December 24, 2002
By Mandisi Majavu
TO take a picture is an art form. However, to take pictures of almost all the South African political leaders - from Albert Luthuli to Thabo Mbeki - is a privilege, says Alf Khumalo, a veteran photographer at The Star.
Khumalo is a self-taught photographer. He started taking pictures professionally in 1951 and has not looked back since. The essence of what attracted him to photography was and still is the visual impact of a picture. He says from the beginning it has always been about capturing the movement - the visual impact.
He even tried his hand at drawing in an attempt to capture the movement of the situations he found fascinating, but later realised that the camera does a better job, he says.
Khumalo captures an elated Desmond Tutu embracing Walter Sisulu
This he discovered when he launched his career as a journalist in the 1950s. Then, he was not only taking pictures, but writing stories as well. He was freelancing for the Bantu World - a newspaper that was regarded as the voice of the black middle class at the time.
His beat was covering court-cases in Evaton. He says the magistrate so admired his accurate reporting that a special place for him was created inside the courtroom.
"This is the time I met Mandela for the first time," says Khumalo.
He enjoyed watching Nelson Mandela at work, drilling and questioning white people who did not want to be questioned by a black lawyer, he says.
From a professional friendship, their relationship has evolved into a close intimate friendship. Khumalo says when Mandela was in prison, it became his duty to take pictures of his family and send them to him.
Photography is the profession that won Khumalo his first car in 1963 in a competition that was run by the South African Breweries. The requirements of the competition were to send original, innovative and creative pictures and he sent in an image of mine workers who looked fatigued and sweaty, against a background of the actual mine.
Khumalo met boxing legend Mohammad Ali while in Zaire for the Rumble in the Jungle showdown
Photography is also the profession that landed him in New York in 1971, where he tried to crack it as a freelancer. Although he did not plan to stay in the Big Apple for too long, he says he ended up spending eight months in New York.
In 1980, although he had been freelancing for The Star, he joined the organisation as permanent staff and has been with the newspaper ever since.
However, his freelance experience is as wide and extensive as his experience as a staff journalist.
His work has appeared in international newspapers like The Observer, New York Times, New York Post, The (UK) Sunday Independent, to name but a few. Locally, he has worked for Drum magazine and the Rand Daily Mail.
Despite serving his country in this manner, Khumalo is bent on giving back to society not only images but a whole new generation of photographers.
In October, Khumalo opened a photographic school in Diepkloof, Soweto, in an effort to make sure that aspiring photographers do not face the hardship he underwent when he started out, with no formal educational background in photography.
The school does not charge fees for the photographic course it offers - nine months long, two hours a day. He says this was designed so as to benefit aspiring photographers from poor backgrounds. At the moment, there are 26 students enrolled at the school. The school includes a studio and darkroom facilities.
Khumalo says there is an experienced teacher at the school who gives lectures. However, in the future he plans to bring The Star photographic team, including himself, to give lectures from time to time.
As part of the school, Khumalo has opened a photographic museum that displays his work. To maintain the museum and keep it in good condition, visitors will be charged a R20 entrance fee.
One of the picture in Alf Khumalo's museum
The Italian government donated about a million rand towards the whole project, the school and the museum.
There are a lot of other organisations that want to jump on board and give a helping hand, he says. At the moment he is talking to technikons, who have shown interest on assessing the course; if they are happy with what they find, they will give diplomas to the students at the end of the course.
To be accepted at the school, Khumalo says a matric qualification is not crucial. He hopes the school will attract dedicated youngsters who are serious about photography; for his aim is to produce a new breed of photographers who will contribute to the progress of South African photography.
