Light is the source of photographic descriptions.
The nature of light to function both as a minuscule quantum of energy and as a force that illuminates our world informs us that point of view is a critical component of photography. From the earliest issues of National Geographic Magazine through its most recent release, to the celebrated portraits of Irving Penn, and onto the pages of today's newspapers, the point of view in photographs of Africans is as narrow as the pages they are printed on. Fazal Sheikh understands the power of photographic representation. In his portraits from Kenya's Northern Frontier he finds that power in the faces and gestures of people from Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. His portraits are empowering in many ways.