Spring View of Table Mountain - 235/365

There is a small restaurant that cooks breakfast all day behind me as I am making this image. They make a great breakfast with everything brought in from the local farms. As I left I saw the view I missed going in. This one of Table Mountain with the Spring flowers in bloom. It was a bright sunny day so it was not hard to make a good landscape image technically. Composition was the hard part here. Where to choose to physically stand to make the image. I chose to put the fence between myself and Table Mountain to add perspective and the farm feeling.

My Most Relaxing Place To Be - 222/365

My most relaxing place to be is on my surfboard out in the water. As I have stated before, time does not matter and the focus is on the here and now. It is a pure state of being in the moment. Rocking gently in the water up and down with the smaller swells and knowing that the larger ones that you will attempt will come in due time. No need to try and anticipate because you are not in control. The power of the ocean is incredible and you absolutely have no influence on it. You must be resigned and willing to surrender to the power. I find it very spiritual and relaxing to surrender completely in that way. If I had known that I would experience this the way I have I would have resumed my surfing way before getting to Cape Town. I am so glad I've been able to experience this again!

Walking into the Fog - 221/365

Walking into the Fog. There are not many mornings in Cape Town when you encounter no wind at all. There is usually always a breeze. This was one of those morning where it seemed that if you followed the footsteps onto the beach you would disappear into the fog. Rather eerie. As if you are walking to an unknown whiteness.

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 .

Cape Town Winter Selfie - 174/365

The weather in Cape Town during Winter is much like Miami. It changes abruptly and can be extreme from one day to the next. Yesterday was a bright sunny day with no wind and beautiful waves. Today, very different and very cold. No run for me without cold protection as you see here!

Cape Town Fisherman - 159/365

I saw this Fisherman on one of my many walks on the beach. Had to be in Black & White.

Surf Fisherman on Cape Town Beach - 151/365

I saw this Surf Fisherman on a cold afternoon run on my beach. No idea what he was fishing for. I made several images. Most did not show his hand with this gesture. It added interest. The others bored me as it just showed his body with the fishing rod sticking up.

Lifeguard Stands at Melkbosstrand - 142/365

An image of the Lifeguard Stands in my town of Melkbosstrand. Melkbos is a Milk Bush and Strand is Beach in Afrikaans. It's like a little fantasy village. Unlike any other place in Cape Town. It was actually voted the best place to live in South Africa. A surf town. Neighborhood Watch. Kids walk and ride their bikes to school. People run and walk their dogs on the beach. Police and Armed response patrols are always somewhere close. Couldn't think about living anywhere else while I'm here. Lifeguard Stands at Melkbosstrand - 142/365

My Bill Foote Designed Surfboard - 139/365

Bill Foote

The surfboard in Hawaii has a deep and spiritual history. In this modern era of mass produced popout boards, the custom Hand-Shaper is an increasingly rare breed of artisan who continues to respect the importance of carrying on the Hawaiian tradition of constructing sacred craft. Bill Foote… is one of those legendary Hawaiian surfboard shapers… where quality, innovative design, and customer enjoyment of his boards is what he really cares about and focuses on. Bill’s constantly evolving designs are borne out of a rare and unique depth of experience that spans over a 40 year period as a well respected and world renown Surfboard, Stand Up Paddle, and Sailboard shaper. My surfboard was designed by Bill Foote, cut out to his specifications, then sent to him for correction and approval prior to covering with material and then epoxy. Pretty cool actually. The company, Signature Surfboards was started by Neil Esterhuizen here in my town of Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. He coordinated with famous surfboard designers around the world and created this line. I wanted to make sure to buy local and this was the best of all worlds. My Bill Foote Designed Surfboard - 139/365

Nuclear Moonlight - 135/365

Koeberg Nuclear Training Center under Moonlight. Yeah, I know, gotcha with the title LOL. Image made after a late night at work with a full moon. Nuclear Moonlight - 135/365

All Natural Sunset Moon - My 365 Project 121/365

All Natural Sunset Moon - My 365 Project 121/365. Not much to say about this except that it certainly caught me by surprise.

"Dogs at Sunset-Cape Town"-My 365 Project 112/365

"Dogs at Sunset-Cape Town"-My 365 Project 112/365

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"Dogs at Sunset-Cape Town"-My 365 Project 112/365

It's so common to walk out at about anytime on the beach here in Cape Town and see people and their dogs. This is a very dog friendly culture. It saddens me that I cannot have my dog over here. He's just too old to make the trip, but I know he'd love it! I really liked the way I was able to silhouette them against the sunset. "Dogs at Sunset-Cape Town"-My 365 Project 112/365

Cape Town Bike Ride at Sunset - My 365 Project 110/365

It's so common to see people of all ages on the beach in front of my house. I was lucky enough to be out making sunset images when this little boy came speeding by on his bike. What a wonderful sense of care-free freedom, and what a beautiful place to ride. My 365 Project 110/365.

Cape Town Moon Rising

I made this image of the Moon Rising as a contrast to the many sunset images I've made. It was just so bright and low in the sky that it was remarkable to me. My 365 Project 105/365

My First Attempt at a Serious Panorama

"Melkbosstrand Sunset Panorama" 50/365. You really have to have this image fill the screen to appreciate it. This is my first serious foray into a Panorama. The sky was kind of ho-hum with my 35mm f1.4 lens on the Fuji XE-2 but all of the parts left and right put together with what I saw would be what I wanted. I made individual images and stitched them together in Photoshop. Then I turned them into the exact tone I wanted in Black and White. Actually a slight Gold and Selenium tone. I really like it. I really enjoy requiring myself to make an image everyday as it is pushing me to be creative. At least in my mind.

Windsurfing Triple Play

I can watch these guys and girls for hours out of my window, and I do! They are amazing athletes. Little did I know that I would be living in front of a small gravel parking lot, in front of a beach where some of the most famous professional windsurfers and kitesurfers practice. Some of them are bound for the Olympics and some are previous Olympic medal winners. Pretty amazing. I can walk through this parking lot on any day and hear a bunch of different languages. Great experience. And very down to earth guys and girls, as you would expect. 36/365project

Camper on Cape Town Beach

Camper in parking lot of Cape Town Beach. Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. 21/365 #365project #camper #capetown #melkbosstrand

Camper in parking lot of Cape Town Beach. 21/365 #365project #camper #capetown #melkbosstrand

Flying at Sunset in Cape Town

I came home from photographing in Cape Town today to find the parking lot by my beach full of cars with Windsurfing gear on top. The Windsurfers were taking advantage of the roaring Southeaster and the break that is so famous right in front of my apartment in Melkbosstrand. My strength has always been action sports photography and it was the perfect day and time of day to make some images. I used my Canon 5D Mark III with a 70-200mmIS L lens with a 2X converter. I made the image at 1600 ISO at f5.6 and 1/2000th of a second to be able to capture him in flight. I've seen these guys pull off this move a few times when the waves were this high. Many of the guys that come to my beach are pro's and Olympic hopefuls from all over the world. This guy was from France. Image 18/365.