Seeing things in Black and White

The light was good at the farm on Friday.

I had Lia and Ané, along with their friend Mikhe, with me for a photoshoot. It was late afternoon and we were heading into the ‘golden hour’, that time of day when the shadows get long and the light warms, giving everything a golden glow.

In Exile 3

Today we have Thabang, a muso, who bared his soul for the In Exile series. He also chose to dress the part and bring props – these with the suitcase worked best for the theme. He looked far too happy with his guitar to look like he was suffering in exile! 🙂 Enjoy them and let me know what you think…

In Exile 2

Last weekend, I did the second and third shoots in my series on the subject of Exile. The model was given no direction except the text below and the amazing music ‘In Exile’ by Australian vocalist Lisa Gerrard. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgHTf2qtX3o)

In Exile 1

Dalene, you were amazing! Last weekend, I did the first shoot in what I hope will be a series on the subject of Exile. The model was given no direction except the text below and the amazing music ‘In Exile’ by Australian vocalist Lisa Gerrard. Dark and sombre stuff! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgHTf2qtX3o)

(Noun) the state of being barred from one’s native country, typically for political or punitive reasons. Synonyms:     banishment, expulsion, expatriation, deportation

(Verb) expel and bar (someone) from their native country, typically for political or punitive reasons. Synonyms:     expel, banish, expatriate, deport, drive out, throw out, outlaw

Body Parts (Not Safe for Work!)

Sisonke contacted me to do a ‘body parts’ shoot. What resulted was a really great nude shoot with her.

Fairies and forests

Apparently Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books, firmly believed in fairies and went to great lengths to photograph them. I don’t know how much success he had but  there are certainly fairies around Pretoria and I have photos to prove it!  Enjoy these selections from recent fairy shoots we’ve done. Thank you models Rebecca Stewart, Staci-Leigh Howard, Ané van der Walt and Leah van der Walt!

…we decorate our horses and our women.

“In Rajasthan, we decorate our horses and our women.” I was browsing through a book of traditional Indian textiles. It was filled with bland photographs of the most wonderful saddle cloths and other tack items for horses and skirts, blouses and shawls for women. In typical Rajasthan fashion, the colours were bright and decorations over the top! The owner-manager of the hotel, the Hotel Nachana Haveli, looked over my shoulder and dropped that particular little non-PC bomb. I loved it and went scooting back to my, mostly feminist, female travelling companions to get the reaction! The westerners clucked and our Indian host said it was so typical of the male-dominated Indian culture, especially that of this particular desert state.

 

Gliding

I’m not going to mess around—yesterday was awesome and all I want to talk about! The scene was the Kranskop Gliding Club at Brits. The occasion was a special open day for various students and interns from previously disadvantaged communities who are part of a couple of programmes to encourage flying as a profession as well as a recreation. A colleague of mine, Daniel Ralefeta, a pilot and all-round good guy, organised the whole thing. It involved getting more than 30 glider and powered flights done in a day at an airstrip where they usually manage 9. He did it!

I was asked to take pics, including air-to-air from a Lambada, a small plane and motor glider. When I got there I realised how small. The 70-200 lens was way too big for the cockpit!

 

Patricia’s Adventure

Patricia was a little nervous about what awaited her at the studio, I think. The result though, was that she left on a total high having had an absolute blast! We played with the black net and had her doing fun things before they had to leave to be in time for a soccer match – some things wait for no man! 🙂

Family History

Hayley and Riaan’s wedding photos are further back in this blog so it was really special to go out with them for some maternity pics just before Ethan made his appearance! This shoot was a very relaxed affair and a lovely stroll around in beautiful surroundings. Here is a couple more: