accolades when she bagged two awards at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year in Kenya (2005).

From then on she took photography seriously enough to immortalize critical moments of recent Kenyan history: the 2007/8 Post Election Violence; the Occupy Parliament demonstrations; and most recently, the Westgate Attack in 2013. She’s currently immersed in a project with a UK Charity, Emerging Leaders, on rape at Mugumoini slum village at the fringes of Kibera in Southlands, Langata. The project aims to impart life skills training on disadvantaged communities withno aid and little government support. “I never stop striving every time I press the shutter to find ways to make it different; finding the angles, the light, and the emotional element that will make it even just a little different,” she emphasizes. “I’m always striving to take award-winning images.”

For more info, visit www.georginagoodwin.com

http://www.upnairobi.com/dt_portfolio/through-the-lens-of-nairobis-brilliant-photographers-georgina-goodwin/

THROUGH THE LENS OF NAIROBI’S BRILLIANT PHOTOGRAPHERS- JOE LUKHOVI

#PHOTOGRAPHY MONTH WITH @UP Magazine/ #WeLoveNairobi

Joe Lukhovi (Contemporary Photography)
Joe belongs to the young, spritely photographers Nairobi would love showcasing to the world. He has been working as a photographer for six years. “I chose to do contemporary photography and documentaries because it is a way of telling stories through pictures in a unique and interesting way,” says the lensman with a particular liking for silhouettes.

“There’s this thing about silhouettes that comes out nicely especially in the evenings or early mornings and that’s the technique I’ve taken it through.” In 2011, he was in South Africa thanks to “Project Survival Media” for his photography. Joe who prefers analogue lenses to automatic ones for the feel of the images, is currently involved in “Photographs for Africa” a project that aims to cast Africa in a positive light running across Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

But Joe has come a long way and gone places and still has a long way to go. “My work moves with the idea of liberty and expression,” he says. Joe held his debut exhibition at Kuona Trust in July 2013. This month, he is heading to Warsaw, Poland courtesy of the Thompson Reuters Foundation to document events in support of environmental conservation.

For more info, visit joelukhovi.wordpress.com

http://www.upnairobi.com/dt_portfolio/through-the-lens-of-nairobis-brilliant-photographers-joe-lukhovi/

MEET MWANIKI WILSON OF MWANIKI PHOTOGRAPHY: THE MAN BEHIND THE SAFARICOM KASARANI STADIUM PHOTOS…

A branding deal of sh 55M by Kenya’s mobile giant company Safaricom and with a bone of contention in parliament and among Kenyans. But that is a story for another day. The mobile service company has done some splendid job there, giving the place a new coat of paint, some amazing photographic work capturing Kenya's best moments in athletics, and above all that distinctive green look.

Now, this photo by Wilson Mwaniki shows us just how the stadium looks at night. Amazing place, amazing photography…

Here are more of his works:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mwaniki-Photography/167520809973006

BALLERINA IN KIBERA

“If in 30 years, the slums haven’t changed with all the help and international aid coming in; that tells you that they [foreigners] become princesses as soon as they enter the slum areas or there’s need for us [Kenyans] to think and start doing things differently,” says Joe Kiragu, the photographer behind the photo series Ballerina in Kibera.

The striking contrast between a white ballerina dancing amongst mabati houses and the curious residents of Kibera is not a very subtle social commentary. But it is a thought-provoking one. “Ballerina in Kibera”, uses the former ballerina, Ammy Shelton from London (previously based in Nairobi), to magnify the inequality between Westerners, who come to Kenya to help slum dwellers, and people they come to help. Joe Kiragu likes to tell these kind of stories about “topics either not understood or talked about,” he says. That is why he set out to portray social inequality in a way that di$ers from the usual pictures of “sick children and the likes”. Joe Kiragu believes that hefty salaries and huge benefits enable some aid workers to live “like white gods,” he says, adding: “it’s not all of them, but it happens, and I wanted to tell the story”.

From the depths of Kibera, to the infamous railway line in Nairobi, to fancy stunts in-between shanties, Joe and Ammy set out to depict the juxtaposition between foreigners and the lower class citizens of Kenya. Joe’s next project is going to be in the same spirit of contrast. “Next, I would like to do a high fashion models shoot with Albinos, because people can’t imagine them that way. But I do.”

For more on Joe Kiragu’s photography, check www.shuttervillestudios.com

Photo credits: Joe Kiragu

Report by Anyiko Owoko

BALLERINA IN KIBERA

“If in 30 years, the slums haven’t changed with all the help and international aid coming in; that tells you that they [foreigners] become princesses as soon as they enter the slum areas or there’s need for us [Kenyans] to think and start doing things differently,” says Joe Kiragu, the photographer behind the photo series Ballerina in Kibera.

The striking contrast between a white ballerina dancing amongst mabati houses and the curious residents of Kibera is not a very subtle social commentary. But it is a thought-provoking one. “Ballerina in Kibera”, uses the former ballerina, Ammy Shelton from London (previously based in Nairobi), to magnify the inequality between Westerners, who come to Kenya to help slum dwellers, and people they come to help. Joe Kiragu likes to tell these kind of stories about “topics either not understood or talked about,” he says. That is why he set out to portray social inequality in a way that di$ers from the usual pictures of “sick children and the likes”. Joe Kiragu believes that hefty salaries and huge benefits enable some aid workers to live “like white gods,” he says, adding: “it’s not all of them, but it happens, and I wanted to tell the story”.

From the depths of Kibera, to the infamous railway line in Nairobi, to fancy stunts in-between shanties, Joe and Ammy set out to depict the juxtaposition between foreigners and the lower class citizens of Kenya. Joe’s next project is going to be in the same spirit of contrast. “Next, I would like to do a high fashion models shoot with Albinos, because people can’t imagine them that way. But I do.”

For more on Joe Kiragu’s photography, check www.shuttervillestudios.com

Photo credits: Joe Kiragu

Report by Anyiko Owoko