Random Thoughts

There are people in the world that do amazing things for others. There are people in this COUNTRY that do amazing things, for others. There are people in this CITY that do amazing things, for others. People that shy away from cameras, lights and action. People that silently go about changing lives in ways often not seen by the media.  A couple months ago I reconnected with an old school friend. An amazing woman by the name of Marchelle Hendricks. Marchelle has the incredible gift of connecting people. People who are change makers in their own right. After a number of phone conversations she decided to me to a man by the name Greg Havenga. The branches of this tree has sprouted in so many directions in a very short space of time, so much so that I have had so many perspective changing moments that go beyond my feeble understanding. For example. Saturday past Greg, his daughter Ilsa, a friend Ricardo and I went to a place hidden away in the heart of Westridge, Mitchells Plane. A ...

  I visited two sports fields in the last week. The “visits” were to capture moments at two very contrasting events. The one was to take pictures of an initiative to uplift a fledgling soccer team in Blikkiesdorp, while the other was to capture the moments at the award ceremony of the Hanover Park Cricket club. Marchelle Hendricks invited me to meet Coach Errol and Mendoza, the captain of Bliikkiesdorp United. Mandoza is twenty years old and in Grade twelve. He came straight from a winter school class to meet with us. They were brought to the Cape Town Spurs field to meet Liam and club owner Alexi Efstathiou. The soon to be launched initiative is called “Boots For Blikkies”. The management and team of CTS have taken Blikkies United under their wings so to say and drive an initiative to supply BU with kit for the upcoming season. It is one of those “watch this space” events waiting in the wings. Amidst all of that I had the opportunity to chat to Alexi Efstathiou. A humble man wit...

  I started freelancing in twenty fourteen after been retrenched from a somewhat cushy job as a client liaison manager at a printing company. I have always been involved in photography in some way or other and decided to take the plunge and make it a business. I spent a lot of money on state of the art equipment and went about branding myself as a freelancer for hire. Here is what I have learned over the years. Get Up. Dress Up. Show Up. This is often the hardest thing to do and it often takes an act of will, a deliberate decision that has to be made. You need to remember that unless you make the effort nothing is going happen. The adage, “You get back what you put in” is very true. For me it was the whole “shower, shave and get dressed as if I was going to work” routine, even if the “office” was in the room next door. I still do it. That is exactly what you are doing. Going to work. Family Support:....... Is vital. My wife has a day job and for a long time we battled. My f...

Clarkes Estate is bordered by Owen Road to the north, 35 th Avenue to the east and the non-operational railway that goes to Bellville and the city “round the back”. It is directly beneath the flight path of planes landing at Cape Town International Airport when the south Easter blows. It also has the reputation of been one of the most dangerous little suburbs in the Elsies River area. It too is afflicted by poverty, unemployment, drug addiction and violent crime. I went early. Purposefully. The morning sunlight was going to give good light. The residents had not quite awakened yet and I was going to meet up with a City of Cape Town solid waste cleaning crew. Why. Well the whole thing about illegal dumping has been a curiosity for me. No matter where you drive through predominantly impoverished areas you will encounter dirt and refuse that has been dumped on open fields or on the side of the road. Main roads through Elsies River, the strand road through Eerste River, an area like Dunoo...

  Unbeknown to me I was standing on the spot where Dumisani Joxo died. The spot where he fell after been shot by a twenty two old cop. Even as we were led down the path next to the railway line and over the river the overarching question was how did this all happen here and why did it all happen so fast. To get to the site one has to cross the river bridge and walk down a pathway and along the railway line. The spot is halfway down the lane that is a dead end. The nearest flats overlooking the lane is about twenty to thirty meters away. There are gaps in the metal palisade fence that one can walk through to either cross the railway tracks or get out of the alley. We were told by a Clicks employee that the little community has been there for a long time and that Dumisani and the little group was very well known in the area. He described them as a peaceful and quite group that never caused any disturbance and Dumisani was known for keeping the peace in the area and worked as a car ...

  I am not really sure one can use beaches as a measure of how unequal our society is or how people are treated by a city that carries a very loudly proclaimed slogan as "The City that WORKS for YOU." Before I get into the stuff that concerns me, some context. I love my city. Cape Town will always be home. I live in an area that, on a good day, is fifteen minutes’ drive from the city centre. The nearest shopping mall is five minutes’ drive from home. Driving the wife to work is, on a good day, a seven to ten minute drive. The nearest beach is also at best a twenty minute drive and I have choices. So in the bigger scheme of things I am, I guess, privileged. Over the last few weeks I've been out driving to places to take pictures. I did the south peninsula on one day and days later went a little further on the False Bay coast to Monwabisi, Macassar and the Strand. Couple of days ago the wife and I went around the Deep South again and after a stop in Kalk Bay and Hout ...

  We started visiting a sick family member in Eerste River mid August. During one such visit a family member mentioned how he needed to get up at 3am the next morning to take someone to join the que at the local SASSA office sort out her child grant. My immediate question was why. The answer came back if you want to get helped this is what needs to be done. Otherwise you will never get what you need. I than found out there is a nightly camp that pops up of people coming there as "early" as 6pm on the night before to be first in line the next morning. The kicker is there was no guarantee you would come away with any measure of success. Our visits to the family became an almost daily event. The SASSA thing popped in the conversation every time. The stories took on a different spin every time. I found the need to capture this on camera grew every time we visited. So after checking out the lay of the land on one or two trips home I figured out how to get the shot. Anyway, I got m...