Please introduce yourself—what is your name, where are you from, what do you do?
My name is Nipah Dennis. I am Ghanaian and a photographer; I wouldn’t want to be anything else.
What is your relationship with photography, and how did you get into it?
I got into photography when I chanced upon street photography on the internet. Since then, photography has been my everything. It is all I do, all I think of, and all I dream of. Photography continues to give me access to places I normally wouldn’t be allowed. It continues to teach me.
What do you think triggers you to photograph in a certain moment? Is it planned or solely driven by intuition?
I’d say both. Sometimes I plan, but most times it's intuition. And I believe that is what makes photography so beautiful.
What is the story you want your pictures to tell?
I want my pictures to tell stories that provide information, educate, and demand consideration for the people that they depict.
Which city would you like to visit the most, and why?
I haven’t had any desire to visit any city outside of my own country, Ghana. I continue to be curious about Takoradi in the western part of Ghana. I have visited several times, mainly for work and vacation. But I wish to live there for maybe a few months.
In terms of industrialization, the city appears to have been very active both before and after its independence in 1957. I think the city had more potential to contribute to the nation's development than it does now. I want to make photographs of this city. I want to know about its history.
What is your personal relationship to cities, and how do you perceive them as places in general?
My work as a photographer allows me to see places all year long. I’m not sure I have a personal relationship with cities. Perhaps I should pay attention now that you asked. However, people’s ways of life always get my attention when I visit places.
Regarding your project Living by the castle: what was your intention, and how did you come up with the idea?
I am still developing the idea for this project. I was on assignment, traveling across the coastal areas of Ghana, looking at how climate change is affecting castles and slave forts. We then got to the Cape Coast Castle, which served as one of the main places for the slave trade and has become one of the most visited places by black people across the world.
While waiting to get in, I decided to take a walk around. The scenes reminded me of James Barnor’s photographs from the 1950s or so. I wondered how much has changed. I want to look into the daily lives of the people living close to the castles, especially in the present time.
I want to compare the photographs to those from the past of the same area or similar. Hence, the format I chose, which inspires by the legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor.
Which project did you never finish?
I had an idea for a project on water. I then found out that the main subject that inspired the idea had passed. I tried to still find other ways but it’s been difficult getting information on the subject. I will try again.
What is that one thing you have never managed to photograph and is now gone for good?
That will take me back to Takoradi also known as the oil city. There used to be this wreck that I was told was used for the extraction of oil. I think it was replaced with a new one and this particular one was left floating.
Each time I saw it in a different location and I wanted to photograph it every time it moved to a different location. Just when I was ready to start, it was nowhere to be found. I was told it’s been taken out. Now, every time I visit the place I hoped that it was here. Lesson learned.
If you could travel back/forth in time, what advice would you give your younger/older self?
The same advice I always gave myself: to not give up photography.
What do you prefer saying: «to take a photograph» or to «make a photograph», and why?
I prefer saying, «to make a photograph». There is a process before my photographs come to exist. The process is not «point and shoot». That process of deciding what I want in the frame and how I want it is the making of a photograph for me.
What is the most interesting experience you have had while photographing?
One that I can remember was my assignment to photograph the behind-the-scenes of Good Morning America while they broadcast live from Ghana. On the second day of broadcasting, the show’s host, Robin Roberts, upon her arrival on set, kind of asked everyone to pause for a second to tell me how good my work was.
She had seen my photographs from the previous day. This is not something I believe photographers like myself get much of if any at all. This was very encouraging.
If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?
I would be interested in architecture or carpentry. These are two things I want to do at some point in my life.
How would you describe one of your pictures to a blind person?
Tough one. I must admit. I am a visual person; I find it difficult to use words.
What are you currently working on, and—if there is—what is your next project or journey?
I am not currently working on any personal projects. My focus is on building on clients’ work to make them a body of work rather than strictly following a sort of brief. That is the journey I am on now.
Thank you, Nipah!
What is your personal relationship to cities, and how do you perceive them as places in general?
My work as a photographer allows me to see places all year long. I’m not sure I have a personal relationship with cities. Perhaps I should pay attention now that you asked. However, people’s ways of life always get my attention when I visit places.
Regarding your project Living by the castle: what was your intention, and how did you come up with the idea?
I am still developing the idea for this project. I was on assignment, traveling across the coastal areas of Ghana, looking at how climate change is affecting castles and slave forts. We then got to the Cape Coast Castle, which served as one of the main places for the slave trade and has become one of the most visited places by black people across the world.
While waiting to get in, I decided to take a walk around. The scenes reminded me of James Barnor’s photographs from the 1950s or so. I wondered how much has changed. I want to look into the daily lives of the people living close to the castles, especially in the present time.
I want to compare the photographs to those from the past of the same area or similar. Hence, the format I chose, which inspires by the legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor.
Which project did you never finish?
I had an idea for a project on water. I then found out that the main subject that inspired the idea had passed. I tried to still find other ways but it’s been difficult getting information on the subject. I will try again.
What is that one thing you have never managed to photograph and is now gone for good?
That will take me back to Takoradi also known as the oil city. There used to be this wreck that I was told was used for the extraction of oil. I think it was replaced with a new one and this particular one was left floating.
Each time I saw it in a different location and I wanted to photograph it every time it moved to a different location. Just when I was ready to start, it was nowhere to be found. I was told it’s been taken out. Now, every time I visit the place I hoped that it was here. Lesson learned.
If you could travel back/forth in time, what advice would you give your younger/older self?
The same advice I always gave myself: to not give up photography.
allcitiesarebeautiful.com is a community-driven, cross-disciplinary platform for contemporary documentary photography and literature.
