Paintball

Paintball is awesome but paintball at an abandoned convent ruin is just way better! Chade Schnepel kindly invited me to come and photograph a game of paintball at the Izeli Convent ruins located just outside of King Williams Town in January. So a big thanks to Chade and his friends! I hope you like the photos!

The still of life

Last term my photojourn 4 class was working mostly in the studio in order to learn how to work in a completely controlled environment. Our studio work was divided into two section. They were studio portraits and studio still life. Now portraits were no problem and loads of fun as you could interact with your subject, put them at ease and try and get different shots. Still life on the other hand was well .... very still! What can I say? I was not inspired at all. I mean yes there is the challenge of dramatic lightning or finding the perfect lightning to suit the object being used but I found that I really missed having an actual subject in the studio.
But as we all know you live, you fail, you learn and you do better the next time. So I put my differences with still life aside and threw myself into the project.

I will let you all be the judge of whether they are any good. I was not unhappy with them in the end and found that in a way I did enjoy photographing a subject that listened completely me :)

A small wooden mannequin possessively holds his Hunter's Extra Dry in studio, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 29 March 2011. (Tarryn Liddell)

Lucky beans from a Erythrina tree and coffee beans lie in a pile on a wooden table in studio, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 23 March 2011. (Tarryn Liddell). 

Condensation drips down an ice cold Hunter’s Extra Dry in studio, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 28 March 2011. Hunter's Gold was launched in 1988 as one of the first alternatives to beer within the South African liquor market. Ten years later Hunter's Dry was launched (Tarryn Liddell).

A small wooden mannequin poses with his paintbrush in studio, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 28 March 2011. (Tarryn Liddell)

A quick succession of bubbles flow in studio, Grahamstown. Eastern Cape, South Africa, 1 March 2011 (Tarryn Liddell).

The Casablanca lily (more properly known as Lily ‘Casa Blanca’) is an oriental lily and is one of the most popular in this class. Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 February 2011.  It is generally accepted that the meaning of this lily is celebration.

A high key studio photo of a Barberton Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii), Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 February 2011. (Tarryn Liddell)

Two lemons, a tambourine and a roll of film

Venturing into the studio with Karin Reum is like following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole. You truly have no clue where you will end up. 


It all began with an empty studio space. This space provides an isolated area in which both photographer and subject can experiment with ideas of identity, expression and how we construct meaning through images. It is a space that according to David Campany is a mixture of a stage and a confessional where you are free to express and act our your desires and fantasies. It can be the stage for a simple idea or elaborate plans.


In the case of Karin it provided a perfectly lit stage on which she could bring her many 'selfs' out to play. A drama student at Rhodes University Karin is no stranger to the stage and feels comfortable immediately in front of the camera. In fact it was like I was not even there. 


Describing herself as:
'Yoga, orange trees, crispy green lettuce, the booty hop,muesli, worry, kindness, number 11, timtams humanity, habitat, squirrles,friends, marshmallows, laughing, talking to myself, slippers,fruit, wearing slippers to the shops, blue cheese, pictionary, music, whiskey and soda, visionary, loyal, curvy, loving,OCD, honest, sunrise, mail,, eat/pray/love, roadtripping, europe, family and speckled eggs!'


you can maybe then understand the diverse range of photographs that we managed to get in the short studio session that we had. 

Extreme Sport

Sports photography has always been an area of interest for me ever since I first flipped through the pages of an Olympic Games photography book and saw how you can capture moments that are so fluid and expressive using the human body as your tool. There is just something about sports and the people that participate especially on a professional level that humbles and impresses me immensely. 

So as you can then imagine I am always on the look out for a different sport to try my hand at photographing. Thanks to the amazing Kyle Robinson and Brad Janssen I got to take my first ever kitesurfing photos a few weeks ago. Now these two young gentlemen are both studying for a BJourn with me but they are also very (and I do stress the very) keen kitesurfers. Escaping Grahamstown on a regular basis for the beach is a popular hobby for the two of them and let's just says that for their degrees' sake it is good that Grahamstown isn't right on the coast. 

But I will say that they have opened my eyes to this awesome sport! It is an adventure surface water sport that many describe as a combination of wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing and para-gliding all in one adrenalin packed extreme sport. Not only is it a spectacular photographic opportunity as the kitesufers are able to come very close to the shore but it which looks like so much fun!! And this is coming from someone who is not a huge fan of swimming far out in the sea ever since the release of Jaws . 

So without further delay here are some of my favourite photos from the kitesurfing session at Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Thanks again to all the kitesurfers especially Kyle and Brad! Next time I will get even better photos! And of course a big thanks to Chwayitisa Nandisa Futshane for keeping me company on the beach.

Kitesurfers prepare there kites for a session at Cannon Rocks, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell.  

Kyle Robinson holds the control bar with one hand during this move at Cannon Rocks at popular spot for Kitesufers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell. 

A local kite surfer shows off his tricks at Cannon Rocks, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011 © Tarryn Liddell. 

Brad Janssen propels forward at Cannon Rocks, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell .

Brad Janssen rests on the beach at Cannon Rocks after a three hour kitesurfing session, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell

Brad Janssen stabilises himself on the sand in order to maintain control of his kite at Cannon Rocks, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell.  

Kyle Robinson takes off on a jump at Cannon Rocks, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 24 March 2011, © Tarryn Liddell .