HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

To wrap up the 2019 and the decade, I thought I should share with you 10 of my favourite photographs from 2010 – 2019. I have lost a few photographs over the years to damaged hard-drives and memory cards, but we are still here taking pictures.

And in that spirit, I will share one photograph from every year – not an easy fete. This will be a mix of personal, press and projects that I have photographed in this decade.

2010

The start of the decade started with me planning a wedding that ended up not happening as later on that year, I became a mum. This is me in a hospital a few days after giving birth to my son. I have to give thanks to God as it was a very difficult birth that I ended up in HDU for a few days. I barely remember holding him the moment he was born. So this photo is a reminder to cherish every moment.

2011

This photo of Shingai Shoniwa was taken at the movie premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 at Westfield Stratford Center. On this day I was lucky enough to be in the press pen for this movie as I was excited to be photographing movie premieres. I was not in the best of spots, but I am glad that I had my ladder with me on the day. I have chosen this photo as it was published in Ebony Magazine the following year. I have since stopped photographing premieres.

2012

One of my highlights from 2012 was, of course, being part of the Olympic Games as a volunteer. I was part of the Opening and Closing Ceremony performers and this is me at the end of the closing ceremony event. I somehow managed to sneak in my Kenyan flag and camera so I could document as much as I could of the event. Later on that week I found out that I was accepted into University to start my degree in Photography. And yes, I still have some of my costumes from the ceremonies. Did you know that these costumes are currently on display in the Museum of London as part of their permanent galleries?

 

2013

The year that I went to Moscow for the Rugby Sevens World Cup. I love travelling, but I don’t get to do it as much as I would like to. This trip for me was a testament that I should just do things even when it seems impossible to do it. A lot of people at the time were asking me what I was doing in Russia as the country is not known for its friendliness, but truth be told I enjoyed my stay. Even though I have picked a happy moment from 2013, it was also the year, I ended up in Kenya twice. Little did I know that the first trip was a goodbye as the second, I went to bury my grandmother.

2014

One year to go before the RWC 2015 / England 2015 rolled into town. I was so excited as I am rugby fan and I wanted to be able to document the events leading up to the matches. I even did a video for my YouTube channel looking back at my favourite photographs from this event. One of the reasons I love photography. Ohh, this photo was taken literally a few months after I gave birth to my daughter. At this point, I was back in Uni and doing a few freelance photography assignments just to get back to the swing of things.

2015

Another travel photo on the Dublin ferry, that time when I travelled to Ireland via SailRail for the Rugby Sevens Women’s Qualifier as Kenya Lionesses were playing. I took this as an opportunity to travel and see another country that I have never been to. Ireland is beautiful and I vowed to myself that I should make another trip, but this time with my kids.

2016

This year was a very interesting year. I was meant to graduate from University, but I decided to defer my dissertation module and I ended up exhibiting my ‘Women in Sport’ project with my class. The little sacrifice I had to make as a mature student who also happens to be a parent. Truth be told, I was struggling to keep up with my assignments at this point and I really wanted to graduate with honours. Let’s just say, after this exhibition, I did not touch my camera for at least 3 months. I was done at this point. Then again, looking at this photograph is reminds of how far I had come since I started the course not knowing what the future holds.

2017

I just have to share this awesome picture taken by my fellow photographer and friend, Beatrice of Benedetto Photography. I finally graduated with honours from University with a BA in Photography. All the hard work boiled down to this day. There were a few disappointments, like my family (mum and bro) not being there, but I had my other family present on the day. I even managed to document the day for my channel. You can watch the video here.

2018

2018 was a year filled with new beginnings. My daughter started big school and since I was not working, I decided to go back to University for my Postgrad studies. This is a photograph I took as part of my course. An ongoing project called, “See, To Be Seen.” I walked around London photographing tourists and how they interact with the spaces they occupy. Seeing as I love to travel, I would like to photograph tourist behaviour in other cities as part of this project. So, watch this space.

2019

This is a photograph of my mum with her grandchildren in Szczecin, Poland. This was a surprise trip. First time travelling with both my kids out of the UK. My daughter’s first time flying and the first time my mum saw her. This right here was an epic trip that I never thought would happen. One of those moments that when I said I was going to Poland to see my mum, people would wonder why for obvious reasons.

If there is a reason to love photography or why I took this as my profession, I think looking back at these photographs sums it all up.

Here is to the next decade – CHEERS!

#Top10oftheDecade