Women from the Samburu tribe in Kenya sitting on a wooden bench in traditional clothes and smiling.

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Ciril Jazbec

Photography taught me so much about the world.

This picture was taken as part of a larger project, a story I was developing about the technology revolution in East Africa. This was a particularly special moment. I remember when I took the picture I was thinking that it is not only about women using this tech solution, but also a message about a new face of Africa which might help change the world’s perception of the continent. We followed some inspiring tech stories, including the one about BRCK tablets from Nairobi. Technology has arrived in isolated regions of Africa – primarily in the form of relatively inexpensive mobile phones – but now BRCK tablets are opening up new learning opportunities for the Samburu tribe women and children in the Kenyan reserve. About 50 Samburu women are meeting every week to teach and learn at the village's only school. The community is becoming aware of the changing times and wishes to educate their young people, who then often move out of the reserve, to nearby towns. They have accepted their reality and wish to help empower and prepare a new generation for the future.

Capture the emotion.

Ciril Jazbec

I knew I wanted to be a photographer at a very young age. We had a darkroom back in my primary school and I became really interested in the process. Now, I am a documentary photographer focusing on long-term projects.

Good photography is when you learn the craft so well that you are ready to deconstruct it. Capturing emotion is the most important part for me, and the most difficult. You need to be fully awake and in the right state of mind. The moment you start to believe you’ve made it, it’s over. It is about waking up in the morning and applying the right attitude to your work – hard work with an honest and respectful approach. It’s fairly simple to capture one great photograph, but to build something more cohesive demands mastery and a sort of mindful awareness.