Still playing around with the high-contrast black and white conversions, this was taken right the other side of the world in Las Vegas. This was somebody was sleeping on a stone bench somewhere along the strip. No doubt he had nowhere else to sleep. Of course I am grateful to not be in that particular situation.
I would love some feedback on this technique. Does it work, too much, too little? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
I have been playing around with black and white conversion of some of my photos. Specifically using dodge and burn to bring out the contrast and detail in pictures. These are two of my results.
This was taken on Greenmarket Square, a trading area in the Cape Town city centre. This man was sitting on an office chair in the middle of the street, reading the morning newspaper. If you look closely, you can read the headlines “public whipping”.
Reflection of a jungle-gym in a huge puddle after the days of stormy weather; it look like it is in the middle of a river, doesn’t it? The huge area of water it is in is a massive puddle in a very water-logged park. I think it’s going to take weeks for it to drain (it is a lake in the background, it is not that wet).
Well not quite; I am almost ready to leave on a jet plane for my trip to Spain, but not just yet. This morning Lois left to East London to run a training session, so after I dropped her at the airport I took the opportunity to get a quick shot of the terminal in the quiet of the early morning. Next time I am at the airport should be for my trip!
This shot was inspired by this shot by Trey Ratcliff of Barcelona Airport, perhaps I will get a similar shot when I am there next month.
Another misty morning today, and an opportunity to test my new wide-angled lens. These beach huts are found both in Muizenberg, and in St James as well. They are based on the beach huts found all along the Brighton coast. Although they are a reminder of the heyday of Muizenberg in the past,they are still very much in use.
For several years I worked in the city bowl (our “downtown” area), and I really miss it. It is so vibrant and alive; full of interesting people. There is always something happening, and I used to love wandering around the streets at lunch time absorbing the colourful spectrum that is Cape Town.
So today when I was about 1/2 hour early for a meeting in the city bowl, I grabbed my point and shoot and I hit the streets (I don’t carry my SLR all the time). I am also trying to focus on people, which is why I took these three shots on the street.
This man set-up his chair, and sat reading the paper in the middle of a pedestrian road. I think that some people read the newspaper as much to read the news as because it is a way of life for them.
An art seller, just chilling and waiting for the next crowd of tourists to arrive. Notice the office chair on the pavement.
This stall-holder looked very happy, enjoying the sun in the brief bit of sunlight we had today, sitting in a 70’s style chair. I love shooting people, they always leave me wondering where they come from, what they are thinking, how they got to be where they are, and where they may be in the future. Thank you to partypoker for this post. They offer a bonus of up to $500 with your first deposit. And it is certainly cheaper that travelling all the way to Vegas to gamble. And of course you will be helping me to shoot more pictures.
Yesterday it felt like somebody had dropped a giant ball of cotton-wool onto Cape Town. It was cloudy in every direction that you looked, certainly making the world feel like a smaller place.
Today on the other hand is a beautiful day, perhaps we will have a braai later this evening.
In the distant past, I was very lucky to make wine at Buitenverwachting wine farm in Constantia, so it was great to be back in the cellar at the weekend (even if just for a few minutes to collect some stuff ). While I was there I grabbed this photo of these barrels in the maturation cellar. Each barrel contains 225l wine. At a rough estimate, this room contains about 200 barrels, which is 45,000l wine.
That should be enough to keep anybody quiet for a few days.Buitenverwachting , which means “Beyond Expectation”, makes some of the top wines in South Africa. Get a bottle of the Christine if you can find one, truly amazing.
I had a meeting in the Gardens yesterday, and on the way back I noticed this strange old building (it probably contains water pumps or something) sticking out into a water reservoir. I love the way it was built to be functional, but to still look pretty. Also can you see the two rows of birds sitting on the railing?
I have been in this suburb about a million times, and it is amazing how you can live in the same place for so long, and think you know an area so well, and yet you still stumble on things that you have no idea existed in the first place. A very unexpected find.
On Friday evening, Lois and I went to see a band that we have been wanting to watch for a while, The Lentil Collective. They were playing at a small venue in Muizenberg called The Melting Pot. Yes, the Lentles were playing in the pot. Let the jokes begin.
Anyway, they are a rather eclectic band; a mixture of folk and acoustic pop, with a healthy amount of looping and sampling added into the mix. They describe themselves as “folktronica”, which is pretty accurate. But you can decide for yourselves, just go here and download their music (for free). I really enjoyed them, they are just some guys wanting to play some great music and have some fun. Fairly laid-back, fun and original. Really worth listening to.
If you see them playing, head down, you will hear some great music.
Leave a Comment