What a honor and blessing it was to be able to spend some time with this beautiful family. Nadine has been a friend for quite a few years as we met each other at University in Stellenbosch. It has been awesome to reconnect, plus having the pleasure of meeting her husband, Ralph and adventurous boy, Kurt as well. After the Clarks moved from Grahamstown to Harrismith a few months ago, its been awesome knowing that they are closer and seeing them more often. The Clarks are expecting baby number two any day now and thought it good to take a few family snaps before they enter the next exciting season of parenthood, welcoming Kurt's brother.
Clarks, thank you so much for allowing me to spend some time with you and creating some memories. May God's peace and perfect love always rest on your house, and joy be overflowing as you guys keep trusting Him. Bless you. Hope you guys enjoy these.
0 Comments
I was so excited when I received an email from Caroline, about two weeks ago. They were visiting South Africa for two months, and decided on a last minute photo shoot in KZN before they head off to the UK again. I did a family shoot for this beautiful family in 2015 and its always such a blessing to receive returning clients. Those of us living in the KZN Midlands would know it was absolutely pouring with rain the last two weeks and last Sunday was the only time available to help them before they flew back. We were so blessed with awesome weather and some epic sceneries in this place I am privileged to call home.
Putting in a few hours to edit these images was honestly such a joy, seeing so much love and just realising how special and important family is. To the Welsh and Butt family, thank you so much for making me part of this memorable moment and season in your lives. You guys are amazing and I speak God's perfect love and peace over you and your family. It was so easy to take pictures of you guys and thanks for being awesome clients. Hope to see you guys again whenever you come for a visit. Many love and blessings. One of the many things I absolutely love about photography, is when you are in a situation to capture emotions where there is no posing, or even guidelines necessary, raw natural moments. Marce, asked me to do a very special photo shoot while she was waiting for Gideon to return from a three week work trip from Australia.
While Gideon was away she found out that she's expecting a baby. Instead of telling him over the phone, she decided to capture the moment and do a pregnancy reveal shoot. Not knowing how Gideon would react, I must admit I was a bit nervous. Marce, being the absolute beautiful, gentle person she is, definitely made the wait worth it, knowing her hubby and making it a very unique announcement. As seen on the photos, Gideon was shocked, emotional and just so overwhelmed by the good news. It was so special to be part of this moment and its definitely one of those photo shoots that I will always remember. I would just like to once again congratulate the Lubbe family. New life is awesome and we speak life and blessing over you guys in this very special season. Thank you so much for putting me in your trust and giving me the opportunity to photograph this beautiful moment. May God bless you and guide you always. Love the van Eedens In life, we get many opportunities to meet different people in different seasons of their lives. Currently, I am in the challenging and yet so special and rewarding season of having my own, two special toddlers. I am also in the privileged position of spending so much time with them, seeing them grow, learn and observing life, in so many special moments and ways...
On the 2nd of July 2016, my eldest (who were three months short of turning three at that time), broke the femur bone in his right leg. We really went through a challenging time as he could only lie on his back for six weeks, wearing a spica cast. Reason I am telling you this? After his cast was removed we thought it would be a good idea to start with swimming lessons to strengthen his leg. Thus, we started swimming lessons and met Jose and Tori de Almeida, who own and run the Aquamad Swim School in Howick. If you ever get the chance to meet Jose and Tori, you will understand why they use the hashtag #worldsmostpassionateswimmingteacher, on Facebook and Instagram, because that pretty much summarises why they do what they do. Not only do they make sure the children have a great time, but throughout the year they attend programmes, courses and seminars to stay up to date with the latest learning trends with children and swimming. They really go the extra mile in insuring your child either master the art of learning to swim, or swim correctly. Observing them in the pool over the last few weeks, has been such a pleasure. Using so many different techniques to make it fun and learn the right skills from a young age. They have different classes and ways of teaching for all the different age groups, starting from as young as three months of age. Water and swimming is often something people fear when it comes to their children, but Jose and Tori have a real special way of interacting with the children to make sure that they enjoy the water, learn about water safety and ultimately, either learn to swim on their own, or learn to swim correctly. They are definitely not people who do what they do for an income, but their passion really reflects in the way they handle each child enrolled to their programme. To all the moms and dads, thank you for allowing me to take some snaps of your beautiful children, unfortunately I wasn't able to post all the pictures, but feel free to contact me if you would like to see more. Jose and Tori, I would really like to thank you for allowing me to spend some time with you guys at your beautiful new home and pool. You guys are an inspiration and its always such a pleasure to take my son to swimming, knowing that he is in such good hands. May the Lord bless and prosper you guys as a family and business. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of the pictures. Love and blessings. Moving to Howick has certainly allowed us to meet awesome people. The Armstrong family is definitely on the list. Not only are they passionate about life and family but they are also people who will inspire you to think out of the box. The word 'entrepreneur' is just one of the many words that pop up when I think about them, as they are constantly tackling new ideas and concepts.
The latest addition to this beautiful family was added on the 5th of August 2017. Healthy and beautiful baby Nathan was born. It was such a blessing and honour to be able to take some pictures of this strong and healthy boy with his family. Nathan, we welcome and celebrate you into this world. May you always be rooted in God's faithfulness and love. Dale and Stacey, thank you for allowing me to share a little bit of this new and exciting season in your lives. You guys are a blessing and inspiration to many. Hope you guys enjoy these! I will never forget the first day we walked into our house after our son was born. That feeling of contentment, joy and overwhelming of the unknown that has become known. Holding your own child for the first time is definitely not something to be taken for granted and also such a honour and a feeling I can't really put into words. We took some time out to capture the essence of joy filling a house in the Hoffman family as they welcomed Jean-Luc into their lives.
Drikus and Leanne, you guys are such a blessing and inspiration to many, we know Jean-Luc is one lucky boy having you guys around him to love and nurture. May this season be full of abundance and peace. Jean-Luc is beautiful and I'm pretty sure that he will grow up to be a warrior and ambassador for Christ just like his parents. Thank you for allowing me to take pictures of this special season in your lives. Hope you guys enjoy these! I've had the privilege of visiting this beautiful park a few times in my life. For some people its a foreign name and it's as if you are speaking Khoi-San when you mention it. For others, you know you have to book at least a year in advance to be able to make a booking and visit the specific spots or camps you are dreaming of, (if you are lucky enough to phone in time). Our family went for another amazing visit in April 2017. Having toddlers and babies in the mix we thought it well to spend five nights at Tweerivieren with our parents, and from there we went to Nossob for three nights with friends.
I'm pretty sure we had some giggles and strange looks from people probably thinking we are brave to bring the little ones along, since the Kgalagadi's not quite as kiddie friendly as the Kruger Park. So, the big question is, will we do it again with toddlers? Yes we will. Although the driving was really challenging and the picnic spots are quite a drive away, we did manage to make it back sane, and the kids absolutely loved it. We were privileged enough to have all the cats right next to the car, which made such a big impression on all the kids. Growing up in a family where doing trips like these in National Parks happened at least every second year, we only saw a leopard once in the 20 years of travelling. This April, we were however really blessed to see two leopards. Those who were there in April will also know about the beautiful Puleng doing her rounds around Rooiputs. Then, we also had a very unexpected surprise from Namabis while driving home from Nossob, last day in the park, just before Jan se draai. These Leopards have been named by the Kgalagadi Leopard Project. Both Puleng and Namabis were right next to the car and both times the DSLR was packed away in the canopy, you can just imagine the feeling a photographer must feel wanting to capture this moment and no camera, what a rookie error... Wow, we had such an amazing time and wish we could pack and go again tomorrow. For those reading this post and not been there yet, definitely a must do. To all the Kgalagadi fans, thought I would share our lovely holiday with you. Thanks for an awesome time Viljoen family, and our friends the Wieses, all the way from Upington. Really hope we can do this again soon and enjoy God's creation together as friends and family. Lastly, I want to thank and give credit to my wonderful husband, Petrus who also took many of the photos as I can unfortunately not take all the credit on this one... to our next trip in the Kalahari... After moving to KZN in 2014, we as a family have done a lot of driving around to explore the beautiful midlands and what the area has to offer. The Gourmet Greek has just been one of those names that we knew of, but for some reason never made any effort to try and visit the farm, or see what exactly they are about. So, it happened that a few weeks ago we decided to make a visit. To our very pleasant surprise we found a little gem hidden on a dirt road between a few lush midlands hills. The Gourmet Greek, probably well known for their exquisite double cream yogurt and artisan cheese also recently opened a very down to earth and cosy deli named, The Blue Cow Deli.
Dimitri and Rosemary Dimitriades met in the mid 1970's on the KZN North Coast. They got married and Rosemary found herself in Greece, having to learn and adapt in a new country and culture. Four children and eighteen years later, Dimitri decided that due to circumstances they will be moving to South Africa where they started a very successful sugar cane farm. In 2010, after selling their sugar cane farm to retire, it only took Dimitri six months to realize he's not ready for retirement. Thus, The Gourmet Greek was born. Dimitri and Rosemary started making yogurt and cheese using trusted Greek methods and recipes and today The Gourmet Greek has grown to a very successful business. I am sure any entrepreneur would be eager to know their secret to building business, but from the little I've seen spending a few days with this precious family, I can surely tell that its not all been given to them on a silver platter. Many hours and hard work, as well as family working together is only parts of what has brought them where they are today. Petrus and I have had the priviledge to go to Switzerland on an outreach back in 2012 and since a few weeks ago I was convinced that no cheese in South Africa will be able to come close to that standard. I was wrong, tasting their cheese I can honestly say that the standard is on the same level as cheese makers abroad. Daughter Filia is responsible for these and its truely 'handmade with love'. The yogurt isn't called double cream, strained for no reason. In my opinion no yogurt you buy off the shelf can come close to this quality, believe me, you will be pleasantly surprised. The blue cow Deli opened towards the end of last year. This warm hearted delicatessen serves delicious meals, all prepared with love and goodness. If you haven't been there, do yourself a favour and stop for a coffee, breakfast or even lunch. Iakovos, son of Dimitri is the one driving the Deli as well as numerous other sides of the business. He will be too glad to welcome you at this beautiful spot. Oh, and don't forget to bring the kids or grand children as they are also geared to cater for them and keep them entertained with a play area while you sip on your cuppacino. Herewith some shots of The Gourmet Greeks products, the Deli and what they have to offer, as well as some pictures of this beautiful family. To the Dimitriades family. I would like to thank you for your generosity and allowing me to do this photo shoot for you guys. May your family and business prosper and people really feel the warmth we have felt visiting your farm and business. Hope you guys enjoy these. Blessings. Out of experience I know that building your own business is surely not easy and comes with many hours and years of dedication. Nuts about Books and Toys is probably one of the more well known shops on the Midlands Meander in Howick. Lorraine Rogers, owner of this little gem of a shop is one of those people who just knows how to run a business and go the extra mile and thus (in my opinion) one of the many reasons for the success of her business. I spent a hour in this shop two weeks ago to document a few moments of a typical Saturday morning inside this shop. Lorraine started her business in 2008 and end of last year they moved to 3 on Mare, opposite the beautiful Yard 41 in Howick. Having kids of my own and often needing either a gift for the kids or maybe even a friend its really great to know I don't need to drive all the way to Pietermaritzburg to buy toys or books for my kids.
I've been in numerous toy stores in my life but Nuts about Books and Toys is definitely worth a visit, especially since they also stock some of the more out of the ordinary toys and gifts. Lorraine, thank you for allowing me to capture some moments and some of the awesome stock in your shop, your years of hard work is really reflecting through this beautiful business. If you haven't been there, do yourself a favour and pop in soon. Hope you guys enjoy these! I really feel honored to have been able to meet these special people. Richard and Diana are based in Pretoria and decided to have their wedding celebration in Pennington, South Coast. It was an awesome day and the soft light and cloudy weather really made these pictures memorable. Petrus, my husband and assistant and I really loved spending time with this awesome family. Guys, may you move mountains together and always be such open hearted people. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your day. May you be blessed always! Love the van Eedens.
|
about me
I'm a passionate photographer based in the KZN Midlands - enjoying life to the full and spending time with my awesome family and friends... photo credit: www.peartree.co.za
archives
May 2021
categories
All
|