Lenscap story
When people heard that I went to Soweto I received a lot of comments like: ‘that’s guts’ or ‘isn’t it dangerous’ or ‘where you afraid?’ or ‘what does your family think about your plans?’ This ‘prejudice’ is fuelled by the fact that Johannesburg encompasses Soweto to the south west. After the Group Areas Act was scrapped in the early 1990s, Johannesburg was affected by urban blight. Thousands of poor, mostly black, people, who had been forbidden to live in the city proper, moved into the city from surrounding black townships like Soweto. Crime levels in formerly white areas rose. Many buildings were abandoned by landlords, especially in high-density areas, such as Hillbrow. Many corporations and institutions, including the stock exchange, moved their headquarters away from the city centre, to suburbs like Sandton. By the late 1990s, Johannesburg was rated as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. In Soweto I see the opposite, crime rates are low and there is a strong social hierarchy. So in general I felt very safe walking around in Soweto, a very pleasant positive energy and atmosphere. I never felt afraid. Never? Well, one time I got pretty nervous. I was walking to my B&B in Dube township, late at night, when suddenly a car came around the corner with screaming tires. It stopped right next to me and a man jumped out. While my heart skipped some beats he asked: ‘is this yours?’ It turned out to be my lenscap…;)) So I have a question, what are your stories about photography or life in general where your prejudice about someone or some place was changed?
