Last year after I moved to North Carolina, I decided to push one of my hobbies a little further. I decided to capture more pictures as an amateur photographer. I met up with a friend who was already invested in photography. He showed me a few more tricks with the camera. I also learned to let my environment be the backdrop of my pictures. As an amateur photographer, I followed my friend for a months or two; then I decided to go on my own. I enjoy taking pictures, because any picture is worth a thousand words. These thousand words can be a story or another.

Last spring I was in Washington D.C. I was spending a lot of time at the National Mall, and I ended taking my share of pictures in the capital. I was still honing my skills as a photographer when I took the pictures below.

I also had to learn the legal aspect behind photography. As a photographer, one has to get the subject to agree with some of the work. If the subject is a person or a group of person, then the photographer may require the subject to sign release forms. It is neither here nor there though.

Around June and July, my friend asked me to assist him on some of his assignments. We went to the Charlotte Hair braiding Expo. It was a chaotic scene, but it was fun to take pictures there. I met a models and people wanting their pictures taken. I figured I could appeal to people’s egos. They gladly volunteered to have a stranger take their pictures.

I figured what I like when I take pictures. I prefer to have everything to be natural. I don’t tell people to pose a certain way or another. I just let them be themselves without reservations.

A few weeks later, I took pictures for the independence day of the Ivory Coast. Here are some of the pictures below. There were people playing Petanque, Checkers, and many local games in the Ivory Coast.

These pictures told interesting stories to say the least. I am still wandering and taking pictures along the way. I hope to capture moments in human lives. As a photographer, I am witness to many lives, and I will tell the story as I recall.