Rise Africans Newspaper has been following this talented young guy’s brilliant work for a long time and finally got a chance to have fun with him. Our Rising Star no: 197 today is originally from Bizana, Eastern Cape Province, Mbongwana Location in South Africa. Lonwabo Dindi grew up in Lamontville, Durban, KwaZulu Natal Province, went to Bantuvukani Primary School then matriculated at Lamontville High School in 2013.
“In 2014, I took a gap and tried to start a career in football, but things did not work out, so I enrolled at MUT (Mangosuthu University of Technology) for National Diploma in Marketing. I used to be a very talented player but had to retire at the age of 20 due to injuries. I then decided to combine Digital Marketing and soccer so that I can reach my dream to be in a PSL set up. I started taking pictures with my phone to become a Sports Photographer in 2019”, he said.
Lonwabo Shots, as popularly known on social media, added that the aim was not to make money but to give players from rural areas and townships a great exposure through professional pictures. He takes his work serious and arrives at the stadium 2 hours before a kick off for set up.
“I only need a chair, water, and camera with 2 lenses. The good spot for taking pictures is around the corner flag. The are so many challenges to access a stadium, equipments are expensive, and photographers are underpaid in amateur level and even worse at professional level. You need an accreditation to access for PSL games and free access for amateur games, but it is not easy to make money”, said Lonwabo.
Like any other job, Sport Photographers had to work very hard to make money, sometimes the players are failing to understand that photographer helps them building themselves as brand and stand a chance of getting sponsorship.
“I had so many great moments but the best one was when I was given a chance by Dabeka Sporting FC to be their Photographer and Communication Assistant Manager, getting my first accreditation for PSL in the year 2020 / 21 with Uthongathi FC as their Media Officer. My proud moment was getting a job as Media Officer for SA Spear of the Nation, I added value to their brand even though they did not get promotion to NFD, we positioned the team very well”, he said.
A simple advice from Lonwabo to upcoming Photographers is to get a camera and affordable lenses and be the best. Anything is possible indeed. Rise Africans Newspaper is humbled to have Lonwabo as our Rising Star, we wish him all the best for reaching 49 + followers on Facebook (by the time of publishing the article). We are proud to see young Africans working hard to achieve their dreams.
Bookings can be made: DM Lonwabo Shots or contact me at 0683489292
That's a good work my guy👊keep on doing it