part of the solution

a couple weeks ago i was really honoured to take some "behind the scenes" shots of a video shoot for paradigm shift, an amazing microfinance organisation that mobilises and equips churches to run micro-credit, business training and discipleship programmes with the entrepreunerial poor. 


i am amazed and inspired by their work and love that i can be involved with what they're doing in south africa. do yourself a massive favour and check out their website. better yet, get involved in running a programme in your church, community or faith-based organisation.


here are some shots from the day...

nicole & willem sneak peek

if you know me, you'll know i'm not a morning person. at all. but waking up at 5:30am on an almost-winter saturday morning was completely worth it to shoot nicole and willem's wedding. 

the amazing tim gerges (check out his photo blog here) and i had done their engagement shoot a few weeks back and it was a lot of fun (even when it started to rain!), so we were really excited about shooting their wedding as well.

i could not be happier for nicole -- she absolutely glowed on her special day. she also had the most beautiful bouquet i've seen. and willem looked so dashing in his perfect pin-stripe suit. thanks for trusting me so many times -- asking you to take off your shoes and climb in a freezing cold pool and loads of other stuff. but thanks, especially, for being so authentically in love.

here are a few sneak peeks, enjoy x

i love parys in the fall...

i am so overdue with blogging. life is madness at the moment, but so wonderful. full of things that bring me joy and make me excited for the months to come :)

anyway...we roadtripped to parys a few weeks ago {if you can call an hour's drive a roadtrip} and it was really cool. i am a total sucker for vintage stores and art galleries so it was great for me to just take my time walking up and down the main road, exploring all the cool places. i have never seen so many proteas -- either made from wire, in prints, beaded or embroidered or painted. i haven't really been a fan of proteas until now, and i love how they're creeping into designs everywhere -- iconically south african.

i would recommend eating at feast -- your tastebuds can't keep up with the amazing flavour combinations. i had rocket and caramelised onions and camembert on a chicken burger. yum! and climbing the steep steps into hoi polloi is worth it for a late afternoon drink.

remembering

mother's day has a different kind of meaning for our family. my grandmother passed away when my mom was only seven years old, and every mother's day we visit west park cemetery to put flowers on her grave. we also visit my great-grandfather's gravesite too, they are buried not far from each other.

it's quite surreal honouring someone you never knew. i often wish my grandmother had lived into my lifetime so that i could have clear memories of her, instead of ones filtered through someone else's foggy recollections. i know her name was beryl davidson, and she was super sporty. she also was an incredible seamstress and made all my mother's dresses. i've seen photos of her, and she looked like a lot of fun, despite suffering with ill-health. she died at age 39 from heart disease, only ten years older than i am now. i wonder what her voice sounded like, what kind of jokes she would find funny. what her cooking would taste like. what her signature perfume would be. i can imagine, but it's not the same.

when my mom and i stand at her tombstone, i do mourn for her. it's the strangest feeling. it also makes me think about my legacy. and how incredibly grateful i am to have my mom with me, and such an integral part of my life. our relationship, while not without its challenges, is so fulfilling. 

it's quite redemptive in a way.

the significance of three-sixy-five

oh. my. word. it has been a year to the day since i realised my dream of visiting new york city. in homage, here's a snapshot of an amazing city.

what an amazing experience. and, of course, it's been a year since i got my first info-overload-mind-blowing experience with the microfinance phenomenon at the conference in manhattan. and, i also meet the awesome roxanna from colorado who is my microfinance partner in crime. 

sheesh. 

365 days, where have you gone?

diepsloot

so yesterday was one of the raddest days ever. i did another set of photos of microfinance clients in diepsloot, a squatter camp bordering dainefern in the north of joburg. there are loads of pics, but these two are my initial faves. i love to photograph kids -- they just have no inhibitions, and don't feel self-conscious in front of the camera.

 

a new chapter

i can't believe it's been a year -- almost to the day -- since i last earned a salary. my last day at the bank was 31 march 2011 and on 2 april 2012, i start a new chapter of my work life at m2north. i'm super stoked to be doing something that i studied -- marketing and communications. whoop whoop!

it's been a great year. i have been humbled, challenged and learnt to be gracious. i've traveled by plane, train, subway, cable car, taxi, bus and by foot -- from the dry grass of texas to the concrete sidewalks of new york to the steep path up to golden gate bridge, san francisco. i've slept on the 19th floor of the new yorker hotel, a bunk bed in virginia and a blow up mattress on the floor of a study in austin. 

GOD has provided in amazing and mysterious ways. i am fully aware of the unique opportunity i've had to take as much time off as i have, and i am grateful. since coming home i've been able to make money in ways i never thought i would -- from taking photos to making scarves to baby sitting and scribing at conferences. daily bread. it's been rad. so rad.

sure, a part of me will miss lazy mornings, midday coffee catch ups, having flexi time and being able to help people who have needed it. i won't miss feeling un-routinised, running out of airtime and putting in petrol in R50 increments :)

stoked for new adventures. thank you LORD.