Here are some of the pictures to wet you apatite, stay tuned for some more of what we got up too on the day…
PS. A big THANK YOU to Noeraan Daniels of NPA with whom we arranged to do the shoot!



Day 1
We arrived on the farm just outside Montagu late on a Thursday evening. After unpacking we made a fire and gazed at the stars while enjoying a few cold beers. We decided that experimenting with exposures for our planned star trails is a good idea.
This was where we learned lesson #1: Have an equipment check-list!
We had our tripod, but no mount plate and shooting long exposure without a tripod does not work.
We were worried for about 10 minutes… then we just laughed at ourselves and MacGyver’ed a solution.
Anything can be solved with a little grey matter…
Day 2
We drove around Montagu’s back roads scouting for a few locations. We saw a couple of good spots and took some reference shots so we can discus them later.
Evening came and it was time to do the star trails with the subject in frame.
HOW TO…
We had 2 speedlights left and right from camera at 45 degrees. We lit the barn with a separate handheld 580 (this being a 2 ½ hour exposure we had all the time we needed to light it.)
Day 3
We were up EARLY… I was up before sunrise for the first time in about a year! (I’m not a morning person!)
The previous day we arranged to have the gates to Poortjieskloof dam opened at 06:30 so that we could be set up and ready to shoot at sunrise.
We picked a nice location the previous day while scouting and we had to drive on the edge of the dam to the specific spot.
HOW TO …
It was with this shot that we learned our 2nd and 3rd important lessons.
Lesson #2: Don’t drive into a dam… cars tend to get stuck! Even Bakkies
Lesson #3: Don’t drive around without recovery equipment!
We had no choice, the only option left: we had to do what every man never wants to do… We had to phone for help!
We also had some interesting visitors…
Day 4
Sunday morning we did our last shot.
HOW TO…
We had 2x 580’s left and right from the camera at 45 degrees. Another 580 at the back to put some detail into the roof of the barn and a 4th light, a 430, at the front left to light the tire. We did not need a 5th flash for the right tyre because we had sunlight filtering in from that side to give some detail.
I became a photographer while I was travelling in the
It took time, but it was the best time of my life. My second camera was a Sony Cybershot F717. I made few upgrades as time went by and I learned more. The Canon EOS 10D was next on my list and now I was in the DSLR market.
The first picture I sold was of Jennifer Ellison taken with the 10D. She was not very famous, but famous enough to sell. From there onward I took pictures of celebrities on a regular basis, and in
Most of the time you will have at least a couple of other pap's (paparazzi) on the same job. Everyone knew one another, but when you saw a celeb you were enemies. All of us fought for a picture and the quickest and luckiest got the best. Sometimes you have to make your luck and sometimes even luck does not give you a picture.
I started to miss images because of the speed of the EOS 10D, so I decided to splash out and buy the Canon EOS 1DM2. The 8.2 frames per second was definitely what I needed. What a camera!!!
In the paparazzi industry speed is everything. You need to be quick to get the shots and you need to get your images to the agency faster. The quicker they get the frames the better your chances are of making some sales. After that I worked for a newspaper as a press photographer. That lasted for almost 2 years.
I decided to start my own business and January 2008 Front Row Image was started. A partnership between 2 photographers who believe they can change the world, one image at a time.
My name is Pieter and I am a Professional Photographer. What do you do for a living?