Roddy's thoughts and pictures at the close of the day
Once I'd decided to have an exhibition I was faced with some really difficult decisions. What would I call it? What works would I put in it? What is it trying to show? Over the weeks and months I've made a lot of progress, and naming things - letting them go, making a space to... Continue Reading →
Night photography allows me to make some unusual images. I lit the forest path below Dassie Krantz with three lights and, by chance, there appeared a blue phosphorescent effect on the thorn tree. Mirroring then gave me this lovely blue portal. Further along the path you have to bend double to get through a really... Continue Reading →
Images taken at low light have always been one of my passions but lately I have been able to take much better images at night. A new camera and lens have helped! So I've been taking milky way pictures and star trails - quite a few have been posted in Instagram using my @roddythefox account.... Continue Reading →
One of the unusual things about taking the portals pictures is that I am often looking for an image to complete. So I look for quirky shapes that can be combined into something intriguing, different and provocative. Fortunately for me there are plenty of trees in and around Grahamstown with strange forms which provide me with great material... Continue Reading →
The dead eucalyptus trees on Mountain Drive were my earliest interest: their stark branches against a clear winter sky for example. This old tree is right next to the gravel road and I've photographed it a number of times. As you pass by it rears up against the skyline. The interlocking branches remind me of a cat's cradle... Continue Reading →
I've been out from home to take night pictures around Grahamstown three times recently when the cloud (preferably no clouds) and wind (preferably no wind or light winds) forecasts were favourable. The moon isn't such a problem as you can use the moonlight to paint the foreground of your picture. Night photos have been a dominant... Continue Reading →
Makana's Kop dominates the skyline over the township when you are down in the bowl where Grahamstown lies. There's a prominent straggle of fir trees on its crown and the oldest townships of Fingo and Tantyi run down towards you as you look up to it from the city centre. This sunset picture's taken from above city... Continue Reading →
It's been really stormy this past few days and, as I usually don't take my camera to work, a little more iPhoenography has taken place since my last post. Here are two pictures taken yesterday morning on my phone. I was walking back on to campus from town and the black skies were ominous.
When I return home to Grahamstown from my regular trips to Sweden I come from 58 North to 32 South. That's almost exactly a quarter of the way around the world. To take photos at dawn and sunset here in South Africa you have to be quick as the sun and moon rise and fall... Continue Reading →
My friends know that I love taking sunset photos - and low light photos in general. A week ago I was still in Northumberland. On my last night at Warton I went out just before 11pm and looked north west to the after glow of the sunset above the Scottish border. It was really tranquil, there... Continue Reading →
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