Victor Politis is the founder and CEO of PRI (www.priny.com), an international project development and financial advisory company. He is the winner of INC Magazine's 'Entrepreneur of the Year' Award and New York University's Teaching Excellence award. PRI has developed and financed prototypical projects in many sectors in over a dozen countries.

DURING the last Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State, Victor politics was clutching his camera like every other person trying to take pictures, but there is more to this man than the camera he carries about. Welcome to the life of Victor Politis, businessman, traveller and photographer.

He is a self-taught photographer and this interest began in Greece in the 1960s. As a teenager, he borrowed a camera from the local photographer in his hometown of Volos, in return for developing his negatives.

"When I was a boy in Greece, my uncle Albert who was a doctor came from America to visit us in

Shots of Nigerian life captured by Victor Polis

my hometown, Volos. Albert was an accomplished amateur photographer. I remember eagerly awaiting to see the prints of the family photographs he took. He recorded our childhood. I admired his use of light and his pictures of people from places where I hadn't been to. As a teenager, I still couldn't afford a camera, but had to made "friends" with the owner of one of the local photo stores.

Digital photography

I always borrowed a camera whenever we had a school outing or on special occasions and would promise to bring my friends' and my film for processing, in return. I still have the prints from those days. Today, I carry a full-frame Canon 5D with a number of lenses, everywhere. Digital photography has enabled me to become faster and more versatile."

And from that full frame Canon 5D camera, he has captured a lot of interesting shots of Nigeria and Nigerians which he has exhibited in a number of countries around the world in a collection of yet to be published book.

Another shot of Victor Politis in Nigeria

He will not fail to tell you that the two most important exhibitions he has had are the one-man shows at the London College of Communication in London (INTERSECTIONS-2006) and at the Trend Show in Istanbul (RESPECT DIFFERENCES - 2007) while he is planning one in Lagos during summer 2008.

"My photos give meaning to my travels. Most of my photos are of people in their context, uninhibited since they are not aware of the camera. People teach me more about a place than a museum or a landmark.

"As often as I can, I return to places where I took photos of people on previous trips, to give them the prints. Reactions from people I have photographed have been so enthusiastic that this has become my motivation. For example, everywhere I go, my drivers are stunned by my photos even though they are of scenes they pass everyday. I had a driver for the day in Lagos who was particularly taken by the photos I took from his car. Seeing my photos and visualising his surroundings without the daily noise and chaos gave him a chance to notice detail and gain insight."

All over the world, audiences are drawn to the finer points and congruence of human behaviours and places, apparent in his photographs.

Victor captures the poetry of rural and urban life on various continents with its subtle, often overlooked incidents and moving, occasionally, comic, or even bizarre human parallels. Victor's photographs portray his subjects spontaneously. They are uninhibited by their unawareness of the camera lens and unmanipulated and direct as in life. Combining this spontaneity with subconscious understanding of composition, Victor reveals the similarities in our world with fascinating parallels of mood and form, where life and people intersect.

Victor Politis

Asked which of the photographs he liked most, he answered: "I have more than 100,000 images from 40 countries. A large percentage is from Nigeria. It is hard to have a few favorites. Every time I try, I end up with more than 100. I like photos that are not only aesthetically strong but also show how the vast majority of people work hard to survive and make ends meet, often with a pained smile on their lips."

On what he intend doing with most of these photographs, Victor said some of them are on his website, www.victorphotos.com. He went on: "I publish some of them in magazines and I am planning a couple of books. The first one will be launched this year. It is called NIGERIA THROUGH THE EYES OF A PASSERBY - Volume 1. I hope that Volume 2 will be ready in less than one year's time. When Turkish Airlines started flying directly from Istanbul to Lagos they were looking for photos and words that would describe Lagos in a positive way. One month before their deadline, I provided my photos and wrote a positive article: LAGOS - VIBRANT AND SURPRISINGLY FRIENDLY. It appeared in Skylife magazine August 2006. You can see it on my website. A couple of years ago, I convinced an upscale Swiss magazine, HORS LIGNE, to include 6 pages of my Nigerian photos in one of their issues. It is also on the website. I use my photos to promote the real Nigeria and its real people at work."

With such an undulating love for Nigeria, you might want to ask how he came into Nigeria. His words: "I conducted a workshop at a conference in Europe. The subject was the importance of well-prepared and structured projects, especially for developing economies competing for investment. There were several Nigerians in the audience from both the private and public sectors. One of them convinced me to come and see how much there was to do here. I came a few weeks later and have been coming regularly ever since. This year, I am spending more time in Nigeria than anywhere else."

First visit to Nigeria

On how he was received on his first visit to Nigeria, Victor said he was well received and appreciated. "We have been busy with many interesting and complex projects. My friend, Eric Stambler, moved here last year from New York and is running PRI's Lagos office. The latest success of the PRI team is the structuring and $60million financing of the first beverage can factory in sub-Saharan Africa.

It is scheduled to open next year in Ogun State. We are working on projects in agro industry, health care, hospitality, property development and redevelopment, middle income housing, infrastructure, etc."

Before coming to Nigeria, he will not fail to impress it on you that his daughter first brought him into sub-saharan Africa. "My daughter Maya invited me to meet her in Kenya. That was the year before I came to Nigeria. Maya and her teenage friends had built a school in Masai Mara, one year earlier. When she came home to New York City, she couldn't find the words to describe her emotions, so she invited me to come to Masai Mara the following summer to share her experience. I consider that visit my introduction to Sub-Saharan Africa."

Today, the daughter, who is 22, has graduated from university, completed her first documentary on a workers' movement in Argentina, teaches yoga in New York and will be going to graduate school in UK later this year.

His second child is 25 - year David who is the executive vice president of a fast growing voice over IP company in Atlanta. "He is very talented. I often ask David's advice before I take important decisions."

Speaking on his impression about Nigeria and his people , Victor that contrary to perception and stereotypes, dignity and the desire to earn an honest income prevails in the country. "The great diversity of the people and cultural backgrounds are strong.

In urban markets, it is common for Christians to manage their Muslim colleague's stalls on Friday with the favor returned come Sunday. Nigerians enjoy laughing and making light of what could otherwise be very stressful; in spite of Nigeria's wealth of natural resources, majority of its people struggle to make ends meet. This also generates a strong desire for good leadership and positive change. The environment is challenging, which makes success even more rewarding."

On his thoughts about the development of Nigeria, he said, "I think we covered a lot of grounds in one sitting. I will summarize by saying that there are very good opportunities in several sectors like agro industry, housing, oil refining and obviously power among other infrastructure. They all require bold and courageous decisions by government. There is a lot of challenging and interesting work to do. We can speak about all this in more detail, another time."