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‘JK Bruce-Vanderpuije’s remarkable vision offers us a window to the beauty, culture and daily life of a Ghana that once was,’ says Kwame Mintah, director of Efie Gallery, Dubai, which co-presents unseen photographs from the late Ghanaian photographer (1899–1989). ‘In this prolific photographer’s works, we discover not only his genius as a practitioner and innovator but also the evolution of Ghanaian culture and identity over the 20th century.’

‘Unveiling the Shadows of the Past: JK Bruce-Vanderpuije – The Hidden Icon of Photography in Africa’

Looking back on a career that spanned seven decades, the exhibition of Bruce-Vanderpuije’s works is at Dubai’s Efie Gallery until 24 February 2024, curated by Ethiopian artist Aïda Muluneh, after previously being showcased at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London last year.

The ‘forgotten forefather of 20th-century African photography’ captured his nation’s history from boxing culture to marriage rituals, colonial Gold Coast to independence, with images dating back to the 1920s.

Over the course of three years, the works have been restored by Bruce-Vanderpuije’s granddaughter Kate Tamakloe, and now have a permanent home at the Deo Gratias studio (founded by Bruce-Vanderpuije in 1922) in Accra.

The Dubai exhibition chronicles an authentic narrative of West Africa, and showcases glimpses of daily life across the decades.

‘The process of restoring my grandfather’s photographs has been a labour of love over the past three years, enabling us to reflect upon Ghana’s history with a fresh perspective,’ reflects Tamakloe. ‘The photographs continue to teach us new things about life and society during his time. As the custodian of my grandfather’s estate, my work with Efie Gallery is an important step forward in preserving his legacy and sharing it with the public.’

The contemporary art gallery, founded by Ghanaian family Valentina, Kwame and Kobi Mintah, focuses on the representation and advancement of artists of African origin (‘Efie’ is Twi for ‘home’), and promotes the cross-cultural dialogue between African artists and communities across the world.

‘Unveiling the Shadows of the Past: JK Bruce-Vanderpuije – The Hidden Icon of Photography in Africa’ is on show until 24 February 2024 at Efie Gallery

efiegallery.com

A local photographer has recently become the only photographer from the entire African continent to be awarded professional newborn photographer certification by the Accredited Professional Newborn Photographers International (APNPI). Karishma R Rajcomar, has entered the ranks of some of the world’s best photographers.

The Westville resident’s photo was published in an exclusive limited edition holiday magazine, with the photo being selected by renowned newborn photographer, Ana Brandt.

“Receiving the email notifying me that my image was selected for the magazine, and by one of the most recognisable newborn photographers, is a career milestone that I will cherish forever. The pride is amplified tenfold by being the only photographer in my field to be chosen from not only South Africa but the entire continent. This feels surreal and stands out as a proud moment in my career,” Rajcomar proudly stated.

ALSO READ: Photographer captures Canon’s ‘Perfect Picture’ award

The photographer was given a limitation of just three submissions, and she explains that she understood the importance and precision of each image to stand a chance at even being considered for selection.

Rajcomar added that she took meticulous care to ensure that all three images met the highest standards.

When asked what prompted her to submit her image to the magazine, she said, “I am driven by passion to overcome challenges. I eagerly embraced the opportunity presented as soon as I discovered it. As someone with dreams of excelling in the photographic and design realm and having my work recognised globally, I was fully aware that it would not be an easy feat, but I was resolute in submitting my image and committed to putting forth my best effort as always.”

An internationally acclaimed photographer, Rajcomar explained that her achievement speaks volumes of the talent that can be found throughout South Africa.

“The holiday season has always held a special place in my heart. It was filled with magical traditions passed down by my parents since childhood, and now I have two little ones of my own who have made the season even more extraordinary. The essence of this publication is to revel in the enchantment of the holidays, sharing incredible imagery and creativity from photographers all over the world. Being included among them fills me with immense honour and pride, adding to the joy of the festive season,” concluded the multi-award-winning photographer.

“…I want to express to the readers of this article that using the multiple exposure technique is very addictive,” says photographer Ester van Overbeek to the Phoblographer in an interview. “However, I can think of addictions that are much worse to have.” Esther’s work is truly something special to behold. She does multiple exposures in camera and sometimes does a bit of editing in Lightroom. The images are painterly and show fascinating takes on nature that we don’t see anywhere else.

All images by Ester van Overbeek. Used with permission. Please follow her on Instagram and her website.

How Esther van Overbeek Got Into Photography

Esther describes herself as a late bloomer — and proves that it’s never too late to start something new. She’s 53 years old now and got into analog photography over 25 years ago. First, she started out with macro photography and then landscapes. Eventually, she bought a Canon 70D. That’s when she still used to capture instead of create. But after reading an article about the creative approach, she was intrigued. “I wanted to put more of my feelings and emotions into my photographic work,” she shares. “I found out that my Canon 70D had the ability to take multiple exposures, and I started trying out a bit myself. When someone on Instagram posted a comment to a photo I had posted saying I was using the ‘Pep Ventosa technique,’ I thought, ‘who or what is that?’” After some internet research, she started to dive into it even more.

She stuck with the 70D because it could handle up to 9 multiple exposures. Esther later upgraded to a Sony a7r II and then a Canon EOS R6. “I was curious whether that camera (Sony a7r II) could also handle multiple exposures,” she expresses. “It turned out it could, but I had to buy software to do so. I did, but unfortunately, my Sony can only handle up to 2 exposures at a time.” This made her switch back to Canon. She combines it with a 24-105mm, 100-400mm, and Kase filters.

Indeed, the lack of multiple exposure modes in Sony cameras is something that we complain about often here.

Sure, you can merge images in Photoshop. But she doesn’t want to do that. And it’s becoming more and more important for photographers to make their images in-camera.

The Creative Process

“In my creative work, trees usually get the starring role,” Esther tells us. “Trees wait patiently and change every season. Moreover, every tree is different. For me, this makes them ideal subjects to photograph.” She can become totally absorbed in the first when she takes pictures. And for this, Esther explains it best:

I can become completely absorbed in a forest. Sometimes I have gloomy thoughts in autumn and then I love to take dark photos. I then usually make these creations with the “Dark” option. The dark pixels in the frame are then given priority over the lighter pixels. In the beginning, I usually made 9 exposures, but sometimes the result is far too dark. Making 4 or 5 exposures can be very alienating as well and is preferred by me.

Blossom trees in spring again lend themselves very well to a more impressionistic look. I love the paintings of Monet and Van Gogh immensely, so I love using that art as inspiration. I made a multiple exposure of lily pads with 1 of Monet’s paintings in mind for example. Furthermore, I usually make multiple exposures of 1 blossom tree, taking a step left or right with each exposure I make. For each exposure, it is important to keep the focus on a pre-selected point on the trunk of the tree. The tree trunk is then fairly sharply delineated, but the blossom fans out in a romantic way and then it sometimes seems to rain blossom. I really like to create a romantic fantasy world . As to the multiple exposure settings, I then usually use the “average” option and if there is little light I use the “additive” option. With the “average” option, the camera calculates the average exposure per pixel. With the “additive” option, all exposures are added together, so you can take each exposure considerably underexposed. This is because with every additional exposure, the final result becomes lighter and lighter. So here you need to think carefully in advance about how many exposures you are going to take. The more exposures, the more you will have to underexpose each one.

Ester van Overbeek

Esther sees more than she looks — by that we mean that she envisions what the final image will look like and tries to connect her technical side and artistic side. The artistic side is the endpoint, and the technical side is the journey. She spends at least half an hour at a time to get the final result she wants. Sometimes she’ll even redo entire photographs layer by layer. It’s led Esther to various experiments. “When it does succeed, it naturally gives an enormous boost and positive energy.”

Thoughts on AI Imagery

Esther’s viewpoint on AI imagery is rather negative, she tells us. She admits that there are benefits, but she’s wary of it for the creative industry. “We will soon no longer need to use the creative part of our brain because AI can figure it out,” she expresses. “What can sometimes take me hours to create, AI may soon be able to do so in seconds. But either way, I will continue to pursue photography, because there is nothing more satisfying than being in the field making a creation that I envisioned.” For her, AI can’t give her emotional satisfaction.

AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT

The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.