Sunset after the chains

Canon EOS 7D
f4.5
1/2000th sec.
ISO 100
EFS 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS @ 40mm

A few evenings ago I climbed Lions Head with Joss and a few friends on a spur of the moment idea, stimulated by a slight hint of boredom. It had been a hot day with little wind to cool things down. The South Easterly wind that blows throughout the summer had eased off and hadn’t come hurtling across False Bay before pouring over Table Mountain creating what is known to local Capetonian’s as the boiling tea pot, or table cloth (I’m actually not too sure as to what it is referred to as). It created a long week of stagnant, hot air which sat in the city bowl making life in the day just a little bit uncomfortable.

As the evening approached, a light breeze picked up providing a welcome break from the heat. It dropped the temperature just enough to make the walking around, or in our case climbing a mountain, just bearable.

So after buying some snacks we headed to the start of the route up at the bottom of signal hill. We started to climb at about half past 6, giving us just over an hour to reach the top before sunset. I had heard that it was a beautiful walk but the views I was greeted with were far more beautiful than I had expected. In terms of the walk I found it to be quite relaxing in comparison to the reviews I had read which labelled it as being ‘strenuous’, the evil word that so many tend to avoid when hearing it. Climbing up the ladders and chains along the rocky walls closer to the top added for something you don’t generally find or have to overcome on a walk. There were couples with young babies making there way up and down as climbed. I noticed one man who had a child on his back and one on his front, both carried in those baby back pack things. I started to feel glad that I all I had was a camera, tripod and food in my bag!

After about an hour we reached the top, just in time for the sunset, which by now was shooting different shades of pinks, oranges and reds across the sky in a beautiful display of light and colour. We sat down to eat and watch the sun disappear from sight on its round the world trip, maybe providing the people in Australia with a beautiful sunrise as we watched it set. I fired off a few shots with my camera and managed to get this nice silhouette of Joss as she watched the play of colour in the sky.

After the light faded we began to make our way back down. All I can say about this one is that if you do decide to go down after dark, don’t forget to take a torch!

See you soon P.S.