Tag Archives: country

It’s a dog’s life

October 2, 2015 Andrew Harvard Leave a comment

“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.” ~ John Grogan, Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog

Photos taken in Himeville last weekend. Thank you again to Underberg Accommodation for organizing our stay. If you recall a previous post, these are the dogs that took us for a walk on their farm

Himeville, KwaZulu-Natal.

Photography, Travel

Heavenly Aloe

July 8, 2015 Andrew Harvard 3 Comments

“Breaks don’t get enough credit in today’s world.If you take a break, you’re seen as lazy.

Nonsense.

How many times have you found yourself trying EVERYTHING to solve a problem,
only to find that after getting up to brush your teeth, the solution comes to you in
the middle of it.

People who don’t take breaks get easily discouraged because they spend all this
time and energy and it’s just not working and that doesn’t do any good in terms of
the self-talk that goes on inside their head.

Breaks give you the space necessary for the answer to come.

They’re just as important as the work itself” ~ Brian Kim

Canon South Africa 6D, Canon EF 17–40mm lens, ISO 6400, 25 sec, F4, Led Lenser South Africa to see wink emoticon

#dbcs #drakensbergboyschoirschool #stars #starlight #heaven

Led Lenser Australia LED LENSER LED Lenser USA Drakensberg Sun 5 Star Durban I Love Durban Celebrate Durban!

— at Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School.

Photography, Travel

Milky Road

June 26, 2015 Andrew Harvard Leave a comment

Enjoying the stars now more than the sea. Late night shooting and then a good rest and breakfast at Lali’s Guesthouse Harrismith.

I have one photo left to work on from this evening and it’s my favourite.

You can with a Canon South Africa 6D and Canon EF 17–40mm lens on F4, 25 sec, ISO 10000

Harrismith South Africa.

Photography, Travel

Gateway to Heaven

June 14, 2015 Andrew Harvard Leave a comment

It was very cold on the old Memel Road outside Newcastle Country Lodgelate last night. I was alone and having my first serious attempt at some star photography. Dinner at Nando’s down the road with a Magnum ice-cream to round it off had me on a sugar rush. I did 5 minutes reading on camera settings and thought let’s give it a bash.

The one tutorial said “you will not see the milky way with the naked eye so get an app for … USD”. I thought let’s go see what we see. Initially, I was a little worried and only saw a few stars. As the city lights faded and it got later I thought “Oh my fish!!”. I was trying to focus in the dark with a faulty weak flashlight (very important tool) but still got to see three shooting stars in less than a minute.

The Memel Road is not the safest road on earth. Motorists and large trucks go like bats out of hell. There was also a taxi / bus driver war on the go so I didn’t feel too safe. I also had to avoid over-protective shotgun Frik farmers who might have fired buckshot up my rear.

Ok that’s most my excuses out of the way.. lol. Here is the photo shot with myCanon South Africa 6D from Orms using a Canon EF 17–40mm lens lens all set on F4, ISO 1600 and 25 sec manual / tripod.

If you thought I was mad over seascape photos let’s see what I get up to in the next few months wink emoticon. It was one of those photo shoots where I felt the blessings raining down (happens every 20th sunrise or so).

PS: my 2nd place prize from Sigma South Africa for the wide-angle competition was delivered to my door yesterday – a Sigma lenses 10-20 Canon mount. Thank you to the gent who cheated his way into 1st place and then got disqualified; you pushed me from 3rd (no prize) into 2nd smile emoticon like emoticon. I see Sigma has a 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 DG HSM II lens that would fit nicely onto my 6D – I was thinking of asking if I could swap my prize for this lens with a cash difference pay-in smile emoticon.

Photography, Travel

Beyond the Gates of Port St John’s

March 30, 2015 Andrew Harvard 2 Comments

On Tuesday morning, 24 March 2015 I woke up before sunrise and headed up the hill to the top of Mt. Thesiger at around this spot GPS: -31.603330, 29.527454 Port St John’s.

I set up my Canon South Africa camera from Orms (6D & 17-40mm L lens) and tripod in anticipation of the forthcoming sunrise. The river lodges were some 300 m or more below and could faintly see their lights through the mist or low clouds.

It was calm, peaceful and dead quiet except for the medium-size predatory birds that were circling the mountain and squawking at each other. Every so often they would fly fairly close and it was amazing to hear their wings “woof – woofing” through the air.

The view across to Mt Sullivan on the other side of the river was glorious to say the least for about three minutes or less at one point of the sunrise. The sun then “disappeared” but not completely, although there was no more golden light forcing through the somewhat thick clouds.

The accompanying photo is a panoramic-stitch of two separate photos, which takes one’s eyes in a westerly direction or so up the mighty Umzimvubu River, which I traced on a map all the way up to the Lesotho border.

The photo was originally going to be called Phillips’ View but was then changed to “Beyond the Gates of Port St John’s”. Settings F11, ISO 320 & 0.4 sec. Stitching done via LR export into PS. Outspan Inn
Where’s my backpack? Amapondo Backpackers Amapondo backpackers Port St Johns Cremorne Estate, Port St Johns, Port St Johns Spottedgrunterresort Port St Johns ‪#‎landscape‬ ‪#‎canon‬ ‪#‎canonsouthafrica‬ ‪#‎transkei‬ ‪#‎nature‬ ‪#‎hills‬ ‪#‎valleys‬

Photography, Travel

Howick Falls

March 20, 2015 Andrew Harvard 2 Comments

Just after sunrise at Howick Waterfalls in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal.

Canon South Africa 6D from Orms with 17-40mm. F9, 1/600 sec, ISO 640 on base image (longer exposure used for water)

#howick #howickfalls #country #sunrise #waterfall Howick Mouth Piece Howick Falls Hotel Howick KZN

Photography, Travel

Amapondo Valley

March 10, 2015 Andrew Harvard 4 Comments

When I can see it and action it I love to talk about it: Turning obstacles into opportunity, exercising patience and then taking the gap when it appears.

The day before New Year’s Eve… Task: drive 6 hours to do a job in Umtata E Cape. New Year’s Eve drive 6 hours to return home while some are cracking open their first beer.

Not the worst but I’m sure we would all rather be home at this time.

Solution: take camera with, don’t stay in Umtata rather Port St John’s on the sea and crack open a beer or two on the night before New Year’s Eve at a vibey backpacker spot called Amapondo Backpackers. Have a smashing meal with chilli and early night.

Sunrise next morning at 05:00: it’s raining. Solution: drive towards Durban at 05:00 and wait for the gap in the rain. Get out of car and take photo.

Benefits: what a smashing trip, job done sooner than later, pre-New Year’s mini-party (feeling like a backpacker), home in time for New Year’s party with two photos which remind me of the beautiful countryside I had to drive through.

Here is the first photo: Amapondo Valley

Canon South Africa 6D: F14, 1/40, ISO 320 using 17-40 available at Orms

Eastern Cape, South Africa