We are back in the land of impatient road hogs…funny how obvious the fact is if you spend a mere two days away from all the chaos. Swaziland is gorgeous, even though the most we saw of it was on the way back via Bulumbo (?) border.
I know I know, it took me irrisponsibly long, but I think I’m finally getting my head around this Lightroom thing, and it is very liberating indeed. I might actually have a life some day soon.
Warning to all non-photographers taking road trips with photographers: Better to leave the Jo-ASAP-hannesburg mentality snugly at home, the trip WILL take a substantial number of hours longer than usual, no matter how freezing cold it is.
30km off road towards the border, through a muddy forest, sometimes spinning and sliding our way up hilltops. Lots of oohs and aahs, the kind you made after a hiding in primary school.
We stopped in Kaapsche Hoop for a pancake, and the best Milo on this side of the border
There is a short little interview with me up on Angel’s Weddings. I just wanted to make a couple of notes on that discussion.
1st: If I absolutely had to choose a favourite photograph, say from last year, the one below would be it.
2nd: I don’t really have a penguin pose, and certainly not one that is trade marked. That’s just me being silly. I would however definitely sell a body part to go to Antarctica (figuritively speaking).
We are off to Swaziland for a wedding, and will be back in action on Tuesday.
So you have packed your camera bag. Extra cameras, extra fully charged batteries for all cameras, extra lenses, plenty CF cards. Even added a flash just in case! Arrive at the gig without being hijacked, all good. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, just so you know, your pants can actually rip open down the middle from front to back, about 15 minutes before starting time.
Anyway. The band is Nagskof, covered a few pics for Andre and the gang. Not my usual kinda gig, but fun.
Probably my two favourites of the evening. No.1 was photographed during sound check, and just before I turned immobile.
Cindy mentioned that I looked kinda sexy in the borrowed pants. Big thanks to those who helped out.
Alright, these are in no particular order, but coming up in the next day or two will be weddings which have taken place in the last few weeks.
I won’t be telling stories though. My brain is a bit fried and the first thing that tends to go is my very fragile ability to put anything into words, be it written or spoken. The other weddings will follow this post on the blog, so scroll down for later entries.
Without further ado, Louisa and Eitzaz at Shepstone Gardens.
One quick thing about this wedding though…KIDS, so many that Shrek would have had nightmares all over again. Cindy loved it of course!
I have to mention something about this final photo, because I can foresee a possible situation where someone tells a kid to sit in front of the group and look disgusted . We do family and group photos in a more traditional way, for several reasons, many of them related to Cracker Cheese. This group photo just happened this way, thanks to the sometimes “free” ways of kids. I would never try to set up a photo in this way, and if I did, it would become completely obvious and the impact of the photo will be lost. Everyone is not an actor, no matter how good the director is.
I know I have not posted for quite some time, and devoted blog stalkers who got married in the last few weeks must be rather despondent by now. Don’t be, I am working on a proper blog post for the last three weddings we covered, so just keep checking in once in a while.
In the meantime, consider the following advice from Cindy, “when trying to navigate your way back to the car in the dark on a farm somewhere outside Parys…always remember to use flash”
It’s late now, but I’m pretty sure the farm is called Thwane Bush camp. In any case, it’s where Andries and Cindy (the taller one) got married.
Cindy and I have almost forgotten how much we loved the bushveld, and weddings in the bush are always highlights on our calender, if for no other reason than the smell of dry unpolluted dusty roads and the grassy fragrance of freshly thatched roofs. Last weekend we got to hang out with Liam and Alison at Didimala, north of Pretoria in the Limpopo province, out on the Rust-de-Winter road I think, and as always we were wowed by the experience.
Liam and Alison had their ceremony out in the veld, with a wild reception being celebrated under a clear African sky and by candle light. We also, very uncharacteristically, spent about two hours with Liam and Alison on their couple shoot. On the one hand I feel the need to apologise to the guests for taking that long, and to mention that we typically use only about 45 minutes, but on the other hand…it was NICE to travel around in a Land Cruiser with Jaco and listen to him and Liam discuss trees and grass as only two game rangers can do, and then to shoot an impossibly cute couple in some amazing locations with terrific African light to round it off with.
I never mention these, but Francois Nel did excellent work with the make-up brush, and I loved the collection of dresses (both bridal and bridesmaids) by Lunar…a very fitting choice for the location indeed.
Back to Jaco quickly, a huge thanks to him and his excellent team at Didimala, who treated us like we were the Presidential couple (or harem if you will)….much much appreciated and highly recommended.
OK some random images that have been lying in the “edited” box for too long now…
So Cindy and I took a well needed break over the long weekend and braved the rapids around Parys in a rather narrow rubber canoe (I got thrown out), we slept on a game farm, and had a braai for a change. I also tried in vain to catch a yellowfish on fly, but it’s clear that I will have to browse through a few more YouTube videos before I try again.
On the way back we stopped over at my parent’s home and my mom asked me why I’m not working anymore, since she has not seen anything new on the blog for a while. It’s ironic that it is actually because I have been working day and night for the last few months that I have neglected the blog (and my wife) a bit. It takes about a whole day to do a proper blog post, and I feel that the time could be better spent waiting in line at the post office for example (something which I have to do from time to time for studio purposes).
Anyway, I got the message and decided today to go through the process of selecting, editing, and compiling a few images of Mercia and Christoffs wedding which happened at the Moroccan inspired Shokran, east of Pretoria. Probably one of my favourite weddings of the year so far, and at some personal risk to myself, I would have to say that Mercia has been the fairest of them all.
Off to a few photo-journ moments on the wedding day, and then one or two portraits. Possibly a few more pics than usual.
Yes, it was as hot and bright as only an African sun can manage, and of course I sweat an embarrassing amount as usual
I’m persuaded…here are 4 of my favourites of the Re.invent seminar held last week. I’ll spare you all the details, but do click on the link left if you must know.
Note: I never realised a 50mm can be that wide, all you need is about 20 photographers around a bride and groom for an instant wide angle effect…no converter required.
Aline and Miguel had the first part of their wedding celebration in Venezuela (I received some pictures of that event…it’s pretty darn beautiful over there!). The second part was to be celebrated under an African sky, and therefore enter Thaba Ya Batswana.
They wanted to complete a photo shoot early morning before the festivities began, and I quite gratefully said Amen to that, as it turned out to be yet another scorching hot day with rock solid shadows and white hot highlights for the rest of the afternoon.
Aline and Miguel are one of the coolest couples we have had the privilege of hanging out with so far. After every meeting I had with them, I arrived home smiling and having those silly ongoing conversations with them in my head (is that normal?).
I have a lot of editing to complete at the moment, hence the fact that this post is a week late, and hence the fact that I’m only posting 2 or 3 images for today. OK, maybe four.
Some other news: On Tuesday I got to spend the day with about 20 other photographers, which is VERY rare for me. I mean 20 people in general would already be pushing my social limits, but oh my, 20 photographers! Anyway, it was the Re:invent workshop held at Forum Homini, and hosted by the incomparable Dror Eyal and the queen of detail, Andrea Carlyle
I still have to submit 5 pics of the day for critique, but hopefully they are the kind of teachers who allow work to be handed in late. I have edited a total of 1 pictures of that workshop so far…
I’m starting to reduce the size of the images that I post on my blog to try and get images to load a bit faster, and to therefore provide a more enjoyable internet experience for ya’ll.
Probably the most played song in my playlist at the moment.
Some of the scenes in the video brought back memories from seemingly very long ago. Sunday afternoon drives through the mountains, braais at Franschhoek, and splashing the pools at “Jan se gat”.
30km off road towards the border, through a muddy forest, sometimes spinning and sliding our way up hilltops. Lots of oohs and aahs, the kind you made after a hiding in primary school.
. We do family and group photos in a more traditional way, for several reasons, many of them related to Cracker Cheese. This group photo just happened this way, thanks to the sometimes “free” ways of kids. I would never try to set up a photo in this way, and if I did, it would become completely obvious and the impact of the photo will be lost. Everyone is not an actor, no matter how good the director is.
