Dusting off the scanner

Years ago I bought a photographic film scanner and went bananas scanning every single piece of film I shot and processed. I'm in the actions of rescanning everything after dusting off this wonderful piece of machinery which has been sitting idle for 2 years. This included all the black and white film I shot during my single year of studying photography. Above is the digital contact sheet from a trip my class did into Durbans Gray Street. We were given filthy looks, we were stopped by police asking if we were aware of how dangerous it was to roam the streets camera in hand, it was even said to us that we were silly white people and to go home. I made some of my favorite photographs that day.

In that time of study I lucked into photographing music concerts local but mostly international. When photographing a music concert your time in the 'pit' is limited to the first three songs, four if the artist is generous. On one such occasion a local and by local I mean South African band who had some fame at their time thought they would pull a preMadonna and shorten that to one song. Where did that get them? No where. Never the less what I would do is have my digital and film body, digital for color and film for a single roll of black and white negative. I would shoot two songs in color as this was my main priority and then concentrate on my personal roll of BW. The very next day I would make a bee line to the college dark room and develop my roll of gold. Sometimes I'd done it just right others not so.

Below is the contact sheet from an Avril Lavigne concert back in 2005. I still have many more from many other concerts to scan. Sad news is I still have about 10 rolls yet to be developed because it is too costly to develop the film I shot it on.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

I'd waited a long, very long, 50 days for this and I was not going to let a little sinus issue stop me. Last night a friend told me chocolate was bad for sinus infections so the slab of Rum & Raisin I was so looking forward to chomping sat next to my bed untouched. Well not really untouched, I sampled three squares and it was as good as I'd expected. I still don't understand how a dairy product can affect your sinus, something for me to google one day. Along with purchasing said slab of chocolate I stocked up on SinuClear and Texa 10. One is a decongestant while the other is for allergies but also dries up your nose.

Self medicating is something one should never be. Last night I took the SinuClear and while it made my nose dribble I was decongested. This morning I figured I didn't want a runny nose inside my mask so I took the Texa 10 and that dried me up to the point I couldn't blow my nose with the resulted sinus implosion bothering me on the drive down south. Aliwal Shoal is on the South Coast and takes approximately an hour to get there, less without morning traffic.



Heeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy Hanli Prinsloo is up in Durban and once again my aquatic guide. Hanli is amazing, she will jump in the water and with one breath fill her five million lungs and swim to the depths. Be it 5 meters, 15 meters or even a scantly 30 meters down she goes no worries in the world. Perfect example being today, one of the ladies going out to meet our toothy friends got a little over excited upon seeing dolphins and asked if we could swim with them. Being the ever accommodating people we are the boat was stopped and we all jumped in. Hanli, mono-fin attached, was straight off and down before I could even adjust my mask or blow my nose and my nose was not happy. Five meters down and it felt like Neptune had reached into my ear canal for his morning workout wearing a boxing glove. Straight up and straight on the boat thank you very much but that was ok as the dolphins were not up for our company and left.



It wasn't quite the dive as my first but can anything ever top a virgin experience? There were no Tiger Sharks and not as many Black Tips, the visibility was not what it could have been but I loved every second in the water and we spent thousands of them without even realising the time. The boys from Blue Wilderness know their stuff and took great care of our needs. Despite some serious intermittent sinus issues were at times Neptune again had a fist in my ear canal and I could hear the bubbles zinging through my skull I went deeper than before, I stayed down till diaphragm contractions and I got the shark photos. I also got video, these days with my 7D and its HD Video I get torn between video or stills. We even named one of the Black Tips, her name is Tracey after the fishing trace hooked in her mouth. It was also very sad to see one with what I can only describe as a lasso around its head. Just like a horse bit in its mouth and wrapped around the top this misfortunate shark was cruising around scavenging like they do. We devised ways of helping it with my theory being really sharp blade in one hand, grip the rope with other and slice simultaneously without cutting yourself spreading blood and thus causing damage with a self induced feeding frenzy.



There is an addition to shark encounter bucket of stories. Todays being the Black Tip body slam. James on the boat finds it hilarious to throw sardine bits around you and your head causing a little feeding frenzy. If this is not enough to convince you sharks are not interested in eating you then I'm not sure what will. On one such occasion I found myself in the middle of around ten sharks going a little bananas and one swam into me full body slam style from my shoulder to my thigh. While a little scary it was exhilarating. On another occasion one got a little too close so I dropped my shoulder again and fended it off. Those weren't the only times I was brave enough to touch the personal space challenged Black Tips. Generally they are jittery and don't like to be touched but there were a few who let you feel there slightly slimy yet silky smooth skin without a fuss in the world.

It was another fantastic day and I hope I don't need to wait another 50 days. June is dive time.

Slideshows, Websites & Snotty Noses

There is a slideshow on theBOMBsurf website with photos from my day in Cape Town for the Pierre Du Plessis paddle out and O'Neill RAW Courage Awards. All the photos are frame grabs from video I was doing with my Go PRO HD. The quality of footage from this little gadget is amazing and I cannot rave about it enough.



The new found mojo from getting this blog up and running again has spilled into the website pool which has been lying empty skated by the wheels of procrastination. Last night I sat down and commenced the daunting task of sifting through literally thousands of photographs with hundreds each excellent in their own right. How does one choose 20 photographs to showcase ones work? Photography is a matter of subjectivity, you cannot please everyone, stay true to the line you draw and when you are planning on showcasing more than one subject one can get carried away. Just for the surfing gallery alone I spent hours choosing photos only to end up whittling them down to twenty.



Tomorrow I am meant to be free diving with the big toothy friends again but the liters of snot clogging up my sinuses have other ideas. I've been diving before with a snotty head and it is not pleasant no matter how much equalising you do. Hanlii says I MUST go, my joy of swimming with a feared predator says the same but the pack of slimy frogs drumming to the tune of my heartbeat have a different idea. Tomorrow we shall find out.

Cape Town, RAW Awards and Barrels

They were a year in the making, the O'Neill RAW Courage Awards and finally the prize giving was upon us. For a week I had been checking the cost of flights, I'd already decided I was going down but being budget conscious I scoured all the "low-cost" airlines websites. Somewhat humorous to find the one airline that brags about the lowest of prices was the most costly even with a 15% discount from my medical aid. Perhaps they need the funds to pay for all those witty commercials they create only to have their removal lawfully enforced. My chosen winged chariot was 1Time Airlines whom I shall recommend to any and everyone as they were the cheapest even without a discount and I booked my rental car through them at a favorable rate.

I travel a lot, 6 months of the year really, and this was the first time I departed from the new Durban King Shaka International Airport. This time being in the North and driving against the traffic it was a pleasant quick drive there. Only a rolling tumble weed would have confirmed my suspicions the airport was deserted and the old airport was in fact still operating. Straight to the check-in queue, pleasantries exchanged, baggage checked-in which was underweight for a change and I had my boarding pass. Wimpy breakfast later and I was sitting in my seat staring out the window heading to Cape Town for only the third time in my 30 year existence on this planet.

I don't know my way around Cape Town but my GPS does and I still managed to take a wrong turn. Why do trucks choose the route with only one lane up the mountain? At least I got to scenic route at a viewable pace. I was staying with Bromdog and his family and needed to arrive before a certain hour which never happened thanks to said trucks. Internet on my iPhone kept me entertained while I willed away the hours.

Pierre De Plessis is not a person I met, he may have and was most likely in the lineup on the occasions I was photographing Dungeons but the inescapable feeling of camaraderie while standing on the beach before his memorial paddle out made me feel part of the fraternity. Friends, family, strangers, kids, ballies and dogs all gathered in a circle on the beach said a few words, remembered their friend and proceeded to paddle out to the ocean where a large circle was formed for more words to be said prayers offered and champagne drank. I was moved, not only physically by the oceans rip current but spiritually by the human emotion.

The O'Neill RAW Courage Awards water ceremony might just have been a first of its kind. I've never heard of an awards taking place in the ocean before and I was happy to be attending not only because I had two photos depicting the feats of two surfers in contention for prizes but because it was a beautiful day for such things. Some said I was big headed some said well done, I told them power of positivity. I was adamant my photos were going to be the winners and thus I came to Cape Town. And my photos did win. Matt Bromley - Grom Charge Award. Frank Solomon - Phsyco Freak Award. Well done guys, told you we would win. Great fun was had on land after the intimate awards ceremony in Kommetjie. Tequila, beer and pizza all make for a good night.

A big girls blouse is what I am when it comes to cold water. I like the cold, I love snow but I have a deep seated hatred for cold water. It is not pleasurable to surf in a 4:3 wetsuit with booties and gloves. This was my third visit to Cape Town yet my first surf ever in the icy waters of the Cape.



Who goes flower shopping when visiting a friend for coffee? It was Friday and I was leaving later in the arvo yet I had to return my car before 12:30 to avoid paying for another days rental. My "Heeere Fishy Fishy Fishy" friend Hanli Prinsloo (free dive champion, trainer and fellow shark lover) invited me over to Kalk Bay mid-morning. We had breakfast at a little corner cafe a few steps from Kalk Hobbitville. Best damn omelette I've ever had. She then proceeded to give me a tour of Kalk Bay, it's only one road in and one road out so it wasn't too difficult and then we went plant shopping. More like I stood there thinking a plants a plant while Hanli promised to talk to the plants so they didn't die like the ones being replaced. I rubbed a plant whose leaves smell like lemon citrus and renamed some plant to Shrek Ear.

Flew home with a dose of the flu and waited an hour as my dad insists I told him a different arrival time to the actual time I touched ground. Avoided the Friday night activities as Saturday morning promised fantastical waves. And that it did. Semi-secret spots are great. Finally waves with a bit of juice behind them, one chom out, sheet glass barrels and blue warm water thank you very much. Three and a half horus later we were looking to the skies asking for the east wind to blow so we could head to the Green Dolphin for a maxi breakfast and not feel guilty about leaving the waves behind. The wind blew and we left.