Benny Gool

South African photojournalist Benny Gool is best known for his work documenting Nelson Mandela. He captured the historic leader in tens of thousands of color and black-and-white photographs that he took over three decades. He began photographing in the 1970s in order to document the human rights abuses and anti-apartheid activism he witnessed. Employed by the Cape Times, he started photographing Mr. Mandela in the 1990s, capturing him in moments both momentous and private. Gool grew close to his subject and once described the experience of chronicling his life: “You spend a lot of time with him, and it’s not…like a normal subject where you can go and shoot and detach yourself. You become attached to this person. You believe in what they do and what they say…. Sometimes you stand in front of them and you just can’t say anything.”