It’s been a productive assignment in South Africa, with a broad range of prime images about to be delivered to the country’s national tourism authority.

In the second phase, I headed off on Safari to the country’s largest private game reserve to photograph the wildlife and captured some of the highlights of Captown (below).

At the bottom of this post, I’ve attached a link to some of the images captured in Stage One which concentrated on Johannesburg, along with a few posts from the previoius shoot I did for the commission about 18 months ago.

Next Stop: New Zealand

It would be hard to imagine the force involved in this conflict as two Cape Buffalos fought for dominance of the herd. The battle raged for about 20 minutes. Locked by their horns in mortal combat, at times they rose onto two legs, heaving against oneanother to land a lethal blow before smashing through the surrounding foliage to gain leverage until one gave in and ran off – chased by the other.

The end of my first day out on tour at Mala Mala, the largest private game reserve in South Africa, and we’ve already seen the “Big Five” (Rhinos, Elephants, Lions, Buffalos and Leopards – including this one (below).

Ok, so it’s only my vote but, having just returned from Italy and a generally appauling coffee and wandered the globe on a quest to find the Holy Grail of the darkened bean, I feel qualified to make the claim that Truth Cafe – in Cape Town, South Africa – delivers the best coffee in the universe at a venue that would be any photographer’s pleasure to stumble across (below). Uniforms are, well, Cowgirl Chic’ meets Mad Max and the decor is a stylish mix of mechanical entrails (they brew their own beans on the premises), pressed tin and timber. The staff are attentive and friendly and the coffee is superb – and consistent (three in one day being well over my limit).

Highly recommended.

“Capture the hip, happening vibe of Johannesburg,”

That was my brief for the last two days which, thankfully, you can’t help but stumble into when you’re here. Jo’burg’s urban renewal project sees the old section of the city brimming with creativity- funky restaurants and hole-in the wall eateries, cool musicians, captivating street art and groovy weekend markets (below).

I’m back in Australia after a four week break in Italy (what an amazing country), with much to do before I end the year.

First up is a two week assignment in South Africa, then I return to shoot New Zealand before winding up the year in Vanuatu – all for their respective tourism authorities. There’s books to finish up, Photo Libraries to build and assignments to schedule for the new year.

As I wrote earlier, I left the camera’s and work behind for most of my break, using only my I-phone to fend off the ocassional cravings, which has proved an incredibly worthwhile exercise. I return rejuvenated, eager to “make my mark” and – I’d like to think – enhanced as a photographer having immersed myself in the refined sense of ascetics that can only come from the Italian civilisation and its many gifted artists.

I’ll be interested to see how the experience shapes my work.