Winter morning stroll

Taking random strolls through my neighbourhood in my hometown  is something I haven't done since, maybe my early years of varsity or possibly high school. As a highly discontent youngster who couldn't wait to leave this small town called Middelburg, I paid very little attention to my surroundings. Now that I've earned a few years to my age, I'm more appreciative of this place I've called home for so long and thus eager to freeze my butt off just to explore it from a more sensible point of view.

Patterns and textures


Frost


Burning wood

Rusty stands

Black Jacks

Things I need to remember for the next time I'm inspired to go for a stroll on a 5ºC cold morning: gloves, woollen hat, ear muffs and waterproof boots. So much for packing light and travelling with just a backpack.

WAM opens its doors to the public

In the heart of Braamfontein, just a stone throw away from the Nelson Mandela Bridge, the Neighbourgoods Market and the Newtown Cultural Precinct lies the newly opened Wits Art Museum.

The impressive architecture with its glass walls on the ground floor has allowed passersby to have a glimpse of the 5000m2 exhibition space for the last couple of months and on the 19th of May 2012, the museum opened its doors to the public for the first time, presenting an opportunity for art lovers and curious minds to explore its collection.

The University of Witwatersrand has preserved a collection of 9000 pieces of art from across the continent for several decades including paintings, drawings, photographs, beadwork and wooden sculptures amongst others.

The museum’s first exhibition called “WAM! Seeing Stars” featured some of the most valued pieces of this collection including Jackson Hlungwani’s “The Altar of God”, a piece by Walter Batiss and the contemporary “Weather 1” piece by Gerhard Marx. Even Madonna makes an appearance on one of the artworks. There are also a number of pieces by unknown artists, an indication of the many nameless faceless individuals across the continent who may never get any recognition for their talents, but continue to produce artwork regardless.

Alexix Preller- Hieratic Women, c 1955-57
Oil on canvas

Judith Attwood- Christ at the Column, 1965
Oil,wire and cloth on board

Lucky Sibiya- Guitar Player, c1973
Incised and painted wood

Gerhard Marx- Weather 1, 2011
Plastic rulers on black wooden substrate

The opening exhibition was worth attending and I will definitely keep going back. Have you paid the museum a visit yet? How was your experience? 

Once more with feeling

It's been a while and I'm really excited about posting again. I needed to take a break from the blog for a while for a number of reasons. It was necessary and I'm glad that's done. One of the reasons I left was because blogging is meant to be a fun way of expressing oneself, however I found that my approach to it was becoming one dimensional and thus I was subconsciously constricting my thought and creative process. The honest truth is that I was finding myself spending more time wondering about what to put on instead of just posting and sharing. Anyone who has ever found themselves spending a considerable amount of time worrying about something, be it anything instead of acting on it will know that it's quite exhausting. 

So, what has changed? Nothing and a lot. Quite the juxtaposition. Mindset. Feeling. That invisible string that's attached to this little space. Not only have I given the blog a new look and feel that I really like, I'm challenging myself to improved the way I'll approach things from now on. Initially I wanted to focus only on photography and was going to use this as a means of documenting the learning experience and sharing the new knowledge and skills I was acquiring. The objective hasn't changed, but the focus will be more on story telling, capturing moments and surroundings. This means that more emphasis will be places on exploring events around the city and things that city folks do, capturing landscapes when hitting the open road, opening up more on environmental issues, sharing artwork and creative crafts as well as anything that captures my imagination at any given moment.

Once more with feeling.

View of the other complex from the balcony, taken at 6:02pm on a Winter evening.

Tales of stone from DTPE

Old building; from their intricate designs and faded stones to the stories that accompany them, some known while a lot more buried deep within the cement. How can one resist a chance to explore these sites. Thankfully, Down Town Port Elizabeth offered that opportunity. 

One thing I really loved about the city was how friendly and helpful all the ladies and gents from the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism centres were. So, with map in hand (bag), Paul and I began our trek along the Donkin Heritage Trail that includes a few museums, view of the Opera House, City Hall, The Library and...a SARS building (huh? okay, the tax guys are not exactly part of the trail but they’re there and looked out of place).

Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin

St' Augustine's Cathedral

Mosaic steps leading to the lighthouse

The bay in the background

Donkin Reserve Pyramid and Lighthouse

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium from a distance

The view of the bay from the top of the lighthouse was breathtaking and the carrot cake from the coffee shop near the Donkin Memorial Pyramid was divine. 

Why did the snails cross the road?

Good Morning Beautiful.

Even though she never sleeps, the Earth allows us to witness her come alive in the morning. From snails crossing the road to flowers blooming next to the sidewalk close to a highway offramp. 

"Some flowers are only smelled when going down on your knees to capture them"- Piet Vermeulen

 Our busy lives make it so easy to forget things that are around us as we let the little miracles of life pass us by. In the midst of the mundane activities that sometimes fuel our existence,we should remember that there's more beauty around us, all we have to do is is stop for a second and look around.

Chasing the Sunrise

I’m accustomed to falling asleep between 3am and 4am, however I slept early the previous night and by my normal bedtime, I was wide awake, excited and peeking though the blinds with anticipation...It’s been a while since I’ve watched the sunrise over the horizon. The previous night’s rain had stopped and all concerns about walking around in a different environment alone with a camera in hand were thrown out the window. I was going to see that sunrise.

There was more than enough to keep this city girl occupied on the beach this particular beautiful morning.

I kept coming back to the beach, this was on a cloudy morning. 

 Nature has many ways of reminding us just how small we are and how grand and magnificent she really is.

Runaway Candlelight

The initial idea, inspired by the sound of the soft summer rain and crickets outside, was to create a relaxing atmosphere and read a book so I wouldn’t have to renew it again at the library. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, the burning wick drew me in...

Playing with slower shutter speed
ISO 100  f6.4  Exposure 4s

This is one of the initial shots. The flash went on and I manually turned it off after taking this.

ISO 400   f4.9  Exposure1/56

Here's one without a flash. 

ISO 800  f4.9  Exposure1/56