CROSSROADS November 2018 | Page 7

I a asked him how he got involved with photography and it was interesting to learn that he was first introduced to cameras as a filmmaker. Due to the fact that many of the same principles apply to both filmmaking and photography, it’s usual to find filmmakers who started out as photographers, but unusual to see the process in reverse. Kongs’ reason for going this route was pretty common sense. He needed to learn more about lighting, composition and lenses but in a more cost-efficient and less time-consuming way than filmmaking allowed… so he signed up for a photography course. In 2015, he embarked on a three month program at the University of the Nations campus in Kona, Hawaii. It was following this program that he chose to focus more on photography, though he manages to juggle it with filmmaking. Kongs is based in Jos, Plateau state and runs Gowell Studios, a film and photography outfit. Shooting documentaries is his strong suit; his preferences are for landscapes and portrait photography with a cultural slant. Inspired by the coffee table book he received as part of his winnings, he is embarking on a mission to document the tribes of Plateau. Already invested in the development of the next generation and his immediate community, he’s teaching 10 young natives of Jos photography. He also teaches Computer studies at a secondary school in Jos. Reflecting on his emergence as the winner of the NaijaGEMs contest, Kongs says he has been blessed with new recognition, to the extent of being stopped by strangers to congratulate him. The win has also boosted his levels of self-confidence and he is inspired to keep shooting landscapes, a venture that is not as commercially viable as some other genres of photography in these climes. He added “Every now and then, the contest reminds me of how a single picture gave me such international recognition.” Perhaps more tangibly, he has gotten a few recommendations and been engaged in some consultations as a direct result of his win; not to mention the grand prize of a Canon EOS 5D Mark 4 - the flagship camera of Canon’s DSLR lineup. With it, he’s already executed projects for clients which have taken him as far as Lagos. Kongs said “I couldn’t have done it better with any other cameras… the images that come out of it are so pretty. I have never used a machine as good as this camera.” With it, he’s also shot a short film titled Falsehood, which has been entered into the My Rode Reel film competition. We’re here crossing our fingers alongside and in support of the young creative. Regardless of the outcome of that competition, Mr Shamaki has already been established as a winner and without any doubt, there’s going to be a lot more winning in his future. Rimamkongende’s father and other family members celebrate with him after he received his prizes CROSSROADS | November 2018 Special Edition 7