The continent of Africa is one of the richest in the world in terms of resources, richness of culture, and variety of wild life, although it remains among the poorest in terms of the standard of living in which its people have to live. Outside of Africa photos in National Geographic, few people ever get the opportunity to explore this unique continent, this land of desert and lush jungles. Yet Africa photos alone fail to capture the majesty of Africa. It is not all just people dancing around with spears and wild animals leaping across the plains. Things like National Geographic tend to reinforce stereotypes with their Africa wildlife photos, and their tribal photos, and ignore the other side of Africa.

Nonetheless, as any fan of Africa photos knows, this exotic side is one of the greatest draws there is and is what bring many people - perhaps most tourists – to the continent. As a photojournalist, I have spent many months taking photos of Africa in between my wider travels in Europe and Asia, and I can tell you that there is an air of excitement to the land that is completely unlike anywhere else where I have ever traveled. The Africa photos just do not begin to capture all of the sites, sounds, and textures of this rich continent. The dryness of the deserts, the heat of the North, and the richness of peoples, cultures, and languages can simply not be captured. They are all things which I simply can not include in any of my Africa photos no matter how I try, thing which must be experienced first hand by a traveler, even if only for a little while, and only as a tourist.

Many of the Africa photos which I take are not African tribal photos, but rather, pictures of the cities and the people who live there. I will not claim that my African pictures present a truer vision of Africa then the photos that you might see in some world traveler magazine, but they are certainly part of the picture. What is the true Africa? The ancient land portrayed in the Africa photos which everyone has seen in magazines, or the modern, cosmopolitan Africa which I am working so hard to portray. Honestly, like anywhere, the truth lies somewhere in between. But no matter what you think, the Africa photos alone never tell the whole story without the viewer.