Angry Bees

The unmistakeable sound of angry bees buzzed from all directions as our new drone, the DJI Inspire 1, took off on its first test flight outside our offices at eKayaMedia. The buzzing somehow reminded me of an very old song about the stinging tsetse flies and the crocodile eyes in the hot Zambezi valley.

Basically the Inspire 1 is an all in one flying camera which from our tests today, is a breeze to fly and very very stable. So with the Inspire 1 set on Beginners mode (limited range of 30m whereas on normal settings can operate up to 2km away), the nimble Inspire took off and reached its Beginners limit in less than 2 seconds.

This is no slouch as the book says it can reach about 80km/h which for action shots is the perfect drone. Oh and when this baby takes off, the landing gear along with the rotors re-position itself into a higher position thereby getting out of the way of the camera.

The multimedia team which consists of Lawrence, Kabelo, and Des, have decided to call this Terminator looking drone, Blade 1.

3000th Post

Here are my team mates at eKayaMedia gathered together to wish me all the best on my 3000th post. In the front row, left to right is myself Jerome, Kabelo, Noma, Paballo, Sandra, Calvin, Des, and Ernest. At back is Johan, Ilana, Mpho, Ella, Xolani, Mkuseli, Philip, Bridget, Lawrence, Wayne, Viandre, and Jacques. Below are the three special children Rob, Velile, and Gillis, who couldn't make the group photo. Thank you everyone who participated in this 3000th blog post.

Wow to reach 3000 posts on this blog has been something of a ride. What do you expect with all ups and downs of over eight years of a blog post per day till now? It’s nostalgic looking back through all my posts. Some bring a smile to my face, and some make my eyes all teary, but such are these 2999 memories woven into the fabric of what I call a sorry excuse of my life. And now I have one more which takes it up to 3000.

Every one of these 3000 moments are precious to me even the broken pieces when my days were dark as the light, the joy of life just overwhelms everything else. Someone once said that a photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you.

Please feel free to browse through all my life posts, right back to the start in January 2007. Yes one day I’ll look back on all this and smile because it was life and I decided to live it.

The Ant and the Food Bloggers

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not unlike ours, there was an ant who loved to write. With the pen being mightier than the sword, he set off to find his fame and fortune.

Whoooa, so what is this all about, an ant and the food bloggers. Well nothing of course but I remember as a young teenager my friends and I used to make these make believe stories about kingdoms far far away where we used to escape as the heroes of our wild imaginations. Those were the days where the worries of this world seemed so far away. And now dark grey clouds are threatening us on all sides. Where is the ray of sunshine to pierce the dark heaviness of my heart? Where is my saviour to rescue me from this world that looms all around me? My heart cries out!

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a fairy, hand in hand.
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

During lunch time, while strolling up to the canteen through the lovely gardens here at Mogale Business Park, I was wondering what photograph to shoot for today's blog. I have already taken most of the employees who work with me and taken many of the animals and plants surrounding my office. I was busy strolling through the wild grasses running my hands through the heads of seeds and then it hit me, this would make a fascinating photo. While my head was in the grass so to speak, I noticed the ant. Perfect, a bit small but just there where he is supposed to be. All in its rightful place and time. Now is the time that I need a good macro lens.

Arriving at the canteen later than I wanted to, I found Kabelo and Lawrence trying their hand at food pax shots. I remember my time working at the late David Bruan’s Photographic Studio doing pax shot after pax shot on the light table for many a clients. Memories from a distant season.

And there you have it my wild imagination, memories, an ant on a stalk of seed grass, and the two aspiring food bloggers.

For he comes, the human child to the waters and the wild with a fairy, hand in hand from a world more full of weeping than he can understand.

The Ambush of Lawrence

Lawrence, our videographer and photographer, just about always passes through our digital team on his way between his loft offices above us and the Imbizo. Most times he is carrying gear and sometimes like today he has a dance in his step. I have to be quick, I have to be nimble if I want to ambush Lawrence in the moment like today.

Fisheye Lawrence

Woza Friday! Woza Weekend!

Weekend is upon us and this long week behind, it is time to let down our hair and relax. Here is Lawrence looking into a fisheye lens and giving us his best smile.

Busting a Move

The sun was in the wrong position but I just had to grab the camera and snap as I saw Lawrence getting funky while he strolled past my window. Ahhh Mondays were we get down and bust the moves.

Hard at Worx

"Thank goodness, Monday is over", that is the words dripping off Lawrence’s lips as he shuffled in after a full day in the glorious first day of spring. Sunworx Solar is busy installing a photovoltaic solar system at a leading German motor manufacturing and our eKayaMedia photographic team was at hand to record the installation.

It is only the first day of spring and already the sun was hot hot hot, not to mentioning lugging all the camera equipment up to the installation site.

Lawrence of Bosasa

Lawrence has been with us for a few months now as a videographer in our upstairs studio and I am pleased that he is now permanent. A few weeks back my son Matthew was at Bosasa and I must say I was very impressed how he took Matthew under his wing to tutor him of what it is like to be a videographer.

Lawrence and Kabelo

With Nkokhelis’ Imbizo tomorrow, a lot of setup has still to be done. On my side, I have to setup a photographic studio in one of the side boardrooms’ off the banqueting hall. Now I am more of a street photographer with not much experience working in studios so here goes.

Thanks go to eKayaMedia for their studio lights and equipment. To Mark for the loan of his Speedlite 430X II and 580EX II. And not least, thanks to Lawrence and Kabelo, for assisting me in setting up plus they made perfect photographic subjects. Oh my studio photographs need much more work and are causing a stink, thanks Lawrence, but I am up to the challenge.

Lawrence

Thank goodness it is Friday yet again. What happened to the week? Oh yes I have been down with flu most of this week. Lawrence, my friend from Zimbabwe came over after work.

Uncle Bob

Lawrence came round to do some work but his home country, Zimbabwe, was foremost on his mind. The election results will be out tomorrow but in Lawrence’s heart he knows that Uncle Bob has cheated once again. I said cheer up and have another beer; we will go dancing in the streets when that Uncle Bob and his cronies have been ousted.

Lawrence

Monday morning rain, yes it is still raining. The rain along with the rolling blackouts is still with us. I am finishing up at African Defence Systems with just over a week to go. Lawrence came run on Sunday and this evening to help me with some code. Lawrence is from Harare in Zimbabwe and he is a very good coder. He is the expert in arrays. Even when he says "array", it comes out "errays" and you think he is saying "errors".

HR Department Induction Programme

Lawrence of Harare