Years ago as an upcoming photographer, the name “Bob Pixel” often came up in discussions with other creatives with respect to how he was changingYou the narrative about photography with his style. Not long after, I found his works on Facebook and truly, his style was not only unique but with time he proved through his exceptional work that photography was a career worth pursuing and one that an aspiring creative could earn a decent living from.
It was my dream to meet Bob Pixel one day but it never materialized and I never thought I would be writing a piece on such a phenomenal photographer who has inspired a whole “army” of photographers, filmmakers and other creatives.
Emmanuel Yeboah Bobbie, popularly known as Bob Pixel was born on the 1st of August, 1976 and hails from Asokore Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is an alumnus of Abuakwa State College where he had his Senior Secondary Education and completed in 1995 and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he read Communication Design and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelors Degree.
In an interview on “The Convo with Jay” hosted by Oheneba Joan on YouTube, Bob Pixel mentioned that although he had interest in photography while studying in KNUST, the interest spiked when he was working in a shop in London where there was an isle of photography books on sale which always caught his attention and triggered his interest in photography. He therefore begun his photography journey in 2004 whilst in UK and subsequently moved back to Ghana with the vision of pursuing photography as a career.
Amidst the challenges of resettling in Ghana, the fact that photography and hence photographers were not accorded the respect they deserved in addition to mixed feelings from a few close relations, he had to swim against the tide to make his mark in the industry.
Having had some stints in wedding photography early on in his career, he explored other areas of the art and produced amazing images for fashion and clothing brands like Woodin, advertising agencies, corporate bodies such as Coca Cola, Nestle, Ecobank, Samsung, Vodafone Ghana, Fan Milk and many others, and a significant number of celebrities such as Joe Mettle, John Dumelo, Lydia Forson, Manifest, Fuse ODG and a lot more.
As a person who loved to travel and was very passionate about his country, he travelled across the country with his assistants and sometimes fellow photographers photographing and doing documentaries on tourist sites in Ghana.
In his quest to tell authentic stories, he went as far as going underground to photograph young men involved in small scale mining popularly known as “Galamsey” and risking his drone to get beautiful shots of cloud formation during sunny days and most especially during stormy days in Accra.
His page “Bob Pixel Photography” was the go-to page for updates and beautiful images during national events, elections, festivals and other high powered events. Bob did his best to market Ghana in a positive light on the internet space with his breathtaking images mostly through his personal initiative and funding.
Bob Pixel loves to teach, mentor and share his knowledge with upcoming photographers and protégés and has over the past almost seventeen years of practice, trained and inspired a great number of photographers and filmmakers directly and indirectly.
“My first time of meeting Bob Pixel was at a photography workshop at his studio and though I did not understudy him afterwards, he was always willing to advice me and share knowledge when I reached out. His tips for drone piloting and lessons on lighting techniques has helped me immensely in my career as a Photographer and Filmmaker”, Matilda Dogbatsey of Kafui Praise Photography remarked.
As someone who was keen on seeing people succeed and exploring their gifts and potential to the highest level not only in photography but outside photography, his mantra for his protégés was to keep shooting, travel more and to go out and do more.
Gerard Nartey (Epic Dreams), a protégé of Bob Pixel wrote in a Facebook post, “ Bob encouraged me to write in addition to my photography. He would often tell me how much he admired my humility and gentlemanliness. Sometimes he would call and check up on me and ask how business was going especially during times business was slow and will send clients my way. He was extremely proud when he received positive feedback after the work was done.”
Enoch Adjei (Dacious Nfonii) who was an intern for Bob in 2011-2012 recalled how his time and experience with Bob Pixel reshaped his perception about photography and inspired him to also pursue photography. He mentioned of Bob’s exceptional work ethic and how proud Bob felt when years down the line he showed him works he had done. “My last meeting with Bob was in January 2021 when he came to Kumasi to do a drone shoot for KNUST. I invited him over to my Production house for a dinner and he said to me, “Kwaku you have made me proud”. That meant so much to me” Enoch Adjei recalled.
Bob Pixel was a kindhearted person and had a great sense of humour.
“Bob is so much more of a people person and is quick to engage. Bob is always the one with the jokes making everyone around laugh and smile. Bob had a heart larger than life.” Mr. Steve Ababio, Bob’s contemporary reminisced on his post sighted on Facebook. He added “Bob singlehandedly put his assistant through College at the University of Cape Coast. That assistant now exhibits the skills that indeed pay due homage to the master at whose feet he was taught”
It worth noting that amidst all the travels and great feats accomplished, Bob prioritized his family and was a great husband to his wife Aba Aborkumah Essel and an amazing dad to his three children.
Bob Pixel in pursuit of his dreams made other people’s dream come true. An elderly man based in the Northern part of Ghana had his dream of going to Mecca fulfilled when Bob Pixel’s photo and post about him was chanced upon by the Turkish Government who funded the trip.
Bob Pixel did not only pursue a dream and a career but influenced many by going on a relatively uncharted territory that many photographers, filmmakers and other creatives feel proud to travel on today.
“Bob became the embodiment of that supreme photography influence. With his work and passion he fundamentally affected those who came before him, his peers and scores who grew up looking to him and his work for inspiration, encouragement and motivation.” Mr. Steve Ababio reiterates.
After passing on, on the 25th of February, 2021 after a brief ailment, I believe that Bob Pixel’s legacy will live on. His mark on photography in Ghana is indelible and his footprints will forever remain. Rest In Peace!!! Emmanuel Yeboah Bobbie ( a.k.a. Bob Pixel)
Credits. Banner photo: Douglas Anane-Frimpong, Banner design Nana K. Duah. Photo credit: Bob Pixel, Gerard Nartey and any other photographer whose name wasn’t mentioned.
Sources: Wikipedia, “TheConvo by Jay” by Oheneba Joan, Emmanuel Bobbie’s Facebook page, Mr. Steve Ababio, Gerard Nartey, Enoch Adjei, Matilda Dogbatsey.
This piece was written by Daniel Victor Nartey. Editor and Publisher for myimpactstory.news.blog.
E-mail: myimpactstorytv@gmail.com
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