I heard about the mobile film training from a friend who was working with Dilstories. The thought of traveling to Gulu, a place I’d never been to, was scary but I had to go because she said they would not make me pay and I wanted to learn photography. I’ve always loved taking pictures. I enjoy capturing moments and people; it feels a lot like freezing time, storing a moment to look at later. I’ve always wanted to do it professionally.
My dream is to own a gallery with my photographs all over the walls, with pictures of people, places, and sunsets or whatever caught my eye. I dreamed that people would come from far and wide to see my photographs because they’d seen raving reviews online. Unfortunately, I couldn’t print pictures taken using my mobile phone because the quality wasn’t up to standard. Honestly, I didn’t even know enough about photography to be thinking of printing anything.
At the training in Gulu, I received excellent mentorship, started with the basics; parts of a camera and their functions to elements of photography; aperture, shutter speed and ISO. By the time I touched a camera I had a rough idea of where to begin. I had unlimited access to the camera during the training, so I practiced often and I learned how to use it well pretty fast. There was always someone willing to teach me in case I had questions. Each day of practice brought me closer to realizing my dream.
After the mobile film training, I saw a call for entries to a competition on Instagram, conducted by RightByHer, on the theme of gender equality, so I borrowed one of the trainer’s cameras and took photographs of a female boda rider in Gulu. I submitted the photo essay, but it was an international competition, so I didn’t think I had a chance of winning. When I won, I was a little bit surprised. I was beyond ecstatic. The best part of the win came with a camera as a prize, and now I owned a DSLR camera, a Nikon D5600. That marked the beginning of my journey as a professional photographer.
Before, I was a phone photographer. No one ever takes phone photographers seriously. They think that because anyone can take pictures with their mobile phone all the pictures are great. They don’t understand that there’s an art to any kind of photography. It’s only when they see you with a camera that they think you’re a ‘real’ photographer. In a way, even I didn’t see myself as a real photographer before I got the camera. I now get more invites to parties; no one says it, but they pray for me to carry the camera so I can take free photographs of them. I have made some money from photography, but I mostly shoot for myself. I also submit to competitions regardless of the rejections I receive. I know that there’s no harm in trying. Who knows? I could win my second award.
Written by Elizabeth Awori
Elizabeth was a Mobile Film School participant in Gulu, 2020.