Behind the lens with Tshepang Mokoena
The local youth shares with the community how photography has impacted his life.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and for local youth Tshepang Mokoena, a picture is worth that, and more.
He shares with the community his journey with his camera and what he hopes his perspective shows.
Here is what he had to say…
I’m Tshepang Mokoena, also known as ‘Tshepangs.stories’ on social media, and I am committed to helping you see the world and the stories we share as humankind. Many of us go unseen, and many of us are silenced by our circumstances. As a Growing Champions Leader, I decided to create a voice for the unspoken through our eyes. My passion is pressing the shutter of my camera to capture powerful stories – your story.
I am a self-taught photographer who has been blessed with the mentorship of Kamva Goso and a band of brothers in Growing Champions who help keep me working to better our world. I was blessed with an 8.1 pixels camera by my Growing Champions maths tutor, aunty Gill Oeschger. She turned 80 years old in this month of love – so a shout-out to this legend… I was grateful but I was thinking I wasn’t going to shoot quality pictures with it, but what came of it was just magic and art.
One of the best captured moments was when I captured my first black and white canvas print. It was of a friend of mine smoking under a tree and he did not even notice that I was shooting him. When I got to see the photograph on an A2 canvas it just melted my heart. One of my first black-and-white pictures led to a lot of people believing in me and my personal development coach Sam Toweel-Moore encouraged me to create a photo book.
This encouraged me to be bold and brave and take up the kind offer by Elsa de Witt, to display my photograph prints plus books at the Mosaïek Christmas Expo. It was so successful I was able to take the money raised to help our Growing Champions girls get their school uniforms as they were starting Grade 8. I strongly believe we must embrace our talents because this will change the world for the better.
Thank you to all those from our community who have bought and continue to buy my works. You are helping me bring safety to the lives of our young women.
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