From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Dec 18 2009 - 10:17:06 EST
*Posted :* Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:52:07 GMT *By :* dpa
>From rackets to reportage: Steffi Graf turns photographer
http://www.nationalgeographic.de/reportagen/topthemen/2010/die-kinder-von-asmara
Berlin - Steffi Graf, the 22-time Grand Slam-winning tennis player, has
turned her focus from the net to the viewfinder and published her first
photo-reportage on Friday. Under the title "The Children of Asmara" the
40-year-old mother of two's photographs represent the lives of kids living
in slums in the capital of Eritrea, one of the poorest countries in Africa.
The pictures accompanied an article in the German-language edition of
National Geographic Magazine.
Graf, who runs a foundation for the mental health of children called
"Children for Tomorrow", said that "I am not a person of many words,"
according to a statement from her publisher.
She said that as a teenager she had seriously considered becoming a
photographer, rather than pursuing a career in tennis.
Graf was accompanied on her trip to Asmara by seasoned photo- journalist
Gerd Ludwig, who instructed her in the art.
"She is really very modest, but decidedly curious," said Ludwig in the
online edition of the magazine.
"If she takes pictures with the same passion and intensity as she once plays
tennis, she will become a great photographer," he said.