after
5
magazine
the
FASHION ISSUE
issue 5
ISSUE 05
june
founder & Editor - in - chief christina engell andersen editor bukonola ngobi EDITORIAL CO-ORDINATOR fawzia jamal CONTRIBUTORS 05 barbara minishi 10 cranium ink 29 neha ghai 37 nicola armitage 47 rohini das cover photographer: cranium ink WEBSITE www.after5.co.ke
this online magazine features the work of submissions received by the after5 magazine team. after5’s contributors retain sole copyright to their featured work. If you would like to see your work featured in this publication, find out more on our website.
CRANIUM INK photographer
CRANIUM INK photographer
FASHION
a e plastic b n ca
veneer THAT
OPPRESSES E M O S A
OR
i l s o l u i n fantastic that
glorifies self - expression
FOR others
BARBARA MINISHI
Barbara Minishi is a professional photographer based in Nairobi who still cant decide whether she loves chocolate more than photography. If wishes were chocolate she’d be happy to binge on all different flavours of photography daily. Oh wait...she kinda does!
CRAN
ZACHARY SAITOTI
NIUM
INK
CRANIUM INK
CRANIUM INK
CRANIUM INK
CRANIUM INK
CRANIUM INK
INTERVIEW tell us a bit about yourself & cranium ink? I suppose my enthusiasm for art really began in my early Kenton College days. I remember having a bizarre fascination to everything Papier-mâché related and a fondness for still-life drawing. It’s only when I went to high school abroad that I began to really develop and hone in my skills as a fine artist. It was only in my final year of high school that I got introduced to photography, then purchasing my first ever film slr, a Pentax MZ-30. I went on to complete two degrees at university, Graphic Design then Photography in the amazing urban bohemian city of Bristol, England. As a city rich in culture, the arts, music and so much more, it helped nurture my exploits as a young creative practitioner. Whilst at university, and a few years after, I worked as a freelance photographer under the alias “Shifteye”, which I still run by to this day, www.shifteye.co.uk. Commercially my work has been appraised both locally and internationally, following several successful exhibitions in London, Bristol & Nairobi. I have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with an assortment of great people and organizations thus far such as Super Super Magazine, The Arts Council, ITV Fixers, BBC, Soul Motive Records, Weapon of Choice, TRAP Magazine, D-Style Records & many more.
Cranium Ink For years Illustrator, Graphic & Apparel Designer Jeff Kegeri and I toyed with idea of joining forces and creating a photography and/ or design agency and so finally, with bellies twisting with nerves put our creative minds together and created “Cranium Ink”, a Photography & Creative Design agency. www. craniumink.com how did you break into fashion photography? To begin with I actually had no interest in fashion photography; I was more stimulated by abstract, contemporary art & landscape photography. Once while at university, a friend on the Fashion & Textiles course, as a last resort, asked me to help her out with a fashion shoot for her project. My knowledge of fashion photography at the time was limited to obscure shoots in old fashion magazines littered in hospital waiting rooms. Even though my friend did get rather frustrated at my overly conceptual and at times extraordinarily outlandish ideas, we had a great shoot and I was hooked from then on. Luckily her tutors were rather impressed with my work and with a few nudges and gallons of cups of tea in bribes; I finally managed to convince the Fashion & Textiles tutors to start suggesting me as a photographer to the other students. what are some things you do to push your creativity? Healthy competitiveness between my photographer friends has helped me, beyond words, to get me where I am today. By always trying to one up each other in our work, without
realizing you begin to really push your abilities and ideas further than you normally would. Additionally nothing beats good old fashion research and free online tutorials to strengthen those Photoshop postproduction skills. I make it a priority 3 -4 times a week to read up on photographers around the world, brush up on my postproduction skills, as well as catch up on technological advances within the industry.
what’s your favourite light source, and why do you choose it? I suppose my favorite light source is the sun, bet even more so when it’s nice and lightly cloudy as outdoors gets illuminated as if by an earth sized soft box. More often than not I prefer to do location shoots, I like the mild sense of adventure and need to adapt to the location in order to get the most out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as handy in a studio but I once spent 6 days straight in a dim lit studio, for 10 where do you get your inspiration hours, only having an hour only for from? lunch, with a flash bulbs going off As banal as it sounds, I get every couple of seconds. Needless my inspiration from a pinch of to say I found it difficult to find the everything that I experience via enjoyment of working in a studio taste, touch, sight, smell… the works. after that, it took me a couple years When artists are allowed to express to get back into studio work, but it’s themselves freely, their experiences never been quite the same. in life, at the time naturally manifests in their work. I say it doesn’t matter what has been your most if you’re angry or happy, carry on memorable photo shoot, and why? being creative, every idea matters. My most memorable shoot so far was a beachwear shoot for TRAP what was your first fashion Magazine Issue #004. It was a assignment, and how did you land sunny yet unbelievably cold day, as it? I recall I think we were just coming Unrelated to university, my first ever out of winter. I felt extremely sorry fashion assignment was possibly for the girls, I was decked out in for the fashion label formerly known a large coat, with gloves on and as “Sew That Jazz” now known they had not very much to wear. I as “Fudd”, their ethos running on was a little apprehensive as the the being, inspired by 80’s fashion, brief stated they were looking to 70’s pop artist icons, ideas of recreate a summery Club Tropicana utopia and escapism. At the time feel. Needless to say the way in Bristol, there was a pink double the team came together and put decker bus outside the Royal West together the set was incredible. The of England Academy of Art as part models braved through the dropping of an artist’s presentation. We were temperatures with copious amounts fortunate enough that they let us of hot chocolate, with a fan heater use the bus with all it’s random, that made more noise than a diesel bizarre and yet fascinating little engine on the fritz and would have ornaments inside. probably worked better as a hand
dryer for Don Bluth’s Thumbelina; and together we created what is to date definitely one of my favorite shoots.
shoots. Please… leave the KICC building alone and step away from the “in a garage” or “a rubbish tip” shoot ideas. This country is beyond incredible; there are incomprehensible amount of locations what do you think about fashion to do creative stunning shoots, that a photography in Kenya and which little bit of research will reveal to you. direction would you say it is going in? Photographers from all over the world So far, from what I’ve seen there are a have been descending upon Kenya for handful of incredibly gifted photographers years to create world class shoots, this is in Kenya, doing some really good work. our backyard, our home, why can’t we There are an even more number of do the same if not better. skilled up and coming photographers of whom I look forward to seeing their apart from fashion photography, what progress over the next couple years. would you say your speciality would be? One thing I’ve found that is a relief is I would have to say my specialty, that compared to around 5 years ago, other than Fashion, would have to be more & more photographers are doing Landscape Photography. I tend to do their own post-production rather than landscape photography for myself; it’s handing over their hard work to graphic almost like a form of light meditation for designers. That said, it pains me to see, me. The headphones go on, camera more often than not, rushed and/ or goes up and I zone out… happy days. over processed post-productions work where, for example a model’s skin is left lastly, what do you do after5? looking overly smooth like a plastic doll Home, put the kettle on, make a cuppa, completely removing all humanoid traits hit the gym, shower, cook up a storm, or instances where time and effort has turn the telly on, slap in a dvd, finish been taking on working on a models dinner, stretch out on the sofa and relax. face but the rest of the body is still At some point amongst all that, I’ll return a covered with blemishes. Less is more couple messages & emails but mostly I’ll and if you’re going to go in on the post- find myself stressing and scheming about production, please pay attention to detail. where to get my next pay cheque. I know amazing photographers that are known more for their mistakes in postproduction rather than the fantastic photography work. Kenya fashion photography in my eyes is still in its infancy and has a little bit to go to compete on the international scene. The techniques and skills are there; I simply feel that more effort can be put into generating ideas for fashion
CRANIUM INK
chillimangoclothing.wordpress.com
neha ghai As a fashion illustrator, Neha Ghai has feminine, bold handwriting that shows expressions of ideas and inspirations. Her work is a reflection of things she likes and things she sees which kindle thoughts that are then expressed on a page. Colours expressed by places, stressed lines conveying moods and emotions, and graceful patterns creating a contrast between them. “I like to express emotions to what ever I draw and hope that these would be conveyed to the viewer�.
www.nehaghai.com
NICOLA ARMITAGE
Nicola is 21 years of age and is in the process of completing her BA Fashion Degree at CSVPA (Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts) with the hopes of graduating in 2013. She draws inspiration from objects and issues that capture her interest and excavate their every corner until she builds up a summarized understanding (similar to the concept of a mood board) that can then be translated into garments that portray their essence. She has done internships with Penny Winter (Kenya), T.A.N.K magazine, McQ by Alexander McQueen and Alexander McQueen (London).
ROHINI DAS Rohini’s love for photography started about 10 years ago when she was first introduced into a darkroom. It was only years later, after hundreds of rolls of film, did she realise her passion for photography and the possibility of making a living out of it. Her style is constantly evolving but always stays true to her philosophy of working in natural conditions, with natural light and often, times with ‘characters’ who are not necessarily professional models. Her work is spontaneous because of the nature in which she allows her shoots to unfold. She allows her models and stories to unfold naturally within the context of the brief. A big part of what she does is also the creative direction and the connection she makes with her models or characters.
CONTRIBUTORS BARBARA MINISHI photographer http://www.barbaraminishiphotography.com CRANIUM INK photographer http://craniumink.com NEHA GHAI fashion illustrator http://www.nehaghai.com NICOLA ARMITAGE fashion student nikishot@hotmail.com ROHINI DAS photographer http://www.etherunbound.blogspot.com
ED FRAY photographer
ABOUT after5 is an online magazine for photographers, illustrators and graphic designers who reside in kenya. this publication focuses on giving space to creative people to share their point of view and promote their work. it features different artists with a diverse range of interests and perspectives within the visual arts. after5 hopes to create a space that inspires people to contribute their work and engage with others’ work. we live in a world plagued with troubles and challenges, pa world where many are lost in the monotony of their nine-to-fives, this place in cyberspace is about escapism and reclamation. It’s about what you do when the day is over. it’s about the time you give to the passions you bury under a pile of chores and the dreams you are getting around to but never cross off your to-do-list. so the question is this; what is your after5 and do you want to share it with the rest of the world? the time is now and the space is here!
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after
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