THE ART IN MOTOLANI'S PHOTOGRAPHY

The Hood of the Woods. World Class movie pose shot by Motolani

Contemporary  Art has stretched beyond the 5 old disciplines like Painting, Sculpture, Graphics, Textile Design and Ceramics. It may not be far fetched to surmise that photography has speedily become the 6th branch of art and arguably the most adaptive to our daily life.

Nigeria is a very populous nation which some believe has by far surpassed the legendary 170 million population figures acquired from a census carried out decades ago. Nigeria is the hub of academic knowledge and raw talent in the West Africa region. The contributions of Nigerian Artistes to global music and the film industry can not be overemphasized by any means. 

   

Olorungbon Motolani

 27 year old Olorungbon Motolani is a young lady who has brought world class photography within reach of her fans and clients alike. The pictures that are captured from the eye of the lens, tell a story of nature at its finest. The young lady photographer has conquered the natural elements found in forests, rivers, wind and weather to such an extent that each picture tells its own unique story based on the imagination of the one who views it. Motolani who hails from Ekinrin Adde Town of kogi State in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria, told leisure quest that while growing up, all she ever wanted to be is a journalist, but her parents convinced her to pick mass communication as a career path instead.  According to her parents mass communication was "less dangerous".

Working with nature

 

Motolani says after many unsuccessful attempts to secure admission into the university, she settled for Christian studies and bagged a B.A from the university
Immediately after school she got a job as a call center agent with MTN. But after a week on the job she quickly realized that she didn't want to work for anybody. In her words "for me there wasn't any fulfillment in the job. So I decided to follow my passion and proceeded to enroll under Mr. Adeoye a renowned fashion photographer to learn photography and perfect my talent. That was the best decision I ever made, I have never looked back or doubted my decision.

Young models as seen  from the eye of the lens

Nude African monochrome art photo

In light of her determination and result oriented experiences thus far, the admirable photographer says "My message to the next generation is, education is important, you have all the time in the world to grow and develop your talents. Education most of the time magnifier's talent, it makes it bigger and better. Pass through school and let the school pass through you. Secondly, don't focus on money at the begin of your career focus more on the passion and drive, devote yourself to the craft, and watch the money and fame follow.

 

Sunset in the bushes

MESSAGE TO HER FANS

Motalani has this to say to her fans "thank you, your love and support has kept me going. I am overwhelmed, but I must say this is only the beginning please keep on supporting the brand.

HER BRAND

"Originally I started with "Tolaphotography" but we are rebranding and will now go by "Motolani Olorungbon".

The hood in the forest

Leisure Quest asked the photographer about what attracts her to people especially in a profession where she gets to meet big time celebrities and entertainment industry players. Her reply was: "Honesty is the number one thing that attracts me to people is their passion and the drive for success among others". She went further to share her assessment of her success story:

 "My greatest achievement in my professional life is still being written, I don't believe I am there yet. Contrary to what people think. In my personal life however, my decision to have my son as a single mother is my greatest achievement. I bless God everyday".

  

A story told in the mind

 

Runway Models (Male)

In a rather philosophical mood, Motolani describes her love for fashion and traveling thus: "Fashion to me is a way of life, it's your mood, an expression of who you are. It's a lifestyle, a culture. Traveling and recreation to me is a gift of living life to fullest. The feeling of experiencing other cultures and seeing beautiful places is just bliss. Even more beautiful is capturing them in photographs. My moto in life (although it might sound a bit of a cliche) is "you only live once" so I see each day as a gift and live it to the fullest without regrets.

For now I haven't  gotten international exposure or rather the privilege to travel beyond the shores of this country. But I look forward to traveling all over the world by God's grace.

A super model pose, selected to grace the cover of the first ever print edition of leisure quest magazine

FUTURE PLANS:

"My future plan is to become bigger and better in the photography industry. I want to shoot the "A list models" in the world, cover the biggest fashion shows, shoot portraits of celebrities and  of great people who have influenced the the world.

Although in Photography (like every other profession) there are challenges, for example being a woman in a male dominated profession, however to me is it means being unique and different, it's an edge. Also people have started to regard entrepreneurs with the respect they deserve, there is now dignity in labor unlike some few years back".

MOST ADMIRED PERSONALITY IN LIFE

"My father is my most admired personality in life. Everyday I pray to be half the man he is. His work ethics, his openness to people and his generosity to those around him, how he touches lives and how being kind to others puts a smile on his face.

For photo business enquiries you can contact Motolani on Tel: +234 8132474232

See more pictures as caught in the eye of Motolani's lens: 

Written by Eloho Ikede