Show Off Sunday

Yesterday we had an awesome evening. We met our friends (three other couples) at a place called T-rifik which is an amazing kids adventure venue complete with water cannons, treasure caves and mini theatre productions that take place every 30 minutes. But the best part is the adults get their own section, so while our kids are all getting it out of their systems, all us adults are enjoying each other’s company over a few cocktails and some snacks. Afterwards, once the sun had set, we took a walk along the promenade, where of course I had my camera ready! Enjoy today’s ‘show-off’ pic.

Y is for Yoyo

I was going to give today’s HS:MS prompt a miss today due to time constraints. As I mentioned yesterday (and probably the day before too) work this week has been chaotic. So when I got home this evening I opened a bottle of wine for my wife and I and prepared to settle down on the couch and hopefully catch a good movie. It was while I was opening the wine that I spotted the perfect letter Y for today’s prompt. Needless to say, before I sat down I was up again to take a photo and later I’ll get to settle down. Up down up down, just like a yoyo!

I for Indigo

Today's HS:MS prompt is the letter 'i' and my pic is a cheat from a few weeks ago. Things have been a bit hectic lately so I've had to resort to digging up something from the past. Which is a bit sad actually because every day I look forward to the challenge of looking around my world to find something appropriate, and I'm really missing that today. Oh well, as soon as my work life calms down, I'll be back!!

E is for echo echo echo...

Today's pic, for me, was a no brainer (probably because I have 'no brain'). As soon as I saw that today's HS:MS prompt was the letter 'E' I immediately thought of a traffic light. I believe first world countries refer to them as traffic lights, but here in good old South Africa they're called 'Robots'. I'll admit this one could use a coat of paint, but I actually prefer the battered, rusty look.

O is for Mosaic?

I have a LOT of respect for people that do mosaic work. To slowly, painstakingly break tiles into tiny little pieces, only to put it all back together in a different pattern, baffles me. I suppose there's some sort of therapeutic release, an unwinding or relaxing process for some people, but I'm not one of them. I prefer instant gratification ie: I want it, and I want it NOW! I suppose that's why I like photography. Click, here's my 'O', finished.

The perfect Double You

This last week at the office has been chaos, and today was no exception. It’s frustrating wanting to spend time searching for the right ‘W’ to photograph only to have to shoot whatever you can because of time constraints. But shooting today’s pic was great, because it’s a shot of a wooden bowl of ‘Monkey Balls’ in my living room that was right in front of me. And I think the bird’s legs make the perfect ‘Double You’!!

Someone's Portrait Saturday

I'm learning (very quickly) that some of the best photos are taken when the subject doesn't know it's been taken. Today's pic for example was shot at the beach while sitting under a cliff type overhanging rock thingy (don't know what you'd call it). I noticed my son looking out to sea, totally mesmerised by the waves, and thought it would make a great pic. I think I was right...

The Elusive Boobs

I’ve been looking for ‘the letter B’ all day and it’s only now, towards the end of the day that I’ve found one. It’s not the best and I’ve used a bit of creative licence, but I’m sure if you look carefully you’ll see the two curves on the car’s dashboard as the curves from the elusive ‘letter B’. It was frustrating to shoot because I couldn’t fit a tripod on the driver’s seat, so in trying to hold the camera still I kept moving and blurring the shot. It turned out pretty well though.

Q for Quebec

This was an easy one! I can't start my day without a cup of coffee, not even the daily HS:MS challenge comes first. As I was making my first cup I looked down at the cup and thought it would make a great 'Q'. (I seem to be doing that a lot lately, I'm seeing letters of the alphabet EVERYWHERE). Anyway, after my morning caffienne intake I logged on and hey presto, today's challenge was the letter 'Q'. So here's mine!

'Jay' walking is not a crime

I've been wracking my brain trying to find a 'J' pic!! I finally found a right turn arrow while driving and had to pull over quickly and 'jay' walk across the road. I must have looked like such a fool waiting for a gap in the traffic, dodging cars and buses, only to photograph the ground and then run back. The things we do for our hobbies...

V is for Victory

You're gonna have to excuse me from yesterday's HS:MS challenge but I worked a 14 hour shift and couldn't get a chance to shoot an "S". So this morning I made sure I got to the office a little earlier so that I could find a "V". I looked EVERYWHERE, and just when I was about to give up, there was a "V" right in front of me. V is for Victory! BTW, these 'letter' challenges are harder than they sound.

SOS and SPS?

It was my daughter's eighth birthday this weekend, feel's like she only recently turned three!! She's a total High School Musical ADDICT so the party had to have HSM invites, decorations, posters, etc. So with showing off in mind, today's pic is the poster I created for the party. I've Photoshopped her into the pic so it looks as though she's standing in the pic along with the cast members. She LOVED it!! Don't know how I'm gonna top this next year.

Brace(let) yourself!

I’m not one for jewellery, I wear my wedding band and that’s about it. However my wife and kids saw a bracelet once and thought it would suit me, and I have to say I really REALLY like it. It also seems to be a lucky charm of sorts because I’ve lost it twice and managed to find it both times. Once the clasp opened and it fell off my arm and straight into my jacket pocket. Talk about lucky.

Chew on this...

Now this prompt was LOTS of fun, lots of bright colours, plenty of fun shapes, and something to chew on while I'm typing out the post. And my typing speed sucks so I can probably get through another three or four cherry-flavoured chews before I finish this. This is the one prompt where I was offered SO much help from my daughter, she offered to sort through our secret stash to find the sweets she thought to be the right colours. I think while you take a look at today's pic, I'll finish off these chews.

Can you see it...?

I love this pic. I had absolutely NO intention of making my daughter's outline a perfect triangular shape, but obviously that's what happened. For those of you that can't see it there's a triangle from the top of her head, to the tip of her toes, to the seat of her pants and back to the top of her head. (I had to point it out to some friends at work, that's why I feel obliged to explain). It's a cheat from a recent holiday, but it's the perfect opportunity to show it off.

African lightning protection?!?

I've been living in South Africa almost my whole life and I'm only now beginning to recognise her beauty. Today's HS:MS prompt is 'leaves' and my pic is of an Aloe Aristata (Guinea-Fowl Aloe). Africa is full of superstition, and as a result this aloe is grown in a pot to protect the African homestead from lightning strikes and is also sometimes ingested as a medicine to induce pregnancy. Unfortunately it's now on the endangered list but nevertheless has a beautiful set of leaves.

Stealing Love Jones

Today the company I work for hosted a 7km fun walk to raise funds for a safe haven used to house abused women and their children. We called the event "Tarts with Hearts" and encouraged all the walkers to dress up like a tart, fishnet stockings, feather boas, the works (All the guys too!!). After the walk we were entertained by one of South Africa's top rock bands "Stealing Love Jones" who were AWESOME. Today's pic is Esjay's portrait.

I’m just a little rusty

Today’s rusty pic is of an old ‘block & tackle’ pulley I found at the harbour while fishing a long time ago. Today a typical pulley would be made of cast iron not wood, so it was quite a find. I vowed I would polish it up and get rid of the rust, basically get it back into top condition, but as we all know, there are too many other priorities in life. And so the rusty pulley, like us all, slowly gets older and more rusty adding to it’s already unique character.

To have and to hold

One of the things I don't like is posed photographs, however yesterday I was racking my brain for something to shoot and I eventually gave up and got my wife to sit on the couch and hold my son's hand while they watched TV. That gave me a few minutes to move around taking a few shots. So while it's a typical child/parent hand-holding pic, I think it's come out okay.

In the 'swing' of things

I ran around last night trying to find a 'swing' to photograph, until my wife suggested I shoot our parrot. His name is Buttons and he's about 12 years old. Sometimes he can be a right pain (like immitating a telephone ring as you're leaving the house, causing you to run back inside) and other times he can be very sweet (like barking at our dogs!) Either way he is definitely a VERY big part of the family.

Nice set of pipes...

This HS:MS daily challenge gets you to look around and see the world a little differently every day, and I'm loving it. Today's challenge was interesting: trying to find something unique and perhaps even beautiful in something as ordinary as a pipe. Last night saw me crawling around the house trying to find a pipe that's at least a little interesting, and I eventually shot these that are in my garage.

Such a show off!!

One of the things I'm truly blessed with is the townhouse complex we stay in. My kids have tons of friends and can safely play whenever and wherever they wish. All the neighbours get along well and the complex is well maintained and always looks good. They've recently installed night lighting in our gardens and I think the results are spectactular.

SPS (Someone’s Portrait Saturday)

One of my family’s favourite holiday destinations is a guest farm in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands area. It’s an actual working farm where the kids get to ride horses, milk cows, etc, and at the moment we try to get away to the farm at least once a year. This is a portrait I took of my son while we were there and is a firm favourite of mine. One thing I NEVER do is pass up an opportunity to show off when it comes to my kids. So here is today’s SPS.

What a 'knot' I got!

Today's HS:MS word is 'knot' and what a lot of fun this one's been. I've been paging through books looking for just the right phrase to shoot, one that has a word ending in K before the word NOT. I think the result was well worth the effort. (I'm really enjoying this HS:MS daily challenge)

Hayfever season

Sorry it's late but I only managed to get aroung to shooting late last night. It's hayfever season here in South Africa. It's our winter at the moment (not that we actually have winters) and everything is dry and brittle. The air gets full off dry African dust which can lead to terrible hayfever and runny noses. Today's pic is of my son's nasal spray, which at the moment is always close at hand.