Against everyone’s expectations, in South Africa, I didn’t take a single photo of Kruger Park. The best wildlife I could photograph, given my patience level, would have been animals’ rear ends disappearing into the horizon. Then how on Earth did I win the African division of the International Photo Contest?

“Anti-Safari” Still Lives

In my first days in South Africa, I grabbed my Nikon and jumped into my husband’s car when he was visiting a few mines for his business. I gave their engineers and workers quite the surprise by photographing their dusty, oily interiors—not to mention the biggest surprise I gave myself. Soon, I somehow came across an email about an international photo contest, named my series IRON AFRICA, and sent them a couple of my ‘anti-safari’ still lives. That’s how I ended up winning the African chapter of the Alliance De France International Photo Contest and being offered a personal exhibition in Pretoria, sponsored by Bojole.

Pictures Framed With Recycling Scrub

On the day of the exhibition opening, I swung by my favorite fruit and veggie shop and asked for 40 cardboard boxes. Surprise-surprise, it wasn’t easy explaining why I needed their trash. Obviously, to frame my photos. At a mining company workshop, I scavenged some old chains. Surprise-surprise again, it wasn’t easy explaining why I needed their scrap either. Clearly, to hang my soon-to-be “framed” pictures.

Then I picked up a kid’s no-brush paint set. An hour later—just a couple of hours before the opening party—I was sitting on the grass in the Alliance Française front yard, painting boxes with both hands. When the photos were finally stuck to the painted boxes, and the boxes hung from the chains, the crew installed the whole contraption on the walls and ceiling.

It looked… well, let’s say unique. I just forgot one minor detail: price tags. “At least it was fun,” said the organizers. For Pretoria, 300 people at the opening party was practically a sold-out crowd.

Sold-Out Rusty Junk

Not sure what amazed South Africa’s Big Five enthusiasts more—the subject of my photos (basically rusty junk) or the fact that they were framed in painted fruit boxes dangling from iron chains. Probably both.

Here’s an article from the Kormorant newspaper covering the opening party. Not long after, my Nikon was stolen along with some promising shots of an old port near Cape Town, intended for my next exhibition. I never replaced the camera—too bulky to lug around anyway. Instead, I bought a ticket JNB-JFK and hiked the Appalachian Trail. Then rode my bike on Route 66 and a lot more https://lenafaber.com/brave/

https://lenafaber.com/blog/category/here-i-go/

(updated on 2024)

PS: I lost these images when transitioning from PC to Mac, but the thumbnails miraculously survived. To make sure I didn’t lose them again, I turned them into this video. Had to apply some filters to cover up the pixels, though.