My Little Sister's Wedding

My sister was sort of planning a wedding sort of not.... then they had a date.... then they didn't... and every time we thought that the date was set, something happened and it had to be moved. My husband and I had our flights booked to South Africa for a holiday and regardless of whether Danielle was getting married or not - we were going. While at the coast, I received a call from my mom saying that Johan, my sister's fiancé, had decided enough with this changing the date every couple of weeks. Seeing as we're already in South Africa they should just get married "finish and klaar" (klaar is Afrikaans for finished) (rock-spiders use this term frequently) (rock-spider is a nickname for Afrikaans speaking people whose English "is not so good") (like me - I'm half rock-spider)

Aaaaaanyway, my mom breaks the news that my sister wants me to be the photographer at the wedding.  I can't stress enough that she should get someone qualified. I phone Danielle and explain this to her saying, you don't understand..... just because you like one of my photos does not make me talented enough to shoot your entire wedding. The responsibility is huge. Besides, I had left a lot of equipment at home that I would need because I didn't expect to be photographing a WEDDING! Including my charger because who needs more than four fully charged batteries for a 2 week holiday?

No. There is no convincing her. She has made up her mind and she knows what she wants. (Apparently)

The wedding was definitely the best wedding I have ever been to! I don't know how she managed to pull it off in 11 days - kudos to her! (Imagine finding and fitting your dress for the first time the day before the wedding) The day itself was beyond adventurous with getting lost for an hour trying to find the makeup artist's house, arriving late to the ceremony, rings breaking at the altar, my drunk brother unknowingly saying motha-fucka into the mic in front of our VERY CONSERVATIVE family. It will all need a separate blog - or a book even.

Here is a sample of my favourites shots:




                            



Table decorations

                                           

The Bride

My brothers and my husband (on the left)

Zane - the second shooter

Ballerina In The Dust Part 3

Ballerina In The Dust Part 2

This picture is one of my favourites. It displays her personality so well. This was taken after 4 hours in the hot African sun and it was the last photo of the day. There was a bakkie (or pick-up truck if you're from America) coming down the road creating dust.

Ballerina In The Dust

I'm so fortunate to have my niece who is extremely willing to spend hours with me photographing her. She is gorgeous. She is patient. She is hilarious. But most importantly, she is down to earth.

 ...barefoot 90% of the time...

The Boy at the Bus Stop

The first time I saw Ruben was over Christmas. It was after dark at a bus stop. He was walking alongside his dad, Andy, who asked him if he wanted to walk home or wait for the bus. Ruben replied with a short but sweet "bus". When the bus came we all boarded and four blocks down the road Ruben and Andy reached their destination.

Last week I was let down by my models who failed to show up - but you know what they say - when one door closes, another one opens. Went down to the North Inch and lo and behold! I found "The boy at the bus stop"!

Fun facts about Ruben:

He is 4 years old and lives in Perth (Scotland not Australia)
The triangular sticker on his t-shirt was a reward for doing a good job at school
He likes rolling in the sand
He also likes getting his picture taken
At the tender age of 8 and a half months he gave his first steps!!

His mom, Peggy, describes him as an unusually happy child which is evident when you meet him!

He loves to sing and will often sing to himself when he wakes up

Dancing also takes up a lot of his time and he especially loves to do ballet twirls

He is currently obsessed with all things Disney - princesses and fairies - no boy toys for him he says!

Because Andy always moves Ruben's toys around while he is sleeping, Ruben truly believes his toys come alive at night!

He is nicknamed the Haitian Highlander because he is half Haitian and half Scottish!!

The Girls who Fooled the World

I remember when I was about 11 picking up a paperback - The World's Greatest Mysteries. There I stumbled upon one of the most inspirational stories about two young girls and how they managed to fool so many people for many years including Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes. The Cottingley Fairies captured my imagination! Never believing that it was real, just being stunned by the art of creating those images.

Harold Snelling, a photography expert, said that "the two negatives are entirely genuine, unfaked photographs with no trace whatsoever of studio work involving card or paper models". He did not go so far as to say that the photographs showed fairies, stating only that "these are straight forward photographs of whatever was in front of the camera at the time."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." -Albert Einstein

Carefree Mia

Talking to her friend, Mia says: "In a couple of years time I'll be four and I'm going to have a butterfly birthday cake." Aware of me she sometimes glances over and offers a smile but for the most part she is focused on serious playtime. What a pleasure to work with!