Shadows

February 12, 2017 / El Rolyat / 9 Comments

When I first decided to take part in the Daily Post Shadow photo challenge I thought any pictures I used would have to be limited to those taken either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when shadows are long and dramatic.

Then I came across this picture I took of these little guys, soaking up the mid-day sun on Boulders Beach in Cape Town.

Last year I was invited to write a small story about Walking With Rhinos in a local publication.

Although the walk I was on sets off early in the morning, I was lucky it was mid winter – by 07.00am it was already pretty hot.

Now back to Cape Town, where wedding guests play a genteel game of croquet while waiting for the bride and groom to appear after family photographs

Walking back to the car one evening, after an extended Sunday lunch at The Brass Bell, we came across a micro pig playing with a dog in a children’s play ground.

Happy, hot dogs take respite from the glaring sun.

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Our shadows briefly rest on the Zimbabwe bank of the Zambezi River, a fleeting reminder that this used to be home.

Grid

September 24, 2015September 22, 2015 / El Rolyat / 7 Comments

In response to The Daily Post weekly photo challenge, Grid.

Waiting for a Taxi

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / El Rolyat / 10 Comments

stop street cape town

In response to Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Public Transportation.

And also:

The Colour of Cupcakes

September 22, 2015 / El Rolyat / 15 Comments

Piet’s daughter turned 21 earlier this year and we celebrated the event on a wine farm near Stellenbosch.

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Happy 21st cup cakes

Click here to see more interpretations of the Sense of Taste.

Silent Sunday Sunset (I)

September 13, 2015 / El Rolyat / 9 Comments

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Silent Sunday – Close Up

August 2, 2015July 31, 2015 / El Rolyat / 6 Comments

In response to the Daily Post weekly Photo Challenge – Close Up.

The Hippo Series IV

July 8, 2015July 4, 2015 / El Rolyat / 6 Comments

Hippos spend most of the day wallowing about and grunting in the river, leaving the water at dusk to graze on land through the night. I have rarely been lucky to capture decent photos of hippos out of the water because light at that time of day is poor and I am usually bobbing about on a boat, so it is difficult to keep a steady hand. A while back I was lucky and managed to get a few decent shots, which I have shared in my Hippo Series. You can see them here, here and here.

They may look cute and cuddly but in reality hippos are not your friend.

Being territorial animals, hippos don’t like it when people invade their personal space, and like all mothers, they are also fiercely protective of their young. So woe betide anyone who looks like they might be a threat to their wrinkly offspring. We always stay far away from hippos and try not to come between them and the land (or adults and their babies).

It is reputed that hippos have caused the deaths of more humans in Africa than any other large wild animal and most of their victims have been subsistence fishermen in makoros (a canoe-type boat made from a hollowed out tree trunk). They don’t actually eat people, but they do bite – their teeth are very long. Usually the hippo overturns the boat, and since the majority of the fishermen are unable to swim, many of the deaths are through drowning. Occasionally people have been unfortunate to come across a hippo on land and if they were unable to outrun the hippo (hippos can run 23Km/h) the result is always violent and often results in death.