{"id":7290,"date":"2021-12-18T17:51:03","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T17:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/i-wanted-the-focus-to-be-on-their-smiles-brunel-johnsons-best-phone-picture"},"modified":"2021-12-18T18:57:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-18T18:57:09","slug":"i-wanted-the-focus-to-be-on-their-smiles-brunel-johnsons-best-phone-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/i-wanted-the-focus-to-be-on-their-smiles-brunel-johnsons-best-phone-picture","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I wanted the focus to be on their smiles\u2019: Brunel Johnson\u2019s best phone picture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The London-born photographer on his image of Gambian football fans.TBrunel had been living alongside the boys for two weeks, documenting the work of the charity, which serves as a community school while providing boarding places for orphans. He\u2019d left his digital camera in his room and knew the moment would pass if he went back for it. So he reached for his iPhone. The photograph\u2019s angle was a spur-of-the-moment decision, chosen simply to fit as many faces in as possible; he added the black and white \u201cNoir\u201d filter later.I wanted the focus to be on their faces as they saw themselves on the screen, and their smiles. Many of the boys are orphans: all have lost at least one parent, like Musa. But there is rarely a moment when they aren\u2019t smiling,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cAs a Black photographer of African heritage, it\u2019s my responsibility to authentically document the reality of Africa, in all its beauty and in its poverty. And you can show poverty while still maintaining human dignity.\u201dwe have a small favour to ask. Millions are turning to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day, and readers in 180 countries around the world now support us financially.<\/p>\n<p>We believe everyone deserves access to information that\u2019s grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity. That\u2019s why we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This means more people can be better informed, united, and inspired to take meaningful action.<\/p>\n<p>In these perilous times, a truth-seeking global news organisation like the Guardian is essential. We have no shareholders or billionaire owner, meaning our journalism is free from commercial and political influence \u2013 this makes us different. When it\u2019s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 \u2013 it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.here\u2019s a strong Premier League following in the Gambia: just like Brunel Johnson, 14-year-old Musa is an Arsenal fan. The London-born photographer was on his way to lunch when he noticed the teen, in his favourite football shirt, huddled with friends. They were on the grounds of Spot Academy, watching game highlights on one of the older kids\u2019 phones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\">Gambia<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The London-born photographer on his image of Gambian football fans.TBrunel had been living alongside the boys for two weeks, documenting the work of the charity, which serves as a community school while providing boarding places for orphans. He\u2019d left his digital camera in his room and knew the moment would pass if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":7289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,9],"tags":[2355,2361,3328,260,3329],"class_list":["post-7290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-focus","tag-gambia","tag-phone-picture"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018I wanted the focus to be on their smiles\u2019: Brunel Johnson\u2019s best phone picture - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The London-born photographer on his image of Gambian 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