Coming from a background of darkrooms, red lights and the magic created by switching chemicals, one of Namibia’s most accomplished artists Tony Figueira, believes true photography has to be composed in the mind before the shutter is released.

The soft-spoken bearded Tony is in fact a Jack-of-all-Trades, a chip from the old block. He is also comfortable in the musical industry and will be seen beating the drums during his formative years while a student.  His musical interest started very early as a youngster. Tony was juggling the sticks when local businessperson and well-known astute football administrator, Manuel Coelho, tied the knot in 1972.Tony, together with the Kuhnert siblings, Vera and Horsty, kept the guests on the floor with the fairly young musos taking them through a variety of cover versions of legends such as Jim Reeves, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra – much to the adoration and sheer admiration of the elated and entertained guests.

Tony was a founder member of the first ever multi racial six piece rock band in Namibia, “Telephone” made up of Lindsay Scott (bass), Carlos Kambaekwa (lead guitar), Svi Gorelicks (rhythm guitar), Willem Hoebeb (keyboards), Tony Figueira (drums) and Lesley Kozonguizi (lead vocals). Apart from music, Tony is a noted photographer whose work has earned him international recognition.   “It comes from knowing light, loving light and being sensitive to light in a process of premeditated thoughts and technical knowledge that compares the taking of great images to the writing of great songs, You know when you have written one,” says the humorous Tony.

Yet the digital age has changed the playing fields while its immediacy has generated a whole new audience, and a world of creativity that takes photography into new realms. “Interesting how it throws my purist photography into a disarray of creativity that is so much in proportion to my crazy imagination. So a car wreck in the middle of the desert becomes a piece of fine art, an abstract to be interpreted in any way. And hung in any way”.

Tony has fallen in love with the digital age and is such a far cry from what he ever imagined photography would and will still become. “This is a world moving at the speed of light, changing so fast that the world we wake up in is significantly different from the one we go to sleep in each evening,” he relates.