In December of last year my family and I eagerly packed our belongings, not forgetting the two dogs and headed south to Cape Town . It had taken thirteen years from when Anita and I first knew we were going to relocate from Gauteng to the Western Cape and suddenly this exciting time was upon us. Having just purchased a guesthouse in Hout Bay , the first three months had been a bit chaotic and I had not found much time for my photography.
Finally, in the middle of March things had settled somewhat and I found time to venture out into our new back garden to take some pictures, and what a garden it is! For two weeks I have experienced some of the most awesome scenery ever, breathtaking to the extreme. It’s funny that I did not really notice much until then; I mean, yes the scenery is beautiful regardless and the Atlantic seaboard of the Western Cape has got to be one of the most picturesque places on the planet, but only once I got behind the lens did I really start to appreciate the majesty of the place. Also, besides the obvious beauty, what really works for photography in this area is the extreme weather patterns. Hout Bay , for those who have never visited is nestled in a valley between two mountains and therefore can experience four seasons in a single day. The view from our home is awe-inspiring and changes all the time as the clouds roll in from the ocean. It’s really like watching a continuously changing painting.
The Cape peninsula has taught me to throw predictability out of the window when it comes to photography. Now, instead of planning a shot I rather take my camera, delighting in the surprise with what’s on the menu for the day. It’s been amazing, if it’s not storms driving in from the sea, its rainbows, or fog, or strong winds or spectacular sunsets, or or or! Man, how fortunate can one be as a photographer to experience such delight. A friend told me the other day that we should thank God for such favour. I replied that I do every day, but I cannot help asking why we could not have moved here earlier, just think of all the shots I missed thus far!
As an example, last week Saturday our daughter Samantha asked if I could take her to a mall to buy a pair of jeans. You must understand that once settled in the valley of Hout Bay one hardly ever travels anywhere for anything. Fortunately the village does not have a mall and the closest is near Kommetjie which means a pleasant drive over Chapman’s peak. I said to Samantha that I wanted to do some pictures of long beach from Chapman's peak, if she was happy to get up before sunrise and accompany me on my shoot we would go down to the mall afterwards.
We left home at 6am that morning and parked the Land Rover at a lookout point on Chapman's Peak drive. We then hiked down to the area best suited for the shot I was expecting. A few minutes after setting up the tripod we were greeted with lashing rain as the weather started to move in from the ocean, preceded by some strong wind. Samantha, who has learned what to expect having accompanied me on many of my photographic expeditions didn’t say a word; she kept her focus squarely on that pair of jeans awaiting her at the mall. The scene over long beach kept changing and as the sun broke through from the east I noticed a simplistic composition along the shoreline with the light catching the water’s edge at it snaked its way along the coast. Just when I thought I had the shot a whole posse of horse riders rudely galloped out of the thicket and onto my composition spoiling my efforts with horse trails. We had been up there for two hours and the weather was less than comforting. Samantha, who was pretty cold by now headed back to the car on her own and I stayed on a bit longer to see if anything else would happen. I slowly packed up and started heading back when something told me to look back. A rainbow had started to appear just off Kommetjie and it looked quite spectacular. It must be said that I am not a rainbow fanatic when it comes to photography, but I took out my camera none the less to take a shot. What happened next is one of the reasons why I enjoy photography so much.
Just when I reckoned that’s the curtain call for the day, nature decided differently. Squalls of white water driven by high descending winds started to appear on the water and a few seconds later the rainbow and the vapour collided. I only got off one shot and it was all over. I was totally awestruck by the display and all the way back home kept praying “please let the shot be sharp”. Fortunately it was…. what a morning Samantha got two pairs of jeans and I got more than I ever expected.
Unbelievable!
Until next time, kind regards, Martin
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