LA-Photography

Lauren Mitchell is a twenty-year-old photographer from Pretoria where she is currently studying at The Open Window School of Visual Communication.

I can't say that I stumbled on her photography, as I have known Lauren for a couple of years but after walking myself through her photography on Facebook, I asked her to take photo's of a group of friends and myself for my Matric Dance. From then until now, I have easily been swept up in the beauty and talent which is laid down in her photography.

I'm in love with her work and I just had to share it. I love it even more for the fact that it is purely South African.

My Matric Dance

A 21st Birthday Shoot

Another Matric Dance

Various Other Shoots

I was dying to pick Lauren's brains a bit and so I asked her why she loves photography and at the same time, what her vision is as a photographer. This was her answer:

Well, I'm really blind. I literally can't see past a meter in front of me but when I look through the lens I can see perfectly. It's just weird that someone so blind is so passionate about something so visual. Everybody these days with an SLR camera is a photographer, but it's not about the beauty of a photo, it's the communication of it. A photo must say something. Good photography doesn't need to be explained, it can be understood through silence. It's more difficult than it sounds, but once you understand it, it just gets better from there.

For anyone that is wondering, Lauren uses a Nikon D5100. You can find her LA-Photography Facebook page by clicking here.

Sharing South Africa

Most of the blogs I read are written by women who live in Europe or America.  No one lives in Africa. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right place - not that it's an issue at all.

I know that there are a lot of misguided views about Africa, and even South Africa. People think we live in huts and ride elephants to school (seriously - friends of mine have been asked this while overseas) and it always makes me laugh. Even living in South Africa, some of my friends have asked where we got our food in Zimbabwe, or if white people live there (from the shops, and yes they do). During the FIFA World Cup 2010, many foreigners did not want to visit South Africa because of the high crime rate and everyone thought we could not do it - we could not host a successful world cup. Guess what? That month was one of the best months of my life. After the month ended, everyone took back their previous comments and congratulated us on an outstanding effort.

If you've never visited Africa, or South Africa, before, you won't truly understand how beautiful it is. There is no place like home. Whenever I am in Europe, I miss Africa. I miss the openness. I miss home. I have friends who aren't from South Africa but have lived here for a number of years, and moving back to Europe, they always talk about how much they miss South Africa, and I don't blame them.

I now turn to you and ask - what is it that you wonder about South Africa? What do you want to know? If you had to visit my country (for the first time or even the sixth time) - which cities would you visit? What sites would you see? What stories have you heard about my country - perhaps ones that seem misguided? When you think of South Africa, what stands out for you? What sites would you see? What would you try out? What can you do here that you can't do anywhere else in the world? Even if you are from South Africa, what things do you wish you did more of? I know that living here, I don't take as much advantage of this country as I could. When said European friends visit South Africa, we always do so much more with them and see so much more of this country than we ever do on our own. It's terrible.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in order for me to show you what a beautiful country I live in. I'd love to show it off and at the same time, give you what you want. There is so much to know about the world and doing my part by providing that much more knowledge on South Africa would be a pleasure.

P.S. My photo's are taking way too long to download, so that's all I'll be putting up for now. Also, I know both are from Cape Town but do you know what it's like to be in love with a city?

The Last Stretch

It's been a crazy couple of weeks.

There was Matric Dance (a disappointment, in my opinion. Perhaps if we hadn't been so late we would have been able to appreciate more of it. By the time we arrvied, everyone was already eating their starters. Apparently we also missed the letting-go of balloons, although here is no photographic evidence of such an event, so there remains a missing link...)

Always on my mind and in my heart.

I have dangerous love for this girl.

I love each and every one of these girls with my heart
and soul.

Paragliding in Cape Town.

A new camera (thanks dad).

Arts on Main

Blue Jean and T-shirt signing day at school

Tangaroa Strawberry Farm

Cocktails. (Life is hard, huh?)

Our last day of school - we come dressed up in our
preparatory uniforms.

Final assembly. The exec (leading student body at school)
sang and danced to Gangnam Style.

Matric breakfast.

Matric braai.

The last four pictures were all from yesterday - it was honestly one of the best days of my life. The assembly was amazing and trust me, usually the matric assemblies aren't. Usually they are rushed, unorganized and as a whole, not very good. I am not being biased, but our assembly was a huge success. It was funny, talented, organised and emotional. It included everything. I am really proud of this grade and I love them with my whole heart. These are the kids I have grown up with since I moved to South Africa in 2004. I have a hard-drive full of old pictures of us looking awkward and gawky - in the stages of growing up. I have tons of pictures of us now, grown-up and self-assured. These are the kids I have spent every day with for the past eight years of my life. I will never forget them. I have shared the happiness memories with him. I am going to miss them like crazy.

Another big thing that has happened recently was the break-up between Johnathan and I. It was tough, but it was necessary. I'm finding happiness in other things and it is, surprisingly, easier than I thought it would be. That's probably because my day-to-day life hasn't changed - I never used to see him because of the distance, and I still don't. The only thing that has changed is that we don't talk. I love him. I will always love him. I have never shared so much of my life with one person, and I probably won't for a long time. I'm ready to make the next few years about myself - to love and respect myself and to find myself in all sorts of unfamiliar places. Perhaps if the future is kind, I can continue sharing my life with him. I don't have any expectations. I have hopes and thoughts, certainly, but no expectations. I am luck to be someone who has always found it easy to be happy - I don't know why. I am probably one of the most positive people you will ever know. For now I am grateful to have shared a part of my life with someone that made me grow so much and gave me so many new views on life. He challenged me on a daily basis. If you're reading this baby (for not feeling comfortable in calling you anything else), I love you. I hope you are smiling.

I wrote more than I thought I would. I expected this to be a very rushed post because I have my Valediction tonight (my South African graduation) - in forty-five minutes actually.

Mom and Dad leave to Zimbabwe tomorrow. Mom comes back on Sunday and so my sister and I are alone for a few days. I shouldn't be excited to say this, and I'm not proud of it either, but I'm so undomesticated - I can't emphasise that enough. In Cape Town I had to go buy socks and I ended up coming home empty-handed because like... where do you buy socks? I can't grocery shop either. I'm lazy to make food for myself. I have no motivation to study for finals which start in six days. This is going to be a fun few days. I don't doubt I'll be blogging when I'm avoiding studying to fill you in on the chaos that has reigned in the O'Neill household.

Wish me luck!

I am nothing special of this, I am sure. I am just a common man with common thoughts. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But I've loved another will all my heart and soul, and to me, that has always been enough.

- Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

and because I have a few different emotions towards this post...

You do not need to be loved - not at the cost of yourself. The single relationship that is truly central and crucial in life is the relationship with the self. Of all the people you will know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will ever lose.

- Jo Coudert

and one more...

Did you say it? "I love you. I don't ever want to live without you. You changed my life." Did you say it? Make a plan. Set a goal. Work towards it. But every now and then, look around, drink it in 'cos this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow.

- Greys Anatomy

The first three photo's were taken by Lauren Mitchell. She takes the most stunning photo's. I'm in love with them. You can find her Facebook page here.