Western photojournalism played and still plays a major role in the continued misrepresentation of Africa. It doesn’t matter at all whether photojournalists went or go to Africa with the best of intentions (as they typically do); what matters is that many of them appear to be oblivious of the issue at hand.

For a moment I was terrified. Then I remembered my camera. Looking through my telephoto lens, I saw exactly where I needed to be. Palms sweaty, heavy camera bags slung over my shoulder, I pushed through the crowd and entered a small clearing just in time to find an athlete bent down on one prosthetic knee. His girlfriend looked surprised and delighted. I watched every emotion wash over her face. I focused my lens and clicked the shutter. I got the shot.