Being fifth-in-line for the British throne, chances of Prince Harry becoming king is relatively slim. So, could photography become a more tangible career instead? We aren’t sure, but the young prince did try his hand at photography while visiting one of his charity projects in Africa earlier this month, as the Daily Mail reports, releasing several photos he took of the children there. Despite the obvious promotional campaign for his Sentebale charity, some of the photos are actually pretty good.
Sentebale is a charity founded in 2006 by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to support children with HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, a country entirely surrounded by South Africa. The prince traveled to the country to view the development of a new children’s center, and while there he visited some of the charity’s sites, taking a few black and white photos with a Fujifilm X100 camera depicting children playing and smiling, as well as one striking portrait of a herd boy.
“I have always enjoyed photography and the challenges that come with trying to capture the perfect shot,” the prince says. The kids hit a soft spot in him: “It was really emotional watching them interact with each other.”
The Daily Mail’s Picture Editor Paul Ashton commended the photos, saying, “Prince Harry has made the most of the available light and his pictures are perfectly exposed.”
Other photographers took pictures of the prince taking pictures, of course. They show Harry swinging a happy blind child into the air, showing a group of boys how his camera works, and squishing himself into a corner to get a good portrait of the herd boy.
But not all are receptive to the prince’s photos. The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones thinks it is all a marketing tactic bordering on imperialist propaganda. He accuses the prince of “playing a photojournalist,” and is irritated that the pictures do not name the subjects. He argues that the children in the photos are only there to represent poverty in general, with the prince heroically saving them from it. Not to mention, only three images the prince took have been released to the media.
You can be the judge by viewing the photos on Sentebale’s website.
(Images via HRH Prince Henry of Wales/Sentebale; Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Sentebale)
