64
JAN
• THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER
ARTS & REVIEW\\PHOTOGRAPHY
TOBI SMART-COLE FOLLOW IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEP
Far from the regular label of “a chip-off-the-old-block”, Tobi Smart-Cole’s blossoming career in p opened a window of conversations on peddling a family trade. Yinka Olatunbosun reports
H
is father’s name is in itself a top brand in photography. For Tobi Smart Cole, a personal venture into photography is not an attempt at continuing a family tradition. It’s like an expedition to ascertain the shape of the earth some centuries ago where the early discoverers found themselves back at the same port of departure where their voyage had begun. Tobi, son of the legendary Nigerian photographer, Sunmi Smart-Cole, didn’t set out to be a photographer. Interestingly, his father didn’t try to persuade him to do otherwise. After his secondary school education at the International School, University of Lagos, young Tobi relocated with his family to the United States of America in 2003 and attended Montgomery College. His family moved around various cities while in the US so he had to change schools occasionally. He went from Maryland to New York and returned to Baltimore. Once, he was at the City University of New York which had different campuses with different names. His first choice in course of study at the campus called Queen’s College was Computer Information Systems. “I was so interested in computers since I was a child and I was very skilled at computers,’’ he recounted. “I believe I have a God-given talent at computers. I changed my major when I got to New York. In America, it is very easy to do that. It is not like Nigeria. You can change as many times as possible. There was even a time when I changed it to Hebrew language and culture,’’ he said. Till now, he couldn’t fathom why he did so but the repository of knowledge that he possesses is of immeasurable value. For instance, he took classes in art history and appreciation, which provides a good background for his profession which began officially in 2009, a year after he returned to Nigeria. At Baltimore City Community College, where he changed his major to Business management and took classes in Business Writing as well as Mathematics, he began his own business of selling computers and mobile phones. For him, the educational system in the US allowed for self-discovery and so did his father. When a family vacation to UK was planned, Tobi and his brother received the gift of cameras from their father to capture the beautiful moments. Invariably, his father put the work tool in his hand without much ado. “I didn’t want to practise photography for personal reasons. It was later on that I developed interest. I made a presentation at school based on the first book that my father wrote. The class seemed very interested in my dad’s work because the collection had a lot of interesting pictures that featured public figures such as Nelson Mandela. The instructor then was very interested in the work and began talking about
Works of Tobi Smart-Cole organizing an exhibition for my dad. But that didn’t happen. Perhaps I didn’t take it very serious, though I told my dad about it,’’ he recalled. During the UK holiday, he took some interesting pictures of statues at Hyde Park and people at their everyday chores. Even with his professional eye, he assessed his early photography as “very good’’. Upon his return to Nigeria, he enrolled at the University of Lagos to study Geography and toyed with the idea of photography. He asked his father to lend one of his cameras to him but the father bought a professional camera for him. Seeing that he was unable to use the
gadget, he instructed one of his employees to guide his son. “The camera was a very professional one. While I was learning, I felt this joy inside of me. Mr. Muyiwa, the son of I.K. Dairo, taught me how to use the camera. He is a mentor to a lot of people such as Kelechi Amadi Obi. Right now, he is in the US practising his photography,’’ he revealed. As a very devout Christian, Tobi prayed to God about his foray into photography. Coupled with his love of nature, he sought a new path for himself. Though his father is usually, if not erroneously, dubbed as a celebrity
photographer, his works cover a wide variety of themes. Tobi’s penchant for environmental themes provides a surge of energy running through his latest body of works. “I see God in nature. There is order and tranquility in nature. I enjoy watching nature; it is like an escape for me from noise and urban civilization. I have been studying the work of Ansel Adams. He took a lot beautiful landscapes pictures in black and white and he was a very good photographer. He is regarded as one of the best photographers,’’ he said. Some of Tobi’s works had been published in THISDAY and MEDIA REVIEW