Capturing moments through the lens

David Shipinge Josef has had a passion for cameras and filming since a very young age. He makes that possible through his company, Corporate Lens Productions.
Michelline Nawatises
Monique Adams

Born in Oshakati, David Shipinge Josef grew up in many different parts of Namibia. With both his parents having worked for Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), when he was five years old, he and his sister moved with their parents to Ais-Ais hot springs resort as their parents got jobs there.

He started his education journey in Karasburg from grade one to five, grade six in Grootfontein, grade seven in Okahandja, grade eight in Tsumeb, and grade nine and 10 in Oshivelo.

Josef later relocated with his parents and lived with his mother at Namutoni resort in Etosha National Park and after grade 10 he moved to Windhoek to start his video production career.

He is known as the guy you call whenever you are in need of a video being produced.

He is also known to be the guy you call when you have no clue how you want your video to turn out, as he always provides complimentary creative direction to all his clients, be it corporate videos, expos, weddings or promotional videos.

Over the past nine years, he has catered his video production services to various organisations such as the Swapo Party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), the Olufuko Festival, the Tsumeb private hospital, Omalanga Mills and Sanlam Namibia.

As a young person with no tertiary education that turned his hobby into a business, it saddens him to see other young people with no tertiary education background content with being at home or roaming the streets and waiting on the government for job opportunities.

He established Corporate Lens Productions to not only serve his clients but also provide employment to young talented people wo are willing to learn as he also gives one-on-one classes on video production.

“I have always been fond of cameras from a very young age and after working at various media houses, I decided to register my own video production company in 2015 which was previously known as David Grand Trading. I then later rebranded it to Corporate Lens Productions,” he says.

One of Josef’s accomplishments is being fortunate enough to have met the founding father of Namibia, Dr Sam Nujoma, at one of his work meetings at his office.

“This may not be such a great accomplishment to many but to me it was everything, as I always remember the wise advice he shared with me,” he says.

Josef was also responsible for the production of a documentary that aired for six months straight on Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), titled the ‘National Agenda’, when he was only 23 years old.

He says it was a priceless feeling seeing his work on his television screen and ever since that day his work has been broadcast on NBC.

“Having my own company has been a roller-coaster but also fun because video production is a hobby for me that turned into a business as soon as I got the right tools, so basically I enjoy every project my company gets,” he says.

Relocating his company from Windhoek to Ondangwa in mid-2020 was one of the most fulfilling decisions he had to make, and in the next five years he sees Corporate Lens Productions becoming the preferred video production company to all northern-based companies and individuals.

“As I always tell my team, a client is a client, big or small, we should treat them with respect and strive to deliver beyond their expectations,” he says.

Josef has a lot of proud moments but one thing that brings him the most joy is the smile on his clients’ faces when he presents them with the final product.

The advice he has for aspiring entrepreneurs is, “Discipline and determination is all you need, the rest will fall into place.”

One’s life is formed through your thoughts, is one thing he would tell his younger self.

10 Facts about David Shipinge Josef:

1. I am a self-taught video producer

2. I am the only guy among my siblings.

3. I am 1.80 m tall.

4. I have been to all the towns in Namibia.

5. I am a great cook.

6. I look exactly like my father.

7. I am a very neat person.

8. Very determined, once I set my mind on something, nothing stops me from accomplishing it.

9. I have an exceptionally good memory.

10. I can complete an entire video production on my own.