5 minute read
Finding freedom in photography
Finding freedom in photography
The work of Tanzanian photographer Daniel Msirikale brings an almost magical beauty to some of the country’s most unexplored places. Paa talks to the Dar-born but well travelled creative, who shares his work under the name @that_tanzanianguy on Instagram, about his wanderlust, learning his skills online and why he likes to be a clown behind the camera.
Q. Have you always had a love of travel and exploring new places?
A. I have indeed. However, I had not actually travelled much before I started university in Turkey. In fact, other than Dar, I had only ever been to Kenya, where I went to school from Grade 1 to 5.
Q. You seem to uncover places off the beaten track in Tanzania that many people may not be aware of. What’s your secret – and can you tell us about your favourite recent discoveries?
A. Initially I used to uncover these places so my friends and I could have a quieter and often cheaper alternative for us to spend our holidays. When photography became my career, however, I realised that it was images of places off the beaten track that were catching people’s attention the most. I now feel that I have a responsibility to uncover and share images of these places, particularly in Tanzania. There’s also a certain rush that comes only with uncovering such places. I use different ways to find out about these places. I search through hashtags of different places on Instagram to see if I can find any images of unique spots in an area. I also ask the locals of an area on what unique spots I can find. I get help from tour operators, cultural centres and local guides. Nowadays I also get a lot of recommendations from various people on my Instagram page and invitations from time to time. My favourite recent discoveries were in Mbeya region. The first were these magnificent falls at Suma Malamba village, about 15 km from Tukuyu town. I also discovered a number of unique crater lakes in the Tukuyu district – Kiungululu, Kingili, Ilamba, Ikapu and Kisiba lakes. Lastly, the Mpanga-Kipengere Game Reserve, which is relatively new. This place has such a rich history and is just incredible for walking safaris, camping, birdwatching and has probably the most unique falls in Tanzania: the Kimani Falls.
Q. Are you always travelling? It seems if you’re not travelling for work, you’re heading off on trips for yourself or with friends.
A. I try to travel as much as I can. I actively seek projects and assignments that allow me to do so and I also try to travel with friends whenever I can. I don’t have a studio at the moment and mostly work on my images during a trip. Travelling can be exhausting at times, so I use my time in Dar to relax and rejuvenate as I wait for the next project.
Q. You appear to have a gift for putting your subjects at ease. You catch some very natural shots – even the animals you photograph seem to be posing for you! How do you do this?
A. I find the best way to get my photographic subjects to relax is to crack jokes constantly during the shoot. I’m a bit of a clown in person and laughter, I find, helps to release the tension even when it’s for a serious shoot. I also like to show people the images in between shots to help them get a sense of what I’m trying to capture and also to give them a chance to see if a particular pose is working for them or not. Ironically, when I’m the one in front of the camera I do not know how to relax myself. As for the animals, since I’m such an animal lover I’d love to think that they can somehow feel the energy, but in reality it’s probably just plain luck.
Q. Your shots are also fantastically framed. I’m thinking of images such as the one of the model in the yellow dress in front of a waterfall and the model in red seemingly walking on water on a beach in Dar. Do you scout these locations first and decide they would be great for images or is your decision-making more instinctive on the day of the shoot?
A. Both, I’d say. Sometimes I scout for locations with a concept already in mind, but most of the time the decision-making is more instinctive on the day of the shoot. I love to go with the flow and work with the energy at that particular time. I love that you mentioned the model in the yellow and in the red dress as she’s one and the same person, Prudence Zoe Gloriou, and without a doubt my favourite muse. We work effortlessly together and just feed off each other’s ideas before the shoot and energies on the day of the shoot.
Q. Do you think you have a signaturestyle?
A. I’d like to think I do. I makemy own [Adobe image-editingsoftware] Lightroom image presetsfor every location I go to. The basepreset is almost always the sameand I just tweak it to suit a particularplace or situation. This helps to givemy images a more or less similar lookand feel to them. On the other hand,I also think my style keeps evolvingfrom time to time, but not to the point that the images are unrecognisable. If I could use one word to describe my images it would have to be ‘vibrant’. I love working and playing around with light and colours to make my images come to life in a distinctive way.
Q. You seem comfortable with many different types of photography. You capture people’s personality in portraits, your food shots are mouth-watering, you can get almost magical-looking drone shots of landscapes. Has there been a lot of study and training to get to this stage?
A. Thank you. Yes, there has been a lot of studying and training to get to this stage. Like many photographers here, I’m self-taught. My biggest resource was, and still is, Digital Photography School [digital-photography-school.com]. It’s a completely free online photography school with some incredible articles, photography tips, daily challenges and tutorials for beginners and pros. YouTube is also an incredible resource. I still try to learn as much as I can whenever I can as I still want to improve my photography and not get complacent.
Q. Your Instagram page says you are “pursuing a memorable life”. Was it always important to create a working lifestyle that gave you this level of freedom?
A. About five years ago, right around the time I got into photography, I watched a TEDx talk by innovation guru Dustin Garis titled talked about his quest for the meaningof life and his mission againstmonotony. This talk really hit homefor me. Even when I had a full-timejob as the Jameson Whiskey brand ambassador, I found a way to incorporatemy photography in it justso I could get the chance to travelwhile still creating content for thecompany. Now that I am a full-time photographer I have even morecontrol over my working lifestyle. I have made it my mission to makesure most of the assignments orprojects I do during the year allow me this freedom.
Sunset silhouette
Caught mid-dive in Zanzibar
Follow Daniel on Instagram @that_tanzanianguy
