A week in the life of a photographer
Day 1 of the course started off with a basic introduction to camera techniques and portrait practice in Newlands forest. This allowed us to get a handle on our cameras and practice some portraits with some friendly faces.
Day 2 kicked off at the Kalk Bay harbour. Full of character, this was the perfect spot for inspiration. We all captured a narrative of Kalk Bay, from the fishermen to the busking coffee shops. The next stop was the Simonstown market, offering different textures and colours to photograph. Penguins, dassies and a beach walk gave us an opportunity to take in some of Simonstown’s nature and wildlife. The day finished off with a Lions head sunset as we captured the African sunset peeking out from the magical clouds falling over Cape Town’s mountains.
Day 3 took us to Hout Bay, one of my favourite days of the course. We started with a wildlife shoot of the project Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, one of Good Hope volunteers supported projects. The monkeys at the sanctuary made some expert models as they jumped all over us during the shoot.
We continued on to another one of our supported projects, the Hout Bay Children’s Programmes. With kids smiling for the camera, we weren’t lost for subjects to pose for the camera. Recently 20 families from the school had lost their homes and possessions in a devastating fire in the township of Imizamo Yethu, making our visit there an eye opening experience. A township tour through Imizamo Yethu offered us a unique chance to practice some social documentary shooting as we captured the community rebuilding their lives and homes from the ashes left behind by the fire. We ended the day off perfectly watching a sunset on Chapman’s peak from a local secret cave that let us take in some of Cape Town’s beauty as we captured some amazing landscape memories.
Day 4 was all about a personal project, we each chose a subject and narrative to document and practice our new found photography skills. The week was rounded off with landscape shots of the famous Table Mountain from Blouberg beach. Snacks and champagne were next on the agenda as we each shared a slideshow of our best photos from the week. This course offers a unique and magical experience of Cape Town, showing all sides of it. You take away not only photography skills but also a better understanding of South Africa.
To be part of this project, please contact us.
