Maryann Rivers-Moore

Old pictures seeing the light of day

2011-10-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have not posted much in the last few months. Have recently been processing stock images again and am finding old images in archives... so thought I would upload a few here - these from a trip to Paris in 2007.

The Louvre
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre

Snow in KZN, trip cancelled

2011-07-26T06:43:00.001-07:00

I left Hilton this morning to visit Three Tree Hill Lodge near Spioenkop Nature Reserve between Bergville and Ladysmith. I did not get very far, as I was directed off the N3 and sent back after only 45kms, a little way past Howick. At the Balgowan exit the N3 was closed due to snow and ice on the roads, and the R 103 was closed too so there was no way I was able to reach my destination.

N3 between Howick and Balgowan

There was snow on the side of the road just passed Howick, and the hills towards the Berg were all covered in white.

Maryann Rivers-Moore

2011 aQuelle Midmar Mile and the 8 Mile Club

2011-02-13T04:26:00.001-08:00

Yes, everyone wants to see Ryk Neethling, Charlene Whittstock, Lewis Pugh, all the celebs.... well here is Ryk, he finished first in the mens' event.

But you really want to see this group of people too.... The 8 Mile Club is a group ranging in ages from 16 to well into their fifties, and they swim all eight events (four miles on Saturday and four miles on Sunday) and raise money for charity through sponsors.

This is Chad Gifford. He is 39 and he lost both of his legs after a car accident. This is Chad on the support boat which takes the swimmers across to the start of the next race - looking pretty fresh and relaxed and ready for the start of the 7th race!

The 8 Mile Club looks set to raise around R 1.5 million this year for a wide range of charities.

Lewis Pugh talks to Pietermaritzburg

2011-02-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

"If you follow your passions, everything else sorts itself out"

Endurance swimmer and environmental campaigner Lewis Pugh spoke at a breakfast at The Golden Horse Casino in Pietermaritzburg the day before the aQuelle Midmar Mile Race. He joins the 8 Mile Charity Club this year and will raise funds for Wilderness Leadership School at the Quelle Midmar Mile Race at Midmar Dam

Lewis Pugh,
SA swimmer Penny Heyns, and

Ant Stott, defending Dusi Champion,
together at the Golden Horse Casino where Pugh shared some tips with Pietermaritzburg on how to achieve the impossible.

World Wetlands Day

2011-02-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

World Wetlands Day is marked annually to raise awareness of wetlands and their importance to both people and the environment. This year's theme is Forests for water and wetlands, and I wrote this story about some of the work the Wildlands Conservation Trust is doing on the Mkhuze floodplain in Northern KWaZulu Natal.

Riverine Forests such as this one on the Mkhuze floodplain in northern KwaZulu Natal form part of a vital catchment area for the iSimangaliso wetland system.

photo: Maryann Rivers-Moore/Wildlands Conservation Trust

Karkloof Spa Wellness and Wildlife Retreat

2011-02-02T04:57:00.001-08:00

It has been nearly a year since we visited the Karkloof Spa Wellness and Wildlife Retreat and I wrote a couple of stories, including this one for The Witness

The Kniepp Pools at Karkloof Spa

Accommodation at Karkloof Spa

We spent a night in luxurious accommodation and enjoyed magnificent food; we experienced a full body massage and a meandering nature walk to view the Karkloof Falls.

Nyala and other game graze on the grass rooftops at Karkloof Spa

Pictures by Maryann Rivers-Moore

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

2011-01-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

I am really lucky - we have a Recycling Village at the shopping centre where I shop, so I am able to recycle a very wide range of things... once you see all the bins there with their labels and learn just how many things CAN be recycled, it becomes hard to throw things away...

Glass, tins and polystyrene (yes, all the trays that meat is packed in, I just rinse them off..)

Chip packets, chocolate wrappers, soup packets... lots I did not know about.

Paper and cardboard, including egg boxes toilet papers rolls.

Plastic - I find this is the biggest one I collect, now that I really make an effort. Plastic bread bags, milk sachets (you have to rinse them, cut it open and rinse it out, a mission but once the habit is formed its okay)

We also don't throw away "organic" waste - any veggie peels, egg shells etc gets collected in the airtight box for a day or two then thrown on a compost heap box.

I am amazed... the more you get into it, the harder it is to throw something in the bin you know is going to the dump. Also, we can barely fill a refuse bag for the collection each week, it is getting to be a Spar packet or two perhaps, and that must be making a difference?

Terbodore Coffee Roasters and Restaurant

2010-10-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have been living in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands for two years and now it feels like home. This is why I am very happy that we have places like Terbodore to visit for breakfast (which we did a while back just after they opened) or lunch, which we did this past weekend.

I neeeed good coffee. And Terbodore does good coffee. They roast coffee beans in fact, and were awarded something coffee related (I must get all the details) a couple of months ago.... if you arrive early morning or later in the afternoon, you can get a tour around the roastery - lunchtime gets a bit busy so they can't really focus on tours.

Country dogs add to the atmosphere........

A first visit should be at a less busy time to ensure you can get the tour and learn about coffee roasting and coffees of the world.

The restaurant is relatively new, they are still establishing a veggie and herb garden...

Coffee may appear to be their thing, but wow the food here is excellent too... Nick had the Oxtail (below) and I had the Bo-Kaap Lamb Curry (below that) ... really good and huge portions. We ended the meal with cheescake... cinnamon and walnut flavoured baked cheesecake! and cappuccinos of course.

Terbodore can be found on the Currys Post Road about ten minutes drive from Howick. We took the Tweedie Turn-off towards Howick and then the Currys Post Road fromthe Corner Post Restaurant.

Maryann Rivers-Moore

Hlambanyati Private Game Reserve

2010-09-28T02:17:00.001-07:00

Environment Magazine Article: Community Conservation Areas

2010-09-14T01:19:00.001-07:00

I wrote this article for The Wildlands Conservation Trust which appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of Environment Magazine, produced by the grouping of environmental NGOs: Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Wildlands Conservation Trust (WCT) The Cape Leopard Trust, Wilderness Foundation South Africa, The Game Rangers Association of South Africa, SANCCOB, and WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa). Community Conservation Areas play an important role in the creation of larger conservation corridors in Southern Africa.

Poor rural communities need to see the value of placing their land in the hands of conservationists, and should derive real benefits in order to do so. By proactively involving communities in conservation planning initiatives, existing protected areas can hopefully be respected and remain under conservation, and further tracts of land can be included and protected areas expanded.

Click on the below picture to see image at readable size, or e-mail me for a pdf of the story at maryann@maryannshaw.co.za

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

Hessehuis in Baviaanskloof

2010-07-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hessehuis, photo Maryann Shaw

We are recently returned from two weeks on the road, where we spent one night here, two nights there, and few of the roads were tarred. The Swartberg Pass, the Montagu Pass and the Prince Alfred Pass were involved.... I was glad that my husband was driving on these bits and I was able to enjoy the view. The place we enjoyed the most was our one night at Hessehuis, a converted labourer's cottage we were allocated as all the accommodation at Zandvlakte was taken. Magriet looked at me with a nervous face and said "It's very basic" .... and we followed her husband Pieter for a few kilometres to the most perfect, isolated, yes rustic, but did I say isolated, spot.... and we had a braai for two, and afterwards lay and watched the stars...until the cold took us indoors. I will admit I could not get the gas shower to give me hot water, but this little cottage probably had the nicest linen of all the places we stayed at over two weeks and across 5000kms.

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

Another trip to KwaJobe in Northern Zululand

2010-06-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

I went back to KwaJobe with the Wildlands Conservation Trust this month, this was the first community to take up the Indigenous Trees for Life Project in 2004. KwaJobe is right near Mkhuze Game Reserve in the north of KwaZulu Natal, and hundreds of people in this community now grow indigenous trees from seed and trade them back to Wildlands for food, bicycles, agricultural goods and now people are growing enough trees to purchase Jojo tanks for rain water collection. In a community where water is collected from Muzi Pan, for some a good many kilometres walk, these Jojo tanks are a huge benefit and enable them to have clean drinking water.

The trees grown by the community members, once collected, are then planted back into this same community and the landowners who plant the trees are paid R2 for each planting, and a further R 1 per quarter that they keep that tree alive. I will write more about this side of the project, known as Greening your Future, and post more images, another time.

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

More tree-preneurs, now "at home" in Hilton area

2010-05-28T01:13:00.001-07:00

This story I did a little while ago, highlights the Wildlands Conservation Trust's new Indigenous Trees for Life Programme, started in the Hilton area where the NGO is based, and where I live. ITFL was started five years ago in northern Zululand, and has spread to over 23 communities in KwaZulu Natal, as well as pilot projects in Gauteng (Vosloorus) and Mpumalanga (Luphisi near Nelspruit)

Click on image below to view story at readable size:

Maryann Shaw (Maryann Rivers-Moore)

Pereskia eradication in Amangwe Forest

2010-04-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Amangwe Forest is near Kwambonambi in Zululand, near Richards Bay, and is a beautiful Indigenous Coastal Lowland Forest (the two dark green lung-like patches in the aerial pic below)

It is part of the unplanted areas owned by Mondi and they manage it to conserve the amazing biodiversity and special type of vegetation that it contains. There are rare and vulnerable species of plants, birds and animals that exist here. Managing the forest involves a large amount of alien invasive plant control, and particularly Pereskia aculeate.

I won't go into detail, but this is a nasty plant that creeps up into the canopies, and teams have to pull it down and put it into piles, spray it with herbacide, AND then burn it. When the leaves drop to the ground they reproduce, so it is no good just chopping the plant down.

The team is mainly made up of women, and they do a tough days work! They come across snakes, bugs and all sorts of creatures doing their job, never mind the back breaking physical work it involves.
I just thought I would post a few pics, as I have neglected blog posting horribly... happily because I am really busy and have some great projects and interesting work on the go, but I need to keep some info flowing here too.

Maryann Shaw

Fat Aubergine Restaurant, Pietermaritzburg

2010-02-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

I love the Fat Aubergine. I am off to have lunch there today and will be dropping off a CD of images I took of their delicious food.

Margie does cooking courses and catering as well.

Maryann Shaw

Mobility Magazine article

2010-02-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mobility magazine cover image of Victoria Mazabuko, aged 16. She bought her bicycle by growing indigenous trees at her home in KwaJobe in northern Zululand. (picture Maryann Shaw)

To read my article published in Mobility magazine, have a look at the digital version You have to "register" but it does not take long at all. The magazine is about the transport industry and issues around the subject and is an interesting read.

My story is about the "tree-preneurs", many of them school children, who through the Indigenous Trees for Life Programme are growing indigenous trees and trading them for goods. Many rural school children are "buying" bicycles this way, and no longer have to walk long distances to school each day.

Maryann Shaw

Travels, Year End and 2010

2010-02-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

Over a month into 2010 and it has been too long since I have posted on my blog. I have so much material I can add, but I need to make the time.

Towards the end of the year there were trips to Oribi Gorge, Underberg and Sani Valley Lodge and then a road trip from Pietermaritzburg to Cape Town before Christmas that took us meandering off the obvious routes and finding some interesting places to stay such as the tipis at Outeniqua Trout Lodge along the spectacular Prince Alfred's Pass....

Sani Valley Lodge was a rather luxury self catering affair, I usually go for a more rustic set up. The setting is stunning and fishing excellent, and it is as the name suggests, a good place for a day trip up Sani Pass. Here are a couple of pics from Sani Valley Lodge... I will post images from our travels as I get them processed for stories.

Maryann Shaw

The plight of the Vultures in Southern Africa

2009-11-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

I spoke to Sonja Kruger who runs the Maloti-Drakensberg Vulture Project

Helping out Wild Dogs

2009-11-25T23:51:00.001-08:00

The KZN Wild Dog Project run by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) seeks to facilitate the expansion of the range for wild dogs in order to protect them as they move across KwaZulu Natal... click on the image below to view in readable size

Umgeni Valley Reserve

2009-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Article published in The Witness 14 October 2009

30kms from Pietermaritzburg there is a place you can run or walk with zebra, wildebeest and other wild animals, and then head off for breakfast at the nearby farmers' market

Click on image to view image at readable size

Maryann Shaw

Mkhuze Game Reserve

2009-09-16T03:32:00.000-07:00

Vulture Capture in the Underberg with KZN Wildlife

2009-09-08T02:05:00.000-07:00

I Spent two days in the Underberg with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Ecologist Sonja Kruger and her team who are capturing vultures in order to fit them with satellite tracking devices, and while they have the birds on the ground, they measure them and take blood for genetic testing.

A 6am start at the vulture "restaurant" (a local farmer leaves his dead livestock for the vultures to get rid of) in front of a hide, Sonja and Carmen, a Spanish volunteer, uncover the traps and strategically place morsels the Bearded Vultures particularly enjoy. In the ten days they have been doing this so far, they have managed to catch four Bearded Vultures and one Cape, and successfully fit the devices that will transmit GPS co-ordinates for 6 hours every 48 hours. This gap in transmission is so that the solar panel on the device can recharge the battery for the next transmitting period.

Knowing where the vultures travel, where they their spend time, will significantly aid the efforts to help these birds that are in serious trouble from poisonings, inadvertant and deliberate by some farmers, by poaching for muti, by electrocution on powerlines and by diminished habitats.

On day two I join the second site on the farm, where Ben Hoffman from the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary sits for hours in a Gilly suit (read Yeti outfit!) It starts out freezing in the early morning and then must be sweltering in the furry mass... but with no hide Ben has to be close enough to run and catch a bird if it lands in a trap, as they are very gentle traps and the birds can escape pretty easily and one has to react fast.

KZN Wildlife intern Mxolisi and I sit in a bakkie slightly further away, but he is also ready to run and catch a bird if it lands in his trap. He later takes over in the Gilly suit, sitting for four hours in the hot sun, birds circling but none landing that day. Patience is certainly the name of this game.

Maryann Shaw

Tree-preneur trades his trees for a bicycle

2009-08-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

Spamandla Ndila, aged 14, purchased a bike on Friday 21 August 2009 through the Wildlands Conservation Trust's Indigenous Trees for Life Programme. The programme operates in 23 needy communities across KwaZulu Natal, and children and adults grow indigenous trees that they trade for goods at tree stores. The trees are collected and are then planted in areas identified for reforestation carbon sinks or urban greening projects.

Spamandla is a "tree-preneur" at the Buffelsdraai Indigenous Trees for Life Programme near Durban and has grown 539 saplings. He said he will use his earnings to buy food and things that his mother needs, now that he has his bike. He said he will use the bike to go to school, ride with his friends, and go to the shop for his mother. In this picture he gives his little brother a lift.

Maryann Shaw

Nelson Mandela Capture Site

2009-08-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

47 years ago today, on 5 August 1962 Nelson Mandela was arrested near Howick in KwaZulu Natal. At the side of the road there is a plaque.... that is barely legible now unfortunately. I was expecting the plaque to tell the story and explain the circumstances of his arrest...

It reads: This monument was erected by the people of Howick to commemorate the site of arrest of President Nelson R. Mandela on 5 August 1962.
The plaque was unveiled by the President of the republic of South Africa on occasion of receiving honorary citizenship on 12 December 1996

Article from Montage, Autumn 2007

2009-07-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

I wrote this article my capacity as photo editor at Images24, the syndication unit for Media24. The theme was social issues, and I highlighted some of the issues facing South Africa and the images we had in the collection that reflected these issues. Since those days, Gallo Images started distributing the Images24 content, so the images featured here can be found at their website

Click on the image of the article to see it in a readable size.

Maryann Shaw

My 2 cents on the 30$ Time Cover

2009-07-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

So I believe Time magazine bought an image for 30$ for their cover. Interestingly, it was to illustrate the fact that everyone is cutting budgets and saving where they can...I think the cover looks tacky and the photographer has not been paid according to the usage, but is the illustration not apt? If Time is saying this is all we can be bothered to pay for photographs, this is the product we produce...then that is the message we receive. I still believe that you get what you pay for.

Microstock has been eroding the value of professional imagery for years now, not that it is the singular culprit. The fact that anyone with enough money to buy a decent digital camera can call themselves a photographer and can submit (often quite decent) images to stock libraries, and online databases of images grow by millions within a year, this will clearly lead to price cuts.

I owned and ran a small online photo library from 2003-2005, and now, in 2009, I am not able to charge the same clients (mainly SA magazines) a higher price than I charged in those days. This because in order to make the sale, I have been forced to drop prices for rights managed imagery.

WHY?
There is a lot more product around than in 2003. There are many places where magazines can source images for free (with Digital photography, PR agencies, tourism agencies, and most companies all have a library of images they do not mind supplying to magazines in order to get publicity, so why would a magazine pay an agency for an image of a lodge in a travel story, when the lodge will supply beautiful images, plus a few wildlife shots, for nothing) These are real factors, as well as the dominance of one or two major online stock libraries, including iStockphotos.

Editorial budget cuts have editors looking around for further cheaper options, and there is always a "photographer" who can do the job, and is quite willing to do it at a lesser rate than what the actual going rate is. One of the problems here is that no one REALLY knows what the going rate is.

Photography seems to be a profession that many people think they want to get into, and with there being so many semi-professionals out there (some of whom are people with full time jobs who then undercut the industry to get their work published) the photographers who are doing this full-time are finding what is left is slim pickings.

The Time magazine Cover issue is interesting in that it is a high profile user of imagery that people feel has stooped to using microstock, where one expects to see quality photojournalism on their cover. Also, why should Time "get away" with only paying 30 dollars?

Unfortunately, due to the market forces, this is what we are working with, and we just have to continue valuing our own work enough and hope there are enough clients in our environment who are prepared to pay us a professional wage for a professional service. I still believe that you get what you pay for... I have had clients say a rights managed image is too much, they can get the same for $7, and then they come back and need the image because their $7 image just did not cut it.

The Quarry in Hilton, KwaZulu Natal

2009-07-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

The Quarry in Hilton is best known as the place where the shopping centre is... in this picture that is where the green roofs are... and there are one or two coffee shops that afford a view of this magnificent body of water.. there is quite a lot of bird life around here. I was lucky enough to get access from this side, where the Quarry Cottages are located, self catering accommodation that is part of the Midlands Meander....

Maryann Shaw

The ubiquitous "person on cell phone"

2009-07-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

We still get asked for pictures of people talking on cell phones, for use in magazines and such... and still the cry is "we need pictures of REAL South Africans".....

So today Lungi posed for a few real South African pictures... and we did a few other scenarios other than the cell phone... Lungi works in a cooperative with five other women entrepeneurs in Pietermaritzburg, she makes bags and clothing... I will post some pictures of their premises and her wares soon...they have some impressive products.

Maryann Shaw

Faces in Places

2009-07-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

Been meaning to put this guy's picture here for a while, took his picture from a balcony in Ballito on KwaZulu Natal's north coast. He caught my attention and was keen for me to take a picture. I always wonder why people want you to take their picture when there is no possible chance of you delivering them a copy.. but I am very happy to have such a happy open portrait of someone.

He was working in the gardens, and when I left a bit later I tried to find him to get his name... but unfortunately I could not see him. So anonymous smiling man in Ballito he remains.

Maryann Shaw

Wildlands Conservation Trust's Conservation Space Projects

2009-07-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

From 1-3 July 2009 we visited some of the Conservation SPACE projects in Zululand and Maputaland, in northern KwaZuluNatal.

The Asuthuthuke Permaculture Project not far from the boundary of Usuthu Gorge Community Conservation Area, (in the north-west corner of Maputaland near the border with Mozambique) is a beautiful oasis, a vegetable garden brimming with beautiful spinach, huge cabagges, green peppers and other fresh veggies.

To the east, past Ndumo Game Reserve and just south of Tembe Elephant Park, the 2000 hectare Tshanini Community Conservation Area is joining with land to its north, from the Bekhula Community, which means the Tshanini conservancy is now joined with the tar road. Bush is being cleared for fencing to be erected. This extra space added to conservation in the area is hugely important, the Tshanini area has been shown to be very rich in birdlife; the sandforest and woodland of the area providing perfect habitat for endemic species. The community are developing tourism activities and facilities, and community members are being trained as guides.

Maryann Shaw

Kingsley Holgate Boundless Southern Africa

2009-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Story for www.gotravel24.com by Maryann Shaw

Tembe Elephant Park in KwaZulu Natal is home to 220 of the largest elephants in the world; a big five reserve, it shares a border with Mozambique in the north Photos Maryann Shaw

Kingsley Holgate is on the road again. The large man with huge grey beard, something of an icon in South Africa, constantly stops to engage, inform and give of himself; I was pleasantly surprised not to meet a macho “camel man” guy – but a true professional, an adventurer who uses the brand he has built of himself as modern-day explorer heading into Africa…to do good.

From Tembe Elephant Park in Northern KwaZulu Natal, across the border to the beautiful Ponta Mamoli in Mozambique, Maryann Shaw tagged along for five days of Kingsley Holgate's latest expedition for Boundless Southern Africa.

Click here to view the story

Ponta Mamoli cabins in the casuarina trees, a minute's walk from the beach Photos Maryann Shaw

Jealous is the freedom of fools...

2009-06-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

May 2009: St Lucia Border South Africa/Mozambique
Boundless Southern Africa Expedition
www.boundlessa.com

Comrades Marathon 2009 at Harrison Flats

2009-05-24T08:34:00.001-07:00

This man was taken in an ambulance after 34kms, which he covered in a time of just over 3 hours.

Run Walk for Life and Toyota Runners...at speed at 7.45 am.

24 May 2009. Comrades Marathon. Four kilometres beyond Cato Ridge on Harrison Flats, approximately 34 kilometres into the race that started in Pietermaritzburg as it is a down run to Durban. Russian twins Olesya and Elana Nurgalieva, the first two women passing this point, who went on to come first and second respectively in the race, finishing in 6:11 and 6:13.

They passed us at 7.53am.

Soccer soccer soccer

2009-05-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

I guess June next year looms, The FIFA2010 World Cup Soccer that is, so every photographer should be going to their files and finding all their "cool" images relating to football, people playing and enjoying the game, and get them ready and waiting for a buyer.

This pic was taken on my way up to Pietermaritzburg last year when I moved to that city from Cape Town. These guys were having a game in the dust right next to the main road at Aliwal North, which is in the Eastern Cape but just before the Free State border.

Having lived most of my life in Cape Town, it has been really good to explore a new part of our country in the last seven months, as KwaZulu Natal had not been on my previous routes as much as I would have liked.

Now I am here. And it's great. Sure I miss Cape Town, but it is not that far away.

Ballito

2009-05-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

Really enjoying Balllito, just wish I could chill out and enjoy it and not run around like a mad thing getting to all the spots I want to feature before leaving town this afternoon. Got here late Saturday, only at 7.30pm, and was at www.liquidyoga.co.za class this morning in the "hot 26" yoga class, getting some great pictures of Helen, the instructor who is seven months pregnant. Very impressive.

Comrades and Ballito for www.gotravel24.com

2009-05-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Have a look on www.gotravel24.com to see my latest story, a survival guide for those coming to Comrades next weekend.

my story

the gallery of images

I am off to Ballito now to do another story: after doing www.liquidyoga.co.za there a couple of months ago, I thought it would make a good story, so am off to see what else Balllito has to offer and take some pictures of the yoga on Monday morning.

Have a good weekend
Maryann

Indaba day three, May 11, Kingsley Holgate leaves from Durban on the Boundless Southern Africa expedition, Miss SA cuts the ribbon

2009-05-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Miss South Africa Tatum Keshwar helped draw the crowds to say farewell to adventurer Kingsley Holgate, as he left today on a journey through the nine transfrontier parks of Southern Africa.

BoundlessSA website

Baba Dlamini from Lesedi Cultural Village in the Cradle of Humankind, a face I remember from my first Indaba in 2003, was there as well, (see picture above), and Swazi and Zulu dancers put on a stunning show.

See SA Tourism's video from this event on Utube, I let it run through with buffering (which is annoying) and then was able to watch it without interuption after that see here

Umlani Bushcamp awarded Green Leaf

2009-05-11T04:07:00.000-07:00

Umlani Bushcamp in Timbivati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa has been awarded the prestigious Green Leaf by the Wilderness Foundation, in recognition of its environmental consciousness, at an award ceremony held at the Travel Indaba in Durban.

See my story from my visit to Umlani a year ago at gotravel24.com

Click here to view the gallery of images on gotravel24 website

Africa Imagery Photo Library

2009-05-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

(above) Shashe Limpopo, The Shashe River near the confluence with the Limpopo River. Northern Tuli Game Reserve. Botswana
(below)Desert scene near Bitterpan Camp. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Northern Cape. South Africa

both images copyright Roger de la Harpe/africaimagery.com

see www.africaimagery.com and www.oldcanvasexhibitions.com

Day One at Indaba, some pictures, May 9

2009-05-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

Tourism Indaba 2009, Durban International Convention cention 9-12 May 2009

2009-05-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the event, taking pictures and meeting with travel partners. Do contact me should you require any images from the event Saturday 9th, Sunday 10th or Monday 11th May.

I will be updating this site and available on my cell phone +27 (0)83 4194235

Launch of Garnet Media in Pietermaritzburg, May 2009

2009-05-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

The stock image industry has been through a complete transformation in the last ten years, moving from purely analogue storage of slides and negatives in filing cabinets, to massive online databases with millions of images searchable at the touch of a button, and now social networking tools spreading words and images within seconds, from flickr to twitter to blogging and Facebook, anyone can sell an image by just getting it out there to be seen.

Garnet Media represents a select group of photographers, providing a range of services to assist working in this digital environment. Acting as their agent, Garnet Media channels photographers' images to income generating sources in the news, magazine, book publishing and commercial arenas, as well as offering help with marketing and finding commissioned work. Most importantly Garnet Media finds pictures thatpeople need...from Nelson Mandela and the apartheid era to Hip Hop musicians, soccer supporters and everyday South Africans.

We specialize in being able to get you exactly what you need because many of our photographers can shoot images at short notice to add to their stock collections, thereby making the pictures available to clients as stock imagery....a dripping tap, a person drawing money from an ATM, a child with their hand raised in a classroom...the less obvious images needed for books, magazines and projects that not many photographers have taken, but so many publications need.

Garnet Media represents photojournalist Karin Retief whose photo essays and features cover travel and people as well as important social issues in Southern Africa.

Johannesburg based photographer Thabo Moloto's focus on the music scene and all things happening in Jozi, Garnet Media is able to supply clients with strong images covering the Gauteng region.

Andrew Ingram is a news photojournalist based in Cape Town, but his interest in multi media and has taken him into the world of High Definition Video. After his day job picture editing he can often be seen rushing about with a video camera, mic, lights and lots of other bulky stuff - for fun!

He is also making panoramic photographs, the bigger the better, which are digitally stitched and printed on canvases.

Owner and Manager of Garnet Media, Maryann Shaw has 14 years experience in the media industry. After a Fine Art degree in Photography and Journalism at Rhodes University, she first worked in a Photo Library environment in 1995 in London at the Julian Cotton Photo library, and was exposed to the idea of an image being sold again and again if it served the right purpose: a picture of a contributing photographer’s two year old playing in the bath with bubbles was sold for billboards, magazine and newspaper adverts because an advertising agency needed to illustrate this concept for a baby friendly bath product.

Since then, she has set up or managed photo libraries for Struik Publishers (1997), Alain Proust and Cape Photo Library (1997-2000), Eric Miller and iAfrika Photos (1998-2000) Garnet Images (2003-2005) Media 24 and IMAGES24 (2005-2008) and Africa Media Online (2008-2009).

2009 South African Elections

2009-04-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

I voted in KwaZulu Natal for the first time. Being born and raised in the Cape and living there most of my life, it was interesting to be living in a different part of the country at Election time and I registered in my new area of Hilton near Pietermaritzburg.

Although I am very frustrated at the state of politics in our country, I was compelled to make my mark, and am proud that we have the right to do so in this country today in 2009.

Umlani Bushcamp, Timbavati Game Reserve

2009-04-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

Originally published on www.gotravel24.com

Expect surprise visitors when staying at Umlani Bushcamp in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve...

Within half an hour of my arrival at Umlani Bushcamp, part of the greater Kruger National Park, I had a visitor. A loud rustling had me nervously peering out at a large grey trunk pulling leaves from a marula tree overhanging the pool I had dipped in moments before. Elephants drinking from the rock pool built for human guests are not uncommon. The camp is not fenced.

With only 16 in the camp at a time, Umlani offers personal VIP attention to the needs of guests.

On my first afternoon drive, our ranger Ginger and tracker Shadrack received a radio call that lions were nearby at an elephant carcass. We soon spotted vultures circling - and the surrounding trees were filled with them. Quite a sight, set against the pink sky and setting, red sun. This elephant had been dead for days, but Ginger told us lions had no qualms about eating carrion. Click here to view the gallery of images on gotravel24 website

Call of the drum

We stopped at a hyena den where month-old pups came out to greet us. We returned to camp for a drink in the boma with roaring fire, and were soon called to a delicious dinner by a beating drum.

The food was given rave reviews by guests from Australia, Holland, Canada and the United States. The Australian in our group continued to praise the Tiramisu the following night, saying it was better than that offered by Italian restaurants boasting the best Tiramisu in the world.

We had an Oxtail stew with fluffy mash potato one night, with the tomato based sauce just melting in the mouth. Lemon chicken and basmati rice, pork fillet with a cheese sauce, and always the crunchiest steamed or roast veg accompanying.

Keeping track the green way

The very comfortable accommodation at Umlani is in reed and thatch huts, blending in with the surroundings with the least possible impact to the environment. With no fencing around the camp and paths raked daily by staff, one can pick up tracks in the morning from buffalo, hyena and even lion that traipse through camp as guests sleep.

Bathroom facilities are en-suite, with an open air shower fuelled by wood fires.

The atmosphere in camp, the lantern-lit paths and rooms, showering by moonlight and excellent cuisine are an indulgence - but it is the real bush experience which is the attraction of Umlani, heightened by the au natural and electricity-free.

Bright and crispy start

I suggest laying out your clothes the night before - your wake-up call for the morning drive is early, and you need to dress quickly and get to the bar area for a coffee and rusk before leaving at 6.30 am.

This was the only time I felt the cold, the air of the crisp mornings can be biting, so wrap up in layers that can be peeled off as the sun thaws you out. There was no shortage of lions.

We saw them every day of my four days there. We had an exciting encounter on one evening drive with a male lion getting aggressive with us at a leopard’s impala kill which he had appropriated.

As Formen, our ranger, reversed to get away, the American family that was now only metres from this fearsome growling beast was getting very nervous. But they loved it.

At no point were we in any real danger. The rangers know the bush and have the utmost respect for the wildlife. They do not take risks.

When we came across a rhino with a baby, Ginger said he would not follow her into the bush, and he was also cautious when two male elephants we encountered were in must and challenging each other.

Walking in the bush

You certainly should do a bush walk. Experiencing the bush on foot is very special. Walking single file with Formen carrying a loaded gun, we stopped regularly to learn about the flora and have things pointed out to us we would have otherwise missed.

A hole in the ground we were shown was an antlion’s hunting ground. Formen took a stick and gently touched the side of the hole and up popped a small beetle.

The antlion is one of the “little five”. The others are the buffalo weaver, the elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, and the rhino beetle.

I left Umlani after a few days with a new respect for our environment. The smells and sounds of the bush stay with you for a good few days before city life takes over again and you have to dream of when next you can indulge in a bush adventure.

Walking with Baboons in the South Peninsula

2009-04-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Originally published on www.gotravel24.com

The mother and tiny baby emerged from the bushes and walked passed us, less than five meters away. It's such a cliche, but there really is something so adorable about newborn wild animals

She clung to her mother’s back, her pink little ears protruding, and the group of us quietly standing staring, was of equal fascination to this baby baboon.

We were otherwise of little interest to the rest of the troop we walked alongside for a couple of hours, on a lovely sunny winter Cape morning above Ocean View near Kommetjie on the South Peninsula

Click here to check out the gallery on www.gotravel24.com

No food policy

The morning started in the Glencairn office of Baboon Matters, with some history and information about the plight of the Chacma Baboon population in the Cape.

Our guide Jenni Trethowan has a very strict no foodstuff policy, so the baboons she encounters know they get no rewards from the groups coming to observe them on these guided tours.

This meant they were completely uninterested in us and went about their morning business of eating, grooming and then play-fighting - allowing us to get very close and really see their interaction.

And as someone who has only seen baboons at Cape Point who are aggressive towards tourists whom they associate with food - these relaxed, seemingly carefree animals are a delight to observe.

Primate patterns

We were not constantly on the move; at first the baboons hung out in one spot while eating. Their preferred snacks included pine nuts and uprooted bulbs. Extracting the nuts from the pine cones appears to be a lot of hard work.

The creatures then moved towards the river after we had observed them for a good hour or so.
When they reached the river, they drank, but also started play fighting and tumbling down the hill as they did so, which was very entertaining to watch.

The dynamics between the “teenagers” and young ones was fun to see, and a protective female intervened when one male “teen”seemed to be bullying the others a bit.

Regarded as pesky

Jenni founded Baboon matters in 1990 and is passionate about helping the struggling population of Chacma Baboons on the South Peninsula in the Western Cape.

Due to their close proximity to the suburban areas of Cape Town, the baboons have learned bad behavior. Easily rewarded by foodstuffs, they are now regarded as pests by most of the community as they enter peoples’ homes 'in search of their reward'.

Residents in some areas feel like prisoners in their homes as the baboons can be aggressive and very scary.
Keeping foodstuff under lock and key

The idea of getting your keys out to get some milk from the fridge for your morning cup of tea is hardly appealing and may seem extreme but it’s the success formula of one Cape resident. He has again been able to leave his doors and windows open, by literally putting locks on his fridge and kitchen cupboards.

Baboon lookout duty

Jenni also works closely with the Baboon Monitoring Project. This organization began 1999 and now employs twenty men from the nearby community of Masiphumelele as baboon monitors.

Their lookout duty involves herding the troops back into their natural habitats to ensure that baboons are kept out of the villages for 85% of the time.

The Baboon Monitors are solely paid via funding and they work incredibly long hours, especially in summer from 6am to 6pm.

Twenty-five percent of Baboon Matter's net proceeds are given to the monitoring project, which goes a long way towards keeping the baboons out of trouble and thus changing the perception that baboons are nothing more than pests.

Walking with these animals allows you to see them as they should be, a playful group of primates, eating from the Fynbos and wandering free.

The guides take no more than 8 people on the walks, but will take a group as small as two. The fee for adults is R 250, with children under 12 costing R 125.

Thozama at home in Langa, Cape Town, South Africa

2009-04-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Thozi worked at Ruby in the Dust in Observatory way back when. I don't know where in the world she is these days.

North Beach, Durban, South Africa

2009-03-29T04:25:00.001-07:00

The Owl House, Nieu Bethesda, South Africa

2009-03-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite places to visit, the Owl House, home of Helen Martins....I will post my story here that was published a few years ago, I just need to find it...

Johannesburg Skyline at Dusk

2009-03-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg Skyline, South Africa

Signs of the Times

2009-03-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

March 2009. Election posters lining the street in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal.

Pilanesberg National Park

2009-03-10T23:07:00.001-07:00

Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province, South Africa

2009-02-26T04:11:00.001-08:00

Your photos: Backup, backup, then backup again

2009-02-26T04:11:00.000-08:00

One of the keys to any successful archive of images: Backup your images, then back them up elsewhere, keep a backup offsite and update it regularly. Oh, and then back everything again for good measure.

If earning a living is what you do with your images, how can you go to sleep at night without ensuring your livelihood is not safely "locked up"?

Thanks to Peter Krogh for reinforcing this concept in his training...I realised I had slipped a bit and bought an extra terrabyte drive and got cracking.

Peter's book is the bible of how to keep your house in order: The Dam Book

Shooting Stock

2008-11-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

Strange but true...an image like this can earn a photographer valuable income from stock libraries. A dripping tap, a child in a classroom...every day things a professional photographer would never have thought of taking pictures of.

African Photographers Entrepeneurship Programme (APEP)

2008-08-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

I was selected from 150 entrants for the APEP programme run by www.africamediaonline.com. 27 professionals finished the programme after assignments were completed, and I received the certificate in November 2008.

I spent a week in Pietermaritzburg in August 2008 and then in November 2008, receiving training from industry experts: Graeme Cookson from the UK, honing my Photoshop skills, learning new tricks and shortcuts, and then Peter Krogh from the US, reknowned as an archiving and digital imaging expert (author of the DAM book - Digital Asset Management) walked us through a workflow that ensures backups are created, and introduced us to lightroom in the workflow.

Mixing with some top photojournalists from all over Africa, the programme enabled me to sharpen my skills developed over 14 years setting up photo libraries for a number of photographers and media institutions. This was not a photography workshop, but a workshop for photo professionals to learn the essential digital imaging skills needed to process the images, store images so they can be found later, and maintain a good backup system.

Two Oceans Marathon 2008

2008-03-22T07:35:00.001-07:00

Father and son patiently wait to hand water to the front runners

Zimbabwean Marco Mambo (Mr Price, in red) won for the third time (having previously won in 2004/5) in a time of 3:11:35 - here he was asking for water! the water people were standing in awe and did not hand him any water.....

The finish at UCT

The Women front-runners in the Ultra-Marathon, one of the Russion twins (Olesya or Elana ?) and compatriot Tatyana Zhirkova ...at the water station at Kirstenbosch top gate.

Introduction to Maryann Shaw Photography

2008-03-02T09:49:00.001-08:00