I chose this photograph because it captures a quiet moment of spiritual journey and daily life at Debre Libanos Monastery in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. What drew me to the scene was the contrast between the vast landscape and the small white figures climbing the mountain early in the morning. I was interested in the feeling of silence, devotion, and movement within the landscape, and I felt this moment expressed that naturally.

The photo was taken in August 2023 along Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti region of Ghana. I was holidaying with friends at a resort along the lake. Hours before I took the photo, a fisherman from the community had come by on a wooden raft to harvest fish, young tilapia. Our friend Kelechi and his dogs Whiskey and Simba had also spent time swimming in the water.

The photograph was taken on October 6, 2023, during an early morning solo photo walk along the CMS Bridge on Lagos Island, Nigeria. While observing the environment from an elevated position, I noticed a bus driver in a yellow shirt pushing a yellow bus, surrounded by other yellow buses.

I chose this photograph because it was a quiet moment when Auntie Ntombekhaya was tucked away from the main path of the tour. It portrays care and attention through the activity being engaged in, grace in her posture, seated position and how the needle is held, while also giving context to the community within which this is unfolding.

This photo was taken in Praia do Soba, in Namibe, Angola’s southernmost province. There wasn’t much of a process, just awe. I happened to be in awe at finally seeing a place I had only ever heard about, never properly pictured, and realising no photo could truly do it justice.

This photograph was made in Cape Coast, Ghana, close to the Castle where there were slave trade activities. I was on assignment looking at how climate change was affecting forts and castles. While waiting to get in, I decided to take a walk around. The scene of the fishing folks reminded me of photographs of the legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor.

I’m interested in Johannesburg as a migrant city and how in becoming a metropolis it cannot shake off being a migrant city. This image, these train tracks, these trains, remind me of the arrival of all the mine workers who came to work in the mines around the city in the 1800s. It reminds me of my own father, whom as a young boy, came here to work in the mines.