A Nigerian builds Multi-million photo studio with N5, 000 | Be Inspired |Be Motivated

A young Nigerian Matthew Ibadin sets out to discover the few remaining secrets in our world today in photography. Matthew Ibadin (a.k.a. Mattson), the Ace photographer is no doubt an artist with a difference based on his passion for photography and his widely travel tours around Europe. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Mattson Creation, a popular multi-million photography studio in Lekki, Lagos. he made history as the first photographer to start motion pictures at both University of Lagos (Unilag) and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

Although a graduate of Political Science from University of Lagos, Mattson has been into photography for 14 years. He has built a complete ultra-modern photo clinic which is first of its kind in the country with a state-of-the-art equipment with wardrobe assistance, make-up and training rooms for auditioning models, for cat-walk with just a starting capital of 13 thousand Naira to purchase an analogue camera.

In an exclusive interview section with Worldstreet reporter while inspecting round the multi-million studio, the Edo State born photographer disclosed, “'Ours is a one-stop photo gallery where you can buy your taste of photography, because we use our creativity in photography to create happiness in homes and offices.”

Mattson’s work has been published in numerous Magazines in Nigeria both as a contributor and as his biographic article. He has since organized various aesthetic photography exhibitions across the country and has acquired other professional photographic training in various training institutions in America and Europe.

How did your photography started?
My studio/ photography started about 14 years ago at the University of Lagos(Unilag) precisely. I started with N5, 000 which I bought an analogue camera with. Then I just found myself taking motion pictures those days and from there I was given a place in Unilag by the school authority because of my hard work by then the Vice chancellor Professor Omotola may his perfect soul rest in peace. And from there I moved to Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere I spent almost 7 years there before I moved to Island. And I’ve been on Island for the past 7 years, its something really good. As you can see my studio today, it’s the first cotemporary studio in West Africa. It’s a multi-million naira studio. It is where everyone just wants to be.

Your Motivation?
It is self driven, it is what I love to do, I love photography. Photography made me what I am today. When I was growing up, I told myself I want to do a business, to render a service that the poor, the average and the rich will need it and that's my passion.
What impressed me most is, after taking the billionaire pictures and after the payment they tell me, “thank you”, “thank you for that job”. You know seeing my job in peoples house, In Park View, Banana Island, VI, Abuja just to name a few. When I see my job on their wall it makes me to have a sense of belonging.
Your Prospect?
This is just the beginning, we have not even started. I'm in Lekki Phase 1 and by God's grace, I want to have something on VI – a photo home, a photo recreation center. And I intend to go to Abuja to have a real national portrait gallery like the one you have in London. I want use photography to rebrand Nigeria. I want to use photography to attract foreign investors because I don't have another country and that is the continuity of the policy of governance we have in Nigeria. Using photography to develop culture and tourism.

How do you rate your studio?
I will rate my studio, AA studio; its a studio to be. There is no studio like this in the country. If there is any other name I can use to qualify it, I can call it, “AA super studio” where you have state-of-the-art equipments, director of photography, in-house makeup room and makeup artist with wardrobe assistance. This is what you can find in Manhattan, New York in United States. That is how I will describe my studio. And it's a place where you can also train as a photographer, buy your photo because we have an in-house photo gallery/ lounge.

Future of photography in Nigeria?
The future is bright if people like us begin to invest money with symposiums and lectures on photography then the industry will be revived. The opportunity in photography has never been touched in Nigeria because it is a very lucrative business. If somebody like Ali Baba can rebrand the comedy industry I think I can do better. That is what I want to do and if I don't achieve it then I won't rest.

My dream is that I want us to have photographic institution in Nigeria. I want billionaires instead of saying, “I want my son/ daughter to be a lawyer”, and I want them to say, “I want my daughter / son to be a photographer”. But thank God today people are resigning from banks to train as a photographer in our photo academy and this is only possible because of the level of achievement I have built in this industry.
Secondly, we need to pass a bill to the National Assembly on photographer intellectual property can be protected.
My friend in United States are billionaires in the industry with choppers/ Helicopters with which they use for coverage. But in Nigeria, how many of us can live on Island with photography? Just because the right of usage of our products are not protected.

Advice for those taking up photography as a career?
Those taking photography as a career, the earlier the better. We have an academy with incentives where serious people are trained on photography. Even the state government should realize the best way to impact people is to give them intellectual training and not buying them okada. Thats is not empowerment. So they can come over so we can train some of the youths in their neighborhoods so they can be empowered with professional photography skills.

And to those thinking of dropping photography for other fields, they should rethink. They can come to Mattson creations and see what I have created in the industry.

SOURCE: THE WORLDSTREET JOURNAL

Continue Reading >>>>

Failed Relationships and Domestic Violence

Menh check this out........she was brutally beaten well let go for the story better..........
I don’t normally write about things to do with relationships and marriage but after watching a recent edition of Inside out by Agatha, I was compelled to do so. They showed a video clip of a woman with severe burns because her husband threw a burning stove on her following an argument.

My heart goes out to this lady and I hope she recovers and get the justice that she deserves. But I want to look at the underlying issues that are challenging relationships and marriages in Nigeria today. I will try as much as possible to avoid viewing it from the prism of one gender or from the blame game that normally characterises discussions of this nature. Where has it all gone wrong for us that after all the fanfare of a colourful wedding what seems to follow is emotional and physical abuse on both sides; perhaps more on the women than men.

My take on this very thorny issue is that we need to look at it from the cultural perspective. Let me make it clear that this is not an attempt to blame culture for where we find ourselves but we can no longer be in denial and continue maintaining our myopic view on an issue that threatens the future of our children’s future relationships. In most Nigerian cultures (if not all), children are raised to think that there is a particular role for the female child usually to do with domestic chores like cooking, cleaning etc while the male child does so-called masculine chores like washing the car, mowing the lawn etc. So from an early age we are raising children with the psychological notion that they are different with an emphasis that the female child is subservient. That may have been ok 50 years ago but we now live in a changing world. In a world where we want to embrace western culture whilst keeping hold of the part of our culture that suits us. Unfortunately, that would always going to lead to conflicts and horrible stories like the one at the start of this piece.

We need to change our attitudes if we are ever going to make progress and that needs to start at an early age in the way we raise our children and what we teach them in school. There is no point getting very hysterical or hypocritical when we hear news of domestic violence when it is happening everywhere around us.

A lot of work needs to be done in families. Top on my list is communication. Do we as parents talk to our children about their relationships? How many mothers talk to their young daughters about their boyfriends? Or do we pretend that they don’t have one? Even if they don’t have one they will eventually do so. How many fathers talk to their young sons about girlfriends? Or are male children given the impression they can do what they want and get away with it?

Our young girls need to be taught that they don’t need to look up to a man to shower them with gifts, because in my view that is not the essence of relationships. Relationships are built on love, trust and respect for each other. But sadly, there are far too many young women in Nigeria who are growing up in a society that makes them believe it is a man’s responsibility to look after them. Self-worth is lost when individuals are made to believe it is somebody else’s responsibility to buy them body cream for example when they need one, I don’t think so.

Our young men on the other needs to be taught early on that a woman should be treated with respect and dignity. They should be made aware that a woman is a symbol of love not sex like seems to be the case these days. These messages need to be reinforced in schools, it shouldn’t stop in the home. Let us not underestimate the value of schools as a force for social change. To achieve this, I will advocate for teaching of relationship education in our schools. One that is based on a curriculum whose core input are made by parents in its formulation to ensure that the good works that is started in the home is not undone in school.

What is happening today is that some people are under this wrong illusion that when they get married, marriage will change them, no it won’t. If your would-be husband is a cheater or abuser, chances are he will continue to do so even in marriage unless  you ofcourse are prepared to put up with it. If your would-be wife is a nag or the type that expects you to foot every bill, chances are she won’t change any time soon when you marry her.

We need education not blame on both men and women if we are ever to succeed and halt this disturbing but nonetheless growing trend of domestic violence. Women need to be empowered but empowerment doesn’t need to start and end at giving them opportunities and education alone. They need social empowerment to  understand they can look after themselves when in a relationship with a man; a point I cannot stress enough. Men also need social empowerment to understand women cannot only be seen but heard and it doesn’t make them any less a man if their views are challenged.

The time has come when we need to have an open and honest debate about how we can move forward in our marriages and relationships. The endless blame, accusations and counter-accusations has led us nowhere. Waiting until people get into marriages is a no-no because by that time it is too late. We need to target our young whose future relationships will also be in great danger if we fail to act now.

Image Source: http://illusionfields.com/tomihutton/category/special-effects-makeup/

The author of this article could be reached via nnaija4life@yahoo.com or http://apenandaheart.blogspot.com/



JAGUDA.COM

Continue Reading >>>>