Sweet Soweto

During the fall of 2018, I had the honor and privilege to be a part of Zack Arias’s inaugural DedPxl tour of Southern Africa. The trip’s intention was to bring photographers from across the planet together to use their collective talents to help promote and further the causes of a select group of charitable organizations in the region. The catch was that we would not be informed in advance of the itinerary, the destinations, or the organizations. We were simply given a meeting time and place from which the adventure would commence. On our first day, after the travelers were given some time to get to know each other, the group took to the streets of the Johannesburg township of Soweto. We meandered through the crowds as workers queued for the buses that would take them home for the weekend, as we both literally and figuratively smelled the streets and felt the dirt below our feet. The faces we encountered- young and old, male and female, with furrowed brows and optimistic smiles- would set the tone for the whole trip and I, for one, shall carry them with me for as long as I live.