One afternoon during my recent Christmas break I sat outside in the cool breeze, sipped tea and browsed Instagram. It wasn’t long until I found Simon and Jess Nicholson’s photos of their Seal Point summer holiday. Happy blonde children smiled at me from my phone. Simon and Jess gushed how they loved their little family and how much they loved each other. I smiled inside.

It seems like just the other day that I was baby-sitting Simon and Peter Nicholson in Seal Point! Our families used to go down to the Eastern Cape on an annual summer pilgrimage and these holidays produced some of my happiest memories. We have all grown up now and it was so wonderful to see Simon enjoying Seals with his lovely wife Jess and two gorgeous kids.

Life felt sweet and perfect.

A few weeks later I found myself in the UK.

As I was casually looking through my Facebook feed I noticed that Jess was in the hospital. I went onto their pages and here’s where my tears started. These are Simon’s words.

In my lifetime I have been challenged with a few frightening situations. Like being caught inside at 15 foot Pipeline, like being hijacked with shots fired,  armed robbers breaking into my house, being held up at knife point in the street.

Nothing comes close to the terrifying sight I saw on Saturday the 9th of February 2013 when my wife and soul mate, Jessica, suffered a massive seizure out of the blue. The timeline of events that followed has left me here … Sitting next a hospital bed in neuro ICU eight days later, while Jess recovers from brain surgery.

Turns out she had a brain tumor… And because it was on the dominant left hand side of the brain, it ruptured, causing the seizure, causing us to rush her to hospital and have a CT scan. That seizure it turns out, saved her life. The tumor, a grade 4 glioblastoma, would have quadrupled in the following months, and left me without my best friend, and a mother for our most beautiful special kids.

I thought I had life all figured out, had the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted.

I didn’t.

My first mistake was that I have taken this incredibly special family for granted. I can do better, I want to do better.

My second is that I underestimated the value of having complete health security for my family. I have medical aid, but it’s not comprehensive, and as it so happens there is a shortfall.

Furthermore Jess is an incredibly driven, motivated, self employed fashion designer. Unfortunately the tumor was highly malignant, which means she is heading into a few years worth of Chemo and radiation starting immediately. That means life must change for us. Jess needs to focus all her strength into fighting this cancer, and that means we need help, and despite my pride and being brought up to stand on my own two feet, I want my wife to be around more than any of that.

So this is me asking for help, to cover the shortfall , to build a support structure, so Jess can get the care she needs, and keep our family together.

One never ever knows what is around the corner. I know there is not much I can do to take away their pain but I do know love, support and positive energy can go a long way. Jess is a fighter and I am sure this special family will get through this.

I have decided to auction off a portrait shoot and give the Nicholson family the proceeds. I will also be donating some of my own cash.

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I spent a large portion of my twenties living in London and madly saving for the next adventure to some distant far off land.

My relationship with the UK was always a love hate one. I have so many amazing memories from my time there but my mermaids spirit always craved the ocean, craved my family, craved the warm sun on my face and sand between my toes.

Tash and I recently shot a wedding in the Caribbean and we stopped off  in London on the way and stayed with my good friend Jane. It was such a treat to take Tash around and breathe in Britain. The UK certainly turned on the charm with crisp wintery days, orange leaves and twinkling Christmas lights, and it was so wonderful to see it all again with fresh eyes.

Here are some photos …….. Pics of me were taken by Tash.

PS Can I get a boss of the year award??

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When the Dali Lama was asked what surprised him the most.

He said Man

Man

Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health.
Then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present,
and as a result he does not live in the present or the future.
He lives as if he’s never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.

I took some time off recently to breathe and to put back into what the past six months had taken out of me. My fiance Stu and I spent some time in the bush and up in the mountains. I spent many precious moments smelling the sound of the wind, hearing the smell of the sunshine, listening, breathing and being.

I put my camera down for the most part ….. sometimes as photographers we need to see all around us, to feel, to hear, to taste, to touch, to smell. To truly be in the moment rather than trying to construct the moment from that little rectangle. This is my belief anyway, this is what I did.

Here are a few pics I did take.

PS Have you noticed how you stop breathing when you click the shutter (or is that just me??)

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They say that you don’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.

Have you noticed that life has a funny way of throwing curveballs at you? Have you noticed how something that seems like the worst thing to have happened to you at the time often lands up being the best thing in the long run? Have you noticed that listening to your inner voice more often that not leads to personal growth?

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Have you ever dreamt of jumping on a yacht and sailing into the distance???? Do you dream of a honeymoon sailing around deserted islands? Or perhaps a wedding out at sea? Do you dream of a career in yachting or a chance to see the world while getting paid for it???

Well, my brother Shane  has recently launched a company alongside Graham Els called Sea Sailing Adventure. They will be offering various yachting courses from a Day Skipper course through to a Yachtmaster Offshore. Besides training they also specialize in organising yachting charters all over the world. If you are keen for a honeymoon in an exotic place with lots of adventure thrown in ……. Then how about a yachting honeymoon in the Seychelles??? Whether you want a bare boat charter or a luxury crewed charter they can sort you out and cater for your every need. Another exciting service that they will be offering is Team Building workshops for companies. Check out their website here ….. or give Shane a call on 072 617 6477 They are based in Durban for now.

Shane we are all so hugely proud of you and everything you have achieved. Your ‘can do’ attitude has been inspirational and we just know your new venture is going to be a huge success!

Sea Sailing Adventure was officially launched at Durban’s Boat show which was held not so long ago. Here are some pics I took. Pierre from Brand Iron was responsible for their exhibition stand. I think he did a fab job

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My Granny Smith is the type of Granny who always had freshly baked lemon cake when we went to visit. We used to have sleep-overs and she would make us porridge with condensed milk for breakfast. She smelt of Red Door Perfume and often wore a pink sun hat. She always made us feel so loved and so special even when we were naughty and not so nice. I love Granny Smith very very much and feel lucky to have had such special Grandparents in my life.

These days Granny Smith is not able to take care of herself anymore and is in frail care quite far from where I live.

I used to pop in to see her everytime I had a wedding down the Coast or up in the Midlands ,which was quite often.

Then all of a sudden it was ages in between visits.

I had a rare weekend off and I decided it was time to go see her. Then I got invited to visit a friend on the opposite end of the world and I thought I might put off seeing Gran till the next time I was up her way. I went to yoga that Saturday morning and after the meditation our yoga teacher read us this piece of writing below. Needless to say I went to visit Gran and I also took this picture.

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This weekend I headed into a winter wonderland with two of my best friends. Words cannot adequately describe what a treat this special time was. There is something quite magical about the Natal Midlands in winter … especially when it involves a wooden cabin, a fire place, my sister Lisa, and good friend Tam …… throw in a Spa Bath, some yummy cheese, chocolatey red wine and a good hike through the forrest and it can only be called bliss!

All 3 of us have been feeling a bit frazzeled recently and its a rare thing for me to have a weekend off. I harnessed the powers of Facebook and asked whether anyone knew of a good weekend getaway spot, a kind soul suggested Sycamore Avenue Guest House just past Mooi River. We looked on their website and read that the cabins had a fire place and a bath and booked immediately. We had no idea just how amazing what was in store for us! The little cabins and tree houses at Sycamore Avenue have all be hand crafted and carved and sit nestled in grand old trees. They really do look like something out of Lord of the Rings with their quirky turrets, spiral stair cases, fantastical chairs, detailed stain glass features, crafted headboards and old fashioned fire places. After a fabulous stay we headed back to Durban and stopped off at Karklool falls where we went for a long walk through the forrest and had a picnic by the river. All the sparkly winter light, crunchy leaves, brilliant company and chilly air  was just what I needed to restart my spirit.

Thanks ladies for such a great weekend. Now to plan the next one!!!!

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Stu and I moved into a new place in February this year. We went from the little Umdloti cottage shared with my sister Lisa, her husband Tyrone and the two main coons Ruby and Darwin, to complex living. This scared the hell out of me at first. I was horrified about going from old wooden floors to white tiles and electric fences but I can honestly say after some home TLC I am loving living where we are now.

My tastes in decor are rather polar opposite  from Stu’s to put it mildly. I am convinced that if I let  Stu have his way we would be living in an apartment with white walls, black leather couches, a beer fridge, a braai, a flat screen and a fishtank! I on the other hand could think of nothing better than living in an old Jaipur palace!!!! In order to create a space which we both feel happy and at home in, I have kept things quite simple. (well simple for me anyway) My main emphasis has been to make tranquil bedroom space and a home with soul that displays all of our travel trinkets. We still have loads more to do but here are a few pics for now.

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The week before my 35^th birthday I picked up the book Annie Leibovitz at work and a wave of “Oh my word I am 35 years old and just haven’t achieved enough washed over me”. I am hugely inspired by Annie’s work particularly her early portraits. She has a way of capturing personality rather than just taking a photograph of a person. Her portrait work blows me away.

I began to beat myself up a bit. I looked at all her amazing pictures and suddenly became racked with self-doubt.  I was comparing myself to her!

I recently wrote a Facebook status update saying that I would be taking on an intern in July (which I will elaborate on further in another post) And I got an email that said:

“I would love more than anything to work for you. If I could be anywhere near as good as you I would be happy. In fact looking at your blog makes me sad as I feel like my work is so nowhere. Please pick me.”

It was then that I realized how silly I was being. Just as ‘anonymous’ was comparing herself to little ol me, so I was comparing myself to Annie.

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2011 has come and nearly gone and instead of going through a bunch of new years resolutions I thought I would share a few random things I learnt this year along with some non matrimonial fun photos!

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