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70 years of photography …Keta through the lenses of self-taught master cameraman, FK Tagbor
Frank Kodzovi Tagbor, is a self-taught photographer who started photography as a hobby whilst still in elementary (now basic) school.
When he finished Standard 7 (today’s BECE) in 1952, after a couple of years at Anlo State School having spent most of his schooling years at Dzelukope RC School, he started professional photography from the Tagbor family home at Ashigame, Dzelukope.
His was what would be called today a ‘table-top’ enterprise as his studio was a table with the legs covered with cloth serving as his ‘dark room’ where he developed and printed the photos.
At 92, FK Tagbor, looking back with nostalgia, says today’s photography is no ‘work’, as it does not involve much creativity, with all the latest technological developments and modern gadgets in use.
Background
FK Tagbor, was born on January 13, 1930, at Ashigame, Dzelukope to Mr. Augustine Kodzo Tagbor and Madam Theresia Dueyeye Klokpa. His paternal grandmother was Madam Philipine Agbodzakey and the maternal grandmother, Madam Sarah Nagoti Mensah.
He started school at Dzelukope RC school but along the line started playing truant and dropped out of school to join a fishing company because he did not only love fishing but could also make good money through fishing as a young man.
But as fate would have it, he had to return to school after an incident at sea that nearly cost him his life. Out of embarrassment because his mates and juniors had become his seniors he decided to continue school at Keta RC instead of Dzelukope RC also because Dzelukope RC didn’t have a Middle School at the time.
So he had to take an entrance exam for Keta RC as most schools in the vicinity had only Primary sections and pupils from those schools had to compete for the few vacancies available at Keta RC. He passed the entrance exams alright but was not admitted to Keta RC.
Photography
Disappointed but not discouraged, he opted for Anlo State School and it was there that he completed his Middle School in 1952. He passed the then Standard 7 or Middle School Leaving Certificate.
Whilst at State School as a pupil, he bought a pinhole camera and started taking pictures of friends free of charge. He had the pictures developed at one, Mr. Adjorlolo’s studio at Keta.
His photography work was further enhanced by holiday jobs he undertook at the Keta Diocese’s printing press, St. Michael Press, within the St. Peter Claver Parish at Dzelukope. The press used to print both textbooks and religious material for the schools and churches under the Diocese.
After completion, he was fully employed at the St. Michael’s Printing Press. He first started as a handyman, doing cleaning, painting among other odd jobs. He was taught painting by a Reverend Father and moved on to become a binder as the press printed most of the schoolbooks, hymnals like Dzifomor, religious books (Dzifosafi) for the Keta Diocese.
It was a good job as wages were paid bi-weekly and even apprentices got monthly stipends (FK appreciated this gesture so much that when he also got apprentices, he was paying them stipends monthly too.)
Whilst at the Press he got access to some catalogues and saw some cameras on offer so he ordered a Billy One camera (a folding one) which in those days one could order from overseas and pay on delivery through the post (COD, Cash On Delivery—3 months for delivery) and so he took delivery of the camera after paying to the Post Office.
Commercial business
His real commercial photography took off from that point. This he did side by side with his work at the Press while the house at Ashigame, was his studio. One of his uncles, the late Emmanuel Tagbor took him to Accra and to a studio, JFC, where he would later take the pictures for development and printing, and have them posted back to him.
He was doing all these after work and at the weekends when he did not go to work at the press. Eventually, St. Michael Press had to shut down due to its dwindling fortunes, and government taking over the printing and distribution of textbooks.
Unemployed and with no more regular income from St. Michael’s Press, FK had to fall on his photography, as full-time job and income earner but no longer as part-time job.
FK started developing the films and printing them himself from his ‘studio’ at home. Under a table was his darkroom but he could only print small sizes at best, postcard sizes, himself.
In all these, he didn’t learn photography from anybody but relied on the manuals that accompanied the cameras and other equipment he bought.
Fame
Apart from individual contracts, from elementary and secondary schools like Spaco, ZICO, Anseco, Ketascho, Busco, St. Anthony’s Hospital, Dzodze, his fame and good work went ahead of him.
He moved his studio from the family home at Ashigame to the late John King’s house by the main road opposite PWD. This was his very first formal studio.
In a smart marketing move, he contacted, German manufacturers and suppliers of photographic material, ‘Agfa’, through their agent in Accra to use their brand name for his studio. “Agfa Photos”, which became the household name of his studio.
Some of the individual wedding engagements he could remember were, Mr & Mrs. Tehoda, Mr and Mrs. Tsikplornu, Mr & Mrs. Sebuava etc Family, church and political events became part of the main album/catalogue of Agfa Photos.
The master, self-taught photographer now had to look for apprentices. The first person he got was a lady, the late Stella Hugh-Tamakloe who went on to join the, Information Services Department and had a scholarship for further studies in photography abroad.
Overall, close to 30 apprentices learned at the feet of the legendary FK of Agfa Photos fame. However, Apart from his son, Christian, who has taken over the business, the only apprentice still in business is Mr. Moses Adzaho under the tradename, “Uncle Smiles Fotos”.
Indeed, Keta Municipal, and the whole of Southern Volta’s “sights” for close to 70 years are likely to have been captured through the fingers, eyes and lenses of FK Tagbor.
By Spectator Reporter
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
