Ndumiso Sibanda: Photos of Africa

I’m traveling this great continent searching for stories and taking names. Our history has always been an oral one until explorers arrived and told us who we were in exchange for what we had and we lost ourselves. The African story is not a single one, it’s a billion stories and conversations that insight the magic of my adventure.

I love taking photos and over the past six months on this Journey I’ve listened to my voice and art speaking to me in so many new ways. In the beginning, I was shooting with the insights of someone who knows his art. Over time I’ve let go and stepped back, I’ve loosened my grip on the institutionalized understanding of photography and my images have become a lot more raw and reflective of an everyday Africa. I cannot take myself out of the situation, the only thing to do is be part of the conversation or be an observer… but to be honest the latter is really hard, especially in this enchanting continent.  I’ve chosen not to edit these images or touch them up at all because Africa has been manipulated in post production over and over so these are refreshing images taken with Natural and practical light.

I have learned things that have pushed my understanding of myself to new heights, I have seen the bending of Spirit, tasted the most delicious, kissed the beautiful, hugged the cold, stood with warriors, made a connection with superheroes and ordinary Africans. I look forward to telling all the stories I’ve learned with a small pinch of exaggeration. I’m African after all but truth be told we are really incredible so what might seem like exaggeration is actually the beautiful truth.

My work can be followed on IG @NdumisoSibanda or http://faremoved.tumblr.com. I also direct and film a short video every week that averages 800,000 views weekly where I show Africa in its splendor. They  may be found on the DHL Africa Youtube channel.

Photographer, camera dude and Director of stories.