Seydou Keïta -- and inspiration.

As I have always concentrated on taking photographs of people during my travels, (OK -- so I like taking photographs of cattle too...) and in particular close-up portraits of the people who cross my way, you can imagine my big frustration thus far into my journey through Africa has been the fact that the sight of a camera, no matter how surreptitious, is enough to elicit anger/protestations/verbal abuse/shaking heads and wagging fingers. I sometimes manage to get a sneak pic that is reasonable, albeit from a distance and at somewhat strange and questionable angles, but detailed and perfectly lit portraits are denied me. And believe me, a big frustration this most certainly is! I am finding myself in a world where every moment offers the perfect model for the most perfect shot. The bright colours of the clothing against the gleaming black skins of these beautiful people in this perfect clear light are crying out to be photographed. If only the people were happy for me to do so!

So you can imagine my delight when a good friend sent me a message earlier today to remind me to look out for the work of surely the greatest portrait photographer Africa has produced -- Seydou Keïta. He has had the privilege to have people come to him to be photographed -- willing and eager models, but he also had the unique gift to capture the essence of Africa -- the colour and the energy and the vibrancy of this continent's people, in black and white -- a true master of his craft.

The great African portraitist Seydou Keita lived in Bamako, Mali from 1921 to 2001. A self-taught photographer, he opened a studio in 1948 and specialized in portraiture. Seydou Keita soon photographed all of Bamako and his portraits gained a reputation for excellence throughout West Africa.

His numerous clients were drawn by the quality of his photos and his great sense of aesthetics. Many were young men, dressed in European style clothing. Some customers brought in items they wanted to be photographed with but Keita also had a choice of European clothing and accessories - watches, pens, radios, scooter, etc. - which he put at their disposal in his studio. The women came in flowing robes often covering their legs and their throats, only beginning to wear Western outfits in the late 60s.

Seydou Keita worked primarily with daylight and for economic reasons took only a single shot for each picture. No photoshopping. No wide angle lenses. No light filters. Just a single perfect shot to capture the soul of a person.

Seydou Keita was discovered in the West in the 1990s. His first solo exhibition took place in 1994 in Paris at the Fondation Cartier. This was followed by many others in various museums, galleries and foundations worldwide. He is now universally recognized as the father of African photography and considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.

It’s easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I never was wrong. Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands... I was capable of making someone look really good. The photos were always very good. That’s why I always say that it’s a real art."

Seydou Keïta’s photographs eloquently portray Bamako society during its era of transition from a cosmopolitan French colony to an independent capital. Initially trained by his father to be a carpenter, Keïta’s career as a photographer was launched in 1935 by an uncle who gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie Flash, which he had purchased during a trip to Senegal. During his adolescence Keïta mastered the technical challenges of shooting and printing; he later purchased a large-format camera. The larger format not only offered an exceptional degree of resolution, it also made it possible for Keïta to make high quality contact prints without the aid of an enlarger. In 1948 he opened his own studio in Bamako and he quickly built up a successful business. Whether photographing single individuals, families, or professional associations, Keïta balanced a strict sense of formality with a remarkable level of intimacy with his subjects. Like many professional photographers, he furnished his studio with numerous props, from backdrops and costumes, to Vespas and luxury cars. He would renew these props every few years, which later allowed him to establish a chronology for his work. Keïta commented on his studio practice,

“It’s easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I was never wrong. Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands . . . I was capable of making someone look really good.”

Keïta went to exceptional lengths to bring out the beauty of his subjects and the brilliant patterns of his backdrops proved a particularly effective foil. He worked intuitively, reinventing portrait photography through his search for extreme precision.
In 1962 the newly installed Socialist government made Keïta its official photographer; shortly thereafter he closed down his studio, although he remained active until his retirement in 1977. His archive of over 10,000 negatives was gradually brought to light in the early 1990s; Keïta has since achieved international recognition. Inventive and highly modern, his emphasis on the essential components of portrait photography—light, subject, framing—firmly establishes Keïta among the twentieth-century masters of the genre.