THE ABANDONED BEACH OF LAGOS

Lagos Nigeria (6.5244° N, 3.3792° E) is probably the most popular and populous city in West Africa. 

Surprisingly little is being said about the beach life of Lagos. 

If we go back in time Lagos initially emerged as a port city that originated on a collection of islands.

The popularity of Lagos knows no bounds as it has proven to be unrelenting and the city has grown in relevance in Commerce, Tech, Real Estate and more recently Lagos has forged into being the Entertainment capital of Africa. 

Till date Lagos is very much of an island.

It enjoys a very lush beach presence  because of the coastline where it enjoys high tides from the Atlantic. 

Lagos based photographer Andikan in a collaborative work with Fashion designer Steven Olowojobola are capturing a bit of the Lagos beach life. 

This work is remarkable for how much attention was paid to detail,

from the models, to the choice of costumes, to the mood of the photos and Andikan  unusual reliance on natural lights. 

Firstly, the models are carefully sorted to fit the demography of the regular troopers of an average Lagos beach.

It isn’t uncommon to find millennials littered on a beach in Lagos either on holidays work days. 

The models are young male Nigerians with no distinctively Nigerian attribute asides their skin colors. 

They have unusually long hair which they flaunt in course of the shoot while one of them is remarkably built.

While the models give us peek into the photographer’s stream of thoughts, the nature of the shoot is electric and lively. The photographer captures these millennials in their elements. 

Lagos beaches are known for their reinvigorating charm, regardless of how bad your day must have been or how deep the heartbreak hurts, the beaches in Lagos are capable of rejuvenating your energies. 

It is in this electric state Andikan captures the models. 

We can see them jump and twirl and even kick at the oncoming waves. 

There’s a lot of high energy on a Lagos beach day- not the kind exhaustive energy but a reusable and sustainable energy for the beach and beyond. 

Most remarkably, Andikan doesn’t hold back in his use of natural lights. 

The pictures carry a natural presence and and a very original representation of the “Lagos Sun”. 

The natural colors of the sky with respect to the water are also captured by the photographer.

If ones looks closely he can almost see a rainbow over the head of the models. 

Till date this is the purest pictorial depiction of the Lagos beach life. 

It doesn’t get more energetic than this. 

See what Andikan thinks.  

Fifo Adebakin

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