Source of Inspiration

I am often asked about the source of my inspiration, particularly with my photography. I recently saw the film 'Invictus', the true story of how Nelson Mandela, the then President of South Africa, used the universal language of sport to unite his racially divided country in the wake of apartheid. The film so eloquently portrays how Mandela's wisdom and persistence with reconciliation kept his country from descending into racial warfare after the end of apartheid in the early 1990's.
I grew up in South Africa during the reign of apartheid, and though I left the country long before Nelson Mandela was released from his 27 year political imprisonment in isolation and hard labour, I knew even then that South Africa had two precious commodities  - gold and Nelson Mandela. In 1990 on the day he was finally released, I watched excitedly with the world as he emerged from that prison and walked his first steps into freedom. I could not believe that his dignity, his principles, his belief, his spirit and his humanity was still intact and that he could be so forgiving of his captors. When asked what he missed most while in prison, he replied that it was hearing the sounds of laughing children.
When I look out over the magnificent Pacific ocean, so close to my home, and lift my camera to try to capture something of it's awe-inspiring beauty, or peer into the secret world of flowers with my macro lens, I often think of Nelson Mandela and how deprived he must have felt to have spent so much of his life imprisoned within the four walls of that tiny concrete cell. Freedom for him came at an astronomical price.
In his autobiography, 'Long Walk to Freedom', Mandela declared, "I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free. Free in every way that I could know.  Free to run in the fields near my mother's hut, free to swim in the clear stream that ran through my village, free to roast mealies under the stars ... It was only when I learnt that my boyhood freedom was an illusion ... that I began to hunger for it."
I still have a portrait of the great man in my office. It reminds me that changing the world can start with a single person and it inspires me to try. If you need some inspiration in your life, go and see the film 'Invictus' or borrow a copy of 'Long Walk to Freedom'. It will inspire you to greater things!

How to be an Artist

I found this bit of wisdom today. Someone sent it to me. Apparently it is written on a sign at a gallery somewhere in the world. I had to pass it on as it is such great advice for all of us!

~ How to be an Artist ~

Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make little signs that say Yes! and post them all over your house. Make friends with freedom and uncertainty. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing as high as you can on a swingset, by moonlight. Refuse to "be responsible". Do it for love. Take lots of naps. Give money away. Do it now. The money will follow. Believe in magic. Laugh a lot. Celebrate every gorgeous moment. Take moonbaths. Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams, and perfect calm. Draw on the walls. Read everyday. Imagine yourself magical. Giggle with children. Listen to old people. Open up. Dive in. Be free. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child. You are innocent. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug trees. Write love letters. Believe.

When in Rome ....

"A man who has not been to Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see." ~ Samuel Johnson.
Visiting Rome was one of the most memorable experiences of my life with my camera! Having just had 7 magical days in Venice, I thought I had experienced the best of Italy. How wrong I was! Rome was mind-blowing. From just stepping out of my taxi the evening I arrived onto the ancient cobblestone streets and heading off for a walk around the vicinity of my apartment, I was hooked. Two blocks and around a corner ... and suddenly out of the light evening drizzle materialised the Pantheon, its ancient marble columns framing the welcoming light inside, the coloured umbrellas of milling tourists bringing a whimsical look to this ancient architectural wonder.

The next morning, after a leisurely expresso in an unassuming sidewalk cafe, possibly one of the best I have ever had, we decided to walk from our apartment in Piazza Navona to the Colosseum, taking in the sights of Rome from the top of the Vittorio Emanuele 11 Monument on the way. It was a glorious day for taking photographs and I must have taken hundreds that day. Everywhere I turned was another intricate stone column, breathtaking cathedral or historically significant fountain or statue.

And that is how it continued for the next few days. I was overawed at my first sighting of the Colosseum, possibly the most impressive building, and definitely the most identifiable landmark of the Roman Empire.  Standing inside this imposing structure, it was hard to believe that it is just the skeleton of what was once the greatest arena in the ancient world.  

Vatican City was equally impressive. From the baroque Saint Peter's Basilica with its precious sites containing some of the world's most famous artworks to the Vatican Palaces and Museums housing collections of art unsurpassed anywhere in the world, I was totally overwhelmed. Reviewing my many photographs after my return, I could still smell and feel those old cobblestone streets and see the light illuminating the intricate colours and patterns of the stained glass prevalent in all the magnificent cathedrals. I wanted to keep the experience alive, at least until I could get back again, and I wanted to share the splendour of Rome through my eyes with my children, so I put together "Eight Days in Italy - A photographic journey through Venice, Milan and Rome".

So much beauty, so much history, so much wisdom, so much soul! As Fanny Burney so eloquently puts it, "Travelling is the ruin of all happiness! There is no looking at a building after seeing Italy!"

Baltic city of Tallinn in focus

I visited Tallin, the capital city and 'jewel' of Estonia - the smallest of the Baltic countries - last January just after a cold spell had been through the country. When we arrived, the freezing weather had warmed up to a  pleasant 4 degrees with light feathery snow, a perfect magical night. Looking out over the towers and spires of the medieval city from my hotel window, I was transported back to my childhood. The scene in front of me was the fairyland of my imagination all those years ago.
Tallinn is an incredibly beautiful city and a veritable paradise for photographers. It's architecture will take your breath away! The cobbled streets and completely preserved 14th century buildings exist amongst atmospheric cafes, restaurants and clubs, galleries, historic churches, scenic ruins and five star hotels. After 4 days spent exploring this amazing city with my camera, I had a hard time escaping it's undeniable allure and boarding the ferry to Helsinki!

On photographing people

There was a noted French Photographer, Robert Doisneau (1912-1994), who made masterpieces out of capturing the 'ordinary gestures of ordinary people in ordinary situations'. His work could be playful and almost comical, excruciatingly personal, electrifying, joyful and comforting - sometimes all at the same time. He felt that there was always something happening to someone around him in everyday life that was worth photographing. He said of his work, "I never noticed time passing, I was too taken up with the spectacle afforded by my contemporaries, that gratuitous, never-ending show for which no ticket is needed, and when the occasion arose, I offered them, in passing, the ephemeral solace of an image."

Like Doisneau, I believe the best portraits of people are achieved when they are not aware of the camera, when they are involved in a conversation, an activity, or deep in thought and in surroundings which are completely part of their normal lives, bathed in natural light. Yet so often we persist with the formal portrait photographs, hoping to immortalise ourselves or our children in that one moment of time in a studio, and all too often the resulting portraits are soulless and staged. 

From experience, I have learned that the best time to take portraits are the days when simply looking through the lens of my camera feels like I am doing what I love most and somehow the images from that day are exactly what I want them to be.

Impressionist-inspired Photography

Monet's Garden

Everyone always asks what genre of photography I enjoy most. Without a doubt, it's the more creative side of art photography - abstract but still based on real subjects - what I refer to as impressionist-inspired photography. I am a photography purist and cannot bring myself to get acquainted with Photoshop or any other digital editing program, other than to adjust contrast and exposure a little after the image has been taken. The challenge for me is to see the interplay of light, colour and texture in life and then capture it with my camera. For my impressionist-inspired works I usually use a shallow depth of field and get in close with a macro lens. This gives a wonderful soft edge to the overlapping colours and textures, almost like they are dissolving into one another. Getting the light just right through the lens is crucial in giving me the captured image that I see in my mind.
Claude Monet dissolved familiar forms into shifting veils of blue, green, rose and violet to produce his most famous paintings. He loved the fog that often veiled the city of London where he spent many years, and said: "Without the fog London wouldn't be a beautiful city. It's the fog that gives it its magnificent breadth."
Like Monet and other impressionist era painters, I love the fugitive effects of changing light and atmospheres. The challenge of getting it perfect by eye is what inspires me to be a better photographer.

Agapanthus Ballet

The allure of black and white photography

Black and white photography is currently enjoying a welcome revival as more and more digital photographers are discovering the magic and allure, and indeed the timelessness, of black and white images.
Without the distraction of colour, capturing the light perfectly plays an even more crucial role and is the difference between beautiful eye-catching photographs and dark, dull and washed out images.

Black and white photographs look amazing displayed large on the walls of homes and businesses. It is an extremely effective way to bring a space to life and goes well with most decor styles, especially the modern, sophisticated trend of the moment.