2010 Soccer World Cup

South Africa is in the process of getting ready for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and one of the many things needed are new stadiums. So when the South African Institute of Civil Engineers started a photographic competition involving construction, I leapt at the chance to shoot down to the new stadium in the hope of being able to shoot something worthy of being entered. I hope I've succeeded. I have another pic taken from the other side of the stadium and a little later in the evening when it's darker, but I'll keep that for another post.

My competitive streak

The other day someone told me about a competition run by Canon which involves using their logo. As I’m always looking for fun, interesting things to shoot, I've never thought much about creatively shooting something as boring as a logo, so I thought I’d give it a bash. Today’s pic was literally a point and shoot as I only had about ten minutes but I think it’s come out quite well. I suppose I could do better with a bit of time, but sadly that wasn’t the case. Now I need to find out about how to enter the competition.

What a happy colour!

In Durban we have a park called Mitchell Park. It’s been here forever and is really beautiful. The gardens are immaculate and there’s an animal section too, almost like a small zoo, with everything from pelicans to meerkats, and even a 100 year old tortoise! The walkway leading to the animal enclosures is always in full bloom, and today I couldn’t help but notice the most amazing yellow flowers. I couldn’t tell you what they are, but I can show you!

When opportunity knocks

Today was loads of fun. One of the advertising execs at the office needed a photographer to go with him to the naval base in Durban to shoot a few generic pics. What a fantastic opportunity! It was great getting into high security areas where cameras aren’t normally allowed. Later on in the day we ended up on the roof of the Rugby stadium for an aerial shoot, but that’s a story for another time.

It's a piece of cake(fork)!

At roughly the same time I bought a camera and started enjoying photography, my wife started a hobby of her own. Basically she wires beadwork onto cutlery, keyrings, and anything else that can be adorned with beads. She is really very good at it, and the finished products make beautiful gifts for birthdays, engagements, etc. Yesterday I photographed them for her in the hope she would start marketing them. I think they came out quite nicely!

She's still beautiful

Our tickets for the Durban July were amazing. We were seated upstairs in the Royal Golf Course view room where fourteen of us shared a huge table with a long verandah overlooking the race course. The tickets also included an all-day buffet too, which kept us well fed. As the sun started setting and it began getting darker, Durban began switching the city light on, and even though Durban has a bit of decay creeping in, she is still a beautiful city.

And they're off!!

This weekend saw the Durban July Horseracing event take place. It's a HUGE annual race meeting and a definite must on any social calendar. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to get tickets and had an amazing time, with good friends, good food and great atmosphere. Although I never gamble (because I never win) I was encourage to place a small bet on the main race if the day and actually won!!

You’ll never work again

I’m a huge fan of Richard Branson. He has this philosophy which goes something along the lines of following your heart, and doing what you’re passionate about. People will recognise your passion and business will come naturally. One of the many benefits is that you’ll be having fun instead of feeling like you’re working, which means you’ll never work another day in your life. I’m busy with a project at the office at the moment and have taken a photo of the beadwork that’s involved. Although I’ve been involved in this project for weeks now, I haven’t ‘worked’ a single day. It’s wonderful!

Spellunking – the recreational sport of exploring caves

Sometimes you can't tell what the subject of a photo is until it's explained to you, and I think that's the case for today, so I'll explain. While we were overseas we visited the town of Cheddar (where the cheese comes from, duh!) and one of their tourist traps is a geological wonder called Whookey Caves, a beatifully lit set of caves through which you can walk. This shot isn't bad considering I had no tripod and had to use a long exposure time.

Reflecting on Married Life

My sister-in-law recently got married and booked the reception at a beautiful out-of-the-way resort. The reception was a huge success and provided quite a few photographic opportunities. I would love to have taken tons of typical 'wedding' photos to see if I would be any good at starting a little sideline business, but as the happy newly-weds had asked me to be the MC for the day, I was far too busy. I did however manage to snap a few pics around the resort the next day, one of which is today's upload!