Big AIR!

Canon EOS 7D

f9

1/400 sec.

ISO 100

Canon EFS 18-135mm IS 3.5-5.6 @ 135mm

The 2nd Pili Pili big air contest was held at Myoli Beach in Sedgefield yesterday. Myoli is notorious for large waves and strong winds during the summer months.

An enormous swell made for very interesting conditions during the event with waves reaching triple, maybe even four times overhead at the backline. The wind was unfortunately light which resulted in the competition being delayed for a few hours until it was strong enough. This gave the competitors time to go out and get used to the conditions which were a little scary to say the least. The size of the breakers at the back were enough to put you under for a while or stop you from getting past. Getting caught in a close out would not be somewhere anyone would want to be. Zak, pictured above, can attest to it.

The event saw the entry of 12 participants, including myself. Participating riders were mainly locals from Knysna, Sedgefield and George but there were a few people from other parts of the country. Divided into 4 groups of 3, we had 10 minutes to get in some serious jumps. The winner of each of the first rounds would then proceed into the final round in which there would be 4 contestants and a 15 minute window in which to compete. The competition would be judged on hang time (who can stay in the air for the longest).

At about 3pm it was decided that the wind was strong enough for the competition to commence. It was still a little light, only gusting up to about 17 knots which didn't make for particularly easy jumping conditions but a good amount of height could be achieved by ramping from one of the humongous waves that were breaking at the backline.

I was in the first heat and went on to win it, securing my place in the final. It was a battle as the wind was rather light and the massive swell meant it was very difficult to build ground upwind, forcing us all to have a quick dash downwind and hopefully a few jumps, then walk back up to the top of the beach. Each round was very close but eventually a rider from each prevailed and was placed into the final.

After an agonising 15 minutes of battling it out with the three other winners from previous rounds, Warren, a kiter from Johannesburg came out on top with a jump lasting over 5 seconds, quite an achievement for such light wind.

Overall the competition was a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part. The prize for best wipeout of the day went to Zak, who seemed to end up getting more than a fair share of beatings from the waves.

As i was competing i wasn't able to take many pictures. I did manage to grab my camera during the 3rd and 4th round however and get down to the waters edge to get some shots. In the picture above, Zak is walking back up the beach to get another run in, whilst watching on as Craig boosts from a wave in the background. You can see from the photograph that standing on the beach the horizon was not visible due to the massive swell!

Check back in soon!

I can't keep my trunk off you!

Canon EOS 7D
f8
1/400th sec.
ISO 320
EFS 18-135mm IS 3.5-5.6 @ 18mm

I'm sorry for the 'post title'. I know its cheesy but it kind of seemed to work for this picture. I was amazed at these two elephants. They really did seem so in love. One of the workers at the game park told us that they spent all their time together and were pretty much inseparable.

This is obviously not normal behavior for elephants as males generally tend to live solitary lives or form small bachelor herds. It goes to show the effects captivity has on animal behavior. It is extremely sad for me to think that despite efforts to stop hunting and poaching of these animals, their numbers in the wild continue to fall. Perhaps one day the only place to see elephants will be somewhere like the Knysna Elephant Park, and that is a sad thought.

Nesting Owls

Nikon D40x
f10
1/160 sec.
ISO 200
Nikon AF 70-210mm 3.5-5.6 @ 210mm

I have always loved photographing birds and wildlife. I would take my mums camera when i was a child, a Nikon F70 film camera, and photograph swans or whales or whatever was the focus of my attention. I remember that she would be fairly annoyed when after developing the rolls of film she would receive 36 exposures of a whales back or a swans head. Ha ha, got to start somewhere i suppose.

Okay, so i do a lot of wondering around when I'm at home. Knysna is quite a small town and its really quiet but its also really beautiful with an abundance of bird life. The island i live on has a lot of really tall trees which are perfect for nesting birds. I had noticed a pair of owl chicks on the heads and had regularly seen the mother hunting close by but never straying to far from her nest. She would swoop down on the neighbourhood dogs keeping them in check.

After trying to get some shots of them at night with very little success i discovered a breeding pair of spotted eagle owls and their two chicks just down the road from me. Rather than only coming out at night as usually, they were really active in the day. I spent a few days there and managed to get some really nice shots. I managed to get this one of one of the adults cleaning their talons. I thought it made for a really interesting picture as an owls talons are what really makes them such an efficient and deadly hunter. The sheer grace and stealthiness they have when swooping from the branches in absolute silence never ceases to amaze me.

Even though i like to think that my photography has progressed since the days of swans and whale's backs, I still get the same amazing feeling i did then of capturing a moment that will never happen again, and boy is it a good one!

Will add some pictures of the chicks soon. They were super cute balls of fluff!

Til next time..

First Post

Nikon D40x
f 9
1/25 sec.
ISO 200
Nikon AF 70-210mm f4-5.6 @ 70mm

So I decided that I would begin writing on the 1st of December but I never got round to it... Something that is fairly common for me. Being easily distracted I tend to put things off until i eventually come back to them.

I've been in Knysna, part of the renowned Garden Route in South Africa, for the past month or so on holiday before I return to Cape Town to continue studying. The weather here has been particularly dull this summer with lots of overcast days and rain. For once, the resivoirs are full and the common water shortage warnings are not as servere. The infrequent hot, sunny days end with a short downpour, creating a tropical feeling that I'm not used to here. It reminds me of a summer we spent in Florida where every day at about 3pm there would be a massive electrical storm.

The cloudy weather does however provide some spectacular sunsets. On this particular day it rained continuously until late in the afternoon. I was at a friend's house on the Eastern Knysna Head and the sun came out for the last 20 minutes of the afternoon. Luckily, having a camera with me most of the time, I managed to take this shot as the sun dipped behind some clouds, before setting for the evening. The sunset definitely made up for the crap weather we had earlier on.

Check back soon.. (if anyone ever actually reads this haha)