LESEGO MAPHANGA

Nominee's Province:
Gauteng

Age:
26

Project Name/Description:

More info:

It is said some things are taught and some caught in the process of life. If there is one person who brings this saying to life, it is Lesego Maphanga. When it became financially impossible – as it is for millions of young South Africans – to further his studies, Maphanga took advantage of the digital space and learnt a skill he had always dreamt of having – photography.  When he had mastered his photography skills, Maphanga gathered money from fixing computers, digital devices and doing some graphic design on the side, to afford his first camera. Eventually, he started his photography studio idea.  Today, the studio employs two young people. The 26-year-old states that the key obstacle in photography is that these days everyone is a photographer, adding that it takes something really special to get yourself recognised. According to this go-getter, schooling and skills are the keys to job opportunities for the youth. Maphanga believes that no matter what obstacles come his way, nothing will stop him from making a success of photography.