Nigeria Content Online

Award winning
photographer, Nick Danziger was the guest speaker during an interactive
session held on Monday, March 28 at the British Council, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The session featured slide shows from the photographer; discussions;
and a question and answer segment.

In his opening
speech, Kelechi Amadi Obi, photographer and moderator of the event,
gave a reason for the gathering. “We are creating an avenue for people
who are creative. This time, we’re putting emphasis on the visual arts
and to find ways to succeed in the creative industry,” he
stated.According to him, the choice of the guest speaker wasn’t a mere
coincidence. “The whole idea behind this programme is to bring
practical examples and what better way to do that.” Nick Danziger won
the World Press Photo first prize in 2004 for a picture of Tony Blair
and George Bush facing each other. It gives the impression of a man
looking at his reflection in the mirror.

In the course of
the session, Danziger showed his photos in a slide to the audience. The
photographs which were mainly taken on wide angle lens, revealed his
worldwide travels. There were photographs of his travels – from Iran,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Turkey and back to London where he was
born.

He explained, “I saw different parts of life and that in itself inspired me.”

A depicter of real life

The different
parts of life captured by his camera included the issue of war,
poverty, drug abuse, depression, struggle for survival, discrimination
against women, smuggling and migration amongst others.

Danziger explained
that his love for capturing images which depict real life inspired the
photographs. Thus when a newspaper commissioned him to cover the Iraq
war, he readily accepted. “When the newspaper offered me a chance, I
took it because I thought I could do things that others hadn’t been
able to do,” he declared. He however learnt something worrisome. “Over
90 percent of the casualties are civilians,” he said. It was even more
worrisome that the newspaper that had commissioned him was unwilling to
publish the photos because “they felt that it will upset people as they
ate their breakfast.” During the slide-show, the audience saw the
injustices women face in Pakistan. Members of the Taliban prevent women
and female children who are ill from visiting doctors. Danziger
explained that there is only one ward in Pakistan where women can be
treated.

Contrary to popular
belief, Danziger sees the Taliban’s ban on women as a cultural movement
as opposed to a religious one. “I will like to say they are a cultural
movement. They will rather let their women die than be treated,” he
said. Danziger’s skiing photographs from Iran might have seemed at
first like those taken for thrills but they also depicted gender bias.

He explained that,
“In Iran, the laws allow both sexes to ski but they are not allowed to
ski together.” He however added that in all of the countries he has
travelled to, “the women have the greatest personalities.” The
slide-show also revealed the need for survival and migration to the
United States, thus creating cases of internally displaced persons.
Danziger affirmed, “This shows how many people look for opportunities
and travel where they think [exists] a life of opportunity.” He ended
the slide show with a brief summary of the photos. “I hope it gives you
some idea of the world at large and its diversity,” he said.

Victims of War

A short
documentary, shot in 2001, showed the attacks against civilians during
war and documented its effects on Mariatu, a 13-year-old from Sierra
Leone.

“I want to get
married. I really want to get married but I’m afraid that my husband
will leave me for another woman,” she says at the beginning of the film.

Her fear springs
from her belief that a wife should be responsible for taking care of
the home, but Mariatu cannot do this because she has no hands. Her
hands were hacked off during an attack while on her way back from farm
during the war. And she has to live in a camp with 213 amputees,
including children as young as two and three.

Question and answer session

There was a
question and answer session during which the award winning photographer
fielded questions from journalists and other photographers.

In response to a
question on how he translates his work into money, he said, “I don’t do
this to raise money but to raise awareness.” He continued, “There’s no
easy answer on translating your work into money. Never equate how many
naira’s you will earn in an hour because you will be disappointed.”
Danziger’s advice to young and upcoming photographers was that they
shouldn’t delve into it for the money. “If you’re into photography or
journalism for the money, then my advice to you is, get a job.
Photography is a way to earn a living but it’s going to take you a lot
of time and tremendous hard work.” In addition to possessing the
required skills for photography, Danziger advised that photographers
should possess inner strength.

“Without inner strength, it’s difficult to produce, take pictures
and to paint,” he affirmed, further stating, “You should always be
critical of your own work. Stand your ground and believe in what you
produce.” When asked what he would like to change in photography, he
said, “I would like more outlets for photographers to do more real
stories. There should be less celebrity photos and more real photos.”