Bone Breakers

It might be true that hardwork breaks no bones, but sometimes, it really does come close.
Everyday is Market Day 1
Recently, in our blogosphere, I was challenged to re-look at my photography and ask myself “Do I deliberately fish out only the positive to portray about Ghana and Africa?” It’s a question I’ve been thinking hard about:
Everyday is Market Day 2
I made these photographs a couple of days ago. I followed my wife to this market and everybody was buzzing like a bee.
Everyday is Market Day 3
Sometime last year, I was supposed to make a portraits of two successful Ghanaians for the Financial Times. Their office is very close to this market. I wanted to use the early morning light so I told them I will arrive at 6am. Now, please understand that I’m rather slow in the mornings so for me, 6am was an amazing feat. I was shocked to get stuck in traffic at that time and if that was not surprising enough, I saw people hopping out of “trotros” and taxis and rushing towards the market. A few of them nearly knocked me over. On that day, it dawned on me how hard working Ghanaians are.
Everyday is Market Day 4
The average Ghanaian wakes up at 4am. Yes, 4:00 AM to sweep the house, clean, cook bath and feed the children before going to work. Now, the question is, if they’re that hardworking, why are they poor?
Everyday is Market Day 5
Well… I’ll leave that to the experts to answer.
Everyday is Market Day 6
Bon Weekend!

Comments

Louis said…
i love your images.
Anita said…
For what it's worth, I don't think you post only the positive, but I do think you bring out beauty in what others may think is traditionally "ugly." In this post, with these photos, you show everyday Ghana. You show the hard work and the poverty. But to me, that is one of the beauties of Ghana. I have been to several countries. In Cambodia, for example, beggars are everywhere. It is a wonderful country, but they do not have the same work ethic as Ghanaians. In Ghana, people FIND A WAY to work. "No Food For Lazy Man!" This is beautiful to me. This says something about the heart of the people. Ghanaians are survivors, and they do not lose hope. Beauty.
DiDi said…
LOve the images,guess they still poor coz of our System. Monkey dey work baboon dey chop. :(
Anonymous said…
Beautiful images..so full of life and emotions..love them!!!!
Pied Crow said…
Beautiful work, especially (for me) the markets, beaches, everyday folk.

Don't worry about over-doing the positive, plenty of people will over-do the negative.
Nailophilia said…
What's wrong with only representing the best of Ghana, and Africa in general? I wish there were more positive images of the continent as a whole. Leave the negativity to mainstream media! Keep bringing the fresh, vibrant, colorful, rich, life-filled images of the continent. That's what I come to your blog to see!

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