As we celebrate World Photography Day, BOP looks deep into the evolution of photography in Nigeria and Africa, dissecting how far Nigeria and Africa have come.
Photography had gotten to nearly the entire world but it wasn’t until 1839 that it saw the light of the day in Africa and France. This was appreciated in West Africa and it was adopted by the people which lead to the very first erected temporary studio being built by the notable photographers who travelled from region to region.
Image from 19th century
The history of photography is very intriguing. After many unsuccessful attempts to create an exposure camera that would capture image with the help of light, thanks to Nicephore Niepee after several days of trying out the exposure of light the collaboration of Nicepee and Louis Daguerren came about, and they both later developed the “Daguerreotype”. It was publicly announced as the photographic process on a metal plate and it took one minute of exposure to produce clearly.
There are so many definitions of photography; however, the most commonly used or said, is that the word “photography” was derived from two Greek words, photo and graphein. Photo means light while Graphein means to draw. In essence, photography can be described as the drawing of an image with light.
THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN NIGERIA
We’ll start this story by paying homage to the pioneers of photography in Nigeria, Jonathan Adagogo Green, Solomon Osagie Alonge, and Peter Obe whose images have not circulated outside Nigeria and are, until now, unknown to most Western audiences.
Photography came to Nigeria in the late 19th to early 20th century; that was when dry glass plates and later, roll film were made available. However, before then, postcards served as local photography and as their commercial activities. The postcards comprised of local features like the local cultures, personalities, industries, and hand-coloured views of Lagos and the surrounding area.
Fast forward to recent times, a lot has changed in the last decades, the society is cheerfully accepting the art of photography unlike when it was a taboo or a foolish thought of wanting to become a photographer. The Nigeria Photography industry can speak of its achievement and boast of many success stories and how the industry in its own unique way supported and contributed to the socio-economic growth of the country.
Here are some of the amazing pictures of the 20th century:
Also some of the images from the 21st century;
