‘Photography, my point of union for family stories’

Domitila Sa’adatu Modesti is an award-wining Argentinean documentary photographer born and raised in Kaduna, Nigeria. She speaks on her experience photographing for the last fifteen years.   What was growing up in Kaduna like? It was great. Life was great in the 80s. We had a lot of freedom and diversity. Growing up in Nigeria […]

Domitila Sa’adatu Modesti is an award-wining Argentinean documentary photographer born and raised in Kaduna, Nigeria. She speaks on her experience photographing for the last fifteen years.

 

What was growing up in Kaduna like?

It was great. Life was great in the 80s. We had a lot of freedom and diversity. Growing up in Nigeria thought me a lot about diversity with people of different religions and cultures. 

 

Dance and cultural events photography, in Abuja during a performance by Anabel Veloso Compania Flamenca company

Could you share a fond memory from childhood that may have motivated you to go into photography?

The fact that I travelled a lot after Nigeria and lived in many countries, photography has always been the point of union of family stories. When you’re not with your family and you are looking at family photos, your parents tell you stories about the people. Also, throughout our lives when we lived in other countries, everywhere we went, we looked through photographs from when we were children. Most of them were Nigeria because my dad liked to photograph us a lot when we kids. A lot of my fond memories came through the pictures. We always had photography. It was a way of reminding you who you are. Photography played that big role of almost replacing not being close to family. 

You do different kinds of photography now. Could you tell us about them?

My main type of photography which is what I am mostly distinguished for is documentary and social photography. They are directed at human stories and the interaction of people. I also do architectural photography which I guess would be called commercial photography since it’s based on businesses. I do portraits too. The difference is that when I do my portrait photography I do it documentary style. I have a studio set up for when I need it but even when I am taking portraits, I still try to use natural light and want the person to be in their natural environment even when I am doing a studio like image. This is because I think that is when you get the most human side of the person. Not necessarily when they are posing for you – or in that moment between the poses. Generally, when you play with the natural light you get more of the warmth and feel of who that person is.

Do you have a favourite photograph that you are not likely to let go off?

(Laughter) No. For me it is mostly because I like people to see my work. I am not that great a photographer, I think that I am okay. The more my works are seen, the more I also see the world transmitted.  I like to photograph children, they are cute by default especially when they are grumpy, trying to figure you out and they see your camera. That’s something I like to capture. However, there are a few pictures that I would frame up and keep but not one, I would say is my best.

What’s your motivation to want to document human stories?

Mostly, it’s because I feel that at certain times opinions are biased and I think that sometimes they are portrayed in a way that is not fair to the subject. I’m not saying that my view is the way to portray them or that I am being fair to the subject but I sometimes feel that it’s giving less importance to who you are shooting and more importance to the bigger story of it. I try to show the smaller story. There are a lot of things that happen that go unnoticed. Like when I photographed an Israeli rabbi and his wife who were giving out donations in Kuje at a school they had set up. You don’t get to hear such stories.  They don’t care about the religion of the people they are reaching out to, they are just giving back to society. I care when people give back because I think we all have a duty to society. My photography tries to raise this kind of awareness with everything now being photography especially with social media. With social media when you oversee something, it waters it down. For me it’s important to show specifics. 

What’s you muse?

 I don’t have a particular muse. I find my muse while working and I’m borrowing this from Picasso. For me it’s the story, the idea, what I see. It is the other person whoever that person is that becomes the muse of the moment. 

Do you have a mentor?

I did have mentors. They were teachers in my photography school. Don Rypka was my teacher. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography with his Reagan assassination attempt photo. He broke me and brought me back to photography. I look up to photographers that I follow a lot and one of them is Sebastião Salgado. There is also Abbas and Iranian photographer. They have basically been the ones who show unfortunate situations, let’s says horrible situations like war, famine but still with a human side. Not just the crude reality of it but with a kindness in their photography. This is always my aim. I always try to achieve that. I’m trying to reach that stage where I can still shoot something horrible and try to get away from it by showing it in the kindest way possible. 

Is there any image you are looking forward to capturing?

Any more human stories, especially the ones that go under the radar and the general news don’t consider story enough. Or the stories that minorities have that go under the radar.

2016 and 2017 were award years for you. Please tell us about them.

I won the 2017 ‘Lost rights, found justice? Refugee and Migrant Rights,’ London. It was part of the Human Rights Week they had with School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). I also was a 2017 finalist at the Nikon Africa 100 Legendary Landscapes. In 2016 I was finalist at the 9th Pollux Awards. These were special for me.

When you do your photography are you looking to enter such competitions?

No. I first shoot and then decide what I will do afterwards. When I tell the final story, is it based on what I am sending it for. Then I shoot and have a total of say 100 photos edited which in any combination could work for being published. The way I combine them and tell the stories is not the same for every person that I am sending it to. It is the combination and the angle I choose to take it from that determines what I use it for. But the story itself, I just go and I shoot and then decide afterwards because I am not very good in creating ahead. When I go, I have these masterpieces in my head of what I want to do. But then when I arrive, I don’t see them. The elements are not there or maybe my eyes are not there. So I’m used to just going with the flow. 

What’s been your greatest challenge photographing?

The word ‘no.’ Although I get it more in Nigeria, I also get it everywhere else. In Nigeria it is a little more aggressive; maybe because I am white and I stick out more. So when I am with other photographers, they say, “they won’t see you.” But I tell them, “no, they won’t see you. They see me.” That’s something I deal with all the time. Sometimes I am able to convince the subject but other times, it is a definite, “No.” This is the most challenge because for the rest I manage to get around them.

Are you grooming anyone to follow in your footsteps?

I’m not that old! Right now, no. I was working with another photographer Ramin Hashempour. I was following in his footsteps. Now I am working with Abayomi Akande. He has a similar style to mine, mostly because he focuses on documentary more than other styles. He is the kind of person who wants to learn and teaches at the same time. I have learnt a lot from him even though it’s just tips on how to use photoshop and some technical things like even using the flash. I have also given him my point of view on photography. It’s always been a thing of give and take. Sometimes, it’s not about the camera but the other things that it encompasses. I am a good producer and can get things done, speak to people and get access for whatever shoot we need to do.

In the Abuja circle, how do you participate?

 

I attend any photography events that happen. There are not that many and I think we are fortunate to have what we have. Some embassies have done a lot to support us. Whenever there is something I try to participate, especially workshops. I am of the view that no matter what level you are on, you always learn something from someone else. In photography, because we are interacting with humans a lot, it’s good to hear what other people have to say. I see what other photographers do and learn from their mistakes and their rights. We only know what we are used to doing and we keep repeating them. The only way to learn and improve is when you look at other people’s works. It is about consistency and if I have been able to translate the vision of the client.