The Weekend Random's #02

So another weekend comes to pass. Well, this one came with a twist. Yep, two extra days added onto it. The Easter Weekend is a mad holiday rush for a lot of people. Also alot of crazy accidents on the road too. Just before the weekend got into its full swing, there was a terrible car accident on the N1 here in Cape Town. A container came off a truck, falling & crushing a passenger vehicle next to it, killing both passengers – a woman & her daughter, who was pregnant. It’s sick.

So... one would think that seeing as I had a whole extra 2 days to my weekend I would have done more than on a usual one. I hate to disappoint. I in fact did almost zero. I existed. That was my ‘thing’. But then on Sunday, I got myself out the house & went for a drive to Hout Bay. That is where I took some shots, which is what I’ll be talking about & showing.

First is this shot:

It was hot. Very. Standing at the little make-shift shop on the harbour front, there she sat. This little angel eating her ice-cream with no worries in the world. It’s one of the reasons why I love taking candid shots of kids so much. They make amazing subjects. In this case, she just stared up at me, not missing a beat licking her ice-cream. Just like that. Her world continued, (and remained rather involved with her ice-cream) while I stood over her, taking the shot. I know ‘experts’ will say get down on a kids level when doing little people photography (which is a great tip btw, don’t get me wrong), but in this case there would have been no impact, no oomph if I had moved from where I stood. I love this shot so much, I’m going to be putting it on my main site, so you welcome to go leave comments there too should you wish.

Dedication. I think many people have no clue as to what it really means. Here, let me give you one small excellent example:
Known as “The Soap Girls”, these 2 entrepreneurs have been selling handmade soap bars for 5 solid years now! And it’s not for their own pocket growth either. They do it to raise money for charity. I was told that they have raised R305 000 in their time! Just under 1/3 of a million rand selling soaps! But these 2 are far from boring when it comes to their sales pitch. They say everything in unison. Trust me, it’s something which takes a bit of getting used to. I remember when I first saw them many years ago, I just had to buy a soap from them. There was no way, I could walk away from this bunch, after being spoken to in 9 different languages, in rhyme, and in chime, and not support them.

There is something else about these girls too, which is even rarer in our times. They are genuinely happy doing what they do. Not everyone buys from them, but they still smile & say goodbye to you (in unison) as you walk away smiling yourself. Helping others for a genuine motive is something that brings a real satisfaction. These girls are a great demonstration of it. So, you want to know more about them? Go check out their website here.

And if you find yourself in the Hout Bay area, be sure to look out for them. You won’t be disappointed.

Last but not least, this one doesn’t need much explanation, nor does it have any story behind it. But this is what happens when you catch that one ‘golden’ moment at sunset on the magnificent ocean.