Guyanese photographer evolves childhood passion into rewarding career

DELANO Williams grew up with a love for photography. He has built for himself today a distinguished career in the field and a reputation for excellence to be widely recognised as one of the best photographers in Guyana and the local media landscape.

Williams’ inspiration to pursue professional photography as a career came from his father, Julian Williams, who was an accountant, part-time videographer and hobbyist photographer. As a young boy, he watched with fascination how his father used a film-based still camera to capture incredible photographs of their family at home in South Ruimveldt Park (Georgetown). At times, he even accompanied him to develop rolls of film in a darkroom at the Acme Photo Studio. His mother, Evadne Williams, noticed his interest one day before she went to complete her studies in England, and eventually, she gifted him a simple point-and-shoot camera.

Williams then made it a hobby to spend hours staring through the viewfinder of his camera as he focused on snapping photos of people, places, or anything that grabbed his attention. Years later, he decided to turn this immense passion into a profession.

“Photography is about getting that shot. It’s about capturing the essence of the world around me and creating experiences for people,” explained 44-year-old Williams to the Pepperpot Magazine. He shared that his determination to delve into the visual art form using his camera and an eye for creativity and detail is what has led him to devote 25 years of his life to photographing cultural, political and social events across the country’s administrative regions.

Initially, after graduating from St Joseph High School in 1996, he enrolled in the Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI) but subsequently decided to become a clerk at John Fernandes Limited. During this period, Williams got his first professional camera, a Vivitar V4000, a popular camera model back then. He spent his days earnestly practising improving his photographic techniques and skills.

He reminisced that he would experiment with different lighting and lighting equipment, compositions and frames, and the positioning of subjects and objects to find his niche in portraiture or portrait photography before he started seeking freelance photography jobs.

Fortunately, his big breakthrough came in 1999 which ultimately changed the course of his life. Encouraged to apply for the role of a news photographer for the Guyana Chronicle by the Chief Photographer at the time, Winston Oudkerk, he took a leap of faith to embrace the opportunity and joined the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL).

“I started as a news photographer the same year, but this genre of photography was new to me,” shared Williams before revealing: “With guidance from senior news photographers, I quickly learnt the style of photography.”

Life in the media behind the camera
For Williams, news photography is essential in providing images to complement written news articles. It is integral in helping people understand the context of articles and feel different emotions. He also pointed out that the primary purpose of news photographs in journalism is to reflect reality accurately in a moment of time and to always tell a truthful story in each frame.

“There is no messing up in news photography, the work has to be precise and sure, or the moment is lost,” Williams said, while further highlighting that there is a rule in news photography that photographs should never be manipulated to distort visual authenticity of the original message.

In his view, to take a compelling news photograph or any photograph on a professional camera also means getting the right equipment and understanding three basic camera settings – ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. “ISO controls how bright or how dark is an image, […] Shutter Speed is the part that controls how long the shutter is open and exposed to light to freeze or capture movement, while Aperture or F-stop is responsible for the amount of light let into the camera and it controls the depth of field or the distance behind the subject to the background,” he explained. According to Williams, these functions work in conjunction with each other and once mastered, they can assist a photographer in producing great results.

Over the years, Williams has had a long list of remarkable and unforgettable shooting experiences on news assignments. From photographing high-profile government and political events to breathtaking aerial sceneries and capturing protests and riots to chronicling the daily lives of Guyanese, working in the media has allowed Williams to create an impactful legacy in the genre, since his work has been featured in a variety of local, regional and international publications.

Believing that photographic abilities must be consistently refined through training and practice, Williams went on to attend several photography programmes at the Kuru Kuru Co-operative College, Durban Backlands (Georgetown). He also completed photography training workshops in Trinidad and Tobago that allowed him to learn more about different photography.

Continuing his photographic journey, Williams decided to leave in 2007 to open his personal photo studio called ‘Xclusive’. However, he closed the studio in 2015 and he returned to GNNL to continue working as a news photographer.

By this time, the digital era had begun transforming photography in the media. Williams found himself having to adapt, starting with purchasing a Nikon Full-frame Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera. Gone were the days he had to wait to see his images until the rolls of film were developed and printed in a darkroom at GNNL. With a DSLR camera, he reviewed his work in real-time on the camera’s monitor and made any adjustments quickly. Additionally, he disclosed that the Internet, social media platforms and the deluge of digital technologies has made the process of capturing, editing and sharing photographs efficient.

“Working in the media taught me a lot and I am happy and grateful,” he noted.

Furthermore, Williams has copped numerous awards and achievements in recognition of his work. He received a Certificate in General Portraiture in Trinidad and Tobago from PhotoSophistry of San Francisco, California; he was recognised by the Guyana Press Association (GPA) for attaining third place for Best News Photographer in 2019; and he won second place in the Best Feature Photography category of the PAHO/WHO Clare Forrester Media Awards for Health Journalism in 2017, to name but a few.

More recently, Williams was selected by the United States of America (USA) Embassy in Guyana to attend a two-year online and an in-person International Visitor Leadership (IVLP) programme in the USA on ‘A Global Moment in Time: Photojournalists Document Challenges and Opportunities in the COVID Era.’ As part of this programme, he received two certificates from the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Presently, Williams is the Assistant Chief Photographer for the Guyana Chronicle at the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.

Finding Joy in the Art of Making Memories
Williams lives his life by the rubric that says, ‘photographers are the eyes to the world,’ as he balances his career and being a devoted father of four children and husband to his wife, Bibi Wong. Aside from news photography, he takes his camera everywhere, as his childhood love for snapping pictures drives him to make lasting memories of every fleeting moment. It also brings him profound joy in his spare time to use his photography talents to creatively capture colourful portrait photographs of diverse people at weddings, graduations, birthdays, conferences or other themed events. Even though he sometimes faces challenges with purchasing equipment locally, Williams perseveres to stay true to his craft.

“I love capturing people’s poses, expressions, ways of life and different moods,” he said before stating: “I just enjoy interacting with people. Every day, I awake with the eyes Allah gave me expecting to capture something remarkable, maybe another image to inspire people.”

He encouraged budding photographers to take the time to learn photography as an art by seeking training resources, networking with photography professionals, and investing in the right equipment that will help to give results.

Williams aims to continue masterfully photographing moments to bring them to life and to tell unique stories. After all, he proudly said, “Photography is my passion.”