My Story
Victor Adewale is a photographer whose works are documentary-based. In this chat with Tosin Clegg, he talks about photography, among other things
Why do you refer to yourself as an artiste?
I like to refer to myself as an artiste because apart from photography, I sometimes delve into poetry and music.
Â
Tell us about starting out
I have always enjoyed photography from a tender age because my dad used to have a small film camera. And I longed to own that camera. Then, I lost interest. The interest returned last year. I was a final year student at OAU and couldn’t afford a camera. So I began to shoot with my mobile phone. I just got my first camera last month.
Who are your role models and mentors?
I don’t have mentors. But I have some photographers that I respect: Bernard Kalu of Auxano Photography, Segun Olotu of Sottu Photography, Kc Nwakalor, Neec, Hitch, and many other people.
Â
What messages do you pass in your photos?
I don’t have restriction to the messages I pass with my photographs. I just like to tell the stories as I see them without altering anything. Most of my shots are candid. There are special cases where I take permission from my subjects anyway.
Â
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I want to be named among Africa’s most influential documentary photographers.