Kalandula

I took this photo at the Kalandula falls, not too far from the city of Malange, in the center of Angola. What you see is part of, and probably to some extent the result of, a liquid picknick. I'd been told that groups of people go there to enjoy the beauty of Africa's third (or second, depends who you ask) largest waterfalls, while having a picknick. At the scene, there's not as much as a soda on sale, so you have to bring everything. In the case of this group (there were about 10 of them), everything was a quite large cooler box with nothing but beer and spin. They were rather enjoying themselves, but luckily I got a lift out of there with a very sober couple of young people.

Friends

I found these two while I was roaming the streets of Huambo, in the middle of Angola. This area suffered greatly during the war, and the episodes people have been telling me are too horrible for words. The war ended in 2002, with the death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi. These two guys probably never had to deal with any of the horrors, and they are normal children, just like any others in any part of the world. Playing, going to school and wanting their picture taken. The city is also showing ever less signs of war. The building in the back is still scarred by bullet holes, but the one on the right looks brand new. It's like this all over town. Little by little, bad memories and signs of them disappear. Time (and in this case a lot of money) heals all wounds.

Jorge Tristão

I'm back in Luanda, organizing for a journey across the country. Yesterday night, I was downtown at a the Zanzibar, for an expat's farewell party, and I say this guy. He was wearing a bow tie and jacket and all, but finished it all off tropically with a pair of bermuda shorts and flip flops (although very stylish ones at that). When I saw him leave, I went after him and asked him if I could take his picture right there and then. We looked for an illuminated shop window and this is the result. His name is Jorge Tristão, and he's in advertising. Thanks Jorge.

Room with a view

Looking out or looking in? A look outside, or is it a peak inside? Sharing a moment with an imaginative or a real person? I took this picture at a friend's place while I was in Brussels, and kind of forgot about it, until I was selecting pictures for the Plaisirs Partagés collective exhibition. As we fence ourselves inside our city homes, less and less of our lives is known to the ones on the other side of the street, or the other side of the wall, but curiosity remains. Most of us have the urge to peak into the lives of others if we get the chance. Would you have looked in if you happened to live in the house on the other side of the street? I know I would have. Would we have shared an awkward moment, being caught, or a pleasure, sharing the unspoken truth about our curiosity?

Ken

This week I made a selection of photographs made in Belgium for a collective exhibition in March, based on the theme "shared pleasures" and I came across this old favorite of mine. I shot this a couple of years ago at my youngest sister's wedding. My then still future brother in law was enjoying a cigarette outside, before going to city hall for the civil cerimony itself, and since I'd recently quit smoking I couldn't share with him the pleasure of a smoke. Instead, we shared this intimate moment, of which I'm also a part, as you can clearly see my hand on the camera in the upper right, reflected in the window of their home. I think the look on his face is great, and the slightly blurred effect shooting through the window only emphasizes this.

Ferry

 This is the ferry boat across the Tagus river. It takes thousands of people into Lisbon every morning and back out again in the evening to Almada, or as we jokingly say amongst friends: Morocco. The weekend edition, as seen here, is less cramped, and there's a couple of very nice restaurants on the other side of the river, where they serve small fried squid.

Mural

I spotted this mural last month while I was in Água de Madeiros. In the middle of the rubble of a construction site (probably adding yet another extension to an existing building). It's a sign of questionable taste you see very often around the countryside. Not that it's something exclusive to Portugal. I guess that every country has its own form of tacky decoration in and around buildings. We usually find our own kind tacky and that of other countries amusing. For me, this is tacky, but very amusing at the same time.