On the road ... again ....

 We're on the road again... well not literally.  I was recently writing a post about time - 

that fact that at this time of year it appears to be such a "big issue" - I have a few 

perspectives on that thought, but that's for another post.   

 The reason time came up, was that in looking thru my archives (in fact whilst 

"cleaning" out),  I came across a folder with photos taken from a road/ country trip we 

did exactly a year ago (you see, I told you time flies!!).   As I've not blogged or posted

much about this trip and since there are some really scenic shots, I decided, now is as 

good a time as any.....

So, we were on the road to Nelspruit (a main town in the Eastern Transvaal, now called

Mpumalanga) and the largest town before heading out to Mozambique.   These pics 

were of our first stop on the way to Nelspruit, at Milly's just outside Machadodorp.   The

area is renowned for it's trout  and trout fishing, and it's truly gorgeous, so Milly's was 

the place we chose to stop at.   The picture above and below give a very good idea of 

what the surrounds look like ....

 Blue skies, rolling hills of green, lots of water .... to top it off a wonderful mud house 

and nguni cattle - this has got to be one of my favorite pictures of rural south africa .....

 after lunch we continued onto our destination and stopped by an old friend for coffee.  He happens to live high up on a hill, and these two images

are some of the wonderful views he enjoys on a daly basis.   There was a storm coming in so clarity was not at it's best.  Still scenic nevertheless.....

WelI I hope you enjoyed that ... I'll be posting more of this trip over the forthcoming weeks .....

A skywatch post

a LATSOF post

Scenic Sunday post

Image(s) All Rights Reserved Copyright 2010 

Gena D Images and {Gena D Photography} for thinking aloud

Sky Views

 Sky view over Chrissiesmeer, above over the large lake, below 

early morning colour

 and sunrise ...

And some words from  Kenko Yoshida
A certain recluse, I know not who, once said that no bonds attached him to this life, and 

the only thing he would regret leaving was the sky.

a skywatch post

a LATSOFpost

and Scenic Sunday post

Image(s) All Rights Reserved 

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images and {Gena D Photography} for thinking aloud

Sunset from Northcliff Hill

  These photographs were taken just at the end of our "winter" season,

in late August, from the top of Northcliff Hill.   There are amazing view over parts

of Johannesburg and it's suburbs from this vantage point.  

I got there a little later than I had hoped for, nevertheless managed to get a 

few worthy captures.   

The first three images were taken towards the setting sun over the West Rand

 The last two images, are of the water tower, taken facing east, where I was 

fortunate enough to be able to capture the rising full moon - how wonderful 

to be able to capture both the setting sun and rising (full) moon in the space 

of 20 minutes!!!!   Timing is everything after all!!!

A Skywatch Post

A LATSOF post

Scenic Sunday post

Image(s) All Rights Reserved 

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images and {Gena D Photography} for thinking aloud

Views and Reflections of Newtown (Jhb)

Yesterday I posted a skyline view over Newtown Johannesburg, today a few more

images from this historical and culturally rich area of Johannesburg.   Above

 reflections on the sky scrapers which oversahdow the older buildings of

Newtown and below

a view of the building which now house Museum Afrika,

and another view with graffitti'd artwork of famous musicians of days gone by
 (Miriam Makeba on the right hand side).
A Reflection post and Scenic Sunday post

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Hennops River Valley

a view of the Hennops River (South Africa) as seen from the

patio deck at River Place.

Weekend Reflections and Scenic Sunday

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

An Estate Garden

a gorgeous late autumn sky over northern Johannesburg

Scenes from an amazing Urban Garden in the outskirts of Johannesburg

Landscaped and designed  by my friend Donovan of Nature and Beyond.

It's a blend of garden and wild grasses and predominanatly inidigenous - which

is the way to go in terms of water requirements and

the wonderful array of birds of the area.

Click here to view previous post of this garden

View more Sky images here and here
and more Scenic here
and Shadow shot images here

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

An Eco Estate

reflection on a man made lake

these images were captured during a visit to a local residential estate,

where the aim is to maintain an eco friendly environment.  They have

used indigenous trees and grasses - the objective being to invite the

local birds, insects, frogs and whatever else, to inhabit the space(s).

a collage of some of the scenery on the estate - the round "building" is used

by estate management- not sure for what purpose, but I love the shape

and the great architectural detailing - including the shadows ...

a wider view of the lake

one of the windows and the great shadows around it ...

a dead tree, left in place to add character

View more Weekend Reflections here

more Scenic Sunday here

and more Shadow shots here

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

The "Lusito" Festival

choices... choices....

Lusitoland is an annual festival (run by the Portugues community) held in the

south of Johannesburg at the end of April/ beginnning of May of every year.

It runs for 10 days and the main aim is to raise funds on behalf of the

 Lusito School for the Challenged.

chicken on the barbecue

This is quite simply one of those events that you should not miss .... there is

loads of great Portuguese (style) food,  pubs, coffee bars, live music and

musicians throughout the event, a flea market ... etc.etc... 

We decided to go yesterday afternoon as the festival ends today 2nd May,

It had been raining earlier in the afternoon and when we got there the place

was one huge mud "bath" - you would think that this would stop people.

Not a chance... they kept arriving in their droves - for the food, the entertainment

 and the sheer good vibe of the event.

We walked around (very cautiously!!!), enjoyed a great meal ......

...and it also presented a fantastic opportunity to do some night shots (luckily I

had taken my lightweight tripod with me) ....

And we got to enjoy Danny K on stage (a local artist).

I must admit, that he is a better musician than I had given him credit for, 

and has  a great stage presence to boot!

We left feeling that we had had a fantastic time and look forward to

next years event!

Go Lusitoland organisers - a job well done!!!!

View more Scenic Sunday posts here

View more My World Tuesday posts here

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

In honour of a great pilgrimage

A couple of weekends ago I was out in Pretoria (capital city of South Africa) and
noticed the Voortrekker monument up on the hill ....  I had not been there since
high school, which if truth be told, was a very, very long time ago .....

Camera in hand, off I went.

I spent a great afternoon there in the tranquil nature reserve type gardens
enjoying the scenery and the fascinating history and architechure.

This first image (above) is taken inside the actual monument (see image below) where

the late afternoon sun was shining through the latticed glass panels

in a vibrant golden hue, creating both reflections and shadows

onto the marbled floor.

a view of the Monument on the hill (quite literally)

This monumnet commemorates the pioneers who travelled from the

coastal areas inlands between 1835 and 1855 -

this trip was called "The Great Trek". 

During this time approximately 15,000 pioneers moved inlands to establish the

provinces of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, effectively the start of

 South Africa as it was to become.

an outside shot of the stone/ brick work, bathed in afternoon sunshine,

creating soft shadows ....

an afternoon  garden view - the monument is surrounded

by a round wall mimicking a circle of oxwagons,

 which in fact are carved onto the wall ....

the real thing ... an old oxwagon ...

a gorgeous strelitzia growing the well kept gardens

view more Weekend Reflections here

more Scenic Sunday here

and more Shadow shot here

Click to view more Mosaic Monday posts

Click to view more My World Tuesday posts

Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud