Ubuntu is the African view of life which highlights, amongst other things, the concept of interconnectedness and that humans are essentially social beings - the self-assurance which comes from knowing that we belong to a greater whole. Ubuntu emphasizes community, sharing and generosity. Nowhere was this concept more tangible and more pleasurable to witness than through the eye of my lense whilst photographing an authentically african wedding.

Shooting over two days in Port Elizabeth and moving from townships to town, to the beckoning beach and back to the township again on day two, I was thrilled at the joy of being so close to the 'rapture of the rhythm' - whether it be in the church, or on the dance floor at the reception, or whilst people were getting ready for a series of speeches - the music engulfed everyone. To watch a 12 year old boy stand up at a microphone and, within an instant of a beat, start singing and swaying with the entire wedding party following in ceremonial sync was to be reminded that 'the jive is truly alive'. 

Watching both the bride and groom change wedding outfits was a visual feast to my camera's eyes: from the purest of white outfits, to the more traditional Xhosa adornments of black and white patterns, to the groom's revving red shirt, to the bride's ceremonious 'kitchen cloak'.  This courting of colour, enhanced by the charisma of the community, was a thrilling reminder of the deliciousness of mixing pleasure with work.

It was one of those enchanting times when the prevailing winds blew in my favour, as I was commissioned by Said H. Majid Al-Ismaify to photograph two of his hotels in historic Stone Town, the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thanks to the heat and humidity of this tropical island, I did most of the shoot surrounding ‘twilight time’ between 11pm and 2am in the morning. Working at a snail’s pace and exuding an almost cathartic sort of exhaustion, it exemplified the ‘siesta sessions’ vibe of life.

Through my lens, The Africa House Hotel and Zanzibar Hotel were bursting with vibrant colours, a true circus for the senses thanks to the blending of Indian, Arabian and European influences. The quality of light, caressing all those exotic objects, including some of the most ornate light fixtures and wood-carved doors that I have ever seen, left me and my cameras salivating on a smile.

I approach international shoots with an exhilarating mixture of emotions where anticipation, wonderment and trepidation all fight for supremacy. Different cultures, with all their idiosyncrasies and stereotypes, are brought into sharper focus through the life of my lens.
And so it was, thanks to my German photoshoot, that I realized the blatant falseness of all stereotypes pertaining to this nation’s supposed inability to party and enjoy themselves. I started the wedding shoot at 11am and finished at 6am the following morning, with the bride and groom STILL dancing deliriously.

In the French countryside, it was my sense of humour that was challenged whilst photographing amidst the lavish backdrop of a 12th century chateau in the village of Le Ferte Fresnal. As the ‘group shot’ beckoned, I spoke to the crowd in hopes of eliciting protracted smiles for this happy and monumentous occasion. Instead, my efforts at humour were greeted with an unnerving silence that filled the airwaves. Then, in a moment of clarity I flashed a smile, as the challenges of shooting a wedding in a foreign language dawned upon me and brought into sharp focus one of my favourite quotes, namely ‘The world speaks in 6500 languages but sees in only one – photography’.

It was the rich vein of history and humour which lives largest in my memory of my wedding shoot at the Burford Bridge Hotel in Surrey, England. What a delicious pleasure it was to photograph the entire Jewish wedding party dancing in unison, with bride and groom being swung at a frenetic pace into the air, all amidst the most beautiful of William Shakespeare tudor style architectural backdrops. To catch that glimpse of a giggle in the speaker’s eye as the crowd responded in raucous laughter to the hilarity of the speeches reminded me of what the great Michael Poliza once said about photography, ‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity’. Lucky me!

My sojourn to the USA amidst blistering subzero temperatures fills me with an almost ethereal sense of sweetness, frozen in time in those fresh minus 17 degree celsius temperatures. Although it is often easy to put a 'stylistic straightjacket' around traditional wedding processions, Christine and Pat's choice of the more casually classic 'cocktail party' wedding was perfectly suited to their charismatic Kennedy-like charm.

The Minneapolis Municipal Building, where the couple married, had an opulent Renaissance ambiance about it with an 'intimate dressing room' appeal thanks to the towering centrepiece of the colossal Father Waters marble statue which overshadowed all with its omnipotent presence. As the proceedings began, Christine made her breathtaking appearance by moving down the marble staircase, flanked on either side by an extensive entourage of bridesmaids and groomsmen. All the while, as Christine was moving closer towards Pat you could almost see the fandango of delight in his expectant eyes.

A surreal highlight of the evening was when the wedding party was briefly peppered with a dash of hilarity and contrasting of 'occasions' as the proceedings were interrupted by the sight of two policeman, walking in their sure but steady pace in stiff uniforms, adorned with badges that would make a sheriff sniff into silence. Alongside the policemen were two handcuffed teenagers, being escorted through the venue like rebellious outlaws. Not the most romantic of sights to been seen at a wedding, but definately one of the more entertaining, as the guests all gasped with giggles at the gaiety of this brief interlude.

It was not until the morning after the wedding, in the wondrous whiteness of snowy Minnesota, that I braved the outdoors. My camera quivered as I clicked away in the icy temperatures for a record breaking 27 minutes while capturing, amongst other things, Minneapolis famous sculpture, Spoonbridge and Cherry (clearly depicted on the image above). Luckily the 'frozen-shoot' was followed by the Minnesotan version of 'sundowners', as everyone was invited to meet at thee quaintest of coffee shops that I have yet to gaze my eyes upon. As my fingers started to thaw back to a few warmer degrees of normality, the coffee in all its glowing warmth, had never tasted better as it did that morning. Ironically, it was only after my return to South Africa that an English journalist gave me the best advice for shooting in such ludicrously cold temperatures. Working as a cameraman in Russia for 4 years, he used those LOUD yellow 'washing-up' gloves that mould themselves to your hands, keeping them both warm and flexible at the same time. As he said, you might end up looking like a complete git, but like the wedding couple themselves, you and your fingertips will feel like heaven!

CORPORATE PHOTOGRAPHY                                                                                                                                                               Back to Top

Corporate gigs are often accompanied by a unique set of photographic challenges, where one is often forced to embody a more ‘holistic approach’ and blend the two vital elements of ‘camera and charisma’ into one. For example, walking into an office environment on a Monday morning where the prospects of ‘forced smiles’ linger large in the facial expressions of your immediate audience, whilst your camera simultaneously has to deal with the bland glares from the unappealing white walls in the background.

On the flip side, photographic sessions of this nature are often saved by the singular prospect which was probably best noted by Oscar Wilde when he stated that, ‘It is personalities and not principles that rule an age’. It is those uplifting personalities that bring fresh life careening towards the camera. I have delightful memories of shooting the ‘world convention for anesthesiologists’ and the one gentlemen, who after frequent visits to the ‘castle lager watering hole’, walked around unashamedly with one of the most lame yet amusing, job-relevant pick-up lines I have ever witnessed, namely ‘can I put you to sleep?’

Whether I am walking into a guesthouse, hotel or restaurant, I am absorbed by the challenge of capturing a miniscule part of reality whilst simultaneously changing it into art.

I relish in these photoshoots for two reasons. Firstly it is the rarity of silence - not having an audience with which to communicate breaths a different type of creative energy within me. Secondly these shoots always have a huge hidden capacity to ‘surprise’. The subtle interplay between micro and macro shooting of still objects is like weaving a tapestry - the closer you get, the more an image can miraculously change perspective and morph into something completely different. The image of the shower tap on the right hand side is a perfect example of this type of artistic expression.

Lomography is an artistic experimental type of photography. In a world which pressures us towards perfection, the world of lomographers actually strives for imperfection and instead highlights the importance of spontaneity and ‘shooting from the hip’.

Lomography is the Austin Powers of photography. Its basic tenant of ‘get up CLOSE’ ultimately leaves me with that funky ‘yea baby’ feeling. Whether I am rushing over a hill and jumping down waiting for my dog to follow freshly within my footsteps as I shoot him jumping over the edge, or being immersed in knee deep water with kite-surfers dashing towards my fish-eye lens at dazzling speeds, the resultant rush of spiked adrenaline leaves me mesmerized and gasping in the promise of what the next shot will bring…..until….reality bites---
I forget, this is going back to the wonderful world of film and I have forgotten to forward wind ……OUCH!

Extracts taken from my book ‘Contemplating Cuba’

“Almost like a dream, Havana’s streets remain a magical maze of colour, a bubbling feast for the eye-playful in their creativity and idyllic in their exuberance. Whilst photographing these gems, I remembered being overpowered by a raw sense of impulsive purity - my camera poised with passion in anticipation of the next fleeting formation of ‘the almost whimsical unfolding of life’ on the streets of Havana.”

“From the teenager who took it upon himself to play ‘tourist guide’ with me in Havana’s backstreets, to the friendly invites into people’s homes and the radiant exchanges of smiles whilst ambling along the streets, what remains most salient in my mind was that, in the strange tranquil absence of a common spoken language (all our communications being couched in the various nuances of ‘body language’), for the first time I felt a true sense of ‘connectedness’, so effortlessly soaked in silence.”