Through Thy Lens

World Tourism Day seems like a befitting opportunity to kick start the following series of interviews on young Cameroonians who have been using photography and social media to share their perspectives of every day life in their cities.   Longtime readers may recognize this theme as one we have frequently brought up here on Through Thy Lens ; shifting the narratives about African countries through local ownership of said narratives. So we start the series with Tse Ernest Chi , aka the taxi photographer who kindly shares his story and photography with us today.

• Who is Tse Ernest Chi ? how would you describe yourself in a few words ? 

Tse Ernest Chi is an amateur landscape photographer who originates from Mankon in the North West Region of Cameroon and works as an airworthiness agent at the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority. I am a quite reserved, ever-learning person and my goal in life is to be happy, make my family happy and proud and be a famous landscape photographer.

• On a scale from 0 – 10 how would you rate your interest in photography?

10/10. It is now an integral part of my life, there is no turning back. I am constantly on the look to try and capture a cool, unique moment with my phone being my main photography equipment. I am constantly striving to improve my photography knowledge and skills.

• What kind of photography are you most drawn to? Portrait, Landscape or Abstract?

I am mostly drawn to landscape photography; the ability to capture the raw beauty offer by mother earth is thrilling to me. I have full control of my subject, I don’t need to ask it to pose a certain way, I rather adapt to the way it presents itself. I’m also experimenting with real estate photography for hotels, apartment owners, etc., and I have already completed one project for a hotel in Douala. Contrary to what people think, I am still trying to develop an interest in street photography since I am not comfortable taking pictures of people in the streets (it is totally legal). From time to time, I do some wildlife and lunar photography. Portraits are not my thing; for now, I take pictures only of friends and family. I must seriously work on that.

• How would you describe the impact of photography on your life ?

Photography has taught me how to appreciate the beauty of nature, striving to see beauty in a mess. I have made a lot of special friends in real life, people I’d probably never have met if I wasn’t practising photography. It is awesome to be surrounded by people who have creative minds, relate and appreciate what you do.

• Most people who have come across your content online know you as the Taxi photographer , could you share with us what was the inspiration behind this handle ?

If you have lived in the main urban cities of Cameroon and tried to take pictures using a camera in the streets or any location with people around, you will quickly notice that people start looking at you like an alien or someone holding a weapon of mass destruction. Also, there is this general perception that you will get robbed of your phone or expensive equipment if you are using it in public. All these have led to the development of a “phobia” associated to taking pictures freely in public. For my case, it was even bigger because I was just coming back from a place where it is common practice to take pictures in the streets. Furthermore, the security situation of the country made me think thrice before taking a picture.

Given that I couldn’t afford stopping my passion, the only choice I had at the time was taking pictures from the windows of taxis or when I am on a bike. After some months, I noticed that most pictures in my gallery had a taxi window in the frame, I jokingly said to myself, “looks like a Taxi Photographers gallery”. Since the name sounded original, I decided to adopt it.

 

 

• You’ve documented a mix of Cameroonian and European cities like Douala, Yaounde, via Toulouse and Venice. What’s your perspective on approaching urban photography within these different settings? Which city has been your favorite to shoot in?

Each city has its specificities when it comes to taking pictures in the urban setting. First, and foremost, the mentality of the locals plays a lot and influences the dos and don’ts. In Europe, people generally won’t care if they see you taking cityscapes or landscape pictures, everyone minds their business as much as possible, it gives you the freedom to take pictures as much as you want. As I earlier mentioned, it is not the same in cities like Douala and Yaoundé. The way the city is set up also matters a lot in the approach I use. In Venice, for example, the city is literally floating on the Adriatic Sea, this was a great opportunity for me to take long exposures, therefore, I had to travel and move around with my tripod. My favourite city to shoot in so far was Toulouse because the fact that it is not so rich in touristic sites and photogenic landmarks made me put in a lot of effort to ameliorate my photography skills and get good pictures. Also, seeing an aircraft in the sky was as common as seeing a bird here in Cameroon, and being an aircraft lover, I was absolutely thrilled including planes in my landscape and urban pictures.

 

• We always hear about the missed potential for Tourism in Cameroon. Do you think photographers like yourself have a role to play in addressing this issue?

There is absolutely no doubt about that. Before visiting a city for the first time, I try to find out the best places to visit online and see what people have to say about it. Next, I search the place on Instagram to see how it looks like as much as possible; therefore, my final choice is based on other’s reviews and what the pictures say. Most people want to visit certain places because of the pictures they have seen from there, having such pictures of our country and using them to lure tourist is something we should all be doing. So photography is definite a primordial tool to promote tourism in Cameroon.

 

• There seems to be a growing number of young Cameroonians taking up photography as a means to portray their own perspectives of their cities especially on social media such as Twitter and Instagram. As one of them, what’s your take on your peers’ disposition towards collaboration? Have you had a chance to shoot with some of them? If yes could you describe the experience?

I am very delighted when I see the number of Cameroonian photographers who have emerged on Twitter, portraying the beauty of the cities they live in. Collaborating is a great way to learn new techniques and grow your knowledge as a photographer. Fortunately, many of the guys on Twitter are open for meetups and collabos and I am confident great things will result from those.

I had the chance to go out shooting with peers from Twitter and Instagram on two occasions. The first one was an unfortunate experience since we quickly ran into trouble with the police, hahahaha; I managed to get a shot or two though. The second outing at Bonassama was pure bliss with @quatriemeetage (Instagram handle). We shot long exposures by the Wouri, lens ball photography, some portraits, and basic landscape and I think one of my best pictures of Cameroon so far was taken on that day. Collabos are definitely a YES.

• What are your other interests in life?

Apart from photography, I am a huge aviation geek; I am fascinated by aircrafts and everything around it. Just the noise of an aircraft is enough to draw away my attention from anything. Also, I used to draw a lot and paint a lot in the past, I hope I’ll be able to get back into that in future.

I love watching football; I am a culé (FC Barcelona fan) but any thrilling football match will do the trick for me.

 

• What’s next for you? any projects or ideas you would like to share?

Firstly, I am happy a lot of people are following the train. We are working together to develop some photography projects but it’s still in the discussion phase. Personally, I am working on a portfolio website where I can share ideas, exhibit and sell my work. Also, I am planning to extensively explore beautiful touristic sites that exist in Cameroon.

• What advice would you give my readers?

Start right now. If you are a photography enthusiast but you do not own a camera, do not hesitate to start taking pictures with your phone, no matter the style of photography you are attracted to. My main photography gadget is my mobile phone. With phones nowadays, you can learn almost all the state-of-the-art rules of photography. When you finally own a camera, it will be a piece of cake. For those who are already in the game, strive for continuous improvement and encourage those around you to start photography.

Finally, never give up on your dreams, no matter how big they are. Just work hard towards them and have realistic alternative solutions because things don’t always turn out the way we want.

Thanks Ernest for taking the time to answer our questions. You can keep up with Ernest’s work on his Instagram :  @tsernestchi      and Twitter : The Taxi Photographer