African photography is on the rise. From street to art photography, conceptual and documentary to fashion photography, homegrown photographers (not only in the Francophone-African countries) are increasingly stepping up to show their world what they see when they look through the lens, following decades of photographic misrepresentation, or reduction, by observers from outside the continent.

When Neo Ntsoma started her career as a photojournalist back in 1998, there were only a handful of black female professional photographers in South Africa, herself included. The profession was largely the preserve of white males. “Like the other black upstarts, I had to work hard to prove myself to a sophisticated market not known for giving too many second chances.” The absence of black female photographers was mainly a hangover from the apartheid years. It was not safe for any photographer to take images that carried any political message – and this danger applied particularly to women. “Many photographers were regularly locked up, while others went into exile. As a result, my generation of women was left without any role models.”

Fifteen years later however, Ntsoma is the first female recipient of the CNN African Journalist Award for photography and the National Geographic All Roads Photography Award, and her photographs have appeared in major publications around the world. She is living proof that where there’s a will, there’s a way. ”For nine consecutive years of the CNN competition only male photographers were recipients, until my name was called out. That was especially uplifting because I was under so much pressure to achieve something great at the time, seeing as there were no black women in the field who had achieved anything that spectacular.” Her determination to change the industry was realised that evening of the awards. It was only the beginning of even bigger opportunities for Ntsoma, and she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. “But I was prepared for the challenge.”

She yearned to prove to South Africa and the world that African women could excel at professions that had solely been associated with men. “I made it my responsibility to build a solid legacy for future generations. There was always a constant reminder that what I was doing or striving for was much bigger than me. I was rewriting our history as black (African) women photographers and changing perceptions of how the world viewed us.” According to Ntsoma, black women have always found themselves in front of the lens, rather than behind it. Frequently portrayed as victims of patriarchy, tradition, violence and poverty in apartheid South Africa, she doesn’t think women from her mother’s generation could have become photographers if they’d wanted to.

Now, almost two decades into democracy, a lot of photographers still struggle to find platforms to showcase their work in South Africa. “I believe that more should be done to develop the field in my country like other art mediums such as music, dance and theatre. Photography is still a relatively new profession within the black community, and understandably so given our colonial history. There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to study towards a profession that’s not fully understood by your community, let alone by your own family.” Ntsoma doesn’t want to have to go overseas to exhibit her work, or to get funding to pursue a photography career – “We need those opportunities at home.”

But how did Ntsoma decide on Photojourmalism? “It turned out to be more of a calling than I could ever have imagined, with memories of my childhood playing a big role. That really sparked my interest in photography. It felt like I had to capture images of my people and my country to add to the riches of the past and help tell and explain the story of our time, now and, perhaps, for generations to come.” She joined The Star, one of South Africa’s biggest daily newspapers, as staff photographer in 2000, and was determined to earn respect as a photographer by making her work match the quality of shots by already respected photographers, like the members of The Bang Bang Club.

“Johannesburg had earned its place as one of the most dangerous cities in the world and I was right in the middle of it all. This ran contrary to the reason I became a photojournalist in the first place – not seeing enough vibrant images of black South African life; I so much wanted to capture this and share it with the world.” Now, having earned her place in the field, nationally and international, she photographs to reclaim the dignity and pride of Africans, “to prove that we are not inferior, as the history books would have us believe. What people see of Africa needs to change.”

Ntsoma is hopeful that her images will play a part in changing the negatively-biased view of the black/African image the Western schools curriculum has for many years forced upon young people. That goal comes with it’s usual obstacles though, because despite all she has achieved Ntsoma still doesn’t have any gallery representation in South Africa. Most most don’t represent photojournalists for simple reason that it is not regarded as an art form. “Unlike in other parts of the world, the work of photojournalists in South Africa is only associated with newspapers and NGOs. Although I have exhibited my work in most parts of the world, I have only had three exhibitions here, the last being in 2006.” Like many others in her field, she still has to battle to convince the local market that her work is worth it. “I know many South African photographers with amazing work in their archives, but these works are never going to see the light of day.”

Needless to say, it’s a challenge to survive financially as an independent photographer in South Africa. And if this weren’t a big enough problem, there’s also the influx of foreign photographers sent by international photo agencies to come and document the lives of South Africans and tell their stories to the world. “Like we lack the skill to do so ourselves. As long as we allow this to continue, we will forever feel that Africa is misrepresented and mis-imaged in the western media. We do welcome collaborations and skills exchanges, but what we don’t tolerate is for them to take from us and not give anything back in return.” The image of Africa should be shown in all its diversity, not from one point of view and it’s this diversity that Ntsoma tries to capture.

“My aim is to reverse the negative stereotypes of Africa and Africans. Next to that, unlike in other African states, commercial photography in South Africa is still very much controlled and dominated by white people. In places like Nigeria and Kenya, you find black/African females shooting advertorial campaigns and really taking the world of fashion and advertising by storm. Lately there have been a good number of black girls venturing into photography as a profession, but only a handful have managed to make a significant mark.” According to Ntsoma many end up dropping out to pursue other interests because of the lack of emotional and financial support from their families. “A black woman with a camera is still a rare thing in South African townships, and it will probably take a lot of convincing to prove that – just like our brothers – we too are capable.”

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