Gbemi Jones is a photographer born and raised in a popular town in Delta state, Sapele, the home of wine. I met him first on Facebook. His humor and good naturedness is typical of people from the south of Nigeria. When he is not regaling his friends and followers with jokes and stories, he charms them with truly beautiful pictures. After following him for some time, I decided to do a quick Google research on him and I stumbled into pure passion! So captivated was I, that I immediately requested an interview with him via Facebook. Without hesitation or any delayed formality, he accepted! So I got him to share a few things about himself, his business and his ‘big picture’.
Originally named Jones Oghenekro Oritsegbubemi Bakodie, he spent most his life in Delta state. Born in Sapele, he completed his secondary and primary education in the state and continued to Abaraka, the state’s University to study Physics.
He ventured into photography in the University as a member of the Living Faith fellowship where he served in the technical department. After leaving the university, he bought himself what he calls a “point and shoot” camera and spent his months as a youth corps member in Enugu researching photography and honing his skills with online tutorials.
After youth service, he went back to Delta state to set up a business. So far, owning his own startup has been both fulfilling and challenging but he has been able to scale financial hurdles as they come and he’s still sailing.
In less than half a year, he has visited over a hundred places and has handled ninety-seven (97) different projects, most of which include weddings and events and therefore require him to move around a lot. When asked if he was a workaholic, he vehemently denies this but he couldn’t deny his love for travelling.
His biggest influence in the industry include his cousin and namesake Jones Odagwe, the gorgeous T.Y Bello, Animashaun, Jide Odukoya and not so surprising, he is partial to Bella Naija Weddings.
His big picture:
As a business and a person, Gbemi Jones is looking forward to breaking new grounds in 2016.
We wish him the best of luck.
Contact him at: www.gbemijones.com
