SA Rocks

One of the small, unknown successes that has come out of SA Rocks is the Flickr group that I set up about 18 months ago.

Here are some quick stats:

There are 3039 photographs in the group.
There are 158 members (including myself) in the group.
The top five contributors are: mallix, Calico182, Debby Champion, andreinafrica and finepixtrix.

Here’s a photograph from each of the top five contributors:

And finally the top four tags in the group are:

southafrica
africa
capetown
ocean

I urge you to go and rummage through the SA Rocks Flickr group. There are some absolutely phenomenal photographs on display. If you really are feeling friendly today you could even post a few of the photos on your blog and link to the photographers Flickr page.

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Keep in mind that these photos come from the SA Rocks Flickr Group. These photographers are more than likely not professionals but just love to take photos. I am always stunned and impressed

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This week we have the pleasure of chatting to one Steve Crane. A very proficient photographer and “long-time” member of the SA Rocks Flickr group!

How long have you been taking photos for?

Most of my life, on and off. As a young child I used a Kodak Brownie that belonged to my mother and later was given my own Kodak Instamatic by an aunt. I think that broke as somewhere in my teens I bought myself another Instamatic. In those days I wasn’t conscious of an interest in photography but simply wanted to record events. My real interest started in my early twenties when I bought a used Pentax Spotmatic-F SLR and a few lenses. I started reading books and learning more about the photographic process but sadly, a few years later when I had a young family to support and times were tough, I sold that camera, something I still regret today. That must have been in 1987 or 88 and it was only in 2000, when I bought my first digital camera that I rekindled my interest in photography.

Favourite subject matter?

I enjoy photographing all sorts of subjects but would have to say that people are my favourite. I like nothing more than strolling around at the beach or in the streets taking candid photos. I also have a love for aircraft that goes back to my teens and thoroughly enjoying photographing them at airshows, which sadly are few and far-between in South Africa.

What camera equipment do you use?

My current main camera is a Canon EOS 30D digital SLR. I have a selection of lenses but have yet to be able to afford truly top quality glass and my lenses are very much from the lower, consumer end of the market. I also have a 1980s vintage Praktica 35mm SLR that I like to use from time to time. Being fully manual it forces you to slow down and think carefully about every shot you take. I’m always browsing through secondhand stores on the lookout for old cameras and last year found an old 35mm rangefinder that I added to my collection. Then there is the Canon digital compact that I carry around most of the time so that I’m always able to record anything of interest I see, even if I wasn’t out with photography in mind.

What is the most interesting place in SA that your photography has taken you to?

I don’t really travel much so this is a difficult question. I think that having an interest in all things military, the most interesting place I have visited was probably the old naval gun battery above Simonstown. I would have loved to spend hours there photographing all the detail of the rusting guns but there were some dodgy looking characters around so I thought it prudent not to stay too long.

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Trying to keep up with my decision to conduct more interviews and to help out the incredible photographers in the SA Rocks Flickr group, I present to you andreinafrica, AKA Andre van Rooyen:

My start in digital photography came in a roundabout way. I was Googling wallpaper images, and came across an amazing image of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, covered in a layer of cloud, with just the very tops of the towers showing. The photographer was John Curley, of the San Francisco Chronicle, and of Flickr. Following the rabbit-hole led me into the online world of photo-sharing, and suddenly, the digital camera which had *not* been at the top of my to-buy list, was calling my name.

What followed was a mad 3-month dash. Purchase camera (Polaroid i532 PNS), sign-up (Flickr Pro), shoot and post anything that would stand still long enough, discover camera limits, purchase new camera (Fuji S5600 super-zoom), shoot and post anything that would stand still (and some stuff that wouldn’t!), discover more, different camera limits, all the while being inspired by the amazing photographers on Flickr, John Curley, Joe Cantoni, Kristin Hayes, Paul Bruins, Lisa MacDonagh, Deborah Lattimore, and many, many more…

Then, only 2 and half months in, I took a huge deep breath, and purchased yet another new, better, camera (Nikon D40 DSLR)… And suddenly, I was home…

You’ll often hear advice about buying a camera, that goes like this:

Pick it up, handle it, shoot a few, you’ll know what fits right.

Wise words. Handling the D40 felt like a hand, severed at birth, had been re-attached. Overnight I went from searching through my card for images that pleased me, to regularly shooting images that I could sit and stare at for ages… A very happy puppy, I was

That was a little over 17000 D40-images, and 12 months ago. It has been, without a shadow of doubt, the most rewarding, artistic, me-thing, that I’ve ever done. Actually, it’s pretty much the only artistic thing I’ve ever done, and that alone has been a revelation for me.

So, what do I like shooting and why? When I signed up on Flickr, I choose the name ‘andreinafrica’. Flickr has grown exponentially in the last year, by numbers and by countries, but back then the overwhelming majority of Flickr shooters were Americans (or at least it felt that way…). I wanted to show some of *my* Africa. That it is, as good, and as beautiful, as anywhere in the world, and perhaps even better, and more beautiful, if you know where to look

What a ride 2007 has been. The gorgeous places I’ve been, the amazing things I’ve seen, the wonderful people I’ve met. I went pretty much everywhere I could in pursuit of the photo’s I knew would showcase South Africa. The Golden Gate Highlands in January, the Kruger Park in February, the Little Karoo, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Cape Peninsula in April/May, the Waterberg in July, the Bluff in Durban in August, the Pretoria Photomarathon in September, the Expressions of Cape Town exhibition in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town (Yay!),the Cape Peninsula and the Cape Wes-kus in glorious summer, in October. 850-odd Flickr posts. Wow!

Now that it’s a little calmer and I have a workflow, and likes and dislikes sorted and identified, I can say that my first love is seascapes and landscapes, preferably at sunset or sunrise. Wildlife is next on the list, followed by lunar-photography (or lunacy, as the set is named I’m notoriously resistant to people photography, with failures (retirements-in-disgrace, actually) in pretty much any form of people portraiture… Ah well, in another life perhaps

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I have decided that it’s come to the point in the SA Rocks flickr group that the photographers need to be rewarded! We have loads and loads of incredible photographs.

I am going to try my hardest to provide as many of the photographers with exposure here as possible! I will link back to all of their websites/blogs/flickr accounts where I can. For now, let’s get going!

I’m going to start with Coda simply because he was one of the first and most active contributors in the SA Rocks photo-pool. Let’s not be too wordy about this all and simply let Coda’s work and words tell you more about him:

My journey into digital photography began 7 years ago, and I’ve have had a camera attached to my hip ever since. I’d best describe myself as a nature & landscape photographer: the result of growing up with a passion for the outdoors, Cape Town as my playground, and the luxury to travel around a region as beautiful and culturally diverse as Southern Africa.

I like to think that the phrase “Ready, fire, aim!” best describes the way that I approach my every day photography: with reckless abandon! Otherwise I make time to visualise a photo before I take it, which I learnt as a web designer during the initial design process. I also enjoy shooting panoramas, street art, live bands and night photography, while aspiring to the underwater and aerial fields. So it’s a big part of my life, but no more than a hobby and creative outlet. And for that reason the majority of my photos are freely available to share and remix for noncommercial purposes.

I first joined Flickr to easily photoblog a backpacking trip around Western Europe, but became addicted shortly afterwards and created my first group, for Cape Town. Three years later, I now administer 15 groups and have uploaded over 3,700 photos across 60 sets. When I’m not uploading or geo-tagging my own photos, then I’m commenting on or favouriting others. Needless to say I spend more time on Flickr than I probably should, but the feedback and inspiration I receive in return is enough motivation to continue. I also use Flickr to network and exchange ideas with other photographers (via meetups), to host a showcase of my design work, and to share my personal experiences on the web via screen shots.

My current equipment includes a Canon G7 compact, a cameraphone, Photoshop, AutoStitch for panos, and an eye for seeing everything as a potential photograph!”

I am personally enthralled by coda’s point, shoot, ask questions later approach to photography. I love watching my feed when his photos appear in the SA Rocks group! Thanks for your participation coda and may your lens never get scratched!

If you want to subscribe to the SA Rocks Flickr group feed click here now to grab the RSS.

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