Hello Everybody,
The art of photography involves both technical knowledge and creativity (how the camera works, how the light works, etc). Pictures are a way of capturing moments, moments that can either be sentimental or influential. There is no doubt that photos have a significant impact on what people see or do. Photography has the power to inspire people, ignite emotions and support other creative industries, in fact, Photography is essential to the growth and relevance of creatives and multidisciplinary spaces.
The idea of collaboration is not something that restricts photographers’ artistic development, but one that can propel them personally and professionally and that is why The Photographers Meet Up makes a lot of sense. As visual artists, one can wonder how they can collaborate with one another while still maintaining their individuality.
The Zambian photography industry has produced many unique photographers whose work speaks for itself. Their visual storytelling is authentic and their attention to detail is exemplary. Dana Patel is the mastermind behind Dana Patel Photography and the organizer of the photographers meetup. Dana shares what inspired her to plan the photographer’s meet-up, highlighting the following;
“The idea of The Photographers Meet-Up stemmed from an inquiry from photographer/videographer, Wana Kanguya, about my process and work style in photography. He expressed an interest in collaborating on a shoot together. I have received several requests over the years about mentorship and collaborations so it sparked an idea. Why not initiate a free meet-up for photographers to network, shoot together and build our knowledge irrespective of skill level & gear? As a creative, it is important to find things that can inspire you and I felt like a meet-up like this can really bring photographers together to share ideas and knowledge and ultimately, inspire them.”
As in many other aspects of life, working with others is inevitable in photography. The reason why collaborations occur so often is that they are great for career advancement, personal development, and for networking. In short, the more you collaborate, the better you’ll do in your photography career.
“Personally, I shoot regularly on my own. I have very few chances to network and work together with other photographers so it was such a refreshing experience to be able to talk and understand the perspectives of different creatives. A lot of us face similar challenges and sometimes it is just nice to know that you are not the only one going through it. However, beyond that, the greatest benefit of the meet up has been to witness such a group of passionate young people, eager to learn and come together with a common interest. It wasn’t competitive but rather collaborative. We were sharing ideas and helping each other.” Dana shares.
Social media use in the last few years has made photography in creative areas more and more relevant. It has the capacity to alter viewpoints and develop skill sets. There is no doubt that the meet up will continue. After sharing a few behind-the-scenes videos and images, Dana received a flood of messages from people asking when the next photographer’s meetup would be, while others were left wondering how they had missed the chance. She developed a community that is open to everyone who is interested in staying informed, whether they are photographers themselves or just have a general interest in the topic.
Below is a summary of how some of the present photographers/creatives felt about the meet-up.
“My experience at the photographer’s meet-up was so amazing and wonderful. Not only photographers attended, but we also had a brilliant group of other creative people like models, directors etc. As the meeting progressed, we were given the opportunity to showcase our work and receive feedback from the group. It was a humbling experience to have my work critiqued by individuals who were more experienced than I was. However, the feedback was constructive and helped me to see my work in a completely different light.”
“The experience from the meet-up was an incredible one. I say so because it was a rare opportunity for someone like me who’s looking to advance my skills in photography to learn from arguably the best photographers in the entire country. I personally got to learn about how to utilize different angles to tell different stories from a photo, I learnt how to tell stories from photos, and I got to learn about people’s different background stories in relation to photography and what it truly means to each individual. I loved the fact that I was part of a meeting of creatives, the atmosphere was the best because it was the first of its kind in my entire life and that’s why I’m looking forward to more of such experiences.”
“I was very excited to be part of the Photowalk because I hadn’t gone for one in long time. My last one had been in 2019.
Dana had arranged that we meet at the Polo Field late afternoon and it was perfect cause the light was great. We were quite a large group, and I’d only met 3 people prior to the shoot. The rest were new faces, including a lady from Angola.
The shoot was free-flowing, which allowed us to experiment with the environment and the models, which made it interesting.”
“I feel blessed that I was able to meet people who are so passionate about photography and the beauty that surrounds us on a daily. Personally, I thought it was really amazing to see the thought process behind the photos that photographers take.
I am from South Africa so everything that I experience in Zambia is completely new. I’ve learned to see beauty in even the smallest and random things. So having to learn from professional photographers how to capture that beauty from different perspectives was such a privilege. Whenever I take photos it’s normally just me and the model so I also learned a little about collaboration. I learned how to share ideas and combine ideas to create a slightly different concept.”
“The photographer’s meetup was a very fun event. It takes you out of your everyday bubble of photographers that you know and you get to interact with new people.
You get to learn a lot from each other without even knowing because everyone has such a different method and approach to shooting even though we have the same models and locations.
It’s a great opportunity to also build confidence in your craft because you’re in an environment where everyone is doing what you’re doing. I’d encourage more photographers to try and attend the coming ones.”
“In my experience as a model, I’ve had many photo shoots and unfortunately, a lot of them lacked creativity. However, meeting the photographers at the meet-up was a very different experience. Personally, I enjoyed this process because the authenticity and creativity of the photographers was an eye-opening experience that gave me some tips to improve my modelling career.”
Without a doubt, this meet-up serves as ample evidence of how creative collaborations can be when given a clearer purpose in terms of artistic expression. We eagerly anticipate how engaging and interactive the next meet-up will be!”
“The whole meet-up was really an awesome event. Personally, I loved interacting with fellow creatives and learnt a lot of new things and shared a bit of what I know. The meetup made me realize that there is soo much potential and that we are not really as one so to say. Many upcoming creatives have soo much interest to learn but where to learn from because most creatives tend to just interact among themselves without really opening doors for up comers. I am looking forward to more of such.”
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