A SERIOUS WARNING!

I've meant to post this for a while now, and between work, surfing, Jiu Jitsu and the gym, I finally have time. A few weeks ago I went to download my camera memory card to process my images and my hard drive did not immediately connect. Not a problem, I tried it again, and still nothing. I ran the disk repair program and the worst word came up: CORRUPTED. Yes, my drive was now a paperweight. All of my images since I've been in South Africa were gone! My arrival. The time with my family on Safari when my Granddaughters save a real lion up close. Images of myself and friends. My 365 Project all gone! The horror! Not really. Not a problem. I just reformatted the drive, made sure it worked well and copied all of the images from my backup drive. HOW MANY OF YOU CAN DO THAT? I think the warning is obvious. Between here and the States I have about 6TB worth of images that I've kept. I have all of my images since my last trip to the States backed up on an 8TB drive in Miami and about the same equivalent here in Cape Town. The key is a backup that has another backup away from your home, or you keep your backup at work and bring it home on the weekends to back everything up. Why offsite? Fire, burglary, flood, etc...DON'T BE A DUMBASS! Drives are so cheap nowadays there is no excuse. Oh, and backup your phone images too. They are just as valuable. Take heed!

Another Beautiful Cape Town Sunrise at Work - 247/365

Sometimes I catch these sunrises just right going into work. Image was made in the Koeberg Nature Reserve.

Table Mountain Dusk - 246/365

Table Mountain at dusk with the lights of Melkbosstrand and Table View in the foreground. No one is on the beach as far as the eye can see. It was a cold night.

My Over Board Case - 245/365

This is what I place my iPhone in when I take it surfing.

Ice Bucket Challenge Self Portrait - 244/365

I made this image immediately after my ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video. Luckily it was warm in Cape Town that day, but as usual, the water was Ice Cold so I needed neither a bucket nor ice!

Ice Bucket Challenge Self Portrait

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

Wine Route Sunset, Cape Town, South Africa - 242/365

I made this sunset image along the "Cape Wine Route" while I was having a pizza at a Craft Beer Brewery. Table Mountain can be seen in the distance on the right. Beautiful place. Great beer!

Long Street, Cape Town 241/365

One of my passions is street photography. I really like capturing what I see at just a random moment on the street. Late at night you have to use a slower shutter speed and what I like about this image is that the guys standing there are sharp, but the girl is somewhat blurred due to her motion.

Steak in Cape Town - 239/365

Great steaks in South Africa. At this restaurant in Cape Town you select your type of steak, size, and thickness! The Famous Butchers Grill.

Storm Over Lion's Head - 238/365

When I go into town, I sometimes frequent the other Virgin Active Gyms of which I belong. I was at the one in Canterbury Square, in Cape Town when I saw this storm developing over Lion's Head and Signal Hill, both part of Table Mountain. I really like the combination of the storm, dusk, and city lights. It was made with my iPhone.

PoppyCock is My Crack! - 237/365

PoppyCock is EVIL, but oooohhh so good. Got this bag in the post and ate it all the same day in one sitting. I really did plan on spreading it out but alas it was not to be. I remember being in the States and knowing what grocery aisle it was on and intentionally avoiding the aisle so I won't not be tempted to buy it after seeing it! Hi. I'm Carlos. And I'm a PoppyCock addict!

Two of my Favorite People in Cape Town - 236/365

These are two of my favorite people in Cape Town, specifically, Muizenberg. I have a very good business and personal relationship with a couple of the surf shops in Muizenberg. These ladies Shani and Tarryn work at Xpression On The Beach. I go and visit every time I go to "the berg." Shani runs the retail store on Sunday and when Tarryn is not competing out of town for South Africa somewhere she is there also. Both of them give Surf and SUP lessons. Very cool chicks! Had to snap a pic of them eating a piece of homemade cheesecake I got for them at Yoffi Falafel. Yes, they are probably going to kill me!

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.

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.

Rainy Night in Cape Town - 232/365

Driving home from Cape Town on a rainy evening I noticed the way the lights bounced off the droplets on my windshield.

Self Portrait - 231/365

Abstract Self Portrait

Material Abstract - 230/365

An abstract image where I twisted the camera to make the subject a little more mysterious and interesting.

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.

William Ledbetter AKA"Billyboy Surfman Beachbum" talks about how surfing has changed his life.

I was honored to make this video for my friend William. We did not rehearse. There was no script. This is William speaking from the heart. William Ledbetter AKA "Billyboy Surfman Beachbum" talks about how surfing has changed his life by the interactions that he has had with people from all walks of life. Billy's journey began at Surf Shack in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa and continues as a Senior Surfing Instructor at Surf Emporium, owned by Roxy and William Davis.