FULL NAME:
Omotayo Yusuf Tajudeen
CREATIVE FIELD:
Photography
BRAND NAME:
Depography
SM HANDLES:
IG: tayodepo
Twitter: motayotarjudin
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Excellence knows no tribe.”
LOCATION:
Lagos
HOW HAS COLOGENY HELPED YOU?
There have been lots of gainful activities, from masterclasses to online sessions that have really helped me personally to learn, unlearn and relearn a lot of things, mostly in the tech space and the vast world of social media. Being a bloody photographer, I don’t worry about knowing trending issues in the tech space, or SM world because I’m very confident the community has got my back, and I can always get any info I need at my request.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE CREATIVE SPACE IN OGUN CAN GET BETTER?
Personally, I think collaboration is a very important factor for growth. The community has a whole lot of amazingly talented individuals who are exceptionally good at their various fields, but one important thing to note is that, there is strength in numbers and with the numbers in COLOGENY, we can create a standard for everyone in Nigeria, and even Africa can look up to. There should be more collaborations, more contributions, and everyone should help to make every other person better as an individual, because that’s what makes the team stronger as a whole.
DO YOU THINK THAT CREATIVITY INVOLVES PUTTING YOUR HEART AND SOUL INTO YOUR WORK?
Definitely! It involves every aspect of your being — body, heart and soul. I believe creativity is Spirit inspired (at least for me), and the Spirit cannot have an effect on my body except through my soul, which cannot function properly without the heart and/or mind being in agreement. This whole sequence ends with the body carrying out the instructions of both the heart and soul. There are cases where the spirit will be willing, but the body will be weak, so creativity is an equation where all three parts of a life are in tandem.
WHAT IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE HAS INFLUENCED YOU TO CHOOSE YOUR CAREER?
My love for emotions, I’m quite an emotional being, and I resonate towards any display of emotion from love to anger. That’s the reason why my images are documentary style, and not poise-and-pose.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK?
The Mamba Mentality — which in simple terms is a constant search to get better at everything I do, on a daily basis. It’s an obsession to get things as perfect as they can be, by keeping everything within my reach under control (learning about everything that can be learnt), knowing fully well that nothing can be perfect, but I work to keep it as perfect as it can be. There’s always something new to learn everyday.
