Life is the strangest thing known to man.  No one knows why it exists or why we have it, for centuries and centuries cultures have come up with ideas to settle our minds with all kinds of religions and reasons for everything,  giving us meaning here on earth and places to go after we die.  My truth is is that no one has ever died and come back to us to tell a story and validate any religion or after-life place.  I like to think that good things happen to good people.  JP was a great guy and you didn’t even have to know him all that well to see it.  People loved this guy and he radiated energy in a way that I can only dream of.  My heart goes out to those that have lost a dear friend and the families that have lost a brother, son, cousin, nephew or whatever he might have been.  Rest in peace JP, I know your memory shall be cherrished by all and your life an example to those who wish to live as freely as you did.

I recently shot photos for the Maloof Money Cup which was held in Kimberley, South Africa.  It’s a huge event with skateboarders from all over the wolrd.  These are a few of the shots I took while up on the Mini Mega Ramp which, trust me, is not mini at all!  Witnessing the guys flying through the air blows my mind, no matter how many times I see it!

Shoting photos of live bands always proves to be quite a challenge for me!  I can never decide which lens I wanna use and/or if I wanna use flash or not.  At a recent Zebra & Giraffe show I decided to try something totally different.  My 70-200mm lens!  I realy wasn’t sure how it would work out but I’m glad I tried it as the images came out pretty clear and it was really cool to shoot the band from a distance and not have to battle with the people up front for a spot!  I really had to up my ISO setting quite a bit so I decided to shoot mostly in Black & White.

I heard on the radio a couple nights ago that there was a Blue Moon and that it wouldn’t be seen again for quite a long time!  Something like 15 years or something like that, I can’t quite remember now.  I grabbed my camera and ran outside to get a shot of this elusive ‘Blue Moon’.  The Moon itself wasn’t quite blue but, the sky all around was definitely reflecting a blueness.  This is my shot of the not so Blue Moon.

This is just a photo I took of my Brother in Law, Alan Shenton…  On the day he received his beautiful Royal Enfield Classic 500 motorcycle.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him quite as happy!  Wishing you many years of enjoyment riding that bike Alan, you deserve it!

I actually hadn’t planned on goin to this event on Saturday as I was scheduled to shoot photos with Maanda Mulaudzi for some article.  We had made plans to meet at Stoneridge Skatepark where this was goin on when I arrived.  It was difficult to get some shots amongst the chaos but I did manage to capture Adam Woolf doing a monster kickflip and Tian Van Rensburg doing a huge blunt to fakie on the over-vert wall.

Our last stop through Botswan was the Magkadikgadi National Park and, although it has been hit quite hard by poachers, it is still an amzing place to visit.  We did not see any predators or Rhino in the park but we did see hundreds of Zebra as they flocked down to drink from the now permanent river which formed in 2008.  I have no idea why it suddenly appeared in this otherwise baron landscape of dust and thorn trees but it has formed an oasis for the animals to get what they need.  Water.  I managed to sneak out of my car and get down low as the Zebra lapped up the river water.

Cheetah are most certainly a treat to see in the wild, if you’re lucky enough that is!  We haven’t seen them often in the wild and on the rare occasion that we have, they’ve usually been far off in the distance with no photo oppertunities.  While on our trip through Botswana recently, I spotted these 2 from a long way off…  They were relaxing in the early morning sun on top of a Termite mound.  It was picture perfect so I decided to take the road that would lead us right next to them but as we approached, they got scared and ran off!  I really thought we had lost them but we managed to keep our eyes on them as they went from Termite mound to Termite mound and finally close enough for me to snap this shot with my 400mm lens.  I think it was a mother and her not so young cub. Pitty about the collar around her neck.

I recently camped at “Ihaha” camp in Chobe National Park, right on the banks of the Chobe River.  Early morning drives were always a success as the daytime animals started getting ready for whatever may lie ahead.  Troops of Chacma Baboons would come down from their tree-top sleeping places to get some sun and grooming time in before heading off to find food in the bush.  I always like to turn my car off and sit and watch them for a while, it can be quite comical to watch the young enteracting the the adults, the photographic oppertunities are actually endless.  These guys were just a few km’s from where we camped.

Seeing a Leopard in the wild is probably one of the best things you can experience when on a Safari.  The only time it’s not so fun is when there are 300 tour operators loaded with tourirsts, all trying to get a glimps of the elusive cat.  We were soo lucky in Chobe when my wife, “Sarah” spotted this Leopard sleeping just on the side of the dirt track.   We were there for a long time, just enjoying the moment and shooting photos.  It’s always nice to see how excited other people are when you show them what you have spotted…  It was nice to not have one tour operator vehicle in site!