I think this is a bee of some kind. I’m not sure how many South Africans realise we have many different kinds of bees besides honey bees.

Doing a bit of close-up photography with flash for the first time really. I had more ambitious plans which fell apart but this on-camera flash with a tiny soft box was actually a great introduction. ISO and aperture darkened the ambient light so that the flash did most of the work isolating these flowers against darkness. Kirstenbosch naturally an ideal place to experiment.

Lovely morning at Intaka Island with my dad and my dear cousin @joydemillar Waiting proved worthwhile and this living jewel of South Africa’s rivers and lakes eventually settled close enough. It had a ring on its tiny leg. These little Malachite Kingfishers are about the size of a large hen’s egg. This one is, I think, a sub-adult with traces of black still on its bill.

A couple more from Kirstenbosch the other day. This rather riotous thing is Crassula cochinea my dad tells me.

I overcame my trepidation and found the path up from the Blockhouse to the scout hut - most of the way to the top. I got lost and got my legs scratched up a few times. The route is very poorly marked. I can’t help thinking without other information that rescue services could save a ton of money by simply putting good markers and clear information on the paths. Anyway. Now I’ve found the path I can extend my route even to Maclear’s Beacon - the highest point on our modest little mountain.

Lots of drama on the mountain today. A big fire was raging above Kirstenbosch seemingly. Throughout my extended hike the Apocalypse Now thudding of Hugheys flying constant relays to dump water on the fire. Pic 2 shows what it looked like when I first started my walk. It’s much reduced now but I still hear the helicopters from home. @johnthevudio is hard at work on the fire line I believe.

The Khaya tree in Kirstenbosch is one of my favourites. I’d love to see them wild one day in Central Africa… if there are any left. On a related note the back and neck of my favourite guitar is made from this, marketed as “African Mahogany” due to the close similarity of the wood to the true mahoganies of the Americas - now under heavy restrictions due to overharvesting.

More ambling around Kirstenbosch taking pictures with the old man. I thought not bringing my bird photography rig would have brought out the Orange-Breasted Sunbirds. There were certainly plenty of their favourite ericas in bloom. But not a feather was to be seen. Still a lovely morning out though.

Got up early this morning and did my blockhouse walk. Just took my phone to compare to the canon s95 digicam. The phone is definitely better. Better detail. Better colour. Easier to carry. And this is a 2020 iPhone SE - not regarded as a photographic powerhouse. I’m a huge fan of cameras over phones but I don’t think a camera with a tiny phone-sized sensor really has any advantage. The real benefit of cameras is their much larger sensors and the creative control that goes with them. Digicams are just vibes.

Trying to get some examples of pics that the digicam can do better than a phone. I was up the mountain again on Saturday morning. I’ve seen some cunning designs for telephoto lenses for phones using a mirror or prism so they can run lengthwise down the phone body. But at present telephotography on phones is minimal. Still. With a similar sized sensor, a digicam photo just has a busy crowded feeling compared to the crispness of a bigger sensor like even a micro 4/3 camera.