One from the (long) weekend

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I mentioned our day out at the horse show on Monday. I was there as the photographer for the riders from “our” stables. But I was also there as a husband to, and a father of, a couple of the riders there.

I’m getting better with being around horses, although you won’t find me on the back of one.
My daughter, however…

Here she is taking it easy on this round – at least height-wise – having just last week conquered the frankly terrifying (to me, at least) 90cm mark of “things that horses jump over”. She’s surely old enough now to know better, for those devil-may-care days and juvenile lack of any fear to have passed.

Right?

But… eish…

I’m so impressed. And quite regularly quite scared.

Photo by 6000.co.za.
Thanks for taking the time to take it, edit and share it – all free of charge, too.
Much appreciated.

I must point out that all the riders and families (including my own) from the stables are always very thankful and grateful for the images.

Other people? Mmm. Not so much.

The muppet in the shop windows…

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Woke up to rain and darkness. Filthy. It’s wild, wet and windy out there today.

Deliciously wintery.

I spent at least some of my morning mocking the bedraggled appearance, then iffy pace and the decision making skills of the guy running along the Main Road in Kenilworth in the rain before I realised it was just my reflection in the shop windows. Damn.

So yes, I need a haircut. And it would be nice to be a bit faster. But it was a good run after a few days away from exercise, and as wet and cold as I got, I don’t regret a single thing about going out this morning.

Tomorrow might be another story.

This evening looks like it might be even wilder, wetter and windier, so with some assistance from Little Miss 6000, a delicious-smelling casserole is currently being cooked up and will, in a very short time, be popped into the Wonderbag ready to be enjoyed with some nice crusty bread this evening in front of the fire and the footy.

In the meantime, we have booked a family weekend away next month a couple of hours inland, and I’m already excited at the possibility of some night time photography, given that we’re at least several miles from any large conurbation, and the new moon is due while we’re there. I think I can cope with a maximum of 1.4% of lunar surface visible and it setting at half past six.

Perfect.

Now I just need the weather to play along.

Let’s face it, I’m not seeing any meteor showers or lunar eclipses tonight.
And the clouds out there look pretty run-of-the-mill to me.

Oh well. Like I mentioned, there still casserole, crusty bread, footy and fire.

It’s all good.

Long day, great news…

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A long day out at a horse ridery show, followed immediately by editing at least some of the 700+ photos I took.
That’s done now, and there were actually some really decent shots, but I’m more than a bit knackered.

However, when I opened my inbox to share the images I had processed, this was waiting:

Dear Prize Winner,

We’re excited to inform you that you’ve won $850,000.00 USD in our recent draw.

To start the process of claiming your prize, please provide us with your full name and phone number. Our team is here to help you through every step of securing your prize.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,
Power Ball Online Customer Service

Wow. What an end to the day. I wasn’t quite sure how much $850,000.00 USD was in our local currency, so I asked a financial expert. And he said that it was…

Tomorrow, I’m going to have a nice sit down and work out how to spend at least some of it.

In the meantime, Austria v France beckons.

Another Vineyard Visit

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When we went wandering through the vineyards last weekend, I remarked – more than once – that I wished that I had my long lens with me. Not because the Nifty Fifty isn’t fun: it’s a lot of fun. More that there were a million canaries, sunbirds, frogs and even some baboons that I would have loved to have ‘togged.

The Father’s Day weather was great this morning, so we went back, and I took that long lens.
Jokingly, I suggested that because I had brought it along, we wouldn’t see anything worth shooting. Lol.

And then we saw nothing worth shooting.

And I was reduced to grabbing a shot of the set up for a Heineken activation thing on the lawns.

It seemed that they were going to have a lot more fun than we were.

Until…
Suddenly…

Baboons. Loads of them. Like, 30-odd. Scattered across the Shiraz vines on the side of the hill.

Starting a way away from us, then then actually walking so close that the 50mm would actually have been a far better option.

And, juniors at play, as well.

We watched them for almost an hour before they headed off further down the hill, and we headed off for a coffee, and then home for a bit – ok, a LOT – of photo editing.

It was a really nice family morning out.

And for us, too.

R20 off your parking

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I mentioned somewhere – ah, here it is – about Admyt…

…the still quite new, super-duper parking service in South Africa.
And since then, literally several people have used my code:

TRE162273

to earn R10 off their first parking experience with Admyt.

Now, in an incredible offer, if you sign up for Admyt anytime in June – you can get the app on Apple here, or Google here – and use that code, you’ll get twenty whole bucks credited to your balance.

R20 might not seem so much, but next time you’re standing in the queue to pay for your parking in the cold and the rain at the V&A Waterfront, Constantia Uitsig or any of these other Admyt locations – you’ll surely be kicking yourself as you watch me drive up to the barrier – warm and dry – and automatically whizz straight through, as you fumble for change – ironically exactly twenty rands worth – in your pockets.

It’s free to sign up, and there’s no obligation and no payment to be made until you use the service – and, if your first parking session costs less than R20 – no payment to be made there either. Amazing.

You literally have nothing to lose.