Street Photography, also known as Photo Journalistic (PJ) type of images, is a genre that I have not explored that much. But when I do explore this genre, I really enjoy it! I think each photographer will have their own unique opinion, but I will share my opinion with you

Brendan, Marlene and myself went to Maboneng in Johannesburg a few weekends ago. We arrived just after sunrise. Streets were empty, but it was not long before people started to move around. So sad to see so many people drunk so early in the morning, but I guess it was just the day after the night before!!

What do you look for when digging into Street Photography? To me it is all about the people in their environment and their emotions. When you take an image without them knowing, you will get that absolutely honest emotions. I first take a few images without them knowing and then approach them to ask if I can take a few pictures. It was such a wonderful experience to see their reaction when I approached them. Everybody was smiling and gave me their best pose and smile. I would like to go back soon, entering the more isolated areas, as I know that would produce even better images. But you must always leave something for a next time!! Until next time!!

Not a pretty rose, but a beautiful rose!!

Photographing flowers is usually all about their beautiful colours. Vibrant and full of saturation to “paint” a beautiful picture with your camera. But sometimes you have to focus on shapes, rather than colours. That’s what I did when I photographed a Desert rose. I focused on getting up close and personal, focusing on the textures and shapes of the leaves.

Sometimes I tried to capture the outside rim of the leaves, using very harsh light, directly aimed at the leaves. Where the light spilled over the edge and filled the leave itself with detail, I uses post processing to correct that.

Look around you, find beauty in something that seems dull and unimpressive. The more you look, the more you will see and the more beautiful things gets!!

This is one genre that I have not explored much. An available model motivated me to get myself into gear and try something new. The main aim, my opinion, is to accentuate muscle definition. Lighting plays a vital role in this. Your model can be absolutely perfect, but if the light, especially the direction of the light is not correct, the images will have absolutely no impact. Generating shadows and highlighting the rim of the muscled arm, is I thought was necessary. Lighting from both sides, diagonally aimed at the model was the lighting setup I used the most! If you have your lighting setup right, all you have to do is to wait for your model to get the right pose, aim and shoot.
Thank you very much for Luc Smith who was such a fun model to work with and my husband Rudolph who helped with the lighting setup!!

What did I learn? Shadows plays a very important role in this genre. Move your light until you have a well exposed image with deep, dark shadows. Monochrome conversion works excellent with this genre!!

Hedianga Farm was just the place for a family outing. My good friend Brendan Hohls introduced us to the place. A wonderful place to do some hiking and be out in nature. It was a great opportunity for me to photograph my two four legged children, Nugi and Peanut. It was over the rocks, spinning in the sand and their first introduction to some swimming. Getting into the little pond needs some more practice, but we will get there. This is going to be a regular outing for the Oosthuizens, Brendan and his dog Henry!

On Monday 14 September I will launch my brand new Landscape Range. This is a new and fresh look at landscapes that is far beyond the traditional style of landscapes. Watch this space!!