David E. Prah: a citizen of the world

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David E. Prah, a ghanaian photographer who loves the art of images as an explanation of the world. In fact he is a citizen of the world.

David E. Prah is a 25 years old photographer born in Accra, Ghana. He is literally a citizen of the world: born in Ghana, he has done studies in Tampa, Florida and after a One Year Filmmaking Program in Paris.

Now David lives in Brooklin, New York and he has amazed us with his saturated and sweet vision of the world. We have asked him to give us a “slice” of his time as a present.

Here are the results of our time together. And Thanks David!

When does it started the love for Photography?

I’d say that my love for photography started all the way back in 2014, I was at my Aunt’s birthday party with my family, and I was taking pictures of the decor with my old phone camera, i think it was an HTC One phone.

My cousin saw how into taking the pictures I was and pointed it out to me that night. The following week, I kept taking more pictures with my phone and my uncle also noticed that I was getting pretty interested in taking pictures.

Two weeks later, my uncle gave me his old camera as a gift, it was a Canon camera. I can’t remember the exact model, but i know it was a Canon. It was then that i started photography as a real hobby, and since then i’ve been falling in love with it more and more.

Do you remember you first photo?

Yes I do actually, it was the same day my uncle gave me his camera. I went out to the front yard and took a picture of the palm tree. I was so excited when i took it and edited it on my phone, to me it was like i had created my first wallpaper.

What do you prefer to show in your shots? Colors, emotions, Faces…

Well this might sound a bit cliche, but I’m a huge believer of the beauty of life. Thanks to my photography, I’ve been blessed to travel to many places in the world and document how people live and interact with their natural surroundings & each other, and I can honestly say that despite our cultural, social & religious differences, we all live the same way, and we’re all connected as one.

So when I take my pictures, I try to show that beauty & connection of life that we live in everyday. And when i edit my photos, i usually try to create the colours that blend with the way i see with my own eyes and with the mood i try to convey to my audience.

That way, not only am i creating – or trying to create – a masterpiece for my audience to enjoy, but i’m also staying true to myself and to who i am.

Have you got a secret dream for your works? What do you aspire to do with your camera?

I have a lot of goals that i want to accomplish – like to become a cinematographer and make movies with well known directors, and to open my own film production studio in Ghana – but no matter what I end up doing, I want be able to spread love and joy to my family, my friends, and to everyone who welcomes me into their life.⁣

The world is full of problems and troubles, and with how things are right now, it‘s not getting any easier. To be honest, one could go as far as to say that it’s all coming to an end, and they may be right. But that doesn’t mean we should give up and lose hope, because this is still a beautiful world, and I want my work to reflect the beauty of the connection – or the “journey” of life.

I want people to be able to look at my photos or watch my films and appreciate the world, recognize how connected we all are, respect & appreciate one another, and live through the good times & the bad, just as much as myself, maybe even more.

My ultimate dream is for all of us to live our best lives, and I believe photography is the gateway for me to make that dream a reality. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen, because at the end of the day, I’m just a guy who loves life.

Can we talk one minute about the COVID Pandemic in Africa? What do you have to sai about that?

I just want to briefly talk about what’s going on in 2020 – specifically about the COVID pandemic and the Police Brutality in Nigeria. I’m not the type of person to get into politics, but I want people to know that we’re all in this together.

The pandemic has been hard on all of us, most of us have been sitting at home for months without jobs or employment and I empathise with those struggling because I’m also struggling.

I just want to say that we’re all going to get through this, we just need to keep the faith going, and keep our beliefs burning with passion. This is a hurdle that we can overcome, and better days are ahead of us, much sooner than we think.

And as for the police injustice in Nigeria, I want my Nigerian friends & the Nigerian people that I stand by them. I’m not a famous celebrity, I’m not a diplomat, I’m not anyone in higher power to make a huge difference, but what I can do is stand by you all in ending this injustice, and I know that together if we fight for what’s right, justice will reward us. United, we can end Sars.

Can you tell us something funny about your work?

Well i remember when i first started working for a Photography company in Ghana – they’re called Capture Ghana, or simply “Capture”. They offer a lot of photography and videography services, but they’re well known for covering weddings & events.

I did my training with them, I worked as a photographer, videographer, and an editor for 2 years. I was good at what i did, i was hardworking, but the one thing i did constantly that annoyed my boss was the fact that during the events, i would get so captivated by the moment – like for example, the bride & groom’s first dance, or the presentation of an award or something spontaneous happening – I would get so distracted by those moments that i would actually forget to capture those moments!

I’m not even kidding i’ve lost count on how many times my old boss would yell at me to snap out of the trance and capture those moments, and when i do snap out of it, my reactions were so slow to pick my camera up and take the picture that i’d end up missing the moment. Even now I sometimes still miss a lot of moments, but it is what it is. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. That’s life.

Do you like music photography?

I wouldn’t say that i have any music photography experience, what i can say is that i’ve shot only one music video ever. It was for a good friend of mine back in Ghana. You can actually find the video on my IGTV. It’s called “Keshon Whyte: 10PM In Adenta”.

That was a fun experience for me, and i think the fact that it was my friend i was working with is what made it much easier for me because i felt so relaxed on the shooting day, it gave me the freedom to express my creativity.

And when it came to editing, we both put our own inputs on how we wanted it to appear visually, and it ended up working out the way we both wanted it.

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Sara Alice Ceccarelli