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

My Missing Mailman - 224/365

Here is my Mailman. He is missing. The letter carriers have been on strike for over a month. Therefore I cannot vote, as my absentee ballot did not get here, nor will it go anywhere if it does. Strikes are not uncommon in Cape Town. As a matter of fact, it is rare when there is not a strike or some demonstration about something. A few months ago groups were throwing human feces at the airport protesting inadequate sanitation at squatter camps (some call them townships) (some call them informal settlements). Yes, land they do not even own that they built a corrugated box upon. The courts said that throwing feces was part of freedom of speech. Ah yes, African logic. I hope my mail does not arrive with feces on it!

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.

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!

My Buddy Standing Guard - 186/365

Here's the image I was able to finally make of my Buddy from the neighborhood. He lives on the corner, but this is obviously his beach.

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High Contrast Self Portrait - 147/365

Here is another self portrait. Hopefully, this one isn't scary. I always see people making images in a mirror so I decided to try. I wanted to make it more interesting so I converted it to B&W and ended up with a high contrast image. Images with shadows are much more interesting because it requires you to imagine what may be in the shadows. My365Project - 147/365