Meet Paa Monyo. The Ghanaian Photographer debuts his photo series collection and shares his story

Paa Monyo, The Kumasi Ghana creative photographer born Nana Yaw Oforu Lartey is an exceptional visionary. Having a vast eye-catching and diverse field of shots, tones and colourful reels of photography work really shines a light on the raw and needs to be seen future of the visual arts world.

We are honoured to host his story and know it will provide a magnifying look into the bold, radiant, powerful and memorable scenes and more depth into the West African nation and much more.

Today after the energetic and firework display of the celebration of Ghanaian Independence day we got the blessed chance to speak about his previous photography reels as seen via Behance and Twitter and Instagram. He also shares his quality story and some of his future aspirations and what we can all watch out got from him. Without any delay, we hope you enjoy it!

1. Paa Monyo. It’s an honour to have you join us to talk about your work. You have a range of reviving, colourful and captivating works. Would you describe your creative beginnings? Paa: Thanks for having me! About 9 years ago, I loved creating things with whatever instrument I had. If I find myself with pencils, I sketched, if I find myself with colours I try and create something out of it. Along the line, got my first phone with a camera, it literally opened new and simple ways to get creative. I was taking pictures for fun, I enjoyed every single process of capturing precious stills; beautiful skies, perspectives and some other unique things I found around me. I loved the whole creative process and the art itself.

2. You’ve featured a nice range of interesting projects such as working with Smile NBT, Sunsets in Accra, Naadu Naadu and On the Streets of Zanzibar. Where do your creative ideas come from, and could you briefly explain how it was working on each photo series project? Paa : With most of the projects, it’s an imaginative thought process. Sometimes there’s this push to show my perception of how I see the world through my lens. Sometimes I get inspiration from Pinterest and other photographers I look to up. But for some, it all comes from my being open-minded, playing with colours and how I feel at that point in time. I think my personality plays a major role in that. For a project like On the Streets of Zanzibar, it was to portray how the nightlife in the street of an African town looks like, and about how life goes by and the emotions of the people go express.

3. Being a fresh talent from Kumasi, Ghana there’s a lot of inspiration that stems from there. As a photographer what inspires who to create and were there any role models or established photographers whose work you admired and why? Paa: While in Kumasi, there was this fresh energy to always create, because anywhere you find yourself there’s a story created that’s always worth documenting. This urge eventually pushed me to create very relatable content, especially from the street. The inspiration comes from so many places, sometimes from music, some from stories I hear around, past experiences and sometimes from other great photographers.

4. If you could work with any TOP 4 professionals in the entertainment world who would they be and why? Paa: There are a number of people I would love to work and collaborate with. But I think these four would stand out for me; Damson Idris, Stonebwoy, Lex Ash and M.anifest. These people have a unique way they present their art forms that I resonate with.

5. Now going back to your photography work. As an emerging voice through your art. What do you hope people view and learn from your work? Are there key goals through the work you create? Paa: I hope people will draw inspiration that would empower them in all aspects of their lives, draw values and view the art form as a form of entertainment. One of the key goals is to attract Ghanaians and foreign investors to patronize the young photographers so we can also break into the international space.

6. Thank you for your time and for sharing your work and outstanding art with many. For more viewers and supporters of your work, what can they look forward to this year from you? Paa: Let me use this opportunity to thank everyone who shares, views and supports my work. I wouldn’t have come this far without them. This year they should expect nothing but the very best from me, more projects coming up with other creatives, there’s a lot in the pipeline… They should be ready

Watch out for more from Paa Monyo and follow him online on Twitter and Instagram