I Am African And I Can: Ousman Diallo

Bringing Imagination to Life

Roses are red violets are blue, if Ousman Diallo can own his craft so can you. In the midst of harvesting his garden, the Guinean artist found love in poetry and photography.

The moment Diallo came to the realization that it was indeed time to explore the world of photography, was when he haphazardly checked his iPhone one day, only to find that he could no longer take photos --his memory card was full.

Taking matters into his own hands, Diallo decided to purchase his very first camera, a Canon Rebel camera. Since the day he locked eyes with her, the only other beauty he remained faithful to is poetry, his first love.

Diallo had been pursing poetry since the fifth grade.

Today, he is working on his Masters completion in photography and design at Syracuse University.

After picking up his Bachelor's in computer information and technology from Syracuse University, in 2012, he picked up a flight to Italy.

During his 6-month stay in Italy, he got a more international perspective of how America is looked at.

Perspective. Perspective is exactly what Diallo's admirers draw from analyzing his work.

"Ousman's work in all aspects reflects a deep sense of compassion and generosity," said Mike Choi, filmmaker and co-founder at Auxygen, a creative and design firm. "His work elevates spiritual consciousness and touches base on social biases of the people in the world."

One can only imagine Diallo's reaction to receiving an overflowing amount of weekly messages from people who express to him how his art has "some type of affect on them."

Diallo's writing is a reflection of his personality, laid-back and conversational. He writes about things he has the authority/perspective to write about. Then, performs what is perceived as "serious," in a not-so-serious way.

"People like what I say and how I say it," said Diallo.

The best part of creating, Diallo proclaimed, is when he's done; coming up with an idea in his head and making it happen. Then, sharing it with friends, who also end up sharing with their friends.

Pat McGowan, co-founder at Auxygen, who also specializes in graphic and industrial design, said that Diallo's work reminds him those who mind don't matter, and those who matter mind.

"His fearless approach motivates all of us to keep constantly creating," McGowan revealed.

For Diallo to Keep being productive and inspired, he spends a lot of time alone, reading biographies of 16th century poets and painters.

Diallo finds pleasure in photographing: architectural, journalistic, fashion work, and portraits.

As he explained, the difference between an amateur photographer and a professional photographer is that, " a professional photographer knows what he's doing; he has a vision and he knows how to make it happen."

An amateur photographer would sporadically pick up his camera and photograph friends. Whereas, a professional photographer would frequently receive offers from prestigious names like Vogue to do photo shoots, and a history channel to film a documentary.

What's next for Diallo?

He wants his photography skills to reach the next level. He also hopes that Auxygen, a company he helped co-found, keeps growing because the company has a group of top-notch designers who are willing to take their creativity to the next level.