Through Thy Lens

Deep blues, rich greens and a now recognizable silhouette amidst the scenery of the South West region’s touristic sites – a priori one would think this is Jacob Ekaineck’s  signature photography style. But in today’s interview he opens up about himself and his other creative activities. He also gives us his two cents on collaboration with his peers in Cameroon’s budding photography and tourism scenes. Enjoy !

• Who is Jacob Ekaineck how would you describe yourself in a few words ? 

Jacob Ekaineck is just another random guy from the internet. First of all let me address the name Ekaineck because I get a lot of people mispronounce the name, of course. It’s actually eh-kah-neh or eh-kay-neck. *Laughs* … A typical African name so mispronunciations are forgive.

Well, I’m a filmmaker and content creator from Southwest of Cameroon. I travel and create content for people, brands, hotels, restaurants, resorts, any entity requiring professional media content for marketing or related exposure.

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

I would say my interest in photography reinforced my interest in filmmaking. I will obviously rate it all a 10 as it compliments filmmaking directly in its own right. If a picture tells a thousand words, imagine what a video of 30 frames per second can do. The amount of stories you can tell visually within just 3 seconds is amazing.

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

I first started off taking landscapes, abstracts and later on created my own media company PERSPECTRAL™️  (@perspectralon instagram ) where i share all of my work in which the brands I’m working for rather than myself are the subject of attention.  My own journey as a creative is documented on  @jacobekaineck, where I’ve gotten the opportunity to share and interact directly with everyone. Here I shoot Travel and Adventure and in my opinion, there are literally no boundaries or limitations to this. Every moment in the present is a gift, that’s what i aim for.

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

Photography has unlocked a lot of creative ideas and abilities I never could’ve acquired without that prime knowledge. It has created connections and built relationships with some amazing people and entities. And I’m overall grateful for such a positive impact.

• Unlike past contributors to Through Thy Lens who mostly documented cities like Yaounde, Douala and Kribi, you are based mainly in the South West Region of Cameroon. So why don’t you share with us your favourite cities and places in this region and why ?

My  favorite locations are usually those around the coastline because I’m a sea lover my self. I love being in the ocean. The areas I’m most interested in Limbe are Downbeach, the historic ex-slave camp in Bimbia, the Botanic garden, Ngeme, Bodende, Batoke, Mile 6, Tsaben Hotel, Semme Beach, Idenau, and Bakingili . For Buea, the mountain is my utmost destination for exploring and for some amazing mountain scenery. It’s fairly daunting to reach the summit but the pain is worth it, trust me.

A golf course in Likumba Tiko is of major attraction to me as well with perfect extensive green scenery. The southwest region is truly a marvel of a location. Sort of the Africa in miniature region, if that makes sense. So yeah, that’s what i enjoy the most about this beautiful region.

• Have your photography activities been impacted in any way by the on-going crisis ?

Yes of course. The ongoing crisis has impacted businesses and individuals alike in one way or the other. For me personally it’s restricted some very beautiful areas that would’ve been so so so amazing to explore over again. One of such area is the Our Lady of Grace shrine with its amazing waterfall located somewhere in Tole, Buea. The area has ever since been isolated and activities there have been limited for security reasons.

With the notion of the ongoing crisis, security policies have ever since levelled up for fear of conspiracy and espionage, at the sight of a digital camera. Certain accessible locations have been restricted from being photographed or filmed. All of these are super frustrating but you’ll just have to deal with them and be unbothered.

But regardless, the tension has since been fading. It is not as aggressive as the days before. The area most affected was Buea, the ex-political capital. But Limbe possesses love, serenity and tranquility with seemingly no tension of any kind.

 

• 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 ?

On my trip to the mountain around 2017, I met with some white folks who’ve been traveling Africa for the past couple of years and decided that year to visit the Mountain. They told me about their previous trips and how they’ve always wanted to have this climb in Cameroon’s ~4100m mountain. Now, when I looked around, I kept seeing mostly white folks, and it struck me that our own locals do not really find a need or motivation to go on certain adventures. And I think the reason for this is that the exposure tourism gets from Cameroon is mainly directed to the international audience. It was only after some time in my own travels that I started getting feedback from people who actually really wanted to visit these places but didn’t know where and how to go about this. Tourism agencies should definitely be encouraged locally so that creatives and individuals from within can share their experiences.

• 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 ?

It’s a great initiative and one that will help propagate tourism in the nation. I truly admire the effort every creative individual is dedicating to their work as this is the essence of the whole journey.

One of the most amazing collaborations I’ve had was initiated by one of my peers – a photoshoot for a company called JAMESON. We spent about 2 months on the road from Douala To Yaoundé through out the project shooting video content for the Jameson Cameroon brand. The energy was just extremely insane as i met with a ton of creatives in both locations with whom I shared ideas and talked about creative stuff. I very much appreciated everyone i met personally, and I was grateful for their time and for the opportunity to share such a thrilling journey together. 

At the end of the trip, we finally got the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Yaoundé by visiting the famous Love gardens — Rocher.

I always think of an interesting quote that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together”. So yeah, collaboration is key for sure.

• What are your other interests in life ?

Changing lives and creating long lasting impact. Nothing is ever too small. Something called the “Butterfly effect”. Go find out about that. *Laughs*

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

Definitely, definitely. I’ve got several projects in the works that I’m really excited for. One of the most anticipated is this coming year 2020 Mountain expedition. I am totally excited about it. Apart from that I can’t really say much. Everything else is a surprise. 

• What advice would you give my readers ?

First of all I’m not in any better position to hand out advice like a creative autochthon or genius or whatsoever. These are just mere everyday advice you could get from literally anyone but they are based on my experience.

The goal is to stay original and to be distinctive to some degree. You could think you’re doing something different but really you’re just another replica of an already existing creative. You should always strive to put something new on the table. Ask yourself questions, why are you doing what you’re doing? Is it necessary, is it productive, does it add value to a certain cause or aspect?. Don’t get caught up in what I would term “negative competition”. As much as things might seem a little bit daunting, just keep having that drive to always create work that would stand the test of time and not just to amass followings and audiences. All these might seem cliché but there’s just no better way of saying it. And always remember that success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

                 Thanks for taking the time to answer to our questions Jacob. Keep up with his work on his instagram @jacobekaineck