Behind the Frame · 6 min read
Ten Minutes of Daylight
Interview by Daniel Reis · 9 July 2026
Mira Okonkwo's portraits look effortless, which is the usual sign that something took a long time. The photograph itself is fast — often under ten minutes, always at the end of the day. Everything before it is conversation.
Talking first
"I do not photograph anyone I have not spoken to for an hour," she says. "Not because I need the story. Because they need to be bored of me."
People stop performing at about minute forty. That is when I load the camera.
Mira Okonkwo
She works with a Pentax 67 and a single lens, mostly on rooftops, where the light bounces off painted concrete and fills the shadows for free. The camera is loud, which she likes: it announces every frame, so nothing is taken quietly.