All Rights Reserved, 2000 - 2017
Created by:
Torrence Royer
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Ranchod Oza began working as a photographer in Zanzibar in 1925. For five years he worked for the firm Gomes and
Sons, as a junior photographer. Then in 1930 he opened his own shop, the Capital Art Studio, just up the street from
the more famous DeLord photography studio.
His work soon caught the eye of Sultan Khalifa, a known patron of the arts and letters. That began a relationship that
would last 30 years. Sultan Khalifa lived to celebrate his 80th birthday on the throne and was at that time the longest
continuously reigning monarch in the world. Oza became the semi-official royal photographer and went on to produce
hundreds of wonderful images.
Here are some examples of his work and that of his son, R. T. Oza, who still to this days runs the Captal Art Studio in
Zanzibar.
Capital Art Studio
Mr. Ranchod Oza. An historical giant among Photographers working in Africa.
