Photographers Touching Africa: One Shot at a Time
Inspired by Kenya’s diverse people and best kept secret destinations; OneTouchLive (OTL), a group of photographers, are on a mission to show the world the other side of Kenya and Africa. The group started off with the East African region on the first day of September 2013, with a sunrise flag-off in Nairobi, driving through Uganda, Rwanda to Burundi and back – just to take photographs of people and places they encountered. “[In Kenya], we have explored the beautiful Lake Elementaita, Kinale Forest, the fishing camp at Thego, Magadi, Nyahururu, Aberdares, the caves of Mt. Suswa and even Nairobi which is our operational base,” says Mutua Matheka (renowned photographer and Founder OTL) of the group’s latest campaign dubbed #ShootingAfrica.
Nearly everyone today calls themselves a photographer. At some point, the real photographers become tired and angry of the wannabes, if not by the false imagery shared freely by local and international media often giving a tainted image of Africa as the Dark Continent. This is the reason the group of photographers, cinematographers, and bloggers - all driven by a passion for photography, adventure and all things art – decided to come together to form OTL. It all began in 2011 as a regular photographers’ Tuesday meetup. Having started with about six members including: Amunga Eshuchi, Steve Kitots, Mwangi Kirubi, Mutua Matheka, Njeri Ngige and David ‘Skubi’ Sikobe; the group soon grew into a family of 15 photographers. One Touch member, Joe Were says, “The name OneTouch came about because we often challenged ourselves to come up with our best shot in one click.” The group went on to take photographic road trips around Kenya under the banner OTL. Mutua says, “We shared with the world and our online followers the beauty that this country holds.” Just by doing that, OTL soon became a regular trending feature and topic on social media under the tags #OnetouchLive and #ShootingKenya.
However, it has not been all fun and clicks. OTL has had countless challenges, from arrests by foreign police for taking photos at non-designated areas, to the biggest one - financial constraints. Most of their operations are self funded, although some organizations have shown interest in their activities. “We just put together funds from our own pockets and cover what we can. We did receive partial funding and bags from Sandstorm Kenya in a recent trip to Burundi,” says Joe. Amunga goes on to add, “What we do defies logic. It is totally faith-based. Once we believe we can do something, we do it and it gets done.” Other than that, there’s another hurdle—most people still deem the group’s work as a waste of money and time. But despite that, OTL are relentless. They are slowly changing the shape of Kenyan and African narrative through photography. “I hope what we do encourages others to tell their own story. We can no longer wait for someone else to tell it for us,” says, Mutua, adding that “Just as Chimamanda Adichie says, there isn’t a single story to anyone. OTL seeks to change the single story of Africa and encourage others to discover for themselves, the amazing African cultures, places, and people that live in them, and then share with Africa and the rest of the world. The internet has democratized art. While this is both good and bad, people can now be digitally transported to places they could never go. A person in New York or Australia can see your work and connect with it or even give you a job, which is amazing. Shoot now - share now.”
Most of the top notch photographers in Kenya today are affiliated with OneTouch; from one of the best wedding photographers Ben Kiruthi to Mwangi ‘Mwarv’ Kirubi, well known for excellent travel photography. The lot has inspired many more photographers to join the industry, even if armed with nothing more than a dream and inspiration. OTL now has 50 African countries still left to tour, and several other projects to accomplish. They have also planned to hold their debut exhibition this month in which they will showcase pictures from the Nairobi – Bujumbura trip. “These pieces will be on sale at the exhibition, and who knows, after that maybe we’ll have coffee books, post cards and much more,” enthuses Mutua. Next year they will be taking on the Nairobi-Rio-By-Road 2014 trip to the World Cup in Brazil. “Well, since our core is travel, we plan to showcase an exhibition on Africa when we get to Rio,” reveals Joe.
OTL’s 10 Photographers are holding the group’s debut exhibition at the MJ Centre from November 11th - November 22nd. For more info, like Facebook Page: One Touch Media Kenya
By Ras Mengesha
