Roadtrips, Crispy Bacon and Sensuous Sunset Silhouettes, golden sunset stories to remember
Ingredient, Bacon
Bacon
Crispy Bacon
Fried, fatty, meaty, tasty Bacon
Delicious, decadent desire
A Luxurious craving.
Many weekends I wake up and, while sipping on my coffee, think of breakfast. A toasty with an egg is a palate pleaser for a Saturday morning. But, once in a while, I crave a bit of extra fatty, meaty bacon strips. It’s an occasional treat and a mouth-watering craving.
Add some fried bacon to any sandwich, and it tastes like a decadent gourmet breakfast. Some weekends are fit to fry eggs and Bacon and add some caramelized banana for a tasty morning feast.
Photographing Crispy Fried Bacon
I used natural light to photograph the crispy Bacon. The background is huge grey tiles, placed and positioned to add depth to the bacon photo. No tripod. Instead, I lifted the ISO in the low light to add more light to the frame.
The fried bacon photo is part of a series I photographed for a cured meat producer in the heart of Johannesburg. The kitchen and dry room are in central Joburg. It is a gritty area with some of the best produce and wines available to buy. Photographing meat can be tricky, but Bacon has a glossy texture glazed with oil and darkened in the pan. There are few foods better tasting than crispy fried Bacon with a sip of fruity, bold and balanced red wine.
The Karoo
If you need space, Roadtrip to the Karoo.
The winter Karoo is cold, but there is a serene beauty in the landscape. Farmfresh, authentic and rustic.
The light is crisp, colourful and clear.
Fluffy clouds, unfiltered skies and misty hills.
Any week is a good week for a road trip.
I don’t get the opportunity to photograph open spaces often. Life in the City grips you, and it is hard to let go. Once you are in the Karoo, you wonder why it is not a habit.
The landscape is calming and nurturing.
Photographing landscapes is like meditation. You hear the wind, the lambs and the cows walking. Every little noise in the field is highlighted by how quiet life on the Karoo plains can be. I don’t use tripods and instead, try to find a pole or a wall to steady my photo if I expose low light landscapes.
The light is clear and clean. I wish the moment could last forever.
Driving into the winter Karoo is scenic. In the winter, the landscape resembles a western film landscape. The rolling hills lie in the distance, lining the stretched landscape painted with fluffy clouds. The windpumps are frequent. For miles and miles, all you see is the Karoo plains. A few scattered lams roam in the fields. It is harsh farmland with a coarse beauty.
You are driving into the afternoon light on your way to stay overnight. The farm is buzzing. What feels like a road trip to you is a typical working day at the farm. I stop, greet the hosts and grab my camera to catch the sunset.
The horse stables reflect the golden light. A few chickens run across my path, and the birds lift into flight from the concrete dam. The sunset silhouettes the animal shapes and paints the sky orange. I breathe in the cold fresh air, crisp and dry. The blue in the sky is so radiant it looks like a painted blue.
Behind the stables, I climb over a low brick wall and look into the distance.
The landscape absorbs the rusty colours, and the sky highlights the clouds and silhouettes the hills. My camera lens focus and frames, I captured a moment in winter, winter hues, winter pastels.
The food served is delicious. Farm fresh ingredients, gourmet cooked and rustic, everything you desire on a trip to the Karoo. The nights are freezing, but the heat and chat in the bar invite you in. The whiskey is warming, leaving smokey hints with roasted caramel in your mouth. In the cold, the drinks flow. A few more logs go into the fire. Roadtrips and stories is a good idea for any week of the month.
Sensuous Sunset Silhouette
Winter or summer,
The Atlantic salty seawater is cold.
The sun dips into the horizon,
the swell rolled, coloured gold,
silhouette, shadow, framed,
your contentment shows,
dip your toe into the sand and the sea,
it’s a happy place for you and me.
Life by the sea is abundant.
You wake up to the birds screaming, and the salty air fill your nostrils. The wind rustles through the palms. The weather is cool with a southern wind blowing. Step out your front door, and you smell the coffee roasting nearby. The street life is bustling with languages from all over the world. Taxi’s drive past you, hooting and honking for the next passenger to hop on.
On the beach, in the sunset, the wind is cooling after a warm day. The sun dips lower as your toes dig into the white Clifton beach sand. Cape Town beaches are alluring with white sand, large boulders and the icy Atlantic water washing over your feet. A photographable landscape with contrast and light that hangs in the sky until the last sun rays disappear.
Photographing portraits in the Cape Town sunset is pretty.
The orange colours seep into your frame with a light gust blowing sand. She looks out to see as the wind lifts her hair blowing strands all over. On an afternoon with low tide, the beach stretches out forever, spacious and glossy.
The silhouette shadows dance towards you, and the light cut shapes highlighting curves. You frame and photograph your model, a beautiful moment by the sea. She talks in a language you can’t understand, but it doesn’t matter. What your camera captures speaks for both of you.
Space makes people contempt. Lighting sets the mood, and the pace and flow create frames where time stands still. The beach is a happy place for you and me, promoting feelings of freedom. A sunset silhouette moment framed and remembered.
