There are different types of art forms
painting, drawing, music etc. this month 7:30 brings you an artist that creates
art with his camera...........
Tell
us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Tinashe Njagu, however, I go
by “Tnash.” I have mad love for design, film and photography. I have a great
appreciation for the arts as a whole. I am very reserved and quiet yet I enjoy
pushing myself to new levels in all areas of my life. I am a determined person,
I know what I want. I've been told I'm insanely creative. I am not a fan of
laziness. I love seeing people doing what they were born to do especially in
this industry. I want to do big things, but I also want to give back and help
others in any way I can. It's not all about the fame and the money for me so
much as it is that I really want to make a difference in this world with the
things I have been given. I like surrounding myself with people that talk art,
business and future goals.
Where
is home?
I grew up in Kuwadzana Ext and I still
live there today.
Did
you go to school to study photography?
I am self-taught. I did so by reading
books, watching tutorials on the internet and working with others, it came easy
to me because of exposure and experience. I started doing graphic designing,
then went to film and now photography. I've learnt things like lighting,
framing and the like by shooting videos, so now I am just applying the same
principles in my photography. I try to get as much knowledge and experience in
photography as I can. I have good photographers I love to watch, follow and
learn from. such as Michele Fortmann, Henry Hakulandaba, Zash to name a few,
but there are many more.
How
long have you been a photographer?
I started in late 2011, so almost two
years now.
Which
five words would your friends use to describe you?
Passionate, positive, creative, teachable
and hardworking.
What
kind of gear do you use? Camera body, Lens, Flash
2 Camera Bodies: Canon EOS 50D and Canon
EOS Rebel T3i
Lenses: Canon 70-200mm f2.8, Canon 50mm
f1.8, Canon 18-55mm, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, Sigma 70-300mm
Flashgun: Sigma EF-530 DG ST
Which
is your favourite lens? Why?
I like the Canon 70-200mm f2.8, it's
just a beautiful piece of glass. It's very fast, good with low lighting and
shooting events. The Autofocus is fast and silent it’s good when playing with
focus. It's just the best.
What
lighting equipment do you take on a shoot?
Well, I currently use natural lighting
and flash lighting, which is very small and limited, but I use what I have to
achieve whatever goal is set. I work with reflectors a lot and my flashgun. I
am looking forward to getting studio lights soon.
Are
you a MAC or PC lover?
Haha... MAC all the way. I find PC's and
windows are just complicated and a bit boring. I feel Apple caters to the more
creative and free-thinking type of person. I love Apple Products, and that's
all I use at work, C: Media, where I do video editing. At home it's also just
Mac ;)
Among
the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought?
Why?
Well, yes. It's my Sigma lens and Canon
18-55, they are slow and currently not the best lenses on the market. I am
going to sell them and get better glass.
What
kind of tools do you use for post processing? Explain your work flow.
I shoot (RAW or JPG), import and
copyright (metadata). I select the good shots; I edit in Photoshop and create
actions. I do this so I don't have to repeat the same process over and over. I
then put watermarks, deliver them or put them up online. The more projects I do
the faster I get and the work flow changes.
How
important is Photoshop in your final images?
Photoshop is very important to almost
all my photos except events because they don't need much editing. I don't shoot
just to shoot. I shoot with a final picture and feel in my head. With that,
Photoshop is a tool that I use just like a light or a reflector because it
helps me achieve whatever I want. Photoshop is a great program. I am still
developing my craft and not yet at the point that I can take a picture and it
come out perfectly as I imagined, so Photoshop is a tool I use to get there.
The
last workshop or seminar you attended and why?
The last workshop was on Adobe Suit CS6
at Solution Centre. The seminar was a while ago. It was cool seeing how they
developed Photoshop and what it can do now especially with photos. Things like
creating panorama, HDR and better ways to work with layers and effects. I also
learnt faster ways of using the Adobe softwares that was really awesome I
learnt a lot. I also do online workshops at creativelive.com, they're quite
good.
If
you could live anywhere on this awesome planet where would you build your dream
home?
Good one, anywhere that has nice warm
weather and beautiful scenery.
How
do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
I read a ton of books. I watch a lot of
tutorials and then practice. I shoot events whether I'm getting paid or not,
just for the experience. I also get a bunch of friends together and just shoot
them. I do that all the time, actually, I just did that on Sunday.
What
advice do you have for somebody who wants to pursue photography?
If you have the passion, study how it is
done then go out and shoot. Ask when you don't understand something and don't
pretend to be taking nice photos when you're out of focus. Stop, focus up and
shoot.
Whose
work has influenced you most?
Internationally, it's Lindsay Adler, Lee
Moris, but there's a bunch of others.
Locally, it's Michele Fortmann, Henry
Hakulandaba, Greg Robinson, Nick Mancuso Traddos just to name a few.
What
is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
How to work out my exposure, which is
your Shutter Speed, ISO and f-stops. It took me time to understand how all that
works!
Oh
one more, what do think of 7:30 apparel?
I think that it's a label that we'll be
speaking of in years to come, if you don't give up. It has great potential and
I like it, it's got a modern-urban type of feel. It's one of the labels I think
will dominate the clothing industry.
