WHEN HE STUDIED at the university, he used to go to see graduation ceremonies for students in different fields, and he was very impressed when there was a flurry of cameras, the joy and noise of those who were honored for their learning.
That’s how the love of photography began to grow for Ms. Nokwanda Zondi, known as MaZondi Babes of the Camera on social media, where she often posts her different works of photography.
Mrs. Zondi from Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, is now based in Johannesburg, working as one of the photographers of the company BackpagePix, which is famous for taking pictures of different sports throughout the country and internationally.
Narrating how he got to this stage, he said he remembers that because of his love for taking pictures, which started while he was studying Industrial Psychology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he bought his first camera in 2018, to teach himself.
“At that time, I was assigned to the public affairs unit at one of the local police stations in Pietermaritzburg, and when I bought that camera, I started shooting people for free, and I’m still trying to practice how to take pictures properly and how to improve the pictures,” said Ms. Zondi.
Due to his hard work, he finally joined BackpagePix in 2023, and has accomplished a lot in it, including working in major competitions such as Afcon in Ivory Coast in 2023; and different sports competitions including Betway Premiership, Basketball Africa League, Vodacom United Rugby Championship and Cricket South African Domestic Competitions for men and women.
“And beyond that, when the opportunity arises and I do other jobs on the side of photography, which is something I feel inside and do almost every day, which is very surprising because I never dreamed I would get to this stage,” he said.
Regarding future plans, Ms. Zondi said that she wishes to continue to grow in her work, and then help others who come after her to teach them about this work, especially women because they are the ones who play the most in this field.