Originally from a small farming community in the heart of Zululand, Kelly Badenhorst’s childhood in Melmoth, South Africa, was filled with wide open spaces and lots of exploring and adventure.  She moved down to the coast, to the “big” city of Durban where she completed a diploma in Desktop Publishing and worked my way up to the job she holds today with an IT company.

Her love for photography started with her trusty little Nikon point & shoot many years ago. I would enter my pictures in online competitions to see what response I got, the feedback was usually positive and one day I got a top 3 spot in one of the contests.  I went out bought myself a SLR camera enrolled in a short course just to learn how to use my camera and that basically is what made me consider the possibility of making this a career and I haven’t looked back.

The more I learn about photography the more inspired I become. I will photograph anything and everything, you will often find me snapping away at silly things in my garden or trying to sneak photos at gatherings of friends and family with out being noticed. I try to shoot what I see in the best way I can, and learning how to do that is what keeps me interested and motivated. I also have a few favourite photography blogs that I regularly visit to get fresh ideas that I can adapt for myself.

Photography is a career like no other. Sometimes it means getting up before sunrise to get to the beach in time for the dawn. Sometimes it means being chased out of paddocks by cows. And sometimes it means a hundred photos of a laughing child before you get the perfect shot. I would say my favourite experience of this profession is the time I get to spend with the people I photograph.

What does the future hold for this talented photographer? I just want to get myself out there in the South African photography industry! I would really like to see my work in a gallery one day soon and am currently working on a series of prints to sell as art. It would be great to expand my client base and do more private photo sessions. And, of course, I am always keen to get new and interesting equipment to try different things with.

Visit snapshot.my-expressions.com.  Durban, South Africa

Tags: artists, photography