BULL !

Pentax K5, Tamron 18-250, 1/250, f10, ISO160

Just another day in the country, watching our Nguni herd grazing under the mountains while the setting sun splashes the valley with colour.  Who needs a fish tank, these Nguni are so beautiful to watch as they move through the grasslands, just like tropical fish swimming in a kelp filled tank.

Guggenheim Spider

Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/180, f5, ISO80

I absolutely love Spain for countless reasons.  One of them being that most Spanish cities are liberally & randomly scattered with delightful works of art to lift the spirit.  This less delightful & more ominous spider (with a nest of eggs) prowls the promenade with the Guggenheim museum in the background

I know this image doesn't follow the 2/3rds rule and I have placed the spider centrally, but you know what they say about rules...

Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/180, f4.5, ISO80

Here is the same spider, but shot in the opposite direction with a rather busy bridge in the background, this image is probably not as effective as the one above.

Guggenheim - Bilbao

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/100, f7.1, ISO80

  

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/50, f7.1, ISO80

We recently spent a few weeks in the south of France on the Atlantic coast, St. Jean de Luz to be precise, and what a wonderful holiday it was.  Situated on the French & Spanish border, we were only 15 minutes away from Spain.  So we made a day trip of Bilbao and I finally had an amazing opportunity to photograph the acclaimed Guggenheim Museum.  Built in the 90's, and covered with a skin of titanium, this is claimed to be one of the finest structures on the planet and I don't believe many would dispute that. I was in my element and spent hours photographing while our hosts' good humour slowly dwindled with each shutter release.  I don't blame them since I did get carried away, but it was a dream come true and I'm very grateful.  Now I just need to print them onto canvas.......

Nosy Parker

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f9, ISO800 

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/100, f10, ISO400

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f8, ISO800

Found this Nosy Parker in the office this morning, somehow he fell into the dustbin and couldn't get out.  I grabbed the bin, grabbed my K5 and headed into the garden for a macro photoshoot.  (No shrews were harmed in the posting of this blog)

The elephant shrew is native to Africa, and lives on a strict diet of insects which it sniffs out with its elephant like nose and then devours ferociously.  Apparently this is one of the fiercest creatures on the continent, attacking at the slightest provocation and preferring to fight than flee.  Luckily for us it is only a tiny little mammal otherwise we'd live in constant fear :) 

French Sunflowers

PENTAX K5, TAMRON 18-250, F11, 1/180, ISO 160

We just returned from a few amazing weeks holiday in the south of France, and had the luxury of also visiting two top Bordeaux chateaus where strangely enough I photographed these sunflowers amongst all the vineyards.

Aftermath

The aftermath of a heavy downpour on Paternoster Beach saw rivulets of rainwater running into the ocean & dark clouds mustering overhead.

Beach Hut

Here is another shot of the Beach Hut at Pringle Bay.
I used multiple exposures with my K7 mounted on a Gitzo tripod to achieve the wind movement in the grass.

Row Boats

The bass aren't biting yet............but soon.  These row boats remind me of the fun we had at Lake Pleasant at the end of the last bass season.

Overberg

On a recent trip to visit the Millar's at the Suntouched Inn in Napier, I photographed this image of the young wheat coming up in the Overberg. 
Well, I'm off until next week to sell some Rusticus Wine.....so there won't be any photographs for a few days - on my return I should have a couple new ones though.

Storm

Paternoster beach on the West Coast.  We recently spent a few days relaxing in a beach cottage, when this storm developed and darkened the skies.  A lull in the heavy rains provided an opportunity for me to grab my Pentax K7 and charge down the beach to capture a few surreal images.

Early bird....

On a recent fishing trip I woke up early to use that proverbial worm to catch a big one........all I caught that day was this photograph.

Its in the corn...

A nice summer image of a corn field, somehow it is pretty spooky (probably due to Hollywood basing several horror movies on what happens in the corn fields), but I still love this image.

Bamboo

I've set this as my desktop image, its a bamboo forest growing here on the the farm, I find it really soothing (must be the Tiger in me).

Back Roads

I love taking the road less traveled and just exploring the country side ...

Dog's Life

They are Red

If there is anything to say about this macro image of a blood red rose..............then it is only to describe its beauty and to dedicate it to my mother-in-law who shares the same name.

Pyjamas

Zebra's love these crazy outfits.

Lantern

Glass lantern, waiting for the evening...

Heaven

A view from below........

Dog's Life

My characterful best friends, Sable (above) is the proverbial street dog with a princess complex, while Mischa (below) is just such a gentle "What a mess", lets have fun dog.