A Hout Bay High School pupil has embarked on a social media project to showcase the people of Hout Bay and their stories.
Anthony Leggett, 17, is using his passion for photography to tell these stories on Facebook and Instagram, and is working through Hout Bay’s Lalela Centre to bring the project to fruition. He has been a student at Lalela for five years.
“We were tasked to undertake a passion project to present to the class, and I decided to do what I’ve called Humans of Cape Town,” Anthony explained.
“I was inspired by Brandon Stanton, a photographer who started the very successful Humans of New York project overseas. There is already another Humans of Cape Town, but my project is different in that my project focuses on tourism and community upliftment.”
While the project is currently on hold due to Anthony’s exam commitments, he plans to move full steam ahead in December during the school holidays.
The young man, who has grown up in Hangberg, is already making a name for himself as a photographer around Cape Town.
With the assistance of Cape Town lensman Ashley Brandt, he has already established a freelance photography company, taking pictures of weddings in Ocean View, Simon’s Town, Mitchell’s Plain and Hout Bay.
“When Ashley is unavailable for a job he asks me to fill in for him. I have shot for the Department of Tourism on trips in which the youth are taken on outings around Cape Town.”
Anthony said with Humans of Cape Town he wanted to focus on the “good stories of Hout Bay”, in particular.
“I will take a photo of people and then write their story. At this stage, I will be focusing on the youth. I want people to see what the people of Hout Bay are really like. I really want people to start seeing the community for what it really is.”
He said he fell in love with photography as an 11-year-old, when his cousin gave him his first cam-
era.
“But I also love technology and what you can do with it. My photography has allowed me to meet so many different people, locals and tourists. I love being able to just walk around meeting people and learning more about them.”
He paid tribute to Lalela, which had always been very supportive of his passion. “I’ve made a success out of my youth because of them.”
Anthony is a stickler for the inner workings of photography, and for this reason almost always shoots in manual so that he can get the most out of his camera.
“I love shooting in black and white. I believe a story can only truly be told in black and white.”
In his spare time, he likes to teach other youngsters in Hangberg about photography.
“Something I am hoping to do one day is what I call the ‘X-effect’, where I get five creative people together to share our art. This would include videography, photography, writing, music and marketing. We would then approach big brands to do a campaign in which we focus on people who are doing well in Hout Bay.”