Weekly Winners: 21 - 27 December

All by his lonesome


Taking a walk


In full bloom


Christmas dinner


Having a merry Christmas


The tree (again)


Anticipating the presents

More Christmas decorations

Have I recently mentioned how much I love my Canon 50mm f1.4 lens?



I bought this flower arrangement to display on our Christmas dinner table. Isn't it beautiful?

Weekly Winners: 14 - 20 December

Swinging


Peeking


Careful steps


Along came a SPIDER...


Look what I've got!


Lonesome toy


Tree decorations


A boy and his dog


Those eyes

Photostory Friday and Strawberry Fields

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Since it's strawberry time in South Africa at the moment, we decided to take a trip to a nearby strawberry farm on Tuesday where we were able to pick our own strawberries. Both my children LOVE strawberries and we thought they would really enjoy the experience, which they did. I on the other hand, went along in the blistering heat because of the good mother I am trying to be and because I wanted to capture the big event on camera. Little did I know that some primal gathering instinct would kick in the minute I saw all the wonderful fruit, ripe for the picking! So while Emma happily sat in the middle of the strawberry field, picking and munching whatever was edible, I was a frenzy of activity, picking with urgency, camera forgotten next to my sticky little daughter... Ah well, at least I got a few pics, and in the end, if all else fails, at least I can apply for a job picking strawberries...

Attempting to scare the birds away


The fruits of my labour


Proud little picker


Waiting

Trees, trees everywhere

We visited Vergelegen Wine Estate on Sunday, which is only 3km from our house! It is an incredibly beautiful place with stunning scenery. One of the things that impressed me most were the vast amount of huge trees all over the estate. Some of them were too large to photograph properly, and off course it didn't help that I neglected to take my wide-angle lens! We are planning to visit it again in January for a family picnic and I'll be sure to leave nothing behind.

This is me

I'm not really into self-portraits (in fact, I absolutely loathe being in front of the camera, no matter who the photographer is!), but I suppose every photographer needs to have a few pictures taken of themselves? Also, its gives quite an interesting perspective to edit photos of oneself for a change. So well, this is me.

Weekly Winners: 7 - 13 December

I really neglected my blog this week, partly because I've been working very hard on my other site. So I had quite a few pics to choose from for a change!

Two little children, sitting in a tree...






Drinking is a serious business!


Contemplating the state of the nation?


Run, run as fast as you can!


Water lily


Day dreamer


Bathed in window light


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Clouds moving in over the mountains

And yes, it was taken from our backyard!

My new site

I have been working on my new website for ages and have changed several things several times over. Although it is far from finished, I need to start showing it around. This new site will not replace my current one - it it meant to be an additional site, used only for my professional work. Please be so kind as to pop over and have a look around!

Weekly Winners: 30 November - 6 December

View from our back yard


Look what I found!


Happy


Painted face and riding tricycle


I reeeeally want to go outside


Something different


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Photostory Friday and mission (almost) accomplished

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

And so we survived The Move. I panicked and I stressed and I cried and I shouted, but here we are, all in one piece.
We made this move in pursuit of a different lifestyle, but I was secretly worried that the new lifestyle would not come that easily and that it would be something that we would need to work at. But since the moment our furniture arrived and we started moving in, something shifted in all of us. The children are so happy, it makes me cry just to look at them running around and playing. I feel as though the world has been lifted from my shoulders and have not been so relaxed and content in years. I know we've barely been here for a week, but already the changes are so apparent. We spend most of our free time outdoors. The TV is seldom on. I haven't watched my favourite soap in over a week! But mostly, it's just such a privilege to be able to live in these beautiful surrounds and to be able to do something simple like take the kids to the beach for a quick frolic in the waves. I am so grateful for this opportunity.
[For those who are not in the loop, my family and I moved from Johannesburg to Somerset West, about 40km east from Cape Town. It is a smallish town surrounded by awesome mountains, close to the beach as well as neighbouring the wine lands. ]

Enjoying the beach


Hunting for sea creatures