We normally enjoy at least a cup of coffee on our outside patio in the mornings. There used to be much more activity in the past when we had a bird feeder that we filled with wild bird seed, but the guinea fowl and turtle dove and rock pigeon domination put an end to that. We now just have a mild sugar-sweetened water feeder. And this does a suitable job of drawing in the performing actors.
Here are a few of the visitors we have:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November was the last monthly competition for 2025. The Set Subject was "The colour orange". All scores listed below are out of a total of 15.
I submitted three entries into the Set Subject section, and 1 into the Open section,
Of the three images submitted into Set Subject, the one on the right was my favourite - a simple table top presentation. The judge scored the image 12 (a Gold award), but felt that the orange was too large and dominant in the arrangement. As you might guess, I felt differently, and had specifically left the orange that size so that the eye had a focal point to return to after looking at the rest of the image. The arrangement was done on our kitchen work surface. The pansy and tecoma flowers were from the garden, while the rose was part of a purchased bunch. I particularly like the texture differences, with the soft flower petals contrasting nicely with the harshness of the orange and naartjie peel. Score: 12 (Gold award) |
|
|
Just a fun minimalistic image that I've wanted to do for some time, originally with a normal white ball, but the orange one works just as well. The judge didn't like the sun spots on the ball. I removed them after the meeting to see whether it would improve the image, and in the end think it's a matter of personal taste. But I should probably have removed them before submitting. Score: 11 (Silver award) |
| The final Set Subject image was a street photography shot taken at a Japan Day Festival held in Stellenbosch. Not the most exciting image, but it showed the mood on the day. The judge thought there was too much clutter, and that maybe a crop would have helped, but I had tried that before posting and it spoilt the message, so decided to post it as is. Score: 11 (Silver award) |
|
 |
| Construction status at 6 December 2025 |
October was the first month of the Tygerberg Photographic Society's new photographic and financial year. My intention is to record via Blog posts each month, some information on my entries for each of the monthly competitions for the new year. All scores shown are out of 15. Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.
For October 2025, 3 entries were submitted for the Set Subject category, and 1 for Open.
 |
This image was taken in November 2024, during an organised TPS outing at the Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West. Lens used was the Fuji 100ml macro, with settings of f22, ISO 800, and 1/120sec. 14/15 (Gold rating), and runner up in the category. Judge mentioned she would have awarded 15/15 if the top left and bottom right had been darkened to accentuate the subject. |
|
Also taken during a TPS formal outing on a Sunday morning at the Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West, but this time in September 2025. Lens used was the Fuji 100ml macro, with settings of f14, ISO 1250, and 1/120sec. Judge's comments were that there was not really a good focal point, and a cropping at the bottom would have improved the image. 11/15 (Silver award)
|
|
 |
Taken at the same outing as the image immediately above. This one also being lichen, just a different variety, and much more ominous-looking than the previous one. Lens used was the Fuji 100ml macro, with settings of f16, ISO 2000, and 1/120sec. Judge liked the image. 12/15 (Gold award) |
|
A composite image. The biker was taken at the Zone 7 Speedspot in October 2014. The camera used was the Canon 6D with the 24-105mm lens, with settings of f5.6, ISO 100, and 1/1000sec. The background was created from a photo taken of a sunset at Melkbosstrand in July 2008, duly blurred and filters applied to achieve the desired result. Judge liked the photo but warned of blown-out areas on the biker, though after checking I found these to be acceptable. 12/15 (Gold award)
|
|
Thanks to the fabulous Slickpic Team (the team@slickpic.com) I finally have a website, where I can share some of my favourite photographs with family, friends, and anyone who may be interested.
You can access the site here: https://robminter.slickpic.site, or via the Portfolio link above.
As an added and totally unexpected bonus, I received an email from them with their latest "Photography News", dated November 10, 2025. Here is an extract from the newsletter:
On Sunday afternoon, March 5, 2023, I received an email informing me that my application for the Associate Photographic Society of South Africa honour, APSSA, was successful!
This after a terrible attempt about 3 years ago, when I really had no idea of the quality expected, an attempt in July last year, and finally this attempt in January 2023. Of the 15 images submitted in July last year, 9 received acceptances, and these acceptances stay valid for a period of 2 years. So I had to find or take 6 new images that would blend into the panel and get them accepted. Thankfully this last attempt succeeded.
There is a panel of 12 judges who sit and evaluate one's images. In order for an image to gain acceptance, at least 8 of the 12 judges have to rate it as being to the required level. This applies to every image in the panel of 15 submitted. On top of it all, the total panel has to be in harmony and flow smoothly when the images are viewed one after the other and as a panel as a whole! So it's not easy, but very rewarding when it happens.
I have a number of people to thank for helping along the way, especially Evelyn Gibson, Kim Stevens, and Nicol du Toit - these three were the leaders of an "Honours" group in the Western Cape for the July submissions, and finally to Jill Sneesby, for her invaluable insight into the selection of the final 6 images.
My successful panel can be viewed here.
 |
| Early morning view from the patio |
I recently celebrated my 75th Birthday. My lovely wife, Jacqui, treated us to 3 nights away at what has turned out to be our favourite place away from home - Cottage No 2 at Bon Accord Farm Cottages in Montagu.
It was as, if not more, beautiful as our first visit earlier this year - which you can read about here! This time, however, the effect of the recent rains can be seen from comparing the two main photographs.
This visit we spent most of our time in and around Montagu, except for a short trip out to Barrydale - 62 kilometres away along the R62! I will shortly do a separate blog post on our visit there - we had a specific destination, and spent most of our time there - a fascinating place!
An added bonus for us was that this time we got to meet Elsje, the owner and manager of all the cottages, and she treated us to a delightful extra large bowl of her Mom's home-made soup and a fresh loaf of bread. Totally appreciated and a great help in combatting the cold weather!
Most of the birds that visited were the same as last time, but we did have a visit from a bokmakierie (photo below), whose distinctive call could be heard from a long way away, plus a green sunbird (also below).
Otherwise, here are just a few views of the farm and surrounds to end off with. The photo showing the moon was taken on the Saturday morning after the recent blood moon. The third photo shows a small section of the tango (a late-harvested seedless mandarin) fruit trees, while the colourful vygies just show a very small section of the plants that greet one upon entering the farm.
 |
As part of our annual break, we spent 3 days in Montagu. As is normal when we go away, I used https://www.safarinow.com/ to find suitable accommodation, and went through a large number of possible places to stay. Our normal preference is for a self-catering unit with wi-fi, a shower, and, especially, either a king-sized bed or two single beds.
While it might sound simple, the places available fulfilling these three requirements are few and far between, but at least Safarinow supplies really good descriptions of the properties and what they offer, whereas their competition normally falls short on detailed information.
We decided on a place that we hadn't heard of before. It looked and sounded great, and one of the three cottages at Bon Accord Farm Cottages was the final choice. And that was the best decision we've made in a long time!
We chose Cottage No 2, and it turned out to be where the owners' first lived when they came to the farm. It was beautifully equipped, with everything one could ask for. The photo below shows the living area as one walks through the front door. The patio outside is huge, running the full length of the cottage, with a braai place and complimentary bag of wood and firelighters ready and waiting. The photo at the top of this post shows the magical view from the patio, though it doesn't quite do it justice!
I have not included photos of the rest of the inside, but there are two bedroom with en-suite bathrooms (one full and one with shower only). The main bedroom features a queen-sized bed, and the smaller bedroom two single beds. All are equipped with electric blankets.
I can honestly say that it is the best accommodation we have experienced during the many years that we have travelled locally on holiday. Most of all, I have never felt as relaxed and peaceful as I did during this particular stay.There are a few landing spots right in front of the patio for the birds that frequent the farm to perch, and shown below is just a few of the birds that visited while we were outside enjoying the serenity.
The idea for the photo started with all the talk and excitement regarding the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine into South Africa. One couldn't escape from all the news about it - with not all the reporting being positive. During the same period I came across a photo of candles that had been lit for people who had died after contracting the virus and wondered whether the whole situation could be captured in a single photograph.
It took a while for me to get the concept together. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, and once I had the picture in my head, it was fairly straightforward from there. First thing was to get all the pieces together, and after unsuccessfully asking a few friends if they had an old-fashioned candlestick holder that I could borrow, eventually put a query on the Facebook Somerset West Community page for one. I had a few responses, and the one in the photo was my favourite. It turned out the lady had no use for the set of two anymore, so gave them to me.
I decided on the large black background to represent the huge amount of darkness that the virus had caused, from things like loss of freedom and jobs, to, of course, lives. I thought about which colour the vaccine should be, and while this represented the "hope" side of the equation, I chose to make it red to indicate caution, as there was still a huge amount of discussion and argument around whether the vaccine would work or not.
I had the syringe from a previous shoot when I was working with some water droplets, but getting the flame proved a little more difficult. I tried copying and pasting from flames from matches, etc., but they didn't work that well, so in the end my wife used a chef's blowtorch to heat up the end of the needle until it got red hot and looked like a flame.
Camera and settings:
Camera: Fujifilm X-T4
Lens: Fuji XF 35mm F2 R WR
Exposure program: Manual
Exposure: 1,5 sec at f/5.6
ISO: 160
Please click on the photo to bring up a higher quality version.
 |
| View from the dam on the reserve |
Total cost for our one-time visit, 2 pensioners plus one car, was the princely sum of R45 (R15 each)! For those who might be interested, annual memberships are very reasonable at R140 per annum for ordinary members, and R80 per annum for the over-sixties.
Both Jacqui and I are very unfit, and so we decided to start off with what is the shortest trail. It is the "Sugarbird walk" and is supposed to be just under 3 kilometres long. Ya well no fine, if they say so, but I can tell you that it felt more like 10 kilometres! From the parking area it was a steady but gentle climb to to top, and then happily downhill all the way back!
Then again, I can't swear to it that what we did was the Sugarbird walk. The paths are not nearly as well-marked as we expected them to be, and so there were times when we chose a path more by instinct than anything else. Maybe we missed a turn or something, so next time we will definitely spend some time asking questions at the Information office before we set off.
And we will be back, even though it took me about three days to get rid of the stiffness so that I could walk normally again! It was lovely being out in the fresh air and being surrounded by the natural and diverse vegetation that Cape Town with which is blessed.
To end off, some photographs taken along our walk.
 |
After two days of fairly consistent downpours resulting in just over 75mm of rain, we woke to a very cold morning with lots of snow around. There was even a sprinkling of snow on one of the really low mountain peaks close to us - this shot taken from our patio. First time in four years that snow has hit this peak!
So we set off early to see if we could find some decent falls. And what a correct decision that was! Straight onto the N2, over Sir Lowry's Pass, and as we took the turnoff to Grabouw, we were treated to the following sight, and knew it was going to be a good morning:
A short while further along the road to Theewaterskloof, we stopped for the next shot.
As we reached the first proper sighting of Theewaterskloof, I took the panoramic image that starts this post, plus the following to show just how far down the mountain the snow had fallen.
