Spirit Fest Yoga & Dance Festival 2020

Spirit Fest Yoga & Dance Festival 2020

It feels like just yesterday that my body slipped into the cool, tea-stained water below the gushing waterfall. I can still feel the goosebumps as I think back to that first dive below the surface. I can hear the shrieks of my friends as their warm bodies hit the water, and I’m getting all warm and fuzzy as these memories come flooding back. Memories of a blissful four days spent celebrating love, spirit, nature, womanhood, connection and deep conversations.

I’m reminiscing about SpiritFest, which happened less than 8 weeks ago down in the Cape. This is a yoga and music festival that happens every couple of years on Somerset Gift Farm, a pristine paradise nestled in the mountains near Swellendam.

This was my third Spiritfest and it was just as magical as the first. We danced, we did yoga, we ate so much delicious vegetarian food, we meditated, we swam and we listened. Spirit Fest is truly one of the best way to totally reset and connect with your soul. The program offers non stop yoga classes of every style from Kundalini to Yin to Acro and then there are other activities like meditation, sound journeys, talks, women’s circles, concerts, sweat lodges, and NIA classes along with a multitude of other delights. If none of those interest you, perhaps a spot of shopping at the market would tickle your fancy or a foofy slide into the dam. Camping is not for everyone but glamping is a wonderful option at Spiritfest, one which I gladly shelled out for!

If I close my eyes and think back to that time I feel a smile enveloping my heart

My how things have changed in just 8 weeks! Corona fear has now enveloped the whole world and these are such special memories to treasure with hope.

Thank you to my wonderful soul sisters for making our time together so very precious

Thanks to Ilana, Anton, all the teachers and the whole team for creating such an incredibly beautiful experience for all who attended.

P.S I really missed you Lisa and Dylan!

P.P.S I shot these all on my Fuji XT2 which I won back in 2016 – absolutely love this camera for traveling!

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Best of 2015 Weddings

Best of 2015 Weddings

Ever since I decided to become a wedding photographer I have ended the year by doing “a best of my wedding pics of that year” I get a bit emotional every time I get these images together! This year-end exercise reminds me of so many things. It reminds me of what my strengths and weakness are. It is also a way to say goodbye to the previous year and allow the space for improvement. But most importantly it reminds me of how incredibly lucky I am to do a job that I love and how lucky I am to have attracted clients who allow me to do what I do and make a living from this.

Weddings are funny things as they turn grown men to tears, they send mothers into a frenzy and fathers into meek puppy dogs. Families come together and people journey from all over to celebrate and reunite. There is a always a joy and an energy present unlike any other human ritual I know. A bride often feels her most beautiful while she is fluffed and fancied for hours. The men feel sexy in their suits, shorts or veldskoen, and no matter what they are wearing they are all moved when they see their bride coming down the aisle. To be able to capture a photograph of someone where they look at the photo and see the beauty that I see, in that moment is a truly remarkable thing. I see beauty everywhere and in most people. I love taking pictures of brides hugging their grannies. I love taking pictures of kids doing silly things, I love creating narrative portraits of my clients but mostly I love taking pics of people having fun and being human. My personal quirk however is finding the humour in it all and telling stories with my camera.

This year has been a happy year for me and when I look through all of these photographs I feels so darned charmed that I have had so many wonderful inspiring people who have entrusted me with their dear memories. I have found more balance this year than in any other year and between that and having such incredible clients and a very special man in my life I have been reminded of how lucky we are to be alive.

I would like to thank Liz my assistant who has never moaned when we have stayed that extra hour or three because I didn’t feel like I had the shot. Liz, who has made me endless cups of tea and and has my diary organized like a ninja. You are so valued and so talented. Liz has a few pics in this best of 2015 which really says how great she is. Thank you … you rock!!! My world would suck without you.

Huge thanks also to KJ and team from Nanuja who make all my albums. I am such a perfectionist that every wedding album that I produce is like an artwork to me and KJ is so accommodating and goes the extra mile. Thanks also to all the folk at Fotomax who print all my work and also house us and also put up with all our crazy. I do have to mention Teez here. What a gem of a human!

And lastly but not leastly, thanks to all the service providers who have not only made my job easy but so much fun. I couldn’t do my job without all of your genius. Thanks also to all of you who have referred me and to those who have worked with my schedules to get the shots that I do. I can’t name you all but you know who are my specials. Thank you I love you!!!

Thank you to each and every single one of you. 2015 has been such a super year for me and you have all been a part of that!!!

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Afrika Burn 2014 – Tankwa

Afrika Burn 2014 – Tankwa

I have always wanted to go to Afrika Burn, and this year I did!! What is Afrika Burn you ask? It is an arts festival which is held in the desert in Tankwa National Park some 18 hours away from the green lush beaches of Natal where I live. Why would I want to head all the way down there? Who wouldn’t want to go to a giant dress up party where people ride unicorns and dance under a blanket of Karoo stars? I cannot think of any reason to not want to experience a place where random acts of kindness are encouraged, and whimsical self adornment is a dress code! Afrika Burn is a festival where anything goes and the reality of typical life is left behind in the dust. Nothing can be bought or sold during the festival, gifting is a core value and the act of leaving no trace is a rule.

They say that you will never be the same after experiencing an Afrika Burn … the truth is that my life had changed so much before arriving in that dusty pan that I couldn’t understand what that actually meant. Now I do!

Will I be back next year? Damn straight!!!!

Huge thanks to all my camping compadres! My time at Afrika Burn could have never been the same without this very special chosen family. I feel so hugely lucky to have experienced all that we did with all of you! Love you all!!!!

Also huge thanks to Patrick from Outex South Africa for getting my Outex system to me in time. Looking forward to working more with you. Keep an eye out for my product review to follow shortly along with pics from the dust storm we found ourselves in!

All pics are were shot with my Nikon D4, Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 housed with an Outex!!

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