Life, The Universe and Everything

• Month of Photography II

  Posted: June 20, 2008, 3:50 pm by egm

  Thursday saw us going out in groups around the city to make photographs. My group decided to do a study in contrasts between "Uptown" and "Downtown", with Tom Mboya being the divide. It was an interesting experience, photographing Nairobi. This was my first time doing something like this. The fact that we were a group of us gave me more confidence to take out the camera and snap away. Unfortunately, even with the group, I was unable to completely relax and photo away as much as I would have liked. I guess that is something I have to get used to. However, by the end of the session, I felt like I was freeing up. so the solution seems to have more of these group outings.
  
  After we got done, we had to select 20 images out of the hundreds we took to get printed. Since we spent most of Thursday out and about, the printing was done at the end of that day, and the prints collected Friday morning. We were then supposed to set up our storyline, with nothing but the sequence of photos to tell the story. Captions were not allowed. Out of the 20 prints, we had to eliminate 8, and leave behind just 12. We had to justify why we eliminated those 8, and why we kept just the 12. Each photo had to stand on its own, as well as part of the group. For our project, however, we had to have the photos in pairs, since our whole project was based on a study in contrasts.
  
  It was interesting getting feedback from other groups who would let us know what message they got from the photos. At times it wasn't obvious to them what we were trying to show in a pair of photos, but after explanation, they got it. The instructor stated that that slight confusion on the part of the observer meant that we could probably have done a better job. Maybe take the picture at a different angle or eliminate some elements that might not have been necessary which would instead be distractions.
  
  <Digression>
  
  During our project, we got very many enquiries as to who we were. I mean, here we are, a group of 7, 5 of us with big cameras. We were from the press? A number refused to be photographed. There were some who were only too glad to get their photos taken. The most interesting was something we came across on Keekorok Road. There is an alley there that is stinking with garbage. When the people around there saw us photographing around, they approached us and wanted to know if we were with the press. When we said no, they asked if we could still highlight their plight. An exercise in learning had just turned into a social project. Apparently, NCC workers routinely dump all the garbage around in the alley. However, as the people there pointed out, if they decided to so much as just toss something to the ground, they would instantly be arrested and charged. What irony! To make matters worse, there is a hotel that sits adjacent to the alley. Across the road there is a butchery shop. The name of that shop? Concerned Meat Suppliers. The owner of that butchery was particularly insistent on us doing something about that, so we figured, hey, why not make some photos that would highlight this issue. I have posted some of what we took below. It did involve going into the alley, right there in the trash, and even squatting low to the ground to get some of what you see here. That's when I appreciated the levels some can go to in order to bring you that one picture that will communicate to you something that needs to be told.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Anyone that knows anyone that can do something about this mess, feel free to bring this to their notice.
  
  </Digression>
  
  After every group went through the critiquing exercise, the instructor gave his opinion of how it was, and what we could take away from it. We then sat down and gave feedback on the whole workshop. Many were happy with how it was conducted, stating that the instructor's easy going nature was key in making it good. One of the photographers present said that he had attended a workshop before where the instructor was aloof, thus making for a bad experience. He had to leave the workshop early when he couldn't take it any more. Prior to last week's workshop, he was worried that he might go through the same thing. Especially considering the stature of the instructor, Gerard Planchenault. Gerard works for Nikon France (no wonder he had with him all that expensive Nikon gear! That D3 and two prime lenses would set him back close to a good 10,000 USD!), and has a vast experience in photography, having travelled in quite a number of countries. His work is currently on display at Alliance Francaise, alongside that of another French photographer. You can view some of Gerard's work here. Some of the pictures on that site have been printed and displayed at AF. You need to go see them in person, as they are spectacular works! And so this other photographer was worried he might come with airs that would render the whole workshop very difficult to sit through.
  
  To his surprise, the very first meeting with Gerard made all his fears go away. Apparently, the first time Gerard met with the photographers involved in organizing the event, he insisted they meet as friends, his intention being getting to know them as people first. It was only at the second meeting that he asked them to bring samples of their work so they could critique them, thus getting to know each other on the professional level. Only after he was comfortable with them in those two ways did he then feel ready to conduct a workshop.
  
  A criticism of the workshop was centered around the publicity given to it. I wasn't the only one that found out about it purely by accident. One of the other participants said that had he not been attending an art exhibit at the AF, he would never have seen the poster that advertised the workshop. And he said had he found out about it after the fact, he would have been very disappointed. The suggestion was given that next time there should be wide-spread publicity for it. The fears the organizers had that the attendance would be poor were dispelled by the numbers that ended up there. Close to 30 of us, with that little publicity. So you can imagine how many more would show up with good publicity. And considering we had a participant from Dar and another from Ethiopia, this goes to show that a good product will attract interest, no matter how far away it is located. If this is to be repeated next time, I'm sure they will be turning people away due to the large numbers that will show interest.
  
  This led to the question of why we can't have more of these workshops organized, given the very obvious interest shown for it. Someone asked the AF why they don't do more of this. The response given by the director was very encouraging. He mentioned that the AF doesn't in and of itself organize events such as this. They will only work with interested parties who then take it upon themselves to do the logistics and actual implementation, while AF provides the space. They said that anyone interested in this should just contact them with a proposal, and if they see it fit, they will work with that party in bringing about the event. So the onus is on us as photographers to get together and come up with events which the AF will then host for us.
  
  On my part, I commented on how I have always wanted to attend a photography workshop, and that I was glad I was able to get to be a part of this one. I also pointed out how, despite our obvious gratitude to Gerard for coming over, it didn't mean that we only had to wait for the likes of him to be flown all the way from wherever so that we could have such events. I am sure we have more than capable photographers locally who can very well conduct these workshops. Gerard was especially happy to hear this pointed out, and said he hoped the next time there was a workshop a Kenyan would be at the helm.
  
  I also pointed out the need to have an organization like the Kenya Photographers Association be more visible. A photographer who was part of the steering committe that organized the workshop said he had no clue of KEPA up until he got involved with this workshop. My understanding is, those that approached AF to get the workshop going are also not with KEPA. They are just individuals who love photography. They were challenged by the AF to come up with something that photographers could do during this month of photography. The workshop idea was thus born. KEPA got into the project later. That shouldn't have been the case. KEPA should have been the one that initiated everything, with photographers involved been recruited to join it, thus providing one body for a united front. I told the KEPA officials present that they need to work on marketing themselves to photographers, and to come up with programs and events that will be of interest to these photographers. Regular meetings for one, the occassional photo trips, workshops to train all levels of photographers from the beginners to the advanced, etc. On workshops, it would be good to have both generic ones which cover photography in general, as well as specific ones that cover particular aspects of photography such as sports, wedding, fashion, travel, etc. Having a library of sorts where people can borrow books or magazines is also something that would help a great deal. There was enthusiasm to all these suggestions. I just hope that this enthusiasm translates into action.
  
  It did feel good knowing there are others like me with a passion for photography. I made sure to get their numbers, and we will be meeting regularly to talk photography. Unless you get challenged like this, you run the risk of stagnating, which is not good at all. Something akin to Skunkworks for photographers. Several sites I've gone to of prominent photographers agree with this sentiment. Here's to hoping that this workshop was just the start of bigger things to come.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes