Olajuwon Scott
Who am I Creatively? I ponder on this daily, and honestly, there isn’t a straightforward answer. Talking about myself is somewhat difficult, ask me to talk about my friends and I’ll go non-stop. Creativity to me is the equivalent to breathing; when I’m in my zone I don’t eat or sleep until the job is completed. I’ve only been a photographer for the year 2017-2018 and before that, I was an electrician about to pursue my Electrical Engineering Degree. I was in the field of electrical for two reasons primarily the income and the art I saw in electrical. Although I was talented at my job, I was unhappy because it was mentally exhausting. This was because I was not passionate about electrical and was only pursuing it mainly for the financial benefits. Then one day, I was extremely frustrated and decided to make a proposition to my mom, “ Mom, I cannot do this anymore. Please give me two years to find myself and find what I love.” She opposed, but being stubborn I deviated from the norm to find my passion. I knew what drew me to electrical was income plus art so I eliminated ‘income’ from the equation and retained ‘art’ while adding ‘interest’
Personally, I did not really understand the true meaning of art so I took a trip to St. Vincent and the Grenadines which led me to La Soufirére. I needed that hike to answer my prayers. It was on that journey I found my love which is photography. On my return to Trinidad, my dad got me a flier for a program called, “ The Ifocus Youth Filming Program” which I joined immediately. This programme taught me about camera operation, script writing, audio, and lighting. In the end, I was able to create a film, and by the time I finished this program I was on the path to becoming a filmmaker. I excelled tremendously in this program which caught the attention of my lecturers. They then decided to recruit me as an intern where I stayed with them for 8 months where I assisted in training students and prisoners in Trinidad and Tobago.
After the contract ended, I realized that I loved helping others grow and I was also passionate about imagery/editing more than filmmaking. Immediately after, I purchased a camera and took another vacation to St Vincent and the Grenadines where I watched Youtube videos and taught myself photography and editing. On my return, I decided to go back to school so I enrolled in SBCS to pursue a Degree in Media and Graphic Design. I joined Instagram around that same time with the intention of making it my business to assist with school. Instagram led me to find a lot of Trinidad’s great and talented creatives and that’s how I found Kriston Koon Koon and Jimmy October. I spent months teaching myself and honestly found creativity in everything that surrounded me. I learned to use feelings as a positive medium instead of the negative energy that can sometimes be generated. I also found my love for colour which I use to influence moods in my photography. My intent with every shoot is to find the colour that influences the mood while using music to compliment my work. Lately, I’ve been working with musicians/artists and I meditate on their music for weeks so when we shoot my mind already knows what the picture should look and feel like.
To me colour is everything, we see that before we see anything else. To summarise everything, I love photography but I’m not limited to that creatively.
Daisy Dream
This shot was inspired by fashion. I wanted her to be as natural as possible therefore, I used an old bike as a prop to add some history to the shot as well as for the model to lean on. The colours of this shot were influenced by her personality which was cool and warm.
In Photo: @mydaisydreamshop
Essence of Colour
This shot was at a random video shoot. This model wasn’t even posing for me, but I loved her style and vibe which made me intrigued to shoot her. I think I captured perfectly who she is and the colours, well they did what I intended, which was to make her stand out even more.
In Photo : @iam_mellyrose
Timeless Shopper
This shoot didn’t really have a theme, but it was a collaboration with my friends Jonathan and Daniella. We just wanted shopping to look cool with a vintage style and I think we achieved that with a combination of the colours and the model we worked with.
Nostalgic Ultra
The Theme for this was ‘Vintage’ as related to @jimmyoctober recent single ‘Remember the Days’. What I desired for this shoot was for it to feel exactly how the sound felt; nostalgic, and to achieve this I listened to Jimmy’s song for weeks which helped me when shooting and editing. When I think vintage, these were the colours that I felt the most.
kolourful outlook
This was another fashion shoot. I shot at a low angle to give the model a sense of power/confidence. The colours are intense because fashion is usually bold and leaves a statement/impact in your life.
An Entrancing Encounter
For this shot, I wanted black to really stand out. I hoped to produce an image that would draw you into it immediately. this shot was actually colourful at first but I deviated from my normal aesthetic, which I do from time to time. Additionally, this shot was a representation of how alternative music made me feel.
