Dirty old town?

I’m parking outside our house at the moment, because there are so many vehicles from local builders all over the road that I will get blocked in unless I assert my authority by grabbing a parking space before they steal them all. Yes, it’s annoying, but it’s better than having to struggle to get out of your own driveway when you’re in a hurry.

And as I got out of the car (outside) this morning, I spotted this shot through a little “window” in the trees.

The “window” is always there, but the smoke and the low lying smog over the Cape Flats made it a bit more noticeable today.

And honestly, if it wasn’t for that branch hanging down in the middle there, this wouldn’t be a bad photo. Sadly, that branch is hanging down in the middle there, so it’s actually a terrible photo, but when you switch on the footy highlights, you expect to get the near misses as well as the goals, don’t you?

This was a bit of a near miss.

I could remove the branch hanging down in the middle there in Photoshop, but it’s literally right in the middle of the image and it would surely be noticeable.

Or I could zoom in and crop it a bit (ok, a lot), butthen it loses the magic of the “window”…

…and it ends up looking like some dystopian Soviet petrochemical town in mid-winter.

Honestly, it’s not that bad a place, and it’s not that bad a day.

I guess that the message here is that you can’t always get the photo that you want, even if you can “see” the photo that you want in your mind’s eye. This seems to happen to me a lot, and I put it down to the limitations of my talent with the camera.

The upside of this is that when the shots do work out, it’s so much more fulfilling knowing that you spotted it, planned it and then executed the plan as well. In the meantime, I need to climb the tree down the road, and lop off that branch, so that it’s not hanging down in the middle there next time I want to get this image.

I might have to go and light a fire somewhere in the middle distance, as well.

Horses

Another Hout Bay horse show this morning. A near perfect day for it, too. Sunny, breezy, pleasant.

As ever, I was there as the ‘tog, trying to get something decent for each of the riders to see as a memory of their round(s). The team were only jumping in the lower classes today – meaning that they were jumping lower jumps. And I did wonder if that would make it more challenging to get those full-on dramatic images.

But it turns out that while the height they were jumping might not have been so great, the determination and the effort the horses and riders put in was no less impressive.

A really good morning out with some really brave performances from the younger participants, and some really solid, quality rounds by the more accomplished riders.

Well done, team!

Tag shoot

We were out for dinner on Saturday evening. The Greek place near the local shopping mall. Parking was tight, so we parked up the street and walked down to the restaurant. And as we wandered past, there in the trendy looking building on the right was a giant canvas print of one of my photos. Looking past it, and peering into the now smudged windows (sorry) in the darkness, there were several (or more) more.

Always cool to see them on display.

And there was more photographic work to be done before yesterday’s festivities (literally) kicked off. Little Miss 6000 has been putting some more of her skills to work and has come up with a range of Xmas gift tags to sell to family and friends. And you could just tell people about them, but why not show them? And you could just show them, but why not lob in just a bit more effort and show them off properly?

So we raided the Xmas decorations box early, dragged out a lamp or two, and made a mini set in the bar.
And then we took a couple of photos.

The flyer went out to appropriate contacts yesterday, and sales are booming.
It’s called the 6000.co.za Photography Effect.

I dunno. I just made that up. But it was a bit of fun to play around for a half hour and get some atmospheric Xmas shots in the middle of the sunny day. And it kept my mind busy and off the pre-game nerves which I now know I never needed.

If it helps sell gift tags as well, then we’re golden.

Quota Walking Trail

We’ve done the Nuwejaars Wetlands before, and it was very special. And whenever we drive out that way from Agulhas, it’s always like a mini-safari even along the public roads.

The great news is that this week, the NWSMA have opened a new walking trail through the area: The African Marsh Harrier Trail. There’s a lot to see…

… and it looks like a really good day out.

The creation of the trail was funded by WWF South Africa, with the support of the Overberg District Municipality. 
The relaxed and unchallenging trail is ideal for walkers of any fitness level, including children. It takes around two to three hours to complete. And it’s meant to be enjoyed slowly while taking in the incredible wildlife that lives in the wetlands, especially the bird life. 

As mentioned above, just getting there is often educational enough, so I’m looking forward to some decent fun with the long lens next time we are down there.

Long day, great news…

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.