It is truly amazing what I have been blessed with.But it’s what we do with these blessings is what counts.
I’ve been doing photography for my high school (WBHS) since 2009.I caught on,loved it & never looked back.We’re extremely lucky at Westville Boys’ to have such an organized and sufficient Art Dept.With our wide range of mediums pupils are able to basically do whatever medium they choose.I,lucky enough am able to do graphics & photography with the latest equipment such as Mac desktops to a range of Canon camera’s,memory cards,batteries,monopods,flashes & not to mention the extent of our lenses-WOW!
It’s here where my teacher taught me everything I know up until now & been nothing but supportive toward me & my work.Since the beginning of this year i’ve gone on a project to design & take pics for my surf mag of Durbs which will in turn be used for one of my finals.The mag is called “The Bru’s” as i’m doing the mag solely on my mates & the things/people that surround me in Durbs.The story line is “I SHMAAK DURBS BECAUSE…” This will be used as a question whereby my mates have/will give the explanation as to why they love Durbs so much travelling from Ballito,North Coast, to Amamzimtoti,South Coast interviewing my local mates.
I posed a question to my teacher as to maybe getting an underwater housing for one of our Canon’s?He was reluctant yet takes some time to import etc.As I got into bummed mode the next day my art teacher had asked one of our teacher’s if I was able to use his housed camera,and the answer?YES!!!!!WHATTT?! I’d only dreamed of using a housed camera!And this is where my journey begins…
I started taking pics at various place; Umdloti,North,Wedge,Dairy…and came up with some stunners!!And of course some dead awful ones,but I learn from it & the next time I shot was even better.Needless to say after a couple uploads on Facebook,MagicSeaweed & Zig Zag I started to get some comments.Blessings to lead from one the next & keep coming.I got asked by one of my father’s good mates if I want to shoot at The Mr Price Pro 2011,a prestigious 6 Star WQS Surf event held in Ballito,North Coast (only if he could get me certified etc to work there).I went bonkers!
As my surfing mates saw my pics on Facebook my mate Wes Lewis wanted in on the action,as he landed a small sponsor.So we made a plan to get down to his final KZNSSA Surf trial at Wedge flippen early one crispy & cooker Durban morning.Taking pics of sponsored lightees leads,sometimes, in grabbing some dosh as they good and expose their sponsored rider & ultimately my name, so Wes thought it was a swell idea.Well was it ever!I got some belter shots.Some of free surfers,sponsored,small big all kinds.Plug in the memory card in,download,check ‘em out,edit,upload to various sites & …..wait.2 days later I an email from Shot Bru (Zig Zag) to say that 2 of my photos taken at Wedge;one of my mate getting lakka barrel and the other of sponsored Rip Curl rider Frankie Oberholzer cutting his wave to shreds was ecstatic!Rated 5/5 stars only to find the next day it was 15th on the Leaderboards.”Shot Bru” is a compo on Zig Zag mag where anyone can upload THEIR pics.The best get picked into the mag,the winner of the months grabs and Olympus underwater cam and 2nd gets a Quik,not bad for taking simply pics huh??
On the same day I got an email from a guy that I took pics of free surfing at Wedge wanting to know how much i’d charge not just fro one but 5 images of him!!Well that was me fist pumping to the heavens,smiling from eye to eye!
It just shows what you can do with your talents;how you can expand with them and have fun doing so.I have Jesus to thank for what he’s given me & no on else!Even if it’s something small,your talent can influence something bigger.
My mate Keagan Wright tubing at Wedge PHOTO©WALKER
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR BLESSINGS?
