Members of the Edo State Professional Photographers Association at the weekend joined thousands of creative photographers around the world in celebration of the World Photography Day.
The EDSPPA members held a photo walk and exhibition in Benin City to sensitize the public on the value and importance of photography in the society in line with the theme of this year’s celebration, “Changing the Narrative”.
They marched through the streets of Benin City on Saturday, 19 August 2023 jubilating and chanting slogans like, “Who keep your memories? Photographers”.
The Secretary General of the Association, Mr Marcus Idehen, in an exclusive interview with The Nigerian Observer explained the importance of the celebration to photographers.
“The World Photography Day is regarded as ‘Christmas Day’ to us photographers, because it’s more or less a free day for us to celebrate the art of taking shots while capturing memorable crazy moments for exhibition,” Idehen said.
He said that as photographers, they are history-makers and at the same time document events.
Explaining the mystery behind taking shots, he said, “Every creative has different perception when capturing an image. While one will give a particular definition to an image, others will give a different definition.”
The awareness walk took off at the National Museum in Benin and proceeded through markets and streets including the popular Igun Street, off Upper Sakponba Road down to Akpakpava, all the way to Forestry Road. Airport Road axis including the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub also felt the electrifying celebration.
The road walk/exhibition was attendeed by the association’s members, the media, and officers of the Edo State Traffic Control and Management Agency (EDSTMA) who were on ground to coordinate the movement in order not cause traffic jam in the state capital. Many people in the markets joined in the celebration.
Several shots were taken from various photo angles including close shot, portrait, and long shot. A disc jockey was also available to dish out trending tunes for the listening pleasure of the photographers as they marched through the streets.
The World Photography Day is a special global event marked on 19 August every year to celebrate photography and its essence, as well as practitioners in the craft.
Ahead of the photo walk/exhibition, the EDSPPA President, Mr Iyamu Lovely Osagie, told The Nigerian Observer in a chat that several other events, such as a talk on photography and a two-day Photography Masterclass facilitated by Rare Magic and Ncourage Photography, preceded this year’s celebration in Edo.
Narrating the history of Edo State Professional Photographers Association, Osagie said, “Few years ago, a group of professional photographers thought of coming together as a body, under one umbrella to build and train personnel imbued with the spirit of service and development of photography and to foster unity, co-operation and mutual understanding among members.
“Today, the association has a membership strength of over 300. The association is duly registered with CAC. The association’s core values are integrity, diversity, philanthropy, transparency, professionalism and discipline, and meetings are held once monthly.”
