Flying High in Nigeria: An Interview with Kalada Briggs
Amazing Aerial is growing not just numerically, but also spreading to different parts of the world. In an interview with Amazing Aerial, Kalada Briggs from Nigeria shares his personal journey and what challenges and opportunities photographers face in his home.
Dec 06, 2024
An aerial view of the lush Orashi River meandering through a tranquil forest and village, Rivers State, Nigeria. © Amazing Aerial Agency / Kalada Briggs
By Rebecca Duras
Kalada Briggs only joined Amazing Aerial about a year ago, but his infectious energy and great photos have quickly left a mark on the team. The Nigerian photographer, who calls Port Harcourt home, has done more than just take photos and upload them. He’s quickly become a pivotal member of the team, teaching other photographers, organizing meet-ups, and creating community online and offline.
Amazing Aerial Magazine talked with Kalada over the phone as he took time out of his busy days to tell us more about his personal career, the Nigerian photography community that shaped and nourished him, and what life is like for him and other photographers in the country that he calls home.
A Journey to Photography Nourished By Passion
Kalada became a drone photographer in 2016 thanks to the influence of his friends. “A friend of mine suggested that I follow him when he goes out to take pictures with his new drone,” he says. After the friend began receiving more commissions for drone photography than he could keep up with, he began asking Kalada to help him with photographing different events. “I was able to see the world from a different perspective.”
Before becoming a photographer, Kalada owned a company that offered grooming and other pet-related services. He was able to transfer that business savvy towards his photography experience. “Because most photographers could take pictures but not fly drones, and most people who could fly drones couldn’t take photos, I found a niche in between and capitalized on that opportunity, as far back as 2016,” he says.
Kalada’s work soon became respected within Nigeria and outside of it. He began working with international clients and his work was published in several places, including CNN, coffee table books, and Come To Nigeria magazine.
However, Kalada’s story took a turn last year, when a tragedy nearly took his life. “I was shot by a gunman while doing an event,” he says.
In 2023, while preparing for an exhibition for World Tourism Day, Kalada needed to print more photos. “While I was printing those photos I was attacked by a gunman,” he says. While he was in his office preparing his photos, he noticed that people were trying to break into his car, where his camera equipment was. He ran downstairs to confront them, and then they shot him.
Instead of returning to the exhibition, he wound up in the hospital fighting for his life, transferring to six different hospitals and undergoing three surgeries so far (he is still waiting for one more surgery to remove the bullet, which is still lodged in his spine). The high-flying photographer was bedridden for ages, unable to pursue his passion or make money to pay his hospital bills. Thankfully, the governor of his state, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, heard about his story and wound up covering his medical bills.
However, it is difficult to ground Kalada for long. While he was in the hospital, the photographer was already thinking about his next move and wound up connecting with Amazing Aerial. “Abdulrahman Abubakar [Amazing Aerial’s Nigeria team member] saw me and reached out to me, and I took him up on the opportunity,” Kalada says. He had his first onboarding call with Paul Prescott, Amazing Aerial’s CEO, while he was lying horizontally in the hospital bed waiting for his second surgery.
Although skeptical at first, he quickly became a pivotal member of the Amazing Aerial team in Nigeria and globally. “It’s given me a push to do something extraordinary,” he says.
The Importance of Nigeria’s Photo Community
As we’re talking with Kalada, one theme that comes up again and again is how tight-knit and supportive the Nigerian photography community is. The boost from the community helped Kalada begin his own photography career as he was switching from pet grooming to photography. “I had friends who were photographers who were helping me understand the rule of thirds and other science,” he says, explaining how the photography community helped him as he was starting out.
Although the community of people interested in photography is large, there are fewer people who can make a living from the business. “The community in Nigeria is quite huge, but there’s a big cap on it because a lot of people don’t know that they can actually make money from their pictures,” Kalada explains. “Most are event or food photographers,” he adds. Stock photographers are still a minority within the Nigerian photo community, and awareness about the possibility of making money through stock photography is still low—and there is even less awareness about the lucrative opportunities premium stock has to offer.
Kalada hopes to share information about the premium stock industry with his fellow photographers, and to inspire them to try this avenue of work as well. His membership in Amazing Aerial has galvanized him to invest more in building his premium portfolio with the agency. “It was because of Amazing Aerial that I got an office,” he says. “I have some people that I am training under me. I want to show them that you can make this a full-time job, you can put food on the table, you can earn in foreign currencies, it was Amazing Aerial that gave me an eye-opener that this can be done.”
Kalada hopes that his own increasing success will inspire others to follow in his footsteps and take up stock photography. “Most people don’t know that this kind of thing exists,” he says, “I know that it will push it more when I start seeing more revenue from my own photos.”
Along with Abdul, Kalada is working hard to build Amazing Aerial’s community in Nigeria, traveling for hours across the vast country and fighting to find funding, which is not always readily available for Nigeria’s photographers. “Abdul and I had a training in Lagos,” he explains, “We went to the west of Nigeria and organized for the existing members to understand how well it can work, how you can upload, that kind of stuff.” Kalada hopes to put his experience at the disposal of Amazing Aerial’s team in Nigeria. “I’m trying to organize more training sessions because a lot of people want to be guided, and I’m the key person when it comes to training.”
Overcoming the Unique Challenges Nigerian Photographers Face
Photographers from Nigeria, especially drone photographers, face challenges that their counterparts in the Global North may not.
“The biggest challenge is exposure to security,” Kalada explains. Since the legal process for drone certification has not been settled yet for recreational drone pilots, the licensing process for aspiring drone photographers is convoluted and confusing, and people run the risk of running into police or army personnel who don’t understand that flying a drone is a harmless hobby or job, not a security risk. “We’re still going through different hurdles, and some people are monopolizing this aspect,” Kalada further explains the challenges. “Collaborating with different elements of the Nigerian government is important if you’re a drone photographer.”
The economy is another challenge that photographers in Nigeria face, especially when it comes to buying the latest equipment from abroad, which can get very expensive due to the weakened naira (the local currency). “The dollar exchange is through the roof, and you have to change from naira to dollars to get these equipment,” he says. “Most of the time we just try to use our old equipment and manage what we have because getting new equipment is kind of expensive.” For photographers such as Kalada in Nigeria, the opportunity to partner with an agency such as Amazing Aerial and earn premium prices in foreign currency is a lifeline for being able to afford new equipment of their own.
Kalada is determined to push through these challenges, as well as stereotypes about his home both from abroad and within Nigeria. “Most of my pictures don’t look like they were taken from someone from this part of the world,” he says proudly, listing the exhibits and books he has been part of. When we push him to explain what he meant, he explains that even within Nigeria, the place where he is from is subject to negative stereotypes. “Where I’m from, we had insecurity issues, we had insurgency issues, we had militancy issues, that thing has always been in the back of people’s minds. It’s kind of like a surprise for them to know that ah, ok, in the midst of turmoil you still have beautiful places like this,” Kalada says.
He also goes against the stereotype of Nigerian photography when it comes to his choice of subject and artistic vision. “In terms of the way I edit, how I edit, and the perspective…[besides me], nobody looks at this aspect of showcasing landscapes, showcasing the beauty” he explains further. His region of southern Nigeria is mostly known for the oil industry and associated problems, such as security issues and oil spills, so by focusing on the beautiful landscapes that are also located there, he is changing the narrative—or at least, offering another side to it.
Kalada’s plans for the future are as bright as his confidence. “I just want to put out my content more, go to exhibitions, so basically I want to show more of what I do.” His commitment to his craft and to lifting up his community around him shines nearly as brightly as his talent does through his photos.
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