“When we know deep down that we’re acting with integrity despite impulses to do otherwise, we feel gates of higher energy and inspiration open inside of us” – Dan Millman
What to do before sunrise when the clouds are thick and it’s drizzling.. No prospect of seeing any sun. There is still colour and beauty to be found.
Canon 6D, ISO 200, F9, shutter speed via AV, tripod, RAW, LR edit
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth” ~ The Buddha (if not by him or an adaption of his teachings then by some other wise chap)
This will probably turn out to be one of my favourite shots from yesterday’s shoot.
The little crab (bottom / middle) and I shot for a while until got blown away by a blinder (doubt it – probably scurried away to duck the big wave that wet my lens and caused me to use the healing brush for 20 min in PP).
Canon 6D, 0.4 sec, ISO 100, F16. RAW, tripod.
My Ballito (myballito.co.za) Seeff Ballito Gianni’s Ristorante Ballito First Thursdays Durban SPIGA Durban 5 Star Durban
#durban #durbantourism #nevergiveup #ballito #ilovedurban #5stardurban
The weather forecast at 03:30 this morning (Saturday 22 Oct 2016) said clear skies. I looked outside and saw stars, the moon and no clouds.
Knowing I needed some cloud cover to go shoot sunrise at 05:11 (to make the sky interesting) the decision was easy: stay home; it’s a failure waiting to happen; don’t go.
I guess like many things in life that appear totally dismal or doomed to fail, you don’t know the answer until you do them and throw your full weight in; only then can be sure.
Not trying guarantees the predicted failure for sure but giving it a go maybe gives you the 2%, 15% or 50% you didn’t have.
I blew 8.5 GB of memory card this morning (that’s a lot) at Thompson’s Bay and conditions allowed shooting for at least 45 min to 60 min after sunrise (normally as the sun rises or 10 min max afterwards we would pack up).
Here is one of my two panoramic photos from this morning (above). The better shots will follow in the hours, days, and weeks to come.
I also stretched the panoramic shot vertically to get a 6X9 shown below.
Canon 6D, AV, ISO 320, F9
PS – we’re looking to have a darn good steak tonight; it was Butcher Block last weekend and perhaps a Spur tonight. Which Durban Spur do you fancy?
#spur #butcherblock #ballito #thompsonsbay #kzn #ilovedurban #za #southafrica
“Mastery does not come from dabbling. We have to be prepared to pay the price. We need to have the sustained enthusiasm that motivates us to give our best” – Eknath Easwaran
An old favourite of mine from 2014 taken in Kleinmond, Western Cape. I touched it up a little and it’s now called “Perseverance V2” 
Canon 6 D, F 9, ISO 100, 1/25 sec. Tripod. RAW.
The roads were blocked off this morning for the Tsogo Sun Amashova / Amashova Durban Classic and I could not make it to my intended venue.
It was therefore a choice between Blue Lagoon or Bike & Bean Durban.
The sun pops up wonderfully with the building at Bike & Bean Durban and coffee gets served pretty early, so the choice was made.
PS: the breakfast is great as well
— at Bike & Bean Durban.
The time has come for “www.snapflycook.wordpress.com” and “Andy the Traveller, Cook and Photographer” to simply be Andrew Harvard the Photographer.
Of course I still travel whenever and wherever possible, and love cooking, but the force of my photography passion is overpowering; hence the birth, finally, of “Andrew Harvard Photography”
This site is being upgraded bit by bit so remnants of the “old” site will still be found.
If you or anyone you know is looking to make that bland wall at your house or office look bright and beautiful then please click here immediately.
Some of my photos in black & white currently line the office and boardroom walls of a company in Springfield Park, with colour ones in a hotel on Durban Beachfront, all the bedrooms of an 56 room establishment North of Durban, Colour Domain Durban North’s counter and one was even the Signature Image of a 5 star hotel a year or so back. In fact, they are all over the place, even cruising in Hillcrest.
Don’t miss your chance. A price increase will take place early in December 2016 prompted by my favourite local top quality printers.
Sunrise at Durban Harbour, South Africa
You choose how you view your life… What you want to talk about and thereby give power to.
Both photos are the same image taken on a drizzling overcast morning.
Canon 6D, F 11, ISO 50, 0.5 sec & 3.5 sec blend
“A glorious sunset, a beautiful flower, the delightful songs of happy birds, the silence of a moonlit night, the smile of a little child, the placid waters of a lake, wooded mountains, sweet music and devotional songs, a noble, generous act-all these elevate the mind, remind us of God and increase our faith” ~ Sri Swami Sivananda
My Canon 6D, now decidedly jealous after seeing that the baby Canon G3X has been getting all the attention since purchase for 4 straight months now, begged me last night for a sunrise photo shoot.
The weather report promised partly cloudy to partly sunny and if true, this should have guaranteed a spectacular sunrise in the land of magic / Thompson’s Bay.
The upshot is that it was drizzling and the sun hardly showed this morning.
Despite it being lovely to get out and about while still dark and be on the ocean’s edge to witness the break of dawn, I was still hoping (desperately), all the way back to Durban, that I could at least retrieve one cool photo out of the grey and wet sunrise.
Well I’m happy with the attached result; the trip was overall really worthwhile.
The strange thing about driving to sunrise photo shoots early in the morning, especially the ones some distance from home, and the gaps in between shooting (if not socialising with others), is that one gets time to ponder about things.
My latest ponder was about people who incessantly preach and broadcast love and kindness but do little to act on it, and then those people who preach nothing but silently act out loving kindness.
I also thought that one can get quite lost in fervently preaching and advertising, and intentionally or unintentionally fail to act.
I also wondered about meditation and drawing closer to God if just for a short while.
Meditating on one’s breath is very challenging, and getting to and sitting inside some spiritual buildings have challenges of their own (for some of us only of course).
The reason for wondering about all of this was that I have again, like I often do, analysed the enhanced concentration that some can achieve in photography; especially landscape photography (shooting alone in a quiet venue usually at sunrise or sunset).
There are also moments, every blue moon or so, when the sun, moon, stars, clouds, wind, water, flowers, landscape and other things conspire as one to draw one’s mind (soul) into the moment, at which time an extreme feeling of gratitude and love can be felt by the witness.
So I guess that the trick is to find that one activity, where ever and whatever it may be, that helps pull your mind together, and generates feelings of gratitude and love.
Canon 6D, 30 sec. F16, ISO 50
I lay in bed at 04:30 this morning, after getting up for a short while, and was thinking about sleeping in until 06:30.
Robin Sharma‘s recent email kept beating in my head so I had no option but to get back out of bed and head to the harbour and then beach to watch the sunrise.
I didn’t want to “lose” my membership in the 5 am Club!
“The moment you think you’re amazing is the moment you lose the very mentality (and spirit) that made you amazing. On the arrival of uncommon success, the human tendency is:
1. For humility to become eroded and arrogance to creep in
2. To lose the fire that got you into The 5 am Club, kept you pushing to be the best & moved you to persist against all that fear could put in your way
3. To rest on your laurels and fall into the seduction of thinking that what made you successful will keep you successful
And so, as you navigate your rise to world-class, avoid “the catastrophe of success”. Own your Craft. Live your Genius. Lift our World” ~ Robin Sharma
Canon G3X used for all photos, minor adjustment in LR only
Royal Natal Yacht Club, Point Yacht Club and Moyo Ushaka – location
5 Star Durban #durbantours #durbantourism #tourdurban #durban
5 Star Durban Durban ICC I Love Durban SPIGA Durban
Canon 6D, F 14, 1/40 sec, ISO 100. Handheld RAW. 28 March 2014
Andrew Harvard Photography 