General

Let’s all ride on a yellow MTB

Let's all ride on a yellow MTB
It may not be obvious from the photo alone, but that bike indicates the start of an MTB trail on the Paul Cluver estate in Elgin. Having the bike high up on a tree stump is a pretty neat idea to mitigate it being stolen or vandalised... not that MBT enthusiasts are thieves or vandals... I'm just saying. :)

Paul Cluver – wide open space

Paul Cluver - wide open space
Wide open space like this on the Paul Cluver estate in Elgin can feel really creepy. At least in Cape Town we have plenty of mountains to break the horizon - I can't imagine how strange it would feel if there were none; if the fields, like the ocean, tapered off on the horizon.

Flower syrup at Delvera

Flower syrup at Delvera
Crisna, from Crisna's Olives at Delvera, doesn't only sell olives and olive products. I happened upon these bottles of jasmine and hibiscus flower syrups. Don't they sound divine? In case you can't read the price sticker on the bottles in this photo - at time of writing they cost only R30 for a bottle - which is pretty reasonable, don't you think?

Mary Sibande, poking fun at power relations

Mary Sibande, poking fun at power relations
It's an awful quality photo, I know, but the subject is so brilliant that I have to share it. I spotted this work by Mary Sibande on the wall of a building in Stellenbosch. Read more, and see more of her works, in The Guardian's article over here.

Fresh at Paul Cluver

Fresh at Paul Cluver

If you'd like a treat, prepared with love and care, visit Fresh restaurant on the Paul Cluver estate. We took friends visiting from the UK on an outing over Sir Lowry's pass to the little district of Elgin. Fresh, our decided lunch-stop, certainly didn't disappoint. The food, the staff, the atmosphere and our table on the lawn beneath the trees was perfect. Just perfect.

Cape Town Art Fair

Cape Town Art Fair
This photo is of an artwork called Boko Harem (which I'd guess is a play on Boko Haram), by Catherine Ocholla. It speaks a thousand words, doesn't it?

I went along to the Cape Town Art Fair (which regrettably ends on 1 March) and spent about two hours browsing dozens of works, mostly by local artists, but including many from other African and European artists. The Avenue (a new venue in the same building as the V&A Waterfront's Aquarium), was light, airy, and not too crowded inside. What was nice about the fair was that while browsing we had the opportunity to meet several of the artists, even students from local art schools. The flip side to that privileged is that there are many genres that I simply don't get - so because I realise that art is quite personal to the artist I kept feeling that I had to be on my guard not to unintentionally offend their creators (which I have to admit was in one or two cases quite difficult not to do). :-/

Take a look at some of the works below. These, called Russian Bride, by Gavin Rain, are fantastic. If you get up real close you'll see that the images are created from hundreds of painted circles. Isn't it awesome how he crafted every circle to contribute to the overall image - almost like pixels on a monitor?

Also, check out this jacket made from old computer keyboards. Pretty impressive hey (albeit, probably quite uncomfortable to wear ;) )?

Given that I'm a photographer, I guess it's understandable that I mostly prefer photographs (vs. sculptures and paintings). So the last one that I specifically want to show you is a set of two photos, by Miriam Syowia Kyambi - pretty awesome hey? :)

Vacationing in Cape Town

Vacationing in Cape Town
If found this couple (who by their accents sounded foreign) were sitting watching the sun set over Clifton 4th beach. I handed them a card and said I'd email them the photos - but I haven't heard from them, so I guess the language barrier was just a little too much to cross. :-(

Looking cool at Passenger’s Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset concert

Looking cool at the Passenger concert
Actually, she wasn't just standing there, offering a peace sign. She was an usher at Passenger's Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset concert - and she was holding up two fingers to let us know she'd ferreted out a space on the grass for two people to sit. :)

Valentine’s day Silent Cinema with Short & Sweet

Valentine's day Silent Cinema with Short & Sweet

Even though the wind was frustratingly-blustery, still we went along to Short & Sweet's first silent cinema in Deer Park, just below the well-known Deer Park Cafe.

Given that Deer Park is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, Short & Sweet hired the services of a company that does silent discos/parties using headphones that receive the sound via a radio channel. It was quite different (though quite nice actually) sitting amid a group of people, with the only sound being that of the wind blowing and momentary gasps or bursts of laughter.

Julia, founder and curator of Short & Sweet's film evenings, put together a series of short films, animations, and even a music video to entertain us. The genre's were quite diverse, beautiful, and at times probably touched a little on some of the more conservative's boundaries.

Keep an eye on their Cape Town Facebook page for details about their screenings and regular Wednesday evening productions.