Celebrity Photographer Austin Malema Bags An Award At The Promax Africa Awards
Celebrity photographer Austin Malema was recently awarded with the Next Storyteller gong at the Promax Africa, making this his first ever accolade since the start of his career 13 years ago.
The award came as a result of Malema’s involvement in Showmax new docuseries titled Origins, that’s in celebration of Africa’s storytellers.
“It was during the production stages of Origins where we spoke (amongst ourselves) about how great it would be to enter a few awards and see how far we go. The Promax Africa Awards were on the list and as soon as we saw they were open for entries, we jumped on it and hoped for the best,” said the 28 year old.
Entering in three different categories, it was the panel of judges’ job to sift through the numerous bodies-of-work and the team came up victorious in of the three.
“For me this award is an acknowledgment of our creativity that we are good enough to make work that connects and resonates with audiences without having to explain it which is the reason we create.
“I think everyone wants to win an award here and there, to remind themselves of why they do what they do. It’s not always about making work to win awards but the recognition means that your work is good enough to compete with others, and you did well enough to come out on top. For me it was more of a nod of recognition of our creativity on Origins,” he said.
Malema, who hails from rural Venda has worked on iconic spaces in Mzansi’s entertainment industry such as Cassper Nyovest’s Fill Up concerts and AKA’s Supa Mega shows – and thus earning himself the celebrity photographer status.
He got his first shot as an assistant photographer at a wedding while in his first year of studying and slowly fell deeply in love with the craft.
“It was then that I chose to pursue it even after studying film,” he said.
“I have worked with a lot of people who have chipped into the trajectory of my career that is impossible to attribute to one person. I have had a great spanning career that offered me a long time to learn and grow.
When it comes to the most memorable work he’s done thus far he said, “It’s easy to just choose one’s most memorable piece of work but that is like getting stuck on one piece of work so for me. The most memorable piece is always the next one I’ll be working on. We don’t have favourite children in this house. LOL.”
He is also quick to add that, “there is no worst project for me as each comes with a learning that can help us improve for the next project.”
According to the lensmen, what sets him apart is his experience in how he approaches varying projects because that gives him and his team an edge on most people.
“My advice to any upcoming lensemen is that it is up to you to shape the creative industry in South Africa and greater Africa. No one will give you the opportunity you think you deserve if you do not go out and create the work you want to be known for. You need to go out there and start creating the work you want to see and give yourself the opportunity,” he said.
