Meet our contributor. Souley Abdoulaye for Afrikimages. Discovering new worlds and capturing social infrastructures anchored in social relationships, he tells IMAGO why photography is such a noble profession.
Meet the Contributor: Souley Abdoulaye for Afrikimages
Passionate in his work, Souley Abdoulaye offers a window into the lives and cultures many haven´t before seen. Documenting generations, rituals and communities, he tells us why the most important lessons he has learnt through his craft are humility and modesty.
Meet this weeks Contributor.
“Through my camera I discovered the world from new angles, gained knowledge of issues, the constraints, the advantages of this profession and the acquisition of a visual culture.”
How did you get started in photography and why ?
Photography was a passion for me from a young age and when I left the benches of school, so after the primary and secondary school, I started by learning in a studio in the district of Niamey the capital from Niger. With the arrival of color photo laboratories I began as a traveling photographer before registering for the higher institute for teaching correspondence courses, ISEC UNIVERSALIS, which is based in Liège in Belgium.
What was your first experience with a camera?
Through my camera I discovered the world from new angles, gained knowledge of issues, the constraints, the advantages of this profession and the acquisition of a visual culture. I considered that photography was just a passion, but I soon realized that my best photos had a strong sociological intention. The practice of photography raises many questions of theory and method, just as relevant to the social sciences as it is to image making.
What are the five words that describe your photographic style or the message you have captured?
It is the aim to capture the sensitivity of people through a personal vision by selecting the places and people of the moment. Elements of distance and of the angle, of the framing and of the tone are also important to produce the combination of images that are quite different.
What is the most interesting and the most stimulating part of the profession of photographer?
The nobility of the profession, the easy access to places and meeting high personalities that ordinary people cannot.
For you, what is the role of photography in the world?
It is the transmission of a direct message to the public. A panoramic vision of the development of society which aims to describe an era with images. A specific representation anchored in the practices and social relations of our contemporary world.
What important lesson have you learned from your work?
Humility and modesty.
“To capture the sensitivity of people through a personal vision.”
What are you really frustrating or bothering about right now?
It is the state of health emergency and containment due to the COVID -19 pandemic.
If you could photograph any historical event, what would it be and why?
It would be the presidential elections in Niger because for the first time after ten years of democracy, a democratically elected president will give the witness to a new candidate without attempting to stay in power.
What does success look like to you?
As a photographer it is not to have a lot of money but to live decently and have a lot more popularity.
What album are you going to listen to while working out right now?
Fatoumata Diawara “fenfo”
Photo: IMAGO / AfrikimagesPhoto: IMAGO / AfrikimagesPhoto: IMAGO / Afrikimages
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