Happy 90th birthday Madiba

PROJECT BLACK : TAKE NINE

I've posted this photo of the Mandela statue in Mandela Square in Sandton before, but I thought that in honour of this great man's birthday and the fact that I like it in B&W, that I would post it again.

It's also my Dad's birthday today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dad! If I'd got to your house earlier, I would've taken a photo of you! Enjoy dinner with mom tonight ;)

Check out Anna's blog for more Project Black

New Graffiti in Darrenwood

Old and new graffitiBarbed wire and graffiti

Bright

Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts here

Skywatch Friday: Sunsets and scaffolding

I took similar photos a few months ago, but thought I'd try again with my new camera and see whether I got better results.
I went to the top of the parkade at work yesterday evening and took these shots of the sun setting over Randburg. I'm thinking of submitting one of them to this month's camera club meeting, which one do you think I should submit?

Sun setting through the smog

The  setting sun over Randburg

Sunset and scaffolding

My favourite is the third one.

Check out more skywatchers on Womtig's blog

Spoil sports at Monte Casino

I went to Monte Casino today for the Microsoft Mix Essential conference that was being held there( more about that on my other blog in a few minutes time... parts of it were fabulous). Of course, I took my camera along because the place is quite spectacular, but I'm afraid these are the only photos I could take.

I didn't try take photos inside the complex, because I've done it before, and because I think it looks a bit tacky now, but I thought I'd go to the newish piazza area and take some shots there... which was a great idea until a security guard stopped me!! Apparently I had to ask for permission from Management to take photos. LOL!
Apparently it would have been fine if I'd take a friend along and pretended to take a photo of them, but it wasn't ok for me to just take a photo. Bizarre! So in other words, a tourist travelling on their own is not allowed to take photos of a tourist attraction, that's basically what they're saying!

The thing is, I reckon that if I'd gone with a small P&S, no-one would have even batted an eyelid! He only came up to me when I changed my lens for the kit lens!
I'm finding it quite amazing that I'm getting such a reaction to me taking pics now!! I never had this problem with my old camera! This is the second time I've been questioned in the last few weeks, it's quite maddening actually.
All of a sudden people are worried about what I'm doing with the photos! LOL!

Anyway, for what it's worth, here are the only shots I managed to take. I ended up fiddling too much with the settings to get brilliant shots.

And talking about spoil sports, here's another example for you! These kids were dying to get closer to the fountain. I find it terrible that they've got a chain around it! At Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, there's a similar fountain, which has been left open, and it's the most brilliant sight to watch the kids playing in the water on a hot day... clearly Monte Casino don't like that idea... which is a bif pity!

Project Blue: Take Four

Blue sky, blue building, one tiny aeroplane

Taken in Sandton this afternoon. That tiny fleck on the left is an aeroplane, it's not a smudge ;)
Personally, I think this photo is too skew.

Visit Anna's blog for more of Project Blue.

Project Blue | WW: At a local fish shop

Check out more Wordless Wednesday participants here, and Project Blue participants on Anna's blog here.

Three Corners - May

Corey chose the theme of Light for the month of May. I know it's a bit late this month, but we all forgot to post :)

I know I've shown this one earlier in the month, but this is my favourite shot of the month and I think it's just a perfect example of natural light.

Dawn through the reeds

I took these 2 from the car park at work two weeks ago when I worked late.

Reflections of light

The bright lights of the city

Check out Lindy and Corey's blogs to see their takes on the theme.
I can't wait to see what Lindy chooses as the theme for June ;)

Going home

Taken on the way home on Tuesday evening (I didn't have time to take photos today... I know... I'm bad... it's the third day I've missed in one year!)
I thought I'd do a follow up on my post from last week all about my trip to work. There aren't many to show you because it got quite dark, and it's very difficult to take shots in the half light while you're driving LOL!

Maybe the construction workers aren't required to spell?

Bus stop

Power

Looking for business

Wet roads

Orange sky

Cross on a hill

Weekly Winners 18 May - 24 May

I'm deviating from my normal theme this week. My post is in 2 parts.

Part 1: Taken at a playdate yesterday morning...

Wide eyes

Laughter in the ball pit

Little fist

Laughter

Part 2:
The rest of my Weekly Winners is dedicated to the people who have lost their lives, and the families that have been displaced in the Xenophobia attacks in my hometown this week.

I say hometown, because Johannesburg is my home and I am a South African citizen, but actually, I'm also an immigrant. I was born in Zimbabwe.

I took these photos yesterday morning on the way home from the playdate. I chose these hawkers as my subjects because the majority, if not all of them are immigrants. They're spending their days trying to eek out a meagre wage selling things on the streets, and then spending their nights at the moment either scared in their homes or in tents at the police stations that are sheltering many of them at the moment.
There were a lot less street sellers around yesterday than there normally are.

I was chatting to my brother, who works as a paramedic on the East Rand, and he was saying that last weekend at the one police station there were 3000 people trying to find shelter.

This situation is heartbreaking.

Sidewalk art

Selling a t-shirt

Doing braids under a tree

Selling grass

Waiting for passengers

So, think of them tonight especially. It's been raining today and very cold, and tonight the weather is particularly freezing.
One of the ladies on a mother's forum I'm a member of wrote this yesterday...
" DH called me from the station this morning, he says he cant believe how many people are there seeking refuge. He said there were 6 month old babies on pieces of cardboard out in the courtyard. Its freezing!"

Check out Lotus' blog for more Weekly Winners, or to join in ;)

Skywatch Friday - Cranes at dusk

I took this from the balcony outside the office this evening. Yes, it's an evening shot again. I've been so busy at work lately, and haven't been at home during daylight this week really.

Even though I like the colours in the sky at the moment, it's disturbing that the colours are mostly due to the smog in the city!

Check out Tom's blog for more skywatchers.

Going to work

Sweets and Angel has posts last week showing photos of their trips to work, and I've decided to do the same thing. I thought it was going to be easy! Well, it ended up being more tricky than I thought to take relatively ok'ish photos from the moving car! I should have probably made sure that my windows were clean too :)
Just as well there were no cops in sight ;)

They're in no particular order.

JHB CBD on the horison and Northcliff Hill


The FNB building in Fairlands... the reason for the increase in traffic. The building has finally finished (I posted about it before), and there are a few thousand more people on the roads in the area as a result.


Graffiti'd stop sign


Valley of pylons


View in the side mirror


Old Water Tower


Swinging in the park. Notice the lack of green!


Leaf sweeper. This poor guys sweeps the leaves from this car park every morning... what a thankless job!


Street in Sandton CBD


Informal garden. This garden is grown by one of the street sellers that I posted about before.


Street seller doing business early this morning


High walls... a common sight around JHB!


And finally, the empty parkade where I park my car.

So, as you can see, it's not riveting stuff, but LOL, that'll all I got for you today folks :)
I'll do my trip home next week. I don't go on the same roads on the way home, so the photos will be vastly different.

Skywatch Friday - Sunset and scaffolding

I took a shot from the roof of the parkade at work again. This time the sun was in the perfect position (compared to last week's shot).

Both of shots were taken at the same time, but using different settings on the camera. My favourite has to be the second one... but I like the criss-cross of the red/white tape that just shows up in the first one.

Sandton at dusk

I worked very late tonight (in fact I've just got home), so I used the opportunity to get some shots of the city.

I like the dusky light behind the buildings, it kind of softens the harshness of the landscape.