Desert to Shore
I often get asked, when attending the various photographic venues where I teach or lecture, where in the world would you most like to visit in order to take photographs? An interesting question for sure.
I have favorite (photography) websites I visit on a regular basis, where I keep abreast of technology, techniques, and general photography information. Exploring other photographer’s images stimulates my imagination and broadens my artistic vision - I also participate in various forums to exchange information and get help with occasional technical issues.
Surfing these sites I often see photographic workshops advertised, which involve traveling to the ends of the earth to exotic locations costing tens of thousands in “whatever” currency. Could I afford to participate, no? Would I like to visit some of these locations to shoot photographs, oh yes - but not in the organised way advertised?
My photography is a very intimate experience and most of the time I am alone when contemplating the landscape. So what location do I recommend to my inquisitive listeners? Well I always recommend “ right outside your own door”. There are great images to had anywhere all one must do is learn to look - the art of seeing is the key to images and great photography; one of the ways I describe it is “detached reverie”.
I live in a particularly spectacular part of the world (Cape Town) for photographic “grist” but like all humans daily life, can at times, numb us to the beauty of what's right under our nose. So recently I went off to two locations, on separate occasions, relativley close by (3-4 hours drive) to revive my soul and indulge in “detached reverie”
The first is in the hinterland of the Western Cape – the Tankwa Karoo. This semi desert lies between the Cederberg and Roggerveld mountains where I spent three days looking, and some shooting. The second trip was to the very tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas.