Where you see an empty room, Gareth Pon sees emotion waiting to happen. That’s the talent that earned him the title of **Best African Instagrammer** at this year’s inaugural African Blog Awards.
Gareth laughs when he recalls his initial reaction to news of his win: a tweet saying “Oh yay!” The media made much of this response, but the truth is that Gareth was caught unawares. “My intention has never been to win awards, but to explore what’s around me,” he says.
This curiosity is something that has driven him from an early age. Blessed – or cursed, as he quips – by a propensity to get bored easily, Gareth experimented with different mediums from childhood, first trying his hand at sketching, then painting, and then building models. He put aside his studies in fashion design when he found he couldn’t stomach the brutality of the industry, and instead dabbled in architecture, a discipline he had been introduced to by his father. He ultimately tired of this, too, and then signed up at the Open Window School of Visual Communication. Here, he finally found something that he could commit to, heart and soul: photography and film. “It’s a good rock and a hard place to be caught between: Film is about capturing the before and after of a story, photography is about capturing the moment itself,” he says.
It was around this time that he started playing with Instagram. The medium was a natural extension of his passion for photography, as he was always on the lookout for the next great shot; for that little detail that encapsulates a much stronger statement. Best of all for someone who is continuously seeking the next challenge, it requires a mindshift. Swinging between the control of traditional photography – which is all about apertures and shutter speeds – to the “anything goes” of Instagram takes a different kind of discipline.It wasn’t long before Gareth was meeting up with similarly enthralled friends on Instameets, occasions which simply fuelled his enthusiasm. A self-described people’s person, he loves the fact that Instagram is the first social media platform where online followings usually give way to offline relationships. He tells of people who have made friends and met spouses through Instagram, adding that as much as 80 % of the work that comes his way has its origins on the platform.
He also values Instagram’s instantaneousness. Post a picture, and you’ll know immediately whether people think it’s clever or corny, which is valuable feedback for someone who’s interested in seeing how far he can push things (especially the abilities of a tiny mobile device to convey stirring images).
Finally, there are the opportunities for connection that Instagram offers. It’s an incredibly personal medium, Gareth comments. Since you’re photographing and sharing snippets of your day, it’s inevitable that a bit of your character is revealed. “Most of the time, I feel like I already know the people I follow before I meet them,” he notes.
That’s saying a lot, given that, as the founder of the South African Instagram Community, he meets with as many as 200 keen Instagrammers – aged between eight and 70 – at regular Instameets. He relishes these encounters, viewing them as a unique way to get to know his city. As you walk through the old, dilapidated buildings or other settings that serve as venues for the meet-ups, you get a sense of what it must have felt like to live and work here, he comments. It’s like walking on the bones of history itself. And there’s no better way to explore a foreign city, especially if you’re wishing to avoid the tourist traps and get an authentic feel of a place.
Gareth admits that he’s had to put balances in place, or he’d click away his days. Mondays are therefore usually Instagram-free, but on a “good” day he can take up to 100 pictures. And if he’s exploring with purpose, he may take up to 1,000 shots. These aren’t just random snaps either, as he always seeks to find the emotion in a moment. Whereas many Instagrammers stick to tried and trusted images that will earn likes (think misty forests or dazzling sunsets), he goes out of his way to extract the essence of an instant. Browse his feed (http://instagram.com/garethpon), and you’ll find pictures of anything from a discarded fridge against a textured wall to a close-up of an intriguing face.
To others, they might be little more than pictures, but to Gareth, they’re opportunities for growth and exploration, windows to let his creativity shine through.
<Sidebar> Picture Perfect
Up your Insta-game with these tips from Gareth:
- · Follow inspiring people. Remember that you’re a product of what you consume visually.
- · Be aware of the limitations of your shooting device. Similarly, know your environment (when it receives the best light, for example), and shoot accordingly.
- · Learn from others. The beauty of the platform is that it invites engagement with others. Don’t be scared to ask questions.
- · Learn to think in terms of composition. Consider how the lines in your environment might be used to frame the shot, for example.
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