‘Humanitarian work honed my photography’

Daily Trust: Tell us a little about yourself Mohammed Chiroma: I was born and raised in Maiduguri. I went to Shehu Garbai Primary School. I graduated from Himma Private Secondary School in 1995 after which I did a Diploma in Law from 1998 to 2000. I then went into transportation and petroleum products haulage which […]

Daily Trust: Tell us a little about yourself

Mohammed Chiroma: I was born and raised in Maiduguri. I went to Shehu Garbai Primary School. I graduated from Himma Private Secondary School in 1995 after which I did a Diploma in Law from 1998 to 2000. I then went into transportation and petroleum products haulage which saw me travelling around the country and later living for some time in Makurdi, Benue State. I went back to school in 2005 to study English in the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID). I later changed to the Faculty of Education but left shortly after and started running a sachet water factory. Around the time when the Boko Haram insurgency was at its peak, I started a humanitarian organisation: “Borno Shall Be Free Club” with a friend, Babagana Kormi. That was before NEMA and SEMA intervention started in Borno State. Then NGOs started coming in and I joined “The Like Minds Project.” I was their first employee in Maiduguri. I recently left the NGO at the expiration of my last contract and turned my passion for photography into full time vocation.

How did you get into photography?

During my humanitarian work with the “Borno Shall Be Free Club” and “The Like Minds Project”, I was taking photos with my cell phone and posting them on social media as a way of countering the single story many media houses churn out on Borno. I was, however, not very conversant with many things on photography. Things like ethics and copyright issues weren’t familiar to me. So I kept seeing my photos in newspapers and news sites without knowing what to do. My colleague, Fati Abubakar, saw some potential in me and kept telling me to get a camera. She almost always commented with, “You need a camera” whenever I posted a photo. I later saved enough to buy a Sony 500 Holiday camera. I then got invited to participate in a photography training workshop sponsored by the North East Regional Initiative (NERI). This was followed by a social media photo campaign and a photo exhibition at the end of the campaign. I emerged the best participant and received a trophy.

You have documented the victims of the insurgency for a while. Why and how did you start?

I came across a many victims of the Boko Haram insurgency and listened to their stories. I felt that some of these stories needed to be shared with the world. But there are stories that I am careful when sharing because they can be taken and twisted to give a completely different picture from the reality on ground. As at that time, whenever you sauid something that went against a certain accepted narrative, you risked getting tagged a Boko Haram sympathiser, especially if you are from Borno State.

That was why I chose to use photography as a way of telling their stories because it is a very powerful tool that can pass a message across with little or no risk of being misinterpreted.

Are you able to detach your emotions and simply take your photographs?

It is not easy to detach my emotions because I do not only take photos, I usually also listen to the victims. There was a particular time I had to cut off my photography session, excused myself and shed tears.

So, while I try to be as professional as possible, it is impossible to always detach emotionally from the subjects I photograph because they are real people with real heart-touching experiences.

Works of painters and sculptors usually reflect their mood. Is it same with photography?

No; my mood rarely shows in my photographs; except those that are made purely for the sake of art. Example, I have a number of photos capturing sunset, river banks, night time city streets and animals. In those cases, I think my mood reflects.

What has been the most difficult challenge doing what you do?

The environment I work in can be considered to be generally challenging because of Boko Haram. So facing challenges has become an almost every day thing for me, especially when on out-of-town assignment. Anything can happen when on a road trip in a war zone. However, if one is cautious and respects rules, cooperates with security personnel, one will generally be safe. 

What are you favourite subjects; photography wise?

I am always guided by the philosophy that, “The earth is art and the photographer is a witness.” So I always move around with my camera and photograph anything I find inspirational or interesting in order to share with the world. But when on a specific assignment, the subjects are determined by what the client wants.

What is your favourite gadget?

I cannot point at a specific gadget as my favourite, but I do like the Canon EOS series of DSLR Cameras. I also love the 50mm F1.8 Prime Lens.

Which is your most loved piece?

It is difficult to have one because an artist is supposed to be always improving and making better art. However, I do have a few favourites. One of them is a night time photo of Lagos Street in Maiduguri showing how beautiful it is with the street lights reflecting on the Ngadda River flowing underneath Lagos Bridge. Another one is a portrait I took of Baa Lawan, the founder of CJTF in Maiduguri.

Aside photography, are you into any other art form?

I do not know if this counts, but I was once into martial arts; taekwando to be specific.

Tell us three things you consider as principles to becoming a great photographer.

Do it for the love of the art.

Be sincere in what you show the world.

Perpetually strive to improve.

Who has been your inspiration?

My greatest inspiration is Fati Abubakar who was my colleague at work even before I went into full time photography. She is now not just a colleague, but also a sister and mentor. She never hesitates to share her knowledge, experience and even photography tools and gears with me. Words will not be enough for me to appreciate her contribution to my photography career.

My former boss, Fatima Kyari Mohammed, who is now an ambassador of AU to the UN, has also been a great motivator. She believed that I have potentials in photography even before I believed it myself. Her words of encouragement have gone a long way in pushing me to become a better photographer.

I must state, however, that all my feats will not be possible without the support I get from my family, especially the perpetual prayers I receive from my father. As for my mother, it goes without saying, I am nothing without her.

What are three things you do before setting out to take a photograph?

I make sure all my tools are in good shape; my batteries, then I pray for success and set out.

What project are you working on at the moment?

I carry out several projects for government and Civil Society Organisations (CSO). However, I have a running project called “Maiduguri Is Beautiful” where I share photos showing the beauty of Maiduguri city which the world hardly comes across in the traditional media. I run a Facebook page with the same name where I share the photos.

How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

Apart from learning from more experienced photographers like Fati Abubakar, I also follow other photographers across the globe via platforms like Instagram. I also study many online photography resources and watch lots of photography tutorials on Youtube.

Is there any work of another photographer that has influenced you?

Fati Abubakar’s work has the greatest influence on me because hers is not just the traditional portrait photography that you find almost everywhere. Her work is primarily documentary photography. Given the unique situation we found ourselves in the North East and circumstances that led me to become a professional photographer, her style of photography is what I naturally fit into from the beginning.

Is photography fulltime for you?

It was initially a part time work, but I have since moved to become a full time photographer.

How do you get paid?

Primarily, from clients and I give them my bills. However, I am now looking into other methods of monetising my work because my library of photographs is fast growing and I think I can share them with the world while they bring in some cash. Photography is quite an expensive thing when you consider the cost of gadgets and other supporting resources. So any additional means of monetising your work will help push you further as a photographer.