The Railway Hotel ...

There is a tradition that seems to apply internationally that there is always an hotel across the road from most railway stations, and for this reason I always jokingly refer to this delightful rural shack dwelling across the road from the Lions River railway station as the Railway Hotel. Looking quite abandoned, I am reliably informed that it is occupied by a local Indian family, so I hope they don’t mind the intrusion of my taking a couple of shots of their home. Situated almost on the road (the old Durban to Johannesburg main road – now known as the R103) the occupants must have been delighted when the new national highway was opened and the incessant flow of traffic between cities moved away from their front door. The shack is typical of many early twentieth century wood and iron buildings in the country, with its traditional front veranda. I pass it most days now, and always wonder about its age and history. Obviously the inhabitants have little wealth, but the faded pastel colourings of the long unpainted corrugated iron walls and the sun bleached wooden flooring give it an appeal that I found impossible to pass by without recording its presence.

Old buildings make immensely photogenic subjects, and I think this one shows that it’s not only the grand design of exceptional architecture that deserves photo recording. Tomorrow I’ll post a close up of the veranda.

Stationary …

For most of the twentieth century SA had a brilliant railway transport infrastructure. Popular and safe for both freight and passenger transport most who lived through the nineteen thirties (even earlier) to the late eighties will have some fond memory of at least one trip on a locomotive run by the SA Spoorweg. Sadly, as in many other countries efficiency declined and road-freight took over, with commuter services suffering a similar fate as the need for speed and safety were no longer met by passenger services. There is a still robust, privately operated luxury train service, as well as the legendary state run Blue Train, but they are more tourist attraction than mainstream service today. It also means that many of the quaint old railway stations have fallen into a state of neglect and decline – especially those in the small country towns and villages that once demanded at least a postal stop if not one for a passenger embarking or disembarking. I was pleased to find that the small station at Lions River stands more or less intact, still in use by Rovos Rail – that private preservation tour company I mentioned earlier. Visitors to the area will know this stop where they are taken for a day’s touring to local Midlands attractions.

Not quite Victorian, and certainly not an historical building, this reminder of those bygone days still makes a charming record, where you can imagine there may once have been a queue for tickets. Or maybe not.

One Tree ...

I like this composition – just another of those occasions where a single tree against the skyline stopped me in my tracks. It has before, and will again. 

What can I say – it’s incurable ;-)

I used the scene to check once more how well the rule of thirds really does create eye pleasing images from minimal subject matter. Take two thirds of the portrait as sky, and simply placing the tree at the intersection of the right third and lower one third dividing lines – voila, a balanced interesting image emerges, don’t you think? And yet again the Midlands clouds behaved just right.

Cover shot …

I do sometimes feel as though I’m living in a series of Country Life magazine covers – and there’s nothing wrong with that! Increasingly the dry grasses in the farmlands are being cut and baled, and the resultant stubble burned – a precaution necessary in the heavily forested hills. The memories of some horrific blazes a short four years ago remain in the minds of many locals – and the words ‘never again’ are uttered each time two or more woodsmen meet. I still find the expanses of green rye-grass fields amazingly at odds with the otherwise decidedly wintry landscapes, and the winter this year – so many tell me – is the coldest in recent memory. There is snow on the Drakensberg mountains just beyond Nottingham Road – I must try and get myself there while it lasts.

Although not totally obvious here, the air is frequently thick with a haze of smoke, that rather like the mists that will soon return, create a soft grey light filter which fades the mountain skylines into the sky, creating an almost water colour painting like effect in landscape images. 

Wild Dagga …

Is there something about warm fire coloured blossoms that makes them such prolific winter flowering plants? As the usually green, green hills of Natal take on the golden hues of their frost deadened grasses, the mostly vibrant yellows and oranges of seasonal shrubs now in bloom contrast beautifully against the brown, enlivening many a local landscape. They give a feeling of warmth, not always in keeping with the cool daytime air temperatures, although in fairness I’m finding this, my first winter in the Midlands, delightfully mild. Many of the species flowering presently are aloes (in fact next month Creighton in the south Midlands hosts an aloe festival) but equally prevalent right now are the unmistakable spiky bracts of Leonotis Leonorus commonly known as Wild Dagga (although it has none of the narcotic properties of its cannabis namesake). Popular in domestic gardens, spreads of this plant in nature are easily found.

It is almost impossible at the moment to find a flowering Dagga plant not being harvested by honey bees, an obvious subject for a close-up study and a macro lens but with a backdrop as magnificent as the uMngeni Valley looking towards Albert Falls dam, this is the image I have chosen to share.

And, yes, I did take the close ups too.

Skeleton Trees …

I have remarked before on how I am attracted by the relationship of trees to their landscape, and how I marvel at the survival of many seemingly long dead trunks that stand through time against the odds of winds and weather, and those local plundering firewood consumers often seen scavenging far less attractive supplies of fuel to keep the winter cold at bay. Perhaps struck by lightning, or perhaps just the unfortunate victim of a long dry season, many of these skeletal forms are towering eucalyptus or blue gum carcasses. One day they’ll surely fall, but I do know of at least one example in Gauteng that over the seven years I travelled a particular route held on fast to its self-proclaimed territorial rights. Marvellous!

As an abstract composition these two adjacent specimens in the Tweedie area show just the presence I have spoken of. A tempting monochrome study, their simple silvered forms against a blazing blue winter sky is somewhat more dramatic.

At Stud …

In SA the favoured Sport Of Kings is largely supplied by stock from the Midlands’ many stud farms, the most notable of them being the famous Summerhill, producer of champions since the 1930’s and probably the only stud to have produced a winner of every major feature race on the SA calendar. Of course for breeding champions conditions must be ideal and both the climate and facilities of the Midlands seem to fit the bill.

With verdant pasturing even in the thick of winter, this stud farm makes an interesting photographic composition - the immaculately maintained post and rail fencing of the paddocks contrasting darkly against the almost fluorescent green of the grass in the warmth of the mid-afternoon June sun.

Oh, that  .... and the horses.

Merry Meandering …

There are a number of craft routes around the country, and claiming to be the oldest of them is the Midlands Meander – now in its twenty sixth year. I have not given enough coverage to the Meander in my ramblings to date, something I’ll put to rights starting from today. To my mind too many establishments on the route  are accommodation and hospitality providers, diluting somewhat the focus on the artists and craftsfolk who were its foundation. True, these do provide the necessary sustenance and accommodation for long-distance visitors, but it is mainly the creative concerns that I’ll be visiting. Fittingly I have chosen an image of ceramics for today – taken at Hillfold Pottery – the studio of Lindsay Scott – fittingly, as one of the founders of the Meander was ceramicist David Walters, now resident in Franschoek, in the Western Cape. I have never tried throwing a pot (in the craft sense at least), and hope one day to rectify that omission. I admire the skill of the potter in that ability to shape a soggy lump of clay into a durable utile object and the distinctive beauty of the glazed decorative finishes many achieve is a bonus. Years ago I attended an exhibition of the work of Ian Glenny in Durban and I will get to his studio in the Dargle Valley soon. Sadly Ian is no longer producing due to declining health.

Of the shots I took at Hillfold I like the structure and order of the display shown here, somewhat at odds with the general surrounds of what I imagine is the typical chaos of a working potter’s studio.

Back o’ the Barn …

It is amazing how we humans collect, mostly junk. Having recently moved house I was astounded how much clutter I had squirrelled away in niches and cupboards ‘in case I ever needed it.’ Of course the stuff I decided to keep now lies in the new house mostly unused, and much of the stuff I decided I could do without I’ve spent hours looking for – just in case I didn’t actually throw it away. Such is life. I’m sure this phenomenon is ‘somebody’s’ law. Having a load of cupboard space in a house (with garden shed) is one thing, having a whole smallholding, or better yet a farm on which to accumulate things you may use one day is entirely another. The legendary capability of ma-plotters* to do this is well known and a quick walk around the old barn of Friday’s posting confirms the reputation is well deserved.

I do occasionally try to get a bit artsy with my camera and the scene at the barn certainly provided images to do so. Here’s my pick of them – it's just so much an image of what I think of as rural life - charming in the country, yet something that would drive me nuts if my city neighbour chose to live with it.

*plot or smallholding owners and dwellers

Old Barn ...

One of my TV favourites is Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs, and some of the episodes I have most enjoyed have been those covering barn conversions, preservations and restorations. Sadly in SA we don’t have a countryside littered with barns dating back to mediaeval times with their splendid oak timber frames, which give these old buildings the charm and preservation worthiness they have. Nonetheless I have been noticing more and more charming old timber and iron farm buildings around the Midlands, and I daresay that if I had access to many more of the farms in the area I may even find one that would start shouting out “Save Me.”  This characterful old example is alongside the road from Dargle to Boston and still being in use, the farm road and open gate leading up to the building was too tempting to pass by. With no-one around on a quiet Sunday to ask permission, I took the liberty of taking a few shots before returning to the main district road and going on my way. The rusted iron roof, dilapidated state and silvery weathered gum tree planks attest to the many seasons this building has provided shelter to its contents – may it see many more – and: Thanks Mr Farmer.

This was one of those fortunate occasions where nature fully played her part in providing a dramatic lighting effect to add interest and focal depth to the image. Right place – right time!!

The Moon In June....

OK, so this is not exactly a Midlands exclusive, but the longest running lunar eclipse in about eleven years is worth noting, isn't it? From around eight fifteen in the evening until shortly before midnight, the full moon above home was slowly shaded from the sun by our own little planet, disappearing almost completely except for a ghostly reddish glow in the sky at about nine fifty three pm. Not being one to enjoy watching paint dry, a close runner would be watching every slow second of a total eclipse of the moon. And so I set my camera up on a tripod, switched the auto timer on to five minute intervals and went inside to watch Al Sugar candy coating his current lot of imbecilic apprentices. Ad breaks were conveniently spaced to pop outside into the chilled night air to do camera position adjustments compensating for the arcing track of my subject.

I really don’t have the right kit to produce high resolution images of celestial subjects, but by stitching together three of those timed exposures as a triptych, the story of the eclipse is told. (You may want to click on the image to enlarge it and clearly see all three shots). I quite like this result.

How now ...

Taking a round trip from Howick through the Dargle Valley and then onwards via Boston and back along the R617, takes one very close (again) to the omnipresent iNhlosane. I had no intention of capturing yet another shot of the mountain, but my eye was caught by this herd of cattle – mostly young Angus stock I’m guessing from their reddish brown coats. In their number was a solitary white specimen – an obvious subject to try and capture. At first, as I got out of my car, he managed to get himself lost in the deep midst of his russet coloured brethren, but after my patiently waiting and calling in my best imitation of bovine lowing he slowly made his way to the front ranks of the herd for literally a minute before disappearing shyly back into the background. Patience (again) rewarded!

I increasingly understand the time and effort which goes into capturing those seemingly “in the right place at the right time” images we all find so amazing and appealing. A bit like overnight success – it takes a lot of waiting, patience and effort, but when you get the shot you hoped for it’s all worth the while.

End of the day ...

On the way out to an evening appointment yesterday I was side-tracked by the most spectacular setting sun. I hate to confess it, but the image does not do justice to the sky – the light caught at centre screen was actually the most amazing sight with great rays of light radiating out into the skies above the hill on the horizon. Unfortunately I only had my trusty and usually more than adequate compact digital camera on hand – and the automatic (no override) shutter speed just could not capture what the human eye could see. The camera never lies – it just doesn’t always tell the whole story!!!

If you read yesterday’s post you’ll recall my mention of hay bales along with winter’s very green rye-grass fields, and here we see the two together. Something I had not seen before was that bales are now protection wrapped and left in-situ until needed – I guess I’m just not that aware of modern farming practice advances – but I’m learning.

Green Scene ...

There is a song, often performed by the Durban Men's Choir, about the green, green hills of Natal, and I’m certain that it must have been written after passing through these parts of the Midlands. In spite of the prevalent golden grasslands of Natal’s winter there are tracts of land under cultivated rye grass – courtesy of local livestock farmers - which remain the most verdant green despite the recent frosts which have hit the countryside. Combined with the baled hay from fields harvested over the past few months, local cattle are assured of a varied and healthy winter diet.
I have cropped this shot to assume a widescreen ratio aspect – which works well for panoramic landscapes. With the foreground green of the pine tree saplings only the outlined winter deciduous trees on the horizon give any inkling of the time of year.

Aloe, Aloe ...

The onset of winter brings with it the flowering season of one of the area’s most beautiful natural resources – the aloe. All over the countryside colourful specimens with their varying shades of reds, oranges and yellows brighten the landscape of browning or golden grasses. These flame like examples, profiled against one of the deep river gorges in the area provide also a subtle reminder that winter is fire season, and with the late rains of the year the danger level is high. Caution must be exercised when crossing drying Midlands grasslands as, unlike the Cape fynbos, local flora does not require the heat of annual burning to begin germination of the seeds of next year’s plants.

Some scenes simply dictate how they should be photographed, and this is one. I’m certain any photographer would have instinctively framed and positioned the bright orange aloe flowers just like this.

Art In The Park …

Last weekend was a busy one in Pietermaritzburg, for not only was there the Royal Show, but also one of the highlights on the South African fine arts calendar - the annual Art In the Park event held beneath the London plane trees of the city’s Alexandra Park. Now in its forty-eighth year and featuring some fifty-five artists the standard of work was exceptionally high with artists from around the country - and beyond our borders. Annual turnover at this al-fresco gallery understandably runs into the couple of million rands, and despite the continuing depressed economic times trade again seemed to be brisk. Some years back in Johannesburg I acquired two well-loved pastel works by local artist David Johnson and for me a highlight was finding David and his wife there in person at the show. It felt like meeting Leonardo at the Louvre. With great live music, artists on hand to discuss their work and sherry served as the fires are lit to warm attendees in the early evening the ambience is wonderful – just another reason to say again – I love life in the Midlands. Same time next year then!!!!

Stringent acceptance criteria ensure that the public gets to see the cream of local talent and I was pleased to see the inclusion also of slumped glass and photographic work. It is a fine art ;-) .....

A Winter's Tale ...

A week or two back the night winds blew - they really blew - and they delivered the onset of winter. Many trees, valiantly still holding on to their remaining autumn colours shed the remnants of their tattering coats and stood proudly - their stark skeletal forms awaiting the promise of the spring they know will come. Up until then we had enjoyed blissfully warm days, pleasant nights and late autumn rains. The weather forecast for today is possible snow and heavy rain - and single digit temperatures. That’s quite unusual seasonal weather for these parts, but where on earth is weather normal anymore? Out near the Lidgetton Valley is an area called Happy Hills. And this is how the approach road looks today.

In the years when I first owned a camera, colour photography was an expensive luxury. I was so naïve and inexperienced that the first roll of Kodakolor I splashed out on I ruined by using the yellow polarising filter that my old Brownie Box had built in – giving those first attempted Technicolor trials a sickly greenish pallor. How much things have changed, how much I have learned, sometimes through bitter experience. Having threatened to experiment once more with monochrome imaging – this time by choice, I felt this scene was appropriate to try. And, this time I think I was right.

Fun of the Fair …

The Royal Show has long been a family affair, and this year was no exception. One of the more active areas of entertainment, and certainly one of the more colourful, was the funfair. Reminding me of the travelling Luna Park of my youth I fully understand the reason why. With many of the rides providing the adrenaline rush of some of today’s popular extreme sports it was one of the noisiest too. While Dad was off eying the car displays, and Mom did the culinary hall, where better for the kids to have a great time of their own than on the Breakdancer of Free Fall – and then all to head home to catch the rugby.

With all the colour and action of the rides, and a bright cloudless day - I simply set the saturation level on the camera to vivid and the scene setting to sport (for recording objects in motion according to the live guide) and presto!

A Right Royal Occasion …

The Midlands, apart from being forestry territory, is also the heartland of the province’s commercial farming community, and it is not surprising to learn that the annual Royal Show is the oldest in the country. This year marks the 160^th anniversary of the founding of the hosting Royal Agricultural Society of Natal, and its inaugural Pietermaritzburg Fair – the forerunner of today’s well known event. The show has run every year since, interrupted only during the war years and the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion. I recall last visiting the RAS in around 1974, and the format is little changed. Many of the traders’ stands today give parts of the show a more flea market like ambience, and of course in this new South Africa the demographic profile of visitors is considerably different, but the competition for Best on Show remains as fierce as ever whether your field is livestock, produce, jam making, or one of the many crafts traditionally displayed in the atmospheric Hall Two. And the prestige of seeing one’s name engraved on one of the many floating trophies awarded annually still ensures that many will put in their best endeavours to secure that little piece of immortality that the engravers of the silverware will afford them.
With the local press having well covered the livestock, choosing a subject that conveys what this event is all about came quite easily as I flicked through the images I had captured during my weekend visit to “the show”. The gleam of glass and silverware in display cases that must have housed such entries for many of the show’s 160 years, the coveted prize certificates and judges comment cards and glimpses of the impressive hall all combine to tell of a tradition that seems to set to continue for another century and more.

Light & Shade ...

Looking back from the Karkloof Falls view site yet another small stream wends its way through from the forests to plunge down into the Karkloof Stream which itself becomes a tributary of the uMngeni River close to the Howick Falls Gorge. Visible in profile from the extreme edges of the picnic site this horse tail falls really needs to be seen from the south east face - I must make a plan to get there somehow, sometime.  I first saw this stream when the cyclists participating in the Karkloof Classic MTB event rode past this station, a cyclists’ see-saw having been set up to add a bit of fun and variety to the event. They would then cycle across the slatted wooden bridge before heading back into the forests and hills to return to the country club. Could a mountain biking venue get much better than this? Trails are open to the public most all year round, by courtesy of Sappi forests, permits being obtainable from cycle shops in Howick.

It is fairly clear from this shot why the lighting on the opposite facing falls was so challenging. Being winter the sun arcs across the southern sky making it almost perpetually overhead above the falls. But it does work well for the stream, creating interesting contrasts of light and shade, and millions of tiny reflections in the clear stream waters.

Karkloof Falls …

I must go back to the Karkloof Falls. Apart from the fact that it is an idyllic and peaceful spot, I really don’t yet have the shot that I want to get. Tumbling down some ninety seven metres, and directly below the Woodhouse Falls from the viewing site these two falls tend to look like a single drop, but I am reliably informed that when a cascade has its own pool and then continues to fall to another reservoir it is quite correct to separate them, nominally at least. As I have mentioned earlier many visitors find this sight preferable to the nearby, better-known and more visited Howick Falls. I think it’s probably a question of accessibility – the Howick Falls being in the centre of the town of that name, reachable by tar road, and easy entry to the gorge below allowing viewing from much closer quarters. There’s little between them in my opinion.

One of the most critical aspects of photographing nature is to get the lighting right, and that means not only being around at the right time of day and the right time of the year, but with waterfalls also in the right season – not too much water, and not too little. There’s no chance of using fill in flash techniques, and water is a reflector, and refractor of light. On the two occasions I have been to the Karkloof Falls light conditions have not been ideal with the falls too shaded – and so like Arnie I will be back!!! And I’ll let you know when I get that perfect shot.

Woodhouse Falls ...

A close look at the Karkloof Falls reveals that there are actually two falls making up the view, the upper cascades being known as the Woodhouse Falls. Named after a local farmer William Woodhouse it is said that his ghost still haunts this Midlands area, for the unfortunate William was thrown from his horse fording the stream above the falls in the 1880’s. The horse survived, but William’s body was discovered in the pool below the falls, as local lore would have it - exactly where an apparition of the deceased farmer had told his wife it would be found on the night he died. To get to the Woodhouse Falls proceed along the dirt road beyond the picnic sites to the left of the Karkloof Falls outlook site. The views you will get of the stream and the gorge below certainly justify the few extra minutes it will take you after having come this far, just beware of vehicles coming back in the opposite direction for there are not many parts of the track where two vehicles may pass and most certainly one of you will need to do some careful long distance reversing to reach one of the few such areas. Fortunately the road is not usually very busy.

There are not too many vantage points to photograph the Woodhouse Falls, and you’ll find that most images available resemble any other. I’ve resorted to using a couple of digital filters here to achieve a vintage photograph effect – something I usually try to avoid, but I thought it might honour William’s ghost. Here is the original. How would you differentiate your version?