Nautical Nostalgia

My sisters and I grew up around sailing boats. They both sailed for their high school team, and my friends and I always tagged along to meet girls from their school!! It was always tons of fun and a lot of my fondest teenage memories stem from that period of my life. So it goes without saying that I love anything to do with sailing. (Some years ago I was invited to take part in the Vasgo da Gama race from Durban to East London on a 40ft yacht, and it was truly amazing.) I happened to be at the harbour today and managed to snap a few shots of some of the yachts there. I particularly liked the symmetry of all the masts and had to really concentrate to apply the "Rule of Thirds". It's not much but I hope you like it.

Not always Black 'n White

It's not often I try something in black and white. I love the look of it but feel one needs to be REALLY good or else it just looks like a newspaper pic. Today's pic was taken at a guest farm in the Natal Midlands and I was just taking a chance I suppose. I've never read up about shooting in black and white, something I really should do a bit a of research on. So with that being said, I'll add it to my 'to do' list and carry on happy-snapping! Enjoy today's newspaper pic.

"Shootin' Fish"

Another hobby I've recently acquired is that of aquarium keeping. As I mentioned earlier we went to the UK on holiday and stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. He has four tanks in their home and I fell in love straight away. I vowed to get a tank as soon as we got home, and needless to say we now have two!! When I bought the tank it came with a few fish, one of which is today's subject. I never realised that shooting fish could be so tricky, the damn things never stay still. Something I'm learning VERY quickly with photography though, is that if I take fifty shots, I can walk away with at least 3 good ones!

New life for old...

There's something about cemetaries that gets to me. Not too sure what it is, whether it's the amount of history held in one little field, or the calming serenity that causes me to thank God for my awesome wife and amazing kids. I suppose it makes me think about the things that are really important in life, not my job, or my car, but the really important things like loved-ones. Anyway, enough of the dramatics... I loved the moss growing on this gravestone, not only the shape and positioning, but also the vibrant green/yellow colour. It looked so fresh, young and new, and really contradicted the age and colour of the rock. Hope you like it too!

Catch 'em while you can

Today's caption is "catch 'em while you can" and it's actually two fold. I'll explain, firstly I seem to take my camera wherever I go these days (hope I don't look too much like a tourist?!!) basically with a fear that I'm going to miss an awesome opportunity for a truly great shot. I want to be able to sieze the opportunity should it arise, ie "catch it while I can". The second part is that my kids are growing SO fast it's scary. I need to catch them while I can as well. This pic was lots of fun trying to shoot, I had to climb on the roundabout with the kids and really balance, needless to say the kids were killing themselves laughing which just added to the mood of the shot. Caught them while I could!!

Timing is everything!

One of the problem's I had with 'el Cheapo' was not being able to adjust shutterspeed. It would frustrate me no end to have a great shot in mind, and not be able to achieve it. To get a long shutter time I'd have to use a night setting which in turn would overexpose my pic, unless of course the natural light was pretty low. I was, however, able to capture today's pic by waiting until late in the afternoon and getting down low in the valley where it's slightly darker. Despite the muddy tripod and soggy socks I think it was well worth the effort.

Day 3 and still going strong!

Recently my family and I went to the UK for a well-deserved holiday. It wasn't as long as I would have liked, instead it was as long as finances would allow. It was a pity I didn't have my new camera yet, only el cheapo, but never the less it performed well. Today's pic was taken at Carrisbrook Castle and is a favourite of mine. I should have taken it later in the afternoon when the sky would have been a little more dramatic, bit it still makes for a great shot. Hope you like it.

Not bad for day two!

I can't believe I made it. Usually I get involved in some sort of project or other and by the second day I'm losing interest and looking elsewhere. I actualy made it to the second day. I hate to call what I do 'photography' because that's what professionals do, I'd rather call it 'happy-snapping' or something along those lines. I first started happy-snapping when I bought a cheap digital camera a few years ago. I was fascinated with all the functions that came with the camera and soon learnt how they all operated. But recently I've become a bit dissillusioned with it, as one can't do everything one wants to do with a cheep camera as you can with a full function SLR. So needless to say I took the plunge and invested in some quality camera. Today's shot however was taken with 'el cheepo' but I thought it qualifies for an upload. It's a shot of Durban harbour at night. Hope you like it!

It's great to be here!

I've finally arrived! The online world has always intimidated me a bit, and I always was the last to catch on with the latest craze, but I've finally created my own blog. And it feels great! I've recently bought a camera and the photography bug is really biting hard, so I thought what better way to share my new hobby with the rest of the world? I'm seriously going to try to upload a pic every day, that way you can keep track of how my photography is improving. I hope it doesn't bore you too much, but have a look around and let me know if you have any hints, suggestions, etc. If there are any serious photographers out there that can let me know what I'm doing wrong with regards to exposure, shutter speed, etc, I'd REALLY appreciate the input. That being said, this is my first pic. Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, and enjoy my blog!