KOGELBAAI

There was a very strong offshore wind and a low tide, so no impressive waves which made the situation far from inspiring. It was not easy to negotiate the slimy boulders to get to the edge of the water but I was determined to reach my spot and it paid off. Being close to the sea with a low angle I saw a myriad of colours. The translucent waves sparkled with an emerald green and later, rich copper reds were reflected on the surface of the waves from the clouds on my right. I was happy as the “Photographic gods” painted the scene with gay abandon!

RIVER ABSTRACTS

"Celebrate what's right with the world" with your photography says Dewitt Jones.

Such a simple but powerful message I keep in mind when walking with my camera. This morning, the reflections of the brightly lit vegetation and blue sky in the water over the cascades of the Eerste River took my breath away. They somehow remind me of the richness of peacock feathers in their colours and intricate patterns. The mood of the water flowing over rocks still in the shade had me riveted for a long time as I sat on a rock in the middle of the stream absorbing this peaceful start of the day.

EARLY MORNING WALKS...

in Jonkershoek, learning to use my new little Canon G16 makes me see the very familiar road with new eyes. The path winding along is still in the shade, the gold light starting to filter through the leaves makes me feel good. There is a paradigm shift as even the previously ignored sights take on an exotic flair. The bend in the river holds my attention as sunbeams dance in the mist and the roots of trees make perfect mirror reflections in tranquil pools of water. I walk along greeting some friends on their bikes reveling in the privilege I have to regard all this as an extension of my garden!

NAMAQUALAND 2014

Some weeks ago, Paddy and I drove to Namaqualand and looked forward to photograph wonderful fields of flowers but warm winds blew a few days before our visit and the daisies had gone to seeds overnight. As we both know the area around Kamieskroon very well, we still found some displays impressive enough to explore both as vistas and with our Macro lenses. I had not been up there for photography for so many years and I found myself just as excited as when I first discovered the many surprises hiding amongst the granite koppies. In the mountains, the pear trees were in full bloom and on the Xnara farm, we met Edward, a Nama shepherd who welcomed us on his land in a mixture of Afrikaans and English, explaining that these days he struggles to speak Nama and delighted me when he summed this up in a most descriptive way saying my tongue can no longer “bok en krul en klak” the difficult sounds of my native language.

We had warm days with beautiful light and visited our favorite sights to discover the little white aquatic spiloxenes still dancing over the streams amongst spectral highlights and the majestic rock formations of the waterfalls glowing in Jerepiko light at the end of the day. We dedicated a morning to the old cars and while framing them in many familiar compositions, we nostalgically spoke about the marvelous time we spent up there and all the friends we made whom had such an important influence on our lives and shaped our photographic eyes.