Snap me!

'Madam, snap me!' This is what the kids say if you go anywhere outside of Tamale and the two cuties you were about to snap will be joined by 15 other kids all piling into the photo so they can also be snapped. (I think the kids in Tamale are no longer so impressed by white people with cameras now, as there are now lots of volunteers walking round town.)

But as for photgraphing adults, one mystery I have yet to uncover is why Ghanaian people, usually to be found laughing and joking around, suddenly become extremely stern and serious as soon as a picture is about to be taken. The pics below (taken by legendary photographer Marit Dewhurst) show this perfectly. She was talking to a lady who sells biscuits on our road, and agreed to snap her and her friends, but Marit actually started snapping right away. You can see the difference between the first 3 photos, full of joking around, and the final Official Photo, where everyone looks stern and sombre (except the baby peeking curiously round to see what's happening!).