The photography in colonial context shows itself today as an important and complex source for the historiography of contemporary empires. Even the brief German imperialism has used the photographic apparatus to register the most diverse scenes and colonial peoples, as well as from such material many uses were made in different material supports. From the photographic archive of the German Colonial Society, we aim here to develop an analysis about the colonial photographs, seeking to place them in the broad context of the development of the imperialistic politics and the racial 'sciences'. For that purpose, we will analyse one geographical space at two distinct moments: firstly, we will discuss the role of visuality of the Other as an important element in the colonial enterprise; in a second moment, we will think about the permanence of the racial ideology in the former German colonial territory of South-West Africa, based on photographic records and activities of German settlers linked to the Nazi Party in this African space.