The BIGGEST PINEAPPLE in the WORLD!

The Big Pineapple in Bahurst

Photo by: Marcienne Koenig

Yes you heard me right! The Eastern Cape is home to the biggest pineapple in the world but alas it is not real......I know I was disappointed as well. But it is still a pretty cool thing to go check out especially when you randomly decide one weekend to go hug said big pineapple.

Hailing from the Eastern Cape since birth I have in fact visited the big pineapple in Bahurst once before when I was very young and my parents decided that it would be great fun to take their three darling children to see the pineapple. Why does it have a huge pineapple you ask? Well Bahurst is located in the heart of one of the largest pineapple growing regions in South Africa so it kind of makes sense.

Located in the small town of Bahurst you would think that the pineapple is their only attraction, but for a town of its size Bahurst has quite a few things going in its favour. Not only is it home to the biggest pineapple in the world but it also has the oldest licensed pub in South Africa, The Pig and Whistle. It even has an Agricultural Museum and once a year in December just outside of Bahurst a massive party by the name of Oxbraai goes down!!

All in all for a town with not many streets alot goes on and a visit would not be a waste of time. So next time you are sitting around with nothing to do go hug a pineapple in Bahurst!

The dreaded DEADLINE!

Yes you have guessed it! It is indeed that time again when an application form is due. I have in my almost three years at Rhodes University filled in more application forms for one course than is needed to purchase a gun or adopt a baby!! Seriously though these forms are not good for my stress levels. Just take a look at Hammy here.....I know exactly how he feels. It is the way I look and feel after a portfolio deadline or when a application is due.

I have just handed in my application form for my Journalism and Media Studies 4 course specialising in photojourn so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Some more D-Seven delights

D-Seven: A fresh Capella

Francois, Eugene and Patrick


D-Seven is an all male capella (voice only) music group and man are they entertaining! You can not help but smile and be amazed by their vocal range and charisma. I was lucky enough to photograph D-Seven when they performed at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

Based in Cape Town they are setting stages alight and getting the crowds cheering, and I would not be surprised if soon they are pulling in even bigger crowds.
Singing their own cover versions of old classics and current hits they target all ages and are able to keep the audiences' attention.

At a time when tv shows like Glee are topping the most watched shows lists D-Seven will find their market becoming even more popular.
Now I know that I am a tad biased as I have met them and they are really good guys but their singing talents are definitely up there and I for one can not wait to see what the future has in store for them......

Raz and Patrick

Francois Swart

D-Seven

National Arts Festival in Grahamstown

Those of you that read my blog when I do publish will know that I live in Grahamstown and attend Rhodes University. But one of the best things about Grahamstown is that it is home to the National Arts Festival! which means that every June/July Grahamstown is over taken by the arts of SA and even some international shows. And wait it gets better.......as a journalism student at Rhodes University I get the chance to work for CUEPIX a photo agency that runs during the festival and takes photos of all the shows that are on the festival programme!! Which is AMAZING! I worked for a sum total of 10 days that felt like months as my days were jam packed heading from show to show! I photographed over 32 shows!!! And managed to catch a cold but I truly had a fantastic time and am so grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to work during festival.
Not only did I get a press pass that got me into shows for free but I got to meet so many cool people like musicians, actors, directors, artists!

So watch this space as I will soon be putting up some of my photos and writing a bit about the shows that I attended.

Up early ......what to do?

Here are some more of my early morning 'what to do when you are waiting around for people to arrive'. I really like them as they have much more colour than I saw in the morning, and I didn't even have to photoshop them. I like them just the way they are :) What do you all think?

Rhodes University in the morning

So the other morning I set off all determined to meet the Photosoc (Photography Society) for sunrise photography and guess what no one showed up!!!! hahahahaha! So I got out of bed and waited in the dark for 40 min and no one turned up! oh well at least I got some cool shots! You live you learn hey :)

Swimming

My project this week is a portrait of another person. So I am using my friend who is an avid swimmer!

Killing time in Photoshop

As you can see I'm still working on the self portrait project but will be doing a portrait of my friend Rice tomorrow....exciting!

These are just some fun photo's that I have been messing about with in photoshop. They are a work in process.
Hope you all having a lovely weekend!

Midweek Morning

Good morning one and all :)

I hope that everyone is up and your day is already in full swing!? U better be cause I will feel like an idiot if I'm the only one that has been up since 5 am this morning! Lately it just feels like there are not enough hours in the day to get all my work done. Think I need to learn some time management skills...who needs to sleep anyway! haha!

So the photos above are both self portraits....yes you guessed it! We have self portrait projects this week! These are some of the ones I have taken so far. If anyone has ideas please drop me a comment.

My week in photos

So this last week our assignment for photojourn was an optical obstacle course. We were given a list of about 20 things and we had to take photos of at least 15 of them.
The above shot is of the stained glass in the Methodist Church in Grahamstown...one of the many churches! Grahamstown has like over 100 of them! WOW I know!

The below photo is a creative shot of the Rhodes University clock tower through the bicycle frame (which is a artwork we have on campus). I tried to get the clock tower and frame reflected in a friend's glasses as I thought it would look awesome. It came out ok, although the actual frame in the top right hand corner is very distracting.

The next photo I tried was to show 3 sides of a cardboard box. What do you guys think? I like the shadows that the tree puts on the box and the red fruit adds colour

This one is my interpretation of the soles of my feet.

The camera obscura in Grahamstown is one of the only ones in South Africa.

My new house friend

Everyone say hello to Alex! He is my neighbour's cat who has decided that he likes to frequent my house.

He is absolutely adorable though as he likes to be loved. As soon as you get near him he rolls onto his back so that you can rub his belly!!! how cute is that!!!!

souls of your feet :)

Feet

Texture and colouor

I decided to put this photo up for today as I took it this morning in my room. It is for a photo exercise that I am doing for class but I really love the vibrant colours and the texture of the cup and the cushion.

Remember when choosing colours that a colour that is opposite to the colour of your object on the colour wheel will help your object 'pop' out!

Also when taking a picture in which you are comparing texture make sure both the objects are in focus. As you can't compare if you can't see :)

Have a fabulous day!

365 Project

The 365 project has begun!!!!!

And this is my first photo - it is of St Peter's Chapel which is located on St Peter's Campus of Rhodes University.

Happy 2010!

Now I know it's been a while but yes I am still alive! My holiday was spent in the 'lovely' town of King Williams Town (oh and by lovely I do mean deathly boring). But the good news is that by staying at home the whole holiday and not spending money I managed to buy a new camera!!!!! and yes I am totally doing a happy dance right now! haha

I am so excited for this year as not only do I have a new camera, but I have also started the photojournalism part of my degree at university! I have actually spent a good portion of my afternoon outside working on a framing exercise for class on Monday.

Oh and I have decided to do a 'One photo a day' project. Basically it means that I will take at least one interesting photo a day and post it on my blog for your entertainment ( and my practice).

As soon as my internet at home is up and running again which should be later this week I will start the project - so watch this space!!! haha