Africa has been the last hit covid19 continent, and like the rest of the world, each country has taken a difference stance in tackling the issue. Others have followed the Indian approach of full Lockdown, some have spread awareness and encouraged face masks, whilst some have decided to let God do his work. What is clear is the lack of understanding, the lack of clarify in fighting and handling the disease and therefore confused messages for everyday Africans who will likely be the hardest hit.
I went to check out the street food seller that have now crammed onto Coco Beach like never before to get their views. Literally, there is no room to walk onto the beach without squiggling through the food banda’s anymore. When I was growing up, there were no permanent banda’s and sellers usually walked from car to car selling their snacks.
Street photography is one of my favorite subjects to shoot. I must admit, I find it very difficult and sometimes impossible to practise in Dar Es Salam as I find people get very offended. Anyway, I got to spend a couple of weeks in London, one of my favorite cities ever, and here are some of the images shot on the Fuji XT2 with the 35mm f/2. Oh, and mostly shot using one hand, whilst the other one pushed a stroller!
I've been visiting Stone Town ever since I was a child. Both my parents ancestors first landed in Zanzibar; and although most of them have migrated out of the island, I will always have a special connection with this island.
Hamisi came to Dar Es Salaam in 2000 after he failed his 7th grade exam at a school in Mtwara (his home town). He came to the city and started working with his brother selling fish at their stall in the Msasani Fish Market. Soon he learnt to differentiate between fish that were in demand, those that were fresh, dynamited, and how to haggle during the auctions held by the fishermen. He then developed relationships with customers through his stall and eventually started delivering directly to their homes.
I’ve been approached several times by people who are setting their foot into photography; those who want to polish their skills; and those who just need to take decent shots of their everyday lives. Most of the time, questions revolve around what camera I use, which lenses they should get and other technical questions. So today, I’m writing to all of those people with some not so technical advise, but what worked for me!
Most visitors to Mauritius will skip Port Louis and hang out at the beaches. I don't blame them, but when I travel to a place, I want to dig deeper and understand the back story, the history and the presence of a place. And so, camera in one hand (Fuji X100T), my kids, hubby, and all the other baggage that comes with us, I began exploring the not to common streets and corners of the island.
Muchacho's Restaurant has been around since 1986! It was started by Mr Saidi (of Arab descent) in the Kariakoo' neighborhood of Dar Es Salaam. Despite it's humble facilitates, the place attracted foodies from all over the the city, cutting all social classes. The concept of driveways is very new to Tanzania, and what made Muchachos pretty cool, was you could eat in your car! Let's face it, we all want to do that, especially on on days when you're not in the mood to socialize.
The Asian’s of East Africa, as they are commonly referred to are people of South Asian background that settled in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya and Uganda over the last few centuries.
These Asian’s came in various waves and eventually formed the economic back bone of the region. Today there are relatively few around, and this is their story.
This is a long term project documenting their stories, in the hope of discovering my own place in this diverse community.