Harnessing the power of photography
“Photojournalism is one of the most effective and enriching ways of telling a story,” says award-winning photojournalist Boldwill Hungwe. “People are visually inclined and good images can stick with us for a long time.”
Hungwe, 39, part of this year’s cohort of Thomson Foundation summer course participants, has quickly become one of his country’s most respected photojournalists. Born and raised in the district of Mberengwa in the Midlands province in Zimbabwe, he came to the capital Harare in 2000 to pursue journalism and started work as a freelance reporter for a local newspaper shortly after completing his diploma in journalism. But Hungwe soon felt drawn to reportage, which he says allows for a more thoughtful approach to storytelling, and during the height of political and economic crisis in 2007/8 he embarked on a career as a photojournalist.
“I always had the love for photography from a young age but the transition to photojournalism wasn't so easy because of a lack of relevant courses in Zimbabwe — I had to be self-taught,” says Hungwe. “But I think pictures speak louder and clearer than words, especially in this current world where readers are bombarded with information. I felt strongly that the Zimbabwean story would be documented best through imagery. It paid off. What most Zimbabweans can recall about the crisis is the profound manner in which images projected their experiences.”
Hungwe often approaches his photography from a humanitarian perspective, using people – their expressions, gestures, moments of clarity – to symbolise the social realities in his country. Zimbabwe is buckling from the strain of unemployment and daily life is a struggle for much of the population. In a series of images, Hungwe photographs with a careful, cool composition, how, in the most basic ways, residents in Harare use their ingenuity to survive and overcome the hardships of their environment.
Capturing clashes in Zimbabwe
It is this considered approach that has won him national awards, including one of international renown. In 2008, he came second in the Spot News genre at the World Press Photo Awards in Amsterdam. He revealed that his winning photograph (main image) of opposition supporters running away from water cannons in the high-density suburb of Highfield, Harare, after riot police dispersed them during a rally was taken on a digital compact camera because neither he nor the paper he worked for at the time could afford a digital SLR camera.
It didn’t seem to matter. He captured the clashes after seeking refuge at a house in the same township, and beat off stiff competition from more than 5,000 professional photographers from 120 countries, who had collectively submitted a cool 96,000 photographs as part of the prestigious annual awards. The same year, Hungwe won first prize in the Gwanza Press Awards and scooped first prize as the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists’ Photojournalist of the Year.
Pictures speak louder than words in this current world where readers are bombarded with information.
Class of 2015
Hungwe works full-time as a photojournalist for The News Day, The Zimbabwe Independent and its sister paper The Standard. He also works in digital journalism, technology startups in journalism, media management and research.
Other Thomson Foundation summer convergence course participants are Ibrahim Abdellatif, a senior producer at Al Jazeera Arabic; Taiwo Alimi, senior correspondent, Sunday Sport, Lagos; Chelsea Geach, news reporter at the Cape Argus, Cape Town; Ali Said Jaboob, text editor at Oman Ministry of Information; and Torera Idowu, online entertainment and lifestyle reporter for the Nation newspaper in Lagos, and this year’s Thomson Foundation mobile journalism competition winner.
#TFSummerCourse
Hungwe captures images of roadside vendors and local residents in Harare to highlight the slow-burning issues that continue beyond the daily news cycle.
The five-week summer course will begin in London on August 10 and end on September 11.
