Through his work, Peter Bazatoha, a fine art photographer, seeks to capture the world through his thoughts. Most of the time, you find his portraits in monochrome (black and white). This, he says helps him capture the reality of a specific moment. To him, black and white defines truth; it opens feelings and tells a story to the world. This form of creativity drives his inventiveness, especially that it allows him to capture memories and share them with the world in a distinctive flair. As a keen photographer, he focuses on fine art photography and photojournalism, because these help him share the realities behind his community. However, he also does documentary photography and creative design too. Bazatoha focuses on fine art photography and photojournalism. / Courtesy photos Six years ago, he discovered he had this talent. At the time, he was still in high school and when he didn’t get a chance to join university, he used this as an opportunity to pursue his passion. His love and involvement with his new found passion grew with the many photography documentaries he watched. He also says Nelson Mandela’s book ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ inspired him a lot to go for this line of work. “I loved the photos they used in that book, they inspired me a lot and encouraged me to become more involved in photography,” he says. He also went on to refine his skills by taking short online courses in photography, this later helped him start working as a freelancer. Curating beautiful images As a photographer, he is always on the lookout for what can help him capture unique images. “For me, things I consider to make a good picture are mostly unique moments, display of emotion, lighting, composition and simple story-telling,” he says. Bazatoha’s images typically reflect sentiments of the message he desires to share. In one of his photo series ‘Ku gasima,’ he captures the hardships encountered by those who live their life on the streets. You can see and literally feel the pain, struggle and violence captured in the images. Some of his work in which he captures life as it is in society He’s had a number of other photo series such as ‘The Portraits Series’, ‘Anxiety ii’ and ‘Quarantined Series,’ all of which display different kinds of sentiments depending on the message. Among them all, Bazatoha says Ku gasima photography series remains his favourite. “It was about street kids. Ku gasima could be defined as slang for a place where street kids or the unemployed gather for stories, looking forward to a bright future. I approached this concept to visualise life on the streets with a futuristic style,” he says. To supplement his art and skill, the 24-year-old educates himself constantly by keeping track of the updates on editing software available, he also does skill sharing with colleagues and has continued watching documentaries for more inspiration. Lessons from photography Photography has opened his eyes to the detailed beauty of the world around him and to think beyond the box, the young photographer shares. He has also come to learn that for one to make a mark in this industry, they have to define the type or style they are to focus on. “You need to know what type of photography you are going to work on, who your audience is. An example, if you want to do wedding photography, you need to first study the wedding photography market. Then, at the end of the day, clients will start approaching you.” He says though he has faced many obstacles, his biggest hurdle, as with many photographers, has been rejection and people not understanding his style. “You might take a portfolio of your work to a gallery only to be laughed at. Clients will decline your services, but all I focus on is to keep working hard because I understand that even the greatest photographers face rejection.” His dreams are to keep working hard, do more exhibitions locally and internationally as he raises awareness on this particular form of content. For anyone who wants to take on photography as a profession, Bazatoha recommends following your passion and most importantly, starting with what you have. “Never get limited with equipment. You can start doing phone photography. Avoid thinking that having an expensive or great camera is enough,” he adds.
