Hoedspruit: Neville takes international photography award

Passion and eagerness to learn is exactly what one needs to have in order to achieve their dreams.

A passionate photographer, Kgaugelo Neville Ngomane (20) from Bushbuckridge has won the International Photographic Award Competition in London, United Kingdom.

The passionate photographer received his award on Monday, September 23.

“This award came at the right time for me since September is my birth month, so it was like the best birth day gift ever and considering that I actually took a gap year to fully focus on Photography, winning an international award was mind blowing. I was over the moon,” Ngomane expressed.

He stated that he is hired by Wild Shots Outreach as a photographer and he took the winning photo with the camera he received from them. They submitted the photo he took on his behalf for the competition and he made it.

Ngomane mentioned that he started photography in 2015 after his close teacher who had a camera borrowed him  Ngomane’s photo which he took using a camera from Wild Shots Outreach.

Kgaugelo Neville Ngomane holding his International Award winning photo. the camera, and that was when he realised that it was something that he would love to do.

“After realising my photographic skills, I started a company with my friend named ‘Young Photographers’. I met Mike Hendrick who assisted me in mastering my photographic skills through wild shots. The camera I was using was donated by Wild Shots Outreach,” he said.

“Photography is my world and it means everything to me. Being behind the camera gives me joy, peace and tranquility. Photography tells underlying stories without even saying a word, it is there to explain situations in a visible manner, and that is why we need it,” Ngomane explained.

Ngomane stated that he has a lot of motivators. He said that his family motivates him a lot and that he has more than three mentors and friends who support him in every way possible. Moreover, the word of God is the one that gives him greater motivation.

“Do not quit! Refine your art. It is a bit challenging to be a professional photographer but do not quit,” he advised other aspiring photographers.

The 20-year-old photographer is the founder of Young Photographers and Eco-Play, a non-profitable organisation. Young Photographers deals with media and photography whilst Eco-Play merges sports, conservation and recycling. He mentioned that his next move would be working more on wildlife conservation projects. “I would also love to have my own wildlife documentary,” he said.

Ngomane also said that Wildlife Shots Outreach is taking him to an International Wildlife Photography Conference (Wild Shots Conference) in Cape Town. All expenses are paid in November. “My image will be exhibited at the conference and I will have a chance to communicate and learn from some of the best professional photographers in the world,” he concluded.