TheArea of interest Young Entrepreneur: Joshua Akolade’s exploits in drones, inventive images

Akolade’s journey into images took a number of turns and bends. He started as a Creative Arts instructor in a secondary college, later arrange his images studio as a facet job. After a while, he stepped away from the studio and educating for a full-time function as a video editor at Galaxy Television, each in Lagos and Ibadan, earlier than in the end returning to the images studio full-time.

By Ishaya Ibrahim 

Joshua Adeniyi Akolade’s photograph journey started in his junior secondary college days, when he began exhibiting greater than a passive curiosity in Fine Arts.

More than some other topic, Fine Arts acquired precedence. After his routine classes in school on the Lagos State Technical School in Agindigbi, Lagos State, Akolade would take non-public classes on the topic from one other tutor.  

“If I finished from the normal class with the teacher who was into drawing, painting, and sculpture, after closing time, I would go to the one that was into screen painting, printing, and all that,” he advised TheArea of interest.

His dedication deepened at Lagos State Polytechnic, the place he formally studied Arts and Designs, solidifying his command of the craft. Not completed with studying, Akolade enrolled in a pc college to be taught CorelDRAW, which was, on the time, the principle enhancing software for graphics design.

By the time he landed his first job as a inventive arts instructor the place he dealt with at the least three colleges on half time engagement, visible design had really change into second nature.

Today, because the inventive director of Prophoj Focus, Akolade leverages refined images gear, together with a drone to supply various visible companies.

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The starting

Akolade’s journey into images took a number of turns and bends. He started as a Creative Arts instructor in a secondary college, later arrange his images studio as a facet job. After a while, he stepped away from the studio and educating for a full-time function as a video editor at Galaxy Television, each in Lagos and Ibadan, earlier than in the end returning to the images studio full-time.

The seed for Prophoj Focus Photography studio was planted in 2004 throughout his educating job as a inventive arts instructor. As a Creative Arts instructor whose job demanded educating college students some type of designing through the use of images and illustration, Akolade purchased his first digicam.

He advised TheArea of interest how that occurred. “I was teaching creative arts, or what you call cultural arts. I was managing almost three schools. So, photography started as part of getting my work done better, because I was also into designing. And in getting my work done perfectly, I added photography as part of it to get that good image.”

Akolade will not be a person who needs to have issues completed midway. He believes that whether it is price doing, it should be completed to requirements. So, in educating college students inventive design, he wished to snap actual picture, present the scholars the way it may very well be used to reinforce the great thing about a poster or banner.

His employer had a digicam, and he wished to borrow it to impart the sensible of the ability to his college students. But his employer refused to mortgage him the digicam. 

He defined why she might need declined: “I think it was because of the money she spent on the camera. She felt I might spoil it.” Akolade later came upon that he may afford the digicam. “I got to find out from one magazine that the same camera she was protecting, I could afford it.”

With N15,000, he purchased his first digicam. Not glad with its high quality, he later acquired a extra skilled digicam. And by 2010, he arrange his photograph studio on the Aruna space of Ogba, Lagos State, combining it together with his educating job. That assured him of his monetary safety. 

Quest for extra expertise

By 2013, Akolade made a big profession shift. He left his educating place and put his studio work on maintain to simply accept a full-time function as a video and graphics editor at Galaxy Television. This transfer, nonetheless, got here with a monetary downgrade, as he traded the mixed earnings from his three part-time educating roles for a single, lower-paying full-time wage.

“My income from the three schools had risen to N70,000 as part part-time teacher. But I left everything to go and collect N40,000 at Galaxy. And I had to be going to FESTAC Town from Ogba every day, including Saturdays,” he mentioned.

For Akolade, the transfer was geared toward skilling up his artwork, and he mentioned it paid off as a result of at Galaxy Television, he shortly acquired the basic expertise of video enhancing. “I learned audio, learned about light, positioning and installing light, even directing.”

Not lengthy afterwards, he began taking larger obligations. Among his works was at Galaxy Television was dealing with ‘Unmask,’ a programme exhibiting behind the scenes of musical movies. He additionally dealt with the behind-the-scenes of a Yoruba film, ‘Lani Osori’.

Akolade was additionally saddled with the accountability of dealing with ‘Campus 360, a television programme showing happenings in different campuses, and ‘Style 411,’ a vogue present.

By 2016, Akolade left Galaxy Television to totally deal with his studio. “I resigned from Galaxy Television honourably. And I thank God because I left there without any stain on my reputation,” he mentioned.

At Prophoj Focus, Akolade says he introduced the talents acquired at Galaxy Television to his work, prioritising prospects’ feedbacks. “When I design, make videos or when I snap pictures for you, I want to know your feedback. When there’s any comment or complaint, I will adjust.”

Flying drone

Akolade’s ardour for data of images has opened one other vista for him – flying of drones. After studying about drone and fly them, he purchased one.

He has flown drone on the Murtala Mohammed Airport, an unusual feat as a result of it’s a restrictive space for drones, and solely individuals with licensed data of drones are allowed to take action. “Before I did that flight, they knew that I was able to handle it,” he recalled.

Akolade is a member of Drone Nigeria and Drone for Good. The two teams are acknowledged by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). He additionally has FAA certification to fly drones within the United States as a recreation pilot.

Japa

Akolade isn’t considering of japa. He says travelling overseas will solely be for vacation, or searching for images devices.

“I have three of my siblings abroad, one in Vietnam, another in London, another one in Dubai. If I tell three of them to gather money together for me to travel also, I can raise the money. But I believe there is a potential of making it in Nigeria. If you work hard enough, you will have all the things you are aspiring to get abroad,” he mentioned. 

About Akolade

Akolade is an award-winning inventive director and authorized drone pilot, well known for his distinctive contributions to visible storytelling and images innovation. He is the founder and lead visible artist at Prophoj Focus Photography, a flexible images and media model identified for delivering high-quality imagery throughout numerous genres.

Prophoj Focus makes a speciality of occasion images, skilled video protection, studio and on-location shoots, aerial images for building progress experiences, and actual property documentation. The studio additionally provides images consultancy and hands-on coaching for aspiring creatives, reflecting Akolade’s dedication to mentoring the following technology of visible professionals.