Mandela Day

Today South African's remember and honour the life and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, former freedom fighter and president of the country. He spent his life fighting for rights and equality of blacks in South Africa and eventually achieved this by abolishing Apartheid and ascending to presidency in 1994.

This photo was taken at what is known as the 'capture sight'. After many years of running from the authorities Mandela was eventually caught at this spot just outside Howick in what was then the province of Natal. In 2012 this magnificent steel sculpture was designed and constructed by Marco Cianfanelli in memory of fifty years of his arrest. It is a super cool sculpture that just looks like a bunch of random steel pillars until you stand in a certain spot where his profile becomes visible.

Nelson Mandela Sculpture

Jozi Rising

I really really love the effect of these photos turned in paintings. This is one of my favourites.
I wrote about this a couple of months ago. I use Topaz Simplify to create these stunning painting-like pictures. I find with certain circumstances it can change an already lovely picture into something very special.

I shot this one on the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg. It was a beautiful morning with the most gorgeous clouds. Fortunately the traffic was quite (being a Saturday morning), so I could jump in the middle of the road for a few moments while I captured this beautiful scene.

Nelson Mandela Bridge

Nelson Mandela Sculpture

Today I visited the Nelson Mandela Capture Site just outside Howick, South Africa.
Other than the museum depicting Madiba's extraordinary life, the site has this amazing sculptor of the face of Mandela. You have to stand at a specific point to see his face, otherwise it just looks like a bunch of random poles. But what an amazing piece of art!!!