There’s been a steady transition in the work I’ve done over the years. I started out as a Documentary/Portraits photographer like almost every other person and then to foot the bills, I delved into event photography and while reminiscing on these times, I sort of realized I had to do all those things to get to where I am today; I am O’Neal Emmanuel and currently, I am a Composite Fine Art Photographer.
I started creating composites or art in Photoshop to fill a vacuum that photography wasn’t filling. I had started out as a portrait photographer which was exciting, fun, and profitable but even with the fun of creating images on the camera, I still felt something was amiss like I could build more to better tell my narrative. Taking the step to learning composite construction and all it involved felt more natural than I’d ever felt before and that’s how the journey began for me.
I had hoped to become an engineer someday (Emphasis on ‘HOPED’… I suck at math and all the necessary subjects so let’s leave hope and face reality) and the discipline that comes with becoming an engineer is what I put into becoming an artist. The merger of various elements to create an entirely new body of work and the satisfaction that comes thereafter seeing something become from a series of individual elements always leaves me grateful and in awe. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “we, by our art may be called grandsons of God“.
Apart from the satisfaction derived from creating, I aim to create images that tell stories, unlock serials of thoughts, and maybe bring about a call to action. I’m not looking to become a controversial photographer and while not underestimating the importance of finances, I’m not looking to create just for the sake of money. I really want to make a difference and create art that is unique to me and me alone. Art that hopefully will last long after I’m gone.
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O’Neal Emmanuel is a Composite Fine Art photographer and a portrait photographer based in Calabar Nigeria. You can follow him on Instagram here
