Its easy to see why The Guardian has already featured Indian blogger, bike lover and photography enthusiast Devesh Uba on their list of the best city blogs around the world – look at his Tumblr and you’ll see that this digital marketing executive living in Nigeria has an eye to capture the nuances of daily life in one of the world’s most populous cities.
Uba has found his way to Lagos, where he works and documents life through the lens, a project which has him contributing to The Guardian’s Best City Blogs Around The World section. His medium of street photography, which he hosts on his Tumblr site, Snap It Oga! is all the more impressive given that street and candid photography is usually something uncommon and unwelcome by many Nigerians.
In fact, it is something that has gotten Uba in trouble a few times.
Speaking to The Guardian, Uba said: “Lagos is a very challenging when it comes to people and street photography. People here often think I am press and I might be reporting something about them, so the request of taking pictures is always rejected. I have gotten into trouble several times, when people start asking for hundreds of dollars for clicking a random building or even a tree. Maybe being a foreigner is an issue.”
Uba recently hooked up with the hardworking folks at Homegrown magazine in India, who have gotten Uba as a contributor to their online publication. For their first collaboration, Uba is working on his Indian Bikes In Nigeria photo project, a work the Royal Enfield Bullet owner started when he began seeing classic and modern Indian bikes in Lagos, namely, the Bajaj Boxer.
