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So I know by now you’re tired of me telling you how we enjoy hanging out with our clients and how rocking they are. Shivanee and Indiran are all of those things, and they do hold the record for the most ‘likes’ on our facebook page, but they’re also big fans of Johannesburg’s architecture, the inner city (they live in Pritchard street), and the history and authenticity of it all. I love Johannesburg’s inner city, I love hanging out on Sunday or Saturday just making images. So when they suggested that we do an inner city shoot for their day after shoot I was excited, I had plans. This is how they worked out.

Ooh, before the pics, a quick quote from Christopher Hope, it comes from From Joburg to Jozi, which is well worth a read (the royalties are destined for Cotlands, to benefit children with HIV and AIDS). I think this pretty much sums up Jo’burg for me.

“This is a town that thought mine dumps were pretty, that had a soft spot for slimes dams, and thanked God he had given it a reef of gold beneath its feet. The mine dumps are shrinking. Years ago they hung around town like drunks on day release from the detox clinic. The sandy equivalents of meths drinkers in Joubert Park. Scrubby grass like fierce unshaven stubble grew over their yellow faces. Thing was – you liked them, you blushed a bit when visitors said ‘what do you do with them?’
Some bright spark took one of these sandcastles, sheered off its head and planted a drive-in movie on the crest. Great stuff. Someone had an even better idea. What about tearing down the dumps and taking them to the cleaners all over again, for the pinpoints of gold they didn’t give up first time round?
Very Jo’burg.”

More from Shivanee and Indiran’s rocking Joburg day after shoot can be seen on our facebook page

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7h30 photo call, its early, way too early, but in an hour or so the soft light will turn into harsh contrast and way too much African sun, and in four hours Claudio and Ivana will be on a plane to Mauritius and we’ll be trying to catch up on sleep. Got to work quickly, we have an hour and a bit to create some killer bee pics.

So sunglasses on, take out coffee clutched in my hand, a couple of memory cards shoved into my jeans pocket. We’re outside the Market Theatre, caffeinated to the gills, its been a long weekend of very little sleep and V and I are feeling it. I’d torn my rotator cuff two weeks ago and my physio had recommended I rest my arm. Yeah, right, rest the arm that holds up the camera during our busiest season. That’s likely. I’m slightly gratified when Claudio rolls down the car window and him and Ivana both look slightly shattered.

We take it slowly, a couple of images under the highway, super chilled, swapping tips about Mauritius, Claudio and Ivana are the most calm relaxed couple, just unfussed about anything,letting us do our thing. Catching some killer bee images before the sun turns the day into a washed out mess. Its not a trash the dress session, there’s no water anywhere, but Newtown is pretty dirty, and some of the images I’m wanting to make require a bit of bravery. Ivana’s answer is … its a dress.

Three quarters of an hour later and its a quick trip to the center of town, historical buildings, authentic backgrounds, just around the corner from the ANC building. A bit more of a Joburg scene. A million miles away from yesterday’s shoot at Summerplace, I silently wish I’d brought a couch.

Hang on to your bellbottoms I’m going to post the previous couple of shoots in random order.

Hey, a preview for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland just came on the telly. I can hardly wait, and its in 3D. I may have to break my no-cinemas-not-ever-again rule and head out into popcorn land.

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I know, I know, I keep starting my blog posts with … the rain, but it is wedding season in Joburg, which happens to nicely coincide with the rainy season. By the time we arrived at Shepstone Gardens to set up and plan our shoot, the sky was already black and the rain had just started coming down. All of this despite the fact that the BBC site had predicted that it would only rain later that evening.

Nicole and Milton were calm as beans about the whole rain thing actually, I was a bit stressed (I had somehow managed to miss my extra large cappucino at the Wild Bean before I left home). It seemed like just minutes before the bedeken (the veiling of the bride in a Jewish wedding), the sun came out and one particularly picturesque shaft of light kept landing on Nicole’s veil as she circled Milton under the chuppah. Killer bee. I love the wedding season and its storm clouds, the moodier the better.

all the images were processed using our actions (which are free for download).

Anyone want to loan me some money to buy the old Johannesburg Post Office? and if you’re not reading the Daily Maverick yet …

Ben and Cindy are both wedding photographers who got married a couple of months ago and approached us to do an urban couple’s session. We’re always game for anything urban, and I had a few ideas I wanted to try out. Saturday afternoon they arrived all kitted out in their wedding gear, we got into the big black car and headed into Joburg. First stop, the train yards, I’ve always wanted to do a big shoot there, big bonus points if we could get a couple of trains moving in the background. Alas, us and security could not agree so we headed towards old faithful, the war memorial behind the zoo. We were just settling down to do some portraits of Cindy when security showed up and demanded that we pay “the photography fee”. I snapped a couple of pics while speaking to the guard and we headed back to the car. Seems you can’t just go anywhere and take a pic these days.

Our last stop was an amazing wall I’d spotted while driving through Randburg on my way back from a lunch. The light was perfect, the cars driving by hooted, people stopped and congratulated the couple, and we got some killer bee pics.

If you’re interested in a couple’s session, they’re available on any day when we aren’t already booked. You’re welcome to use them as an engagement session, bridal session, or day after shoot.

Just a couple more that struck my eye while I was backing up.

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Some might say that we crashed a 40th birthday party in downtown Joburg with our bridal couple, invited ourselves up and took advantage of their amazing view and the incredible sunset over Fordsburg and the Oriental Plaza. More later when I’ve had a bit more sleep and everything has been backed up.