Milton photographer captures portraits of key workers to show appreciation for their work

Police officers and firefighters have been immortalised in images by photographer Femi Olaiya from Milton, who wants to show appreciation to people who have risked their lives through their jobs or volunteer roles.

Femi aims to photograph more professions including bus drivers, shop workers and healthcare professionals before exhibiting his work later this year.

The 42-year-old has been taking photographs since moving here from Nigeria in 2008 to be with his wife.

He said: ‘As my photography grew I thought about doing more socially relevant projects so when the pandemic kicked in I thought I needed to do a series on this whole pandemic.’

Unable to get out during lockdown to capture these images, Femi’s idea was echoed in a project which appeared on the front cover of Vogue, but he hopes to show the diversity of key workers in Portsmouth through his work.

Femi, who is building information modelling lead and architectural design manager at Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘This is my own way of appreciating every key worker by making portraits of them with the aim to put a face to those at the front line during the pandemic.’

He added: ‘The idea isn’t just to take photos but also show the ethnic diversity of Portsmouth as well. It’s an opportunity to show the diversity, all these people living together and fighting for one cause. It’s a strong message.’

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The aim is to capture an image of three workers from each service, from a variety of backgrounds, genders and races.

Femi, who has had a great response from the people photographed so far, said: ‘They were so supportive and easy to photograph. I was thinking they would be reluctant, I didn’t know I’d get that much support from them. I felt really proud to have done that with them.’

On his love of photography, Femi added: ‘It’s therapeutic for me, it’s a way of letting off steam when I’m stressed from my regular day job. It’s another way to convey social issues in a creative way.’

To get involved with the project, contact Femi at [email protected] or visit pixpacstudios.com

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