“What is this self inside us, this silent observer, Severe and speechless critic, who can terrorize us, And urge us on to futile activity, And in the end, judge us still more severely, For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us?” – T. S. Eliot
Prakash Bhikha and I hit the shores of Ballito Beach this morning. Afterwards it was The Coffee Guys – South Beach for the 2nd fix of the morning.
0.5 sec. F 11. ISO 50. Canon EOS 6D. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens
Dear Mother, I wish you a happy and splendid day and celebrate with you wholly in spirit. This photo is a present to you because without you I would not be here and have all the talents you gave me. More importantly, you always told me to never give up and never give up my inner self. I love you lots and lots, your dear son, Andy.
“You should never give up your inner self” ~ Clint Eastwood
I was going to post a quote on never giving up and that would have been appropriate as I had a nightmare trying to stitch the photo below.
But the quote above is so damn important I had to use it. Giving up on your inner self or letting another person slowly batter it into submission is inviting death (it’s a killer I promise: figuratively and sometimes literally).
I eventually got something going on the photo but then the one portion’s horizon was skew. Once I fixed that then I had blending exposure problems.. and so it went on.. from one issue to the next.
Even at the end I encountered a final problem that I could not resolve 100%. That might sound a little negative but it’s not. I practiced a new video tutorial on this photo plus two older ones. I also practiced another self-taught trick and did some cloning, spot removal and a few other things.
So ultimately this photo was a blessing that gave me a chance to practice many skills; I enjoyed myself and post this photo knowing there are some issues that I’m not happy with at all (I will tackle them on round 2 or 3 if need be).
This was my first serious seascape shoot (Sat 27-06-2015) in months and I have another 9 GB of photos from that morning. Some of them are great as is and I could easily post them within minutes, but that’s for another time.
This photo is called “Thompson’s Warm-Up” and it has got me into the right frame of mind for the rest of the photos.
Canon South Africa 6D, Canon 17-40L,
F16, 1/8 sec, ISO 100
Celebrate Durban! I Love Durban 5 Star Durban
Durban2022 SA-People – for South Africans in South Africa and expats
“Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and trees; they all served as my teachers when I lived as a wanderer in the Himalayan foothills” ~ Radhanath Swami
Yesterday I trundled along the North Coast of KZN for a sunrise shoot.
“Just north of Durban is a place with 2 names: Dolphin Coast and Sugar Coast. The waters are home to bottlenose dolphins and the land is rich and fertile with sugar plantations everywhere. Dolphin Coast is not part of the mainstream tourist route because it not visible from the main highway. However, if one passes further down the coastal roads past the popular resorts and beaches, it would be impossible to miss the delightful sights of the dolphins, pristine beaches, and rolling hills of the Sugar Coast” ~ http://www.dolphincoast.co.za
Yet another wonderful encounter with Mother Nature; alone on the beach for at least an hour before someone else appeared. The ideal tonic (watching the sun rise and taking photos) for some who are struggling to find beauty & gratitude in this life. An added bonus to then get home and work on the same photos and again stare in awe at the same wonderful scene.
Canon 6D from Orms, Canon South Africa 17-40mm, ISO 640, F16, 1/10 sec & 10 sec combo, variable ND attached
Ballito Beach, South Africa
Some of my older photos once again that I needed to publish to “get-rid of”.
In a few day’s time I will be posting some of my recent photos, which will be recognizable as they have each been named on the bottom of the photo frame.
Andrew Harvard Photography 