Trying to Make a Simple Portrait

I love my Granddaughters! I really do! Sometimes though it's a mission to try and make a simple portrait. On our way back from picking them up at Cape Town airport we stopped at Primi Piatti, a restaurant chain that you cannot really go wrong with. The stairs leading up had a beautiful brick wall to use as a backdrop for some nice quick portraits. So I thought. LOL! After many tries struggling with flipping hair and "two fingered puckered posers" and "duck faces". And, "my hair is not right." I finally got one image that I really like. The one you like is up to you so I posted them all.

Back to my Roots

Last weekend I headed over to Muizenberg to pick-up my surfboard after a repair from a mishap the previous weekend. The waves in Muizenverg were nonexistent so I took a drive to see some of the other breaks that I have not visited yet, namely Kommetjie (co-mick-ee) and Long Beach.

Well I never got to Kommetjie as I spent much of the late afternoon watching and photographing surfing at Long Beach. There were quite a few people in the water and as I was unfamiliar with that break, and recognize the territorial nature of surfers, I decided not to surf but watch and shoot. I titled this "Back to my Roots", because my professional photography career started out by photographing sports. I really like the action and the fact that you have to anticipate where the peak point of action will happen to get a good shot. Additionally, I've always preferred shooting sports in Black and White. I converted this and made specific adjustments to my taste. I like the overall drama of the image. The point at which you don't know if the surfer is going to make his turn and the dramatic sky and mountain behind him. I did not have my long lens with me, but I quite like how this wider shot turned out.

Surfer, Long Beach, Cape Town, South Africa

Surfing at Big Bay, Cape Town, South Africa →

Had some fun surfing and playing with my GoPro!

A View of Muizenberg -243/365

Muizenberg is a special place for me. It's where I resurrected my love for surfing, where I made new friends, and where I started to understand South Africa a little better.

A View of Muizenberg

Fire in the Sky - Cape Town, SA - 234/365

I made this image by getting as close to the ground with my camera as possible to accentuate the sand and shells in the foreground as well as the sky and upcoming sunset. What drew me to the scene initially were the wisps of clouds that look like smoke coming off of a fire.

One of Many Stormy Nights in Cape Town - 233/365

You've all seen this type of image before if you've followed my blog, but every one of these is truly different. The mood and the look changes so quickly that sometimes I look out of my window and think it is blah, and then like on this occasion, I see something that has potential and I run out to the beach. Black and White for this type of image is ideal as it sets the mood.

Girl at Muizenberg Beach - 229/365

I was making some general images on Muizenberg Beach when this little girl that was playing with friends peeked around the corner. I love these happenstance encounters. I made it Black and White as the image was about her and her curiosity. The color would have just distracted away from the structure of the image. We must make choices when we are making deliberate images. Does the color add or distract. It'd up to the individual image maker to decide.

Stand Up Paddleboarders - 228/365

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUPing) here is not just a flat-water sport as it is in Florida. Here it is quite the opposite. Yes there are people that SUP on flat water, but most do it as a form of surfing. Some people here were quite amazed when I told them that in Miami people do Yoga on them. You can do that when the water does not move. The SUP's are also much shorter for performance riding on the waves, like these guys were getting ready to practice. I saw them almost at sunset and I asked them to pose for a photo. I also gave them my card, and when the one on the left emailed me I sent them the image for free. I do that with all of the images I make of people I encounter.

Smoke Trails on Long Street - 227/365

There's a place on Long Street in Cape Town that serves awesome burgers, "The Royale Eatery". There's usually a wait especially on weekend nights so they created a bar upstairs for customers called "The Waiting Room." The bar has evolved into more than just a waiting room for customers. It's gritty and relaxing with old couches and picnic tables on a balcony overlooking Long Street. The night that I went they had a great DJ that was mixing Rock and Roll Classics all night. It was so good that after having my burger I went back upstairs to have a beer. While I was taking it all in I came upon a backroom that had a Foosball table and a bunch of guys hanging out playing. It reminded me of my old college days so I asked if I could make some images and they were cool. In this image I really like the way the smoke trails from the cigarette as well as seeing how much fun these guys are having.

The Waiting Room Bar, Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

Just Another Cape Town Evening Storm - 226/365

If you've been following my posts, you can probably tell I love photographing the weather here. I never lived on the beach, and never realized how quickly the weather changes and how beautiful and dramatic it is when it is extreme and combined with a sunset. This is another image of "The Cape of Storms" in all it's glory.

Thabo Hermanus originally shared:

Cape Of Good Hope : Bartolomeu Dias originally named it the "Cape of Storms". If you have felt the winds in the Cape, you can draw your own conclusions as to why he named it that.

However, it was later renamed by John II of Portugal as "Cape of Good Hope" because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India and the East, which would be fruitful for trade.

Alexander Bar Theatre - 220/365

There's a really classy, upscale bar in Cape Town called  The Alexander Bar and Theatre. They have a small theatre upstairs where they show movies free of charge. The owners are fans of quirky, foreign, artsy movies, as am I. I love going there.

Artist's Palate at Cape Town Art Walk - 219/365

This artist's palate with fresh oil paint caught my eye at an exhibit during the First Thursday's Art Walk every month in Cape Town. The mystery is that I can't really say whether it was there because a piece was being worked on, or if it was part of the exhibit. There was no one present that could answer that question. That in itself makes the placement of the palate brilliant. At least to me. Plus I loved the colors and texture.

Coat Rack at the Italian Restaurant - 218/365

Made this image while awaiting a Pizza at the local Italian restaurant. For some reason it just reminded me of what should be typical in an Italian restaurant.

When All Else Fails, Selfie! - 217/365

Sometimes I like to just make a Selfie and always try to make it different from the last.

Storm at Sunset, Cape Town - 215/365

Storm at Sunset, Cape Town shows the impressive colors that can be experienced by the combination of the two. This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image where three images at different exposures are combined to be able to get detail in the shadows, and highlights where one would normally not be seen. It's not as easy as it sounds as you have to determine on your own what the initial exposure should be. If you want to know more about HDR a photographer named Trey Ratcliff gives a tutorial on how to produce the images at www.stuckincustoms.com .

White Flag, Black Shark on Muizenberg Beach - 214/365

The white flag with the black shark indicates that a shark has been seen in the area and the beach is closed. The day before there had been an attack on a surfer. The detailed report is published here on Shark Spotters. The surfer escaped with relatively minor injuries compared to the size of the shark. One surfer was initially unsure whether the animal was a shark or a whale, but stated that b the size leaned toward thinking it was a whale. This is the first attack in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa in ten years much of this credited to the success of http://sharkspotters.org.za/.

Another Fun Abstract - 213/365

This is where this type of a project really starts to make you exercise your creative mind. What am I going to do today. So driving down the road, well stopped at at stoplight, I set mt shutter speed for a very long exposure and drove while holding the camera and twisting it. Several images were made and this was the one that I liked. Simple. Just think!

Another Day in Muizenberg - 208/365

People having fun in the water. Some surfing, taking lessons, jumping in the waves, or a girl with a surfboard just walking by. That's why I love Muizenberg! Another Day in Muizenberg - 208/365

I Love My Sunrises into Work - 204/365

An early morning sunrise from the Koeberg Nature Preserve. I work in such a beautiful place.

The Storm is Coming - 203/365

Cape Town is known as "The Cape of Storms". I thought storms came into Florida quickly and they do, but in Cape Town they are ferocious. The wind howls, the rain blasts, and the ocean churns with such force that amazes. It is also beautiful. There is something calming and relaxing about watching a storm roll in. I remember rounding the Cape of Storms when I was in the Navy on an Aircraft Carrier. There was a huge storm as we were rounding in winter with 90 foot seas. The huge ship was bobbing like a cork in the water. We could not eat for two days and we had to strap ourselves in our bunks. I remember thinking, how did these guys in little ships make it around? Well a lot did not. To this day the Cape of Storms takes it's toll on even modern vessels.