Creative People - Profile 9: GEE MO of GeeMo Photography

With this post we resume our Creative Profiles series through which we aim to tell stories of people who are making a difference in their worlds by embracing and developing their gifts, skills and talents. 

Gee Mo, as we love to call him is one of the best people I have ever met; a true friend, dependable, gifted and always good natured. We have rolled together like brothers for a while now and I think his story is quite inspiring. He was glad to give us some insight into how he started the journey into photography and how he has kept going all these years. 

Read on...

Can you tell us a little about yourself

My name is Abdullah Mohammed a.k.a GeeMo' and I am an event photographer and I love to shoot in the Street. I studied Maths and Urban & Regional Planning. I am currently based in Abuja, Nigeria but am open to shooting anywhere in the world as long as it's a photography thing.

What are your talents, gifts, hobbies or interests?

Discovering one talents, gifts, hobbies or interests can be very fun and exciting process in life. I think for me, anything that makes me happy and keeps my mind busy is considered to be a gift .i.e. drawing, cooking, music, networking, photography etc.

Tell us about your journey into photography?

Photographing people has always been part of my growing up because I remember those days in Ibadan, when I was a kid we had this neighbour that had a studio (local) mainly black & white pictures then. I remember going there to play with his son after school. I asked many questions about the light stand, dark room and so on, that was when I first expressed interest in photography. When I was in secondary school my elder brother bought me my first point and shoot camera which was film then. I didn't even know how to use it properly - I just shot in auto mode. I would take pictures of my friends in school then in Bauchi and take the film the lab fore processing.Since then, I always had a camera to play with. So, when I entered University I took sub-course (Photography) in art class as part of my elective course in my faculty. I read a lot of photography books and magazines I downloaded. I also recently completed an online photography course at NYIP recently. That's is how my journey started.........

What compelled you to take photography seriously and start a business?

At first, I never thought I'll start a business in photography, it was just a passion thing. I found myself doing a couple of events for my family and my friends; some paid me to print the pictures for them and some just collected the soft copies and paid me for my time.
One day I attended, a photography forum meeting with a photographer friend in Lagos and part of their discussion was "How to take your hobbies to another level" That was when I started thinking of GeeMo' Photography as a business outfit.

What have been your major obstacles and how have you overcome them?

In general, life itself has many challenges. Developing a career in photography has been challenging. But I thank God, my passion for photography keeps me going on. I have never one day thought of giving up no matter what I'm going through. Always try to remain open to yourself and people around you.

Where do you plan to be in the next 5 years in terms of your vision?

Where do I plan to be in the next five years....... When I think of this question, I just smile... I want be inspired by others and I want others to be inspired by my work.

How do you think creative enterprise can be used to make society better?

Creative enterprise can be used to make our society better by encouraging creativity in our existing norms and values. For example encouraging a child's interest in certain endeavours at an early stage in life

What would you say to the young aspiring photographers?

To our young aspiring photographers, I will say just keep doing what you love doing and stay focused on the positive. Don't give up your dream (dream big) and be happy too. And don't compare yourself with other photographers but find time to celebrate their achievements and be inspired.

Where can your work be viewed and how can you be reached for business?

I'm still working on my blog/site but some of my works can be viewed on my facebook page. www.facebook.com/geemophoto and also, my business details are there too.

Thank you, Cognito Studios for leading the way!


So there it is. I hope you have been inspired by Gee Mo's story. Be sure to check out interviews of other creative talents at the following links:

http://cognitostudios.blogspot.com/2011/10/creative-people-profile-7-omonike.html

http://cognitostudios.blogspot.com/2011/08/creative-people-profiles-4-olawale.html

http://cognitostudios.blogspot.com/2011/08/creative-people-profile-2-ireti-adebayo.html

http://cognitostudios.blogspot.com/2011/07/creative-people-profile-1-davis-king.html

Thanks for dropping by. Please feel free to share other inspiring stories by sending to cognitostudios@gmail.com