The Genesis of the matter
There canāt be a Genesis without the famous āin the beginningā¦ā so let me start with that.
In the beginningā¦ hmmm, I canāt seem to figure out how I would use that phrase to begin this piece so I will just leave it as it is and go straight to matter for the day.
Have you ever āabstainedā from something for so long that when the opportunity to engage in the act presents itself, you wonder if you can still keep and sustain your recipient(s) interest and leave them wanting more? That is how I feel trying to put my thoughts on paper; a digital paper I should say. Only God knows when I last put together a piece or just decided to write whatever comes to me.
Before I continue, however, let me be clear on something. Please donāt overthink my opening question. There are no underpinnings to the meaning or import of what I am trying to say. The meaning is exactly as you read, with no innuendos (sexual) so kindly get your mind out of the gutter (chuckling).
For months now, I have played in my head the perfect idea to write about for my first blog post on our first commercial website which is finally live. In my mindās eye, it was the perfect piece. Precise and concise. The idea was to gist photography on my journey to becoming Kojography, and in doing so, I would have inspired someone ( I have no idea who) to pursue their dreams till they attain it.
In case you havenāt figured it out yet, I am Kojography. Put simply, I am Kojo the photographer/cinematographer. This interpretation of the name is only to simplify it and leave out the complexities of the brand I have in mind. Hopefully, in subsequent posts, I will delve into all there is to know about the brand Kojography and how it came about. Till then, let me get back to the reason for this piece.
Dear photography, I do not remember the exact period I discovered that I had an interest in you. All I remember was that I was a freshman at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) pursuing a Diploma in Communication Studies. Oh, wait, if I remember the course of study then I should remember the period so let me come again. It was September 2007, I think. I was a fee-paying evening Diploma student. My classes used to start at 4 pm and end at 8 pm every Monday through Friday.
I was just beginning to adjust to the Tertiary institution style of lessons and getting accustomed to the new kind of freedom that came with being in the tertiary institution (if you attended senior high school in Ghana, you will understand what I mean). I had made some friends but one particular friend I had made in the first Semester set me on the path to discovering you, photography. That friend’s name is Isaac Nana Mensah.
In the second semester of the first year, he mentioned that he had been anchoring the news for a closed-circuit television station on campus called GIJ TV. I was shocked because I had never heard of the existence of the television station from anyone on campus even though an academic year was almost ending. This revelation intrigued me a lot since the main reason I chose GIJ over every other tertiary institution was because of my dream to be a broadcaster.
Nana Mensah agreed to take me along on his next trip and true to his word, I found myself encountering you for the first time, or let me say I found myself encountering some aspects of you for the first time. To avoid making this piece too long, I will leave out the details of the hurdles I had to clear to get in on the action that was going on at GIJ TV studios.
By Godās grace, I got the chance to hold my very first video camera. It was a Sony video camera but to be honest, I do not recollect what model it was or what the specs were. Heck, at the time, I did not even know any of the jargon I have just thrown around in this write-up. I just remember being given my first lesson on how to record video using the Sony camera, which was what the studio owned and used. Akua Boatenmaa Oppong-Attah gave me my first lesson on some basics of using the camera and a lady called Stella (I do not remember her last name) gave me my first lesson on how to shoot a video. For my first video assignment, I had Nana Mensah interview a few students while I recorded and that marked my very first step on the journey to becoming Kojography.
Dear photography, wow, I havenāt even realized that itās past 2 am. I will have to finish this story in my next piece. I know I can be a chatter-box at the least chance so let me say that I appreciate the audience you granted. Till our next conversation or should I rather say my next blab, keep inspiring me.