Finding Your Potential.
It was the evening of December 31st 2010, (From left to right in that picture, Yours sincerely, Maxwell, OZ, Iziegebe, Eugene, and the one buddy that crashed into the drinks for the night), crossover night to be precise which is often referred to as watch-night in Nigeria, the night which heralds the new year, that night when people count their losses their mistakes and the gains of the outgoing year and look forward to a new year of new hope, new victories, changes and are optimistic about the new year. Amidst the celebration of heading into a new beginning, a new year and a new decade was how I and homies began drinking. It has always being my believe that celebrations are incomplete without drinks, music and any form of liquor, ethanol and the likes, Lol, most likely something I got from my Kegite gyration club,(A socio-cultural club approved by the Nigeria Universities Commission in 1962 which allows students drink and imbibe Palm wine/holy water during celebrations) membership days in University, Ilya Du Ovia precisely, named after the famous Ovia river which flows through Benin City and is a major landmark in my State in Nigeria. On that night I and buddies had commemorated our reunion with excessive drinking, I being the one who will always supply all the drinks but never get caught drunk or at the brim. The yuletide(Christmas and New year festive period) again back home is a time when all family members return from far and near, and for I and my buddies at the time it was worth the celebration because everyone had left home at the beginning of the year, in search of greener pasture to different parts of the country and returned home for the festive period, there were sure lots to catch up on, as we celebrated, I remembered receiving a canon digital camera as a gift a week prior and figured it will be great to save that moment in our archives through a picture. I pulled out my camera and asked the crew to come together, as we waited the flash of the camera I had set in timer mode, it was all good except for that one buddy Iziegbe who almost fell inside the well( a dugout reservoir which stores water underground) we were all standing on LOL. and then went my first shots. After taking a picture, you do want to make it look better via editing in the post-processing stage, and it had certainly always being in me to challenge myself to learn new things and explore my creativity, so I tried editing the pics to the most I could which didn’t come out well to me, but to the homies it was one hell of a beautiful pic and just the fact that the memory of that night was saved, they all appreciated it. Following that night I began taking more pics, got a couple of referrals and gradually it became a hobby.
Photography is both a Science and an Art I believe. A Science, for the fact that you have to manoeuvre, learn and apply the mechanics of the component of a camera such as the ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, depth of field to obtain a great picture/image and an Art for the fact that your final presentation becomes a beauty to behold when all is done. I love photography again for its uniqueness and challenging nature. Give five different people five same cameras and have them all shoot one subject in one spot and you will find five different pics, because every one will shoot the pic as per their own colour, composition, element tone, style, perspective and inspiration, which is due to uniqueness in photography, I do love the fact that photography makes you get to know places, meet people and build yourself in a new world of creativity. With camera phones,I also found myself immersed more in taking pics and volunteering to help with shots at every point in time with. Fast forward ten years later, while in Canada and during the pandemic lockdown, I was really eager to start something, perhaps a side business, something outside my current career, one that will bring me satisfaction while exploring it with a burning passion. A few days after I began contemplating, I had stopped by a BestBuy electronic store to get something, when I walked past the digital camera aisle, I stumbled upon a Canon camera and walked past, for some reason my mind wouldn’t get off that camera, then my mind went back to my good ole photography days with the canon camera back in Nigeria and the satisfaction I derived from the shots. I tried to keep walking in the store but I kept finding myself coming back to that camera. I spoke with the store representative and found out the price was a fair price, again something about photography and its uniqueness is the fact that one doesn’t need expensive gears to have great and epic shots, one photographer might have a five thousand dollar gear and the other has a five hundred dollar gear but when both shots are presented the cheaper gear ‘s final image might be more amazing, because its not really about price but composition, perception, creativity and ability to understand the camera. So I purchased the camera, got a few lenses and watched youtube videos of how to operate the camera in particular and off it started. Photography makes one see the world from a different perspective, everyone could see a lake but a photographer sees the same lake and its surrounding from the angle of its perfect shot in a picture(digital or print), while others might see a rainy day to stay all indoor, a photographer sees the perfect unique shots of a scene while it rains. Then also is the fulfilment of taking shots of loved ones(friends, family) and strangers from kids to adults at cherished moments ranging from birthdays to various life events. With positive feedbacks, joining forums, more learning, building network and becoming a member of Professional bodies of the photography community, I had the opportunity to learn more. There are so many role models in photography but of particular interest to me are, Steve McCurry, Annie leibovitz and Jimmy Neilson who all seem to shoot my style of photography which is capturing subjects in their real and natural state. It is great to see a subject smile as photographers will usually request, but there’s a million thoughts and pains behind every smile, and also we can have objects as the subject of an image but objects certainly don’t smile, which is what informed the decision in me to capture subjects more, not when they are smiling or all dressed up but when the subject is in their real and natural state like a human walking to work, a farmer ploughing his farm are all part of my ultimate goal to tell stories through my images. With compliments and requests for purchases of my prints I began making my first dollars and since decided never to look back. What else makes one happier than exploring a passion/hobby, being competitive in making your result outstanding through creativity, Satisfying your curiosity, getting paid for your creative idea, becoming a member of a community that shares same ideas and seeing your work in displays? This lends credence to the fact that we all have potentials in us waiting to be explored, we all have something in us that others might appreciate and if possible pay to have, if only we look deep within us and are willing to take that bold first step towards nursing this potential(My thought before writing this blog) . One doesn’t need to be perfect on the go on whatever we discover to be our potential, just with the idea and research and most importantly youtube videos which are free on the internet, I bet one will be on track to finding what one wants to wake up to everyday exploring. It is always good to develop our skill daily, I find photography in particular has helped me in honing my people skills which is one core skill a photographer must have, which will make the hobby/job easier. My path has crossed with different personalities, from the farmer in his farm, the model looking to upgrade their portfolio, the politician who wants headshots for her campaign, the homeless on the streets willing to share their story, the weather personalities who have showcased my work on their different platforms especially Mike Sobel Of Global News Edmonton to the amazing individuals I get to meet everyday who will tell you where to spot the squirrel, ravens or owls at the park for a beautiful pic, the list is endless not to mention the network of friendships built with these amazing individuals.
Until my next blog, i’ll like to say thanks to everyone taking their time to read through, I hope this blog challenges you to find that thing in you that’s waiting to be discovered and if you have I hope you explore it to the fullest. Stay Safe, find your passion and explore it!
