Category Archives: Bits & Pieces
I love a good dose of motivation and in addition to photography, travel and cooking, do find other things interesting.
Happy New Life (not happy new year)
Yoga Fun
This is Melissa.
If you are in Durban / Umhlanga (South Africa) and love yoga, then hook-up with her and her partner Ross for a session on Umhlanga Beach – click here.
Umhlanga Beach is tranquil and beautiful. Look here if you need convincing.
In the Quietness
The inserted photo was taken North of Brighton Beach in Durban, South Africa.
My dear Mother stayed in this area for some years in her youth and it surely holds some connection with her.
My Mother passed away on 6 February two years ago. A few months before that, on the 16th of November, sensing her time was nearing the end, she sent me a message explaining that she would be leaving me physically but not spiritually.
I thought about her a lot today (2nd January 2015) and read the message above, which contains other very important information.
The part I will share with you is: “Stay happy, good and true to yourself always, and savour every moment of life; it is very precious”.
Believe it or not but it was pure “coincidence” on my part that I worked on this photo today (some of us know there are no coincidences but I never intentionally thought “let me work on a photo that reminds me of Mom).
“Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!” ~ Unknown
Roscoe & Bella
I am a Facebook Sheep
The signs came slowly but in recent weeks, in rapid succession.
Firstly, I started to feel like a sheep in a large flock of photographers, who were all taking photographs, processing them and then posting them as quickly as possible.
In the beginning, when I started taking seascape photos on the KwaZulu Natal coast, I do not recall many people doing exactly what I did (perhaps my memory fails me). However, these days I find there are a good few photographers doing exactly what I do, from the time I arrive at the beach one hour before sunrise up until a few hours thereafter when I am processing the photos in a certain manner. Of course it is possible that all of these photographers were already doing these things and I have unconsciously become one of them (copied them). Whichever, it just doesn’t feel right.
I purposely avoid clubs, gangs, associations and the like, as I find them for too constraining. But, in being a part of a common group on Facebook, in a photography wheel of life of sorts, I have become part of the “Facebook photography club” that takes photos, posts, likes, comments on the various pages, but secretly looks to see how many likes I can amass; hoping that same is far higher than any other photographer I might consider a competitor.
Another sign prompting my escape has been the ever increasing ranting and raving of a few photographers, some complaining about photography help being given out for free, their client bases being eroded, being tagged in photos not related to them and many other things. I’ve wanted to join in with an uppity comment of my own at times but just managed to hold on and stay quiet.
Some of the ranting is justified of course but all in all I personally started to liken myself to a sheep lost somewhere in a large flock in a kindergarten. As you can see, I am also ranting and raving.
I would like to think that I was always someone who would generally freely invite other photographers to a shoot, even if I had never met them before, and go out of my way to help others. At this point, I am on the verge of becoming selfish like some others who perhaps foolishly believe that if they keep their shoot locations secret and technical skills to themselves, that no other photographer will be able to surpass them. Foolish indeed.
Yet another sign, were posts by two other “friends” of mine who both spoke of taking a break from the rat (sheep) race (flock).
The last straw, or wake-up call perhaps, was being banned from posting on groups on Facebook a week or two ago. No reason was given for this ban despite numerous requests.
At first this was very annoying but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
There is an off chance that I posted a photo of someone or tagged them without malice and they simply reported the post. There is a far greater chance that my energy and passion caused some poor individual to feel a great fear of loss, and he/she acted on it.
In a way, I suppose, I am also really just ranting and raving about myself and will read this post in a few years time and wonder what the hell was going on; my cheeks might even blush.
The upshot, taking all this ranting and raving into consideration, is that I decided to ban Facebook from Andy for an undecided period from today onwards.
Although preprogrammed posts will still appear automatically on my Facebook page from my WordPress account and whenever I upload a photo to Flickr, I will not be there to gloat with my ego over any possible likes. All Facebook accounts have been logged out.
The benefits are already showing (within the same day). Instead of pouring over Facebook posts the entire afternoon and really getting nowhere slowly, I spent a good few hours training software, not related to photography, and the results were phenomenal to say the least.
What do six hours Facebook free feel like.. I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
I may soon find out that too much time on Facebook has stifled my photography not improved it.
I found this article by Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press. Published: February 8, 2013, 6:00 AM. Photo below: Raleigh News and Observer (Lopez/MCT)
“NEW YORK — Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users give for taking a break from the world’s biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study.
A report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project found that some 61 percent of Facebook users had taken a hiatus of at least several weeks for myriad reasons, whether they were weary from an onslaught of gossip, or for the more pious, due to the arrival of Lent”.
Read the rest here.
Now before I properly embarrass myself by revealing the 10 Signs It’s Time To Take A Break From Your Social Media Self, I will sign out but leave you with the link here.
Have fun; I scored more than a pass!
Emma’s Dream
Emma’s Dream is about supporting little Emma who is fighting cancer.
“My name is Emma de Vries. In April 2014 I became ill and doctors discovered a growth on my brain close to the stem. I had surgery in April 2014 and most of the tumour was taken out, but 5% falls directly over the brain stem, so it is too hard to remove. Doctors then discovered that the tumour (Medulloblastoma) is malignant and an aggressive form of cancer. I need to have Chemotherapy in order to stop the growth and at the age of three will be able to have radiation. Doctors say it will be a long road ahead but I am a fighter and I have a dream to get through this. Any donation towards my treatment, care and helping overcome this disease would be greatly appreciated.
Please consider helping my family by making a donation.”
Mother’s Day
Photo taken at Winkelspruit in October 2013, and spiced up last night as a Mother’s Day present for today.
“Margaret Rose Harvard, You carried me for months and then brought me kicking into this world, tenderly held my screaming face and wiped the little sweet tears. Fed my hungry and drooling mouth, and provided that first bright red toy. Fetched me from school, took me home to a healthy meal and warm cosy bed.
We had little to begin but worked our way up. You enriched my relationships with others and kept me on the straight and narrow at times, but allowed me to learn much needed hard lessons to grow. You led by example and so many things suffered by you were later encountered by me, your loving son; I was thus armed and ready to face them. My beautiful mother had shown me how: she had suffered for me.
When death for you was a certainty, you gave the final lesson of thousands whilst on this earth. You never ever gave up but did rest at times. You confounded your critics and disarmed them completely.
You looked death in the eyes with strength and challenged it. Then, knowing for sure that the time had come, you embraced death with great confidence and surety. If any person has ever departed this world in such an elegant and composed manner, then it is you. The single tear you shed before your final breath was surely the frustration that you had not done just that little bit more to help the many people you had always so unselfishly served; for you truly lived your life fully in the last few years and given so much of yourself.
You used your abilities so well that it was often to your detriment. That tear no doubt also carried the worry that your loved ones would not cope fully without you being there. However, you certainly ensured in the last months that your son at least was in safe hands.
To say you are one in a million is an injustice; you are truly unique and a guiding beacon of hope and unconditional love to all living beings. I have taken your last advice, and I speak to you more now than before. That quiet place at the bottom of the garden, as you said it would be, is serene and a wonderful place for us to catch-up and laugh about the days gone by. This will always be ours and will never weaken or diminish.
You have taught and prepared your son so well, and he will keep on passing your love and wisdom around. You were and always are right! Happy Mother’s day, your loving son always” ~ Andy
“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” ~ Carl Sandburg
Baby Emma is 14 months old and has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Her mom (Tanya – https://www.facebook.com/tanya.vermeulendevries) was a dear work colleague of mine until she resigned a week ago to spend time with Emma at home (after Emma was discharged from hospital). The brain surgery was not entirely successful as a small portion of the malignant tumour could not be removed.
A fund has been set-up to help Emma who needs to undergo chemotherapy to stop the growth. Only at age 3 will she be able to have radiation treatment. It’s a long road and any help would be appreciated.
You can access details of the fund via Tanya’s Facebook page above and, if so inclined, make a kind donation or offer words of encouragement and prayers.
There is another option, for a limited time period (8 May 2014 until 21:00 on 22 May 2014), where you can buy a beautiful quality canvas print (printed, mounted and ready to be hung on your wall) of one or more of my photos (SA residents only in major centres – see further info below).
View my photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68179746@N03/with/14136316631
All my printing is done by Print Wild – go checkout their prices below via this link:
Don’t be fooled by the word “budget” ~ I have an A1 hanging in my TV lounge and it is damn good!
The prices above are only for the printing – you still need to pay for the photo. The cost of photo no matter what size print you choose is a paltry R 200.00.
How much of the R 200.00 goes to Emma during the period stated above?
ALL OF IT PLUS MORE!
A further 5% of the total cost i.e. A0 print = R 1048.00 + the cost of photo (R 200.00) = R 1248.00 (5% = R 62.40).
Emma gets R 262.40 altogether.
The steps to follow:
- Visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/68179746@N03/with/14136316631 and choose a photo
- Write down the photo’s name i.e. KILMUN SUNRISE
- Email me at awharvard@gmail.com and state your intention to buy
- I will need the name of the photo and size required (A0, A1 or A2), as well as the delivery address / contact name / cell phone number
- You will receive a return email (where Tanya is copied) giving you my banking details
- Only once I receive your funds in my account will the order be placed with Print Wild who will deliver free of charge to your nominated address (only if your city / town appears on the list viewable here http://www.printwild.co.za/start-your-order.php – click on delivery city / select city and ensure you are there)
- Additional delivery charges will apply if you are not on the list above
If you are not in one of the listed delivery areas in South Africa or reside overseas and were wishing to purchase a print, please rather deposit funds (Pounds, Euros and Dollars graciously accepted) into Emma’s fund which can be accessed via Tanya’s Facebook page shown above.
“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.” ~ Fred Rogers
That quiet place at the bottom of the garden
“Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!” ~ Unknown
“Margaret Rose Harvard, You carried me for months and then brought me kicking into this world, tenderly held my screaming face and wiped the little sweet tears.
Fed my hungry and drooling mouth, and provided that first bright red toy. Fetched me from school, took me home to a healthy meal and warm cosy bed. We had little to begin but worked our way up.
You enriched my relationships with others and kept me on the straight and narrow at times, but allowed me to learn much needed hard lessons to grow. You led by example and so many things suffered by you were later encountered by me, your loving son; I was thus armed and ready to face them. My beautiful mother had shown me how: she had suffered for me.
When death for you was a certainty, you gave the final lesson of thousands whilst on this earth. You never ever gave up but did rest at times. You confounded your critics and disarmed them completely. You looked death in the eyes with strength and challenged it.
Then, knowing for sure that the time had come, you embraced death with great confidence and surety. If any person has ever departed this world in such an elegant and composed manner, then it is you. The single tear you shed before your final breath was surely the frustration that you had not done just that little bit more to help the many people you had always so unselfishly served; for you truly lived your life fully in the last few years and given so much of yourself.
You used your abilities so well that it was often to your detriment. That tear no doubt also carried the worry that your loved ones would not cope fully without you being there.
However, you certainly ensured in the last months that your son at least was in safe hands.
To say you are one in a million is an injustice; you are truly unique and a guiding beacon of hope and unconditional love to all living beings.
I have taken your last advice, and I speak to you more now than before. That quiet place at the bottom of the garden, as you said it would be, is serene and a wonderful place for us to catch-up and laugh about the days gone by. This will always be ours and will never weaken or diminish.
You have taught and prepared your son so well, and he will keep on passing your love and wisdom around.
You were and always are right!” ~ Andy
PS: Mom as you would have recently seen; you’ve also blessed me with some really wicked (wonderful) photographic skills, on camera and off – I love you deeply.