I've been part of Amaka's life since she was barely an adult. We've been friends for over 14 years, which is a remarkable feat considering how easy it is to lose friendships. What also makes it special is that the friendship albeit with the opposite sex has been purely platonic. Again, that's hard to come by these days.
It's been over 10 years since I physically saw Amaka. We grew up and everyone had to find their life's path. Amaka's path saw her relocate to the country's capital while mine didn't really move so far; until after NYSC. Despite the distance between us, communication has been great, although there have been periods when we go silent and have no conversations. But that's totally fine. By mutual understanding, we know that our life journey drifts us away sometimes.
Amaka is a big woman now. She works with international companies albeit remotely. On my own end, I've become one of the most sought-after photography brands in Portharcourt 🤐. Since I delved into photography as my career choice, Amaka and I have planned several photo sessions but none happened. Especially because of the distance between us, however, things changed this year. we were able to meet up after a long time and I did get to create photos of her.
On February 26th this year, Amaka turned thirty(she still looks like she's sixteen). Thirty is a milestone age so it meant a lot for her to celebrate it properly. It was also part of her ploy to lure me to Lagos to do her birthday shoot and I obliged. It was going to be the perfect opportunity to see each other again after a long time.
After scheduling a day for the shoot, I arrived in Lagos the day before, and we did the shoot. It felt more like a reunion than a photo session. It was so much and I was glad to see my good friend again.
Check out Amaka's 30th birthday photos;
For her 30th birthday, Amaka wanted her photos to look and feel minimalistic. And she got what she wanted. I'm glad I could be part of her 30th birthday story.
Lemme know in the comments section which photo is your favourite.