Show me the light

I have had a fascination with lighthouses since I was a kid.  I think my fascination lies in the fact that it is usually situated at rocky outcrops and the idea of being out on the ocean at night and seeing light must be a comforting sight to any sailor.  Despite my fascination with them, I have never really photographed them.  If I did it was during the day and what is a lighthouse during the day apart from maybe just interesting architecture. 

On my recent trip to Mossel Bay I made the effort to get up early to take a shot at it.  I looked for the best angles because the light house is a bit obstructed by trees when faced from the front.  Secondly it is quite high, so getting a shot from a horizontal angle is a bit tricky.  Then there are some other challenges like a bright light that does not stand still and of course as in the case of the one in Mossel Bay, the lights lightening the lighthouse at night goes on and off the whole time.  Not sure if it is to save energy or if the bulb is getting overheated, but it takes a bit of planning to get the shot at the right time.  Add to this a 2 second remote trigger time to avoid camera shake then it is not just for walking up to the lighthouse and taking a shot. It takes some careful planning.

After been questioned by the police for walking around the streets in the early hours of the morning looking a bit suspicious I guess, I managed to get a few shots at last... 

For more pictures on Mossel Bay please visit my Facebook Page.

Africa Travel Clothes

I have a set of clothes in my cupboard which is referred to as my Africa Travel Clothes. A really thick khaki shirt that stood the test of time, and combat pants with lost of pockets to hide my iPod and other shiny accessories. I like to travel to Africa in these clothes for various reasons. First of all I always travel with this idea me going down in a plane in some remote part of a thick forest and fighting my way through dense bush until I finally reach civilization all tattered and torn.  For that I need comfortable clothes that could withstand the elements and give me the Indiana Jones look at the same time. Not only are they comfortable, you also don't easily see when it is dirty and sweaty-. I guess this is not really a requirement because I see many people travel in suits and shiny shoes and they always seem to end up quite respectable on the other side, but then again we've never crash landed before. Further more, the shirt and pants have lots of pockets. Not that I use them much, because as soon as you get to Customs you have to empty all of them and that could be spending a little too much unnecessary time in their presence. But, I've had it for many years and it has served me well. Recently I stood with my shirt against wet paint, so I thought that it might be a good time to replace it. Not that an Africa shirt should ever get to a point where it has to be replaced, but the yellow stripe across the front makes it looks like I've came second in some paintball war game. So I headed to what is believed to be the biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere, Canal Walk Shopping Center at century City in Cape Town.

I don't know if you still remember the Marlboro man? When I was a kid this dude was my role model deluxe. Not the smoking bit, I've never smoked and don't think I ever will, but the look. This man was the true image of adventure. And what about Indiana Jones? Another true adventurer. But the question always remained, where did they buy their shirts? Well, from my experience this afternoon, definitely NOT at Canal Walk. I first went to Cape Union Mart. Cape Union Mart is supposed to be for the outdoor lover, but has more pink striped shirts than Markhams. I stopped buying at Markhams many years ago when I realised that my shirts does not go with my complexion unless I apply some of my wife's eye shadow. At Cape Union Mart you pay R300 for a long sleeve vest to protect you against the cold. Have you ever seen the Marlboro Man in a vest? Or Indy for that matter? I tried Colombia Sportswear, where they welcome you to "the greater outdoors". I cannot pay R850 for a shirt that is going to be ripped apart in the jungle. It is also clear to see that Jeep, Caterpillar and Hummer are following fashion trends in stead of adventure. I know you might be spotted easier when you wear pink or bright yellow, but you might also piss off a rhinoceros or Jaguar along the way. Not to mention the hostile Pygmies that apparently roam the forests in Cameroon. At Due South it is better to buy a shirt along with a video and go home and try the armchair adventure. Those shirts won't last two decent washes. In Stuttafords the closest you get to the outdoors is if you buy a "100% organic" shirt. That's also the closest many men comes to protecting the environment...and spending some time in it. After finding nothing that suits my taste, or even closely resembles the Indiana Jones look, I decided to look on the Internet. Huge was my disappointment when I started looking for the name that was associated with adventure since I was child, only to find the latest Marlboro shirt in red covered with little flowers and butterflies. It looks like pajamas. Where is the male species going, I ask myself?? So, if you see the guy somewhere in Africa wearing a shirt with some yellow paint on it...that would be me.

Pictures vs Words

I know that wanting to do a "travel blog" is not as easy as one might expect. First of all traveling around takes time and is quite expensive, and showing people the beauty and experience of what you have witnessed yourself is not that easy. I do however believe that the fun that I get out of the little bit of traveling I do makes up for the disappointment of the above. Sometimes it is nice to be able to say, "Oh, I've been there", or "Yes, I know what it's like". One thing I have seen though is that some people do the budget kind of travel where you take a organized tour, probably to save money, time or effort. I see that happen a lot in South Africa, busses packed with tourists (usually people from Asia or Europe) trying to squeeze in as much as possible getting trigger-happy with their cameras all in a attempt to make sure they can "see" all the attractions the country had to offer when they get back home..The bus would come to a halt at Bloubergstrand, 150 Chinese will jump out, take 2 million snaps of themselves posing in front of Table Mountain, jump back onto the bus again and hit the road to their next destination. When they get back to their homeland, they stuff the pictures in an album and start preparing their next trip. Or they force their friends into watching their 300 pics of Table Mountain, all looking basically the same. If it was a bad weather day with clouds covering Table Mountain, they might not even have that "proof" that they were close to Table Mountain at all.

So talking about the "proof". Isn't it funny that some people just don't have the ability to take good pictures to show that "I was there". Like the one top left. Those two girls were obviously there, maybe they had a fabulous time in Paris, but the picture definately does not show it. Compare it now with the one on the right. It is icy cold in Paris, but I bet you these two Japanese tourists had a much beter time in Paris than the two girls on the left...or so it seems at least. If you are even more creative you don't even have to be in the picture yourself, take one that starts conversations....

I stole this picture from a lady's post discussing the difference between a tourist and a traveler (http://www.vagabondish.com/4-ways-to-be-a-traveler-not-a-tourist/) I have to admit, when I saw her post I felt like dropping the subject of good picture taking as I am sure someone has discussed it before. Nevertheless, let me make my point and you decide. This picture does not even show the person's face, but it can be framed and diplayed on a wall. So much better when someone asks about this picture and you can reply with:" Yes, i took that myself last year on my trip to France". Compare that with: "Please, sit down I want to show you my pictures of Paris". Watching other people's pictures of their summer holiday in Spain or their children's first day at school can be really a pain in the arse. Having a nice picture on your wall that can automatically start the conversation has a much better impact and will invite people to talk about your trip, or maybe even wanting to see more of the interesting pictures you have taken.

Below is my attempt to show that I have also been to Paris. Ok, I won't hang this in my living room, my wife might just question my fidelity, but was I still in college a blown-up version on my wall would have invited more coffee break discussions with my pals than the surf pictures did way back then. I guess that this picture says more about me and where I've been than just "I was there". And you have to agree, it looks better than the first picture of the two girls standing like statues in front of the Eiffel Tower. Now can you imagine if those two girls took a picture of themselves like this one, how much conversation their picture could have started for them back home. The point that I want to make is be creative, let your pictures speak for themselves, let them show that you were more than just there, that you were 'experiencing' the place and that it was in fact F.U.N! Happy snapping.....