For me on the other hand, 2011 has been an amazing year. Professionally things have taken off in a big way! All my years of hard work has slowly started paying off and I’ve certainly laid the foundation for 2012 to be an even greater year!

Thank you to everyone for your ardent support, your comments, likes, shares and clicks. Thanks to clients for your time, effort and inspiring ideas. Thanks to the designers for making beautiful things for us to shoot and for making them available to us. And thank you to the talented creatives that I got to work with this year: art directors, stylists, editors, hairstylists, makeup artists, assistants and interns, without you this world would be bland and boring as anything.

Oh, and Thank you ZARA for ruining my savings potential.

I’ve created a 2011 highlights roundup of my favourite projects for you to enjoy. As always, your clicks, likes, shares and comments are more than welcome!

The year started with a brand new camera and a lovely little shoot with Hendrik Smit of Toy Boy for Superella, one of Joburg’s most exciting designers. Our friends at iFashion loved it and so did Mr. Price. In fact they even featured it on their IN THE FASHION LOOP blog. Superella’s signature store with its sensational “VERY MUCH NICE” branding is located across from the Bamboo Center in Melville. See the rest of the Superella shoot by clicking here.

In February 2011, Tammy Walker approached me to collaborate with her on a superhero inspired shoot for G-Tribe magazine. The result was amazing although the magazine eventually unrecognizably butchered in print. See the rest of my beautiful (un-botched) G-Tribe superhero shoot by clicking here.

Avant Apparel showcased their debut collection at the 2011 Joburg Fashion Week to an overwhelming media response and theirs was labelled the collection every woman should own. Later on I met up with Lauren du Plessis and Bailey Allison of Avant and, together with Jessica Lupton of Gaschette, we put together this beautiful photo set entitled CATHEDRALISM starring Kirsty McKenzie.

By far my most elaborate photo project of 2011 was entitled “Anne Droid” and was inspired by the futuristic covers of sci-fi novels of decades past. For this, I teamed up with stylist Candice Moore of Lampost and art director Colin O’Mara Davis. Together we conceptualized and up-styled garments by David Tlale, Suzaan Heyns, Guillotine by Lisa Jaffe, Clive Rundle, Jess Sutherland and Lauren Du Plessis. Laura Kingma of OneLeague finished it all off with space-age hair and makeup looks. Click here to see the rest of Anne Droid. 

Things got all sporty and punchy when I teamed up with stylist Tammy Walker to create “Game On!” for G-tribe magazine.

This innovative African-inspired hairstyle by Lara Kroptfitch at Wyatt Hairdressing won her the best newcomer award in the Davines style competition for the Africa and Oceana category, and she’ll be battling it out at the world finals in Miami early next year. Lesley Whitby rounded off the look beautifully with her exceptional make-up skill.

“Killing Time” was shot for theones2watch.com and has since been published all over the world.  The concept was developed with the help of stylist Jessica Lupton in response to the phrase “made up/made down” and even earned itself a NSFW label for nudity. Click on the link to see the beautiful Kyle Rossouw wearing very little at all in Killing Time.

On the coldest day of 2011 (seriously, it was ridiculously cold) I collaborated with Hendrik Smit to shoot the Toy Boy Designs launch campaign starring Rome Wepener and pop sensation Chiano Sky. Click the link to see them in Toy Boy.

“Open Season”, which is probably my proudest moment of 2011, has also earned me a great deal of international exposure. Together with Jessica Lupton and Colin O’Mara Davis we created a different take on summer’s hottest looks in a “monotone wonderland”. Emma Jordan from iFashion says it best: “shot in a disused pool, with so-right-now combed through dyed hair (by Michael Mac Olive), this summer elf is all avant-garde in a selection of new SA designers including Rayne, Jessica Sutherland and Avant Apparel. Edgy and original, we like.” Click on the link to see more of OPEN SEASON.

“I found you in a flower field” features the debut collection of Rayne by Jessica Rayne and was shot at the Johannesburg botanical gardens. The idea behind this project was to shoot completely without formula in the loosest way possible. With the help of Jessica Lupton and Laura Kingma, we created interesting reflections and mirrored images by shooting through glass, whilst trying to be as inconspicuous as possible with our massive window frame that we lugged around with us.  Luckily we weren’t thrown out by security and the result is a refreshingly colourful and uniquely creative piece of work.  See the rest of I FOUND YOU IN A FLOWER FIELD by clicking on the link.

“Lamp Ladies” was conceptualized by Laura Kingma as the kick start of her proposed hair exhibition. I am very pleased with this brilliant little project, granted I was so ill on the day of the shoot that I could hardly see these long-limbed lovelies.  The innovative interchangeable head pieces were pre-built and styled by Laura Kingma and garments and accessories were styled by Jessica Lupton. See more of the LAMP LADIES by clicking on the link.

They tried to tame you. Looks like they’ll try again… These are the wild boys of Johannesburg. Shot at the Mai Mai market for the Launch issue of LISOF’s Protege magazine, these self-styled men about town were anything but tame. Looks like we’ll have to try again… Produced by the LISOF class of ’11 with the guidance of Nicola Cooper. http://stevemarais.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/protege-01-the-launch-issue-2011/

The Aquadome in Vanderbijlpark is amazing! In a strange and unexpected way… The climate controlled Aquadome at Emerald Casino is an indoor water wonderland. Non-stop fun, whatever the weather! Muster the courage for a slip down the water slides, or explore the shipwreck with friends. I was toying with awkward ideas to shoot swimwear, and when Jess Lupton came accross this anomalous location she phoned me immediately and my response was: “Jess, we HAVE to shoot there!!!”. And we did. Art director Colin O’Mara Davis and make up genius Stefanie Payendee were there to make sure we have the most fun we could have, and Cleo from Boss Models played along marvelously!  Have a look at AQUADOME by clicking on the link.

In 2011 I got the opportunity to shoot my first two True Love Magazine covers and cover features. The first was of the awe-inspiring Siphokazi Maraqana for the November issue and the second was to celebrate Zikhona Sodlaka’s soul journey for the January 2012 issue out now. I just shot their March 2011 cover and the cover star is still a surprise, so keep a lookout for that one…

We hit the steets of Jozi for Cleo Magazine’s January issue. Cleo fashion editor Carla Uys combines nudes and neons to create a statement trend for 2012.

I was super-excited when Heat asked me to shoot their December fashion feature. It’s time to get your party heels on and become the star you’re meant to be in this glitzy editorial entitled “Shine Baby Shine”. Super-hot SA Style award winner Bonang Mathebe shows us how it’s done. According to my friend and Heat style editor, Melissa Maxted, this season is all about obscure shapes, monochromatic prints, sheer fabric and – most importantly – glitz to the max!

So as you see, 2011 was quite an eventful one and with 2012 right on our doorstep, I assure you there’s lots more exciting things to come. I have a bag full of tricks lined up for 2012 already, the first and most notable of which is a new venture I will start up with my friend and fellow photographer, Michelle Loukidis. Takers, as we will be known as collectively, will facilitate high-end eventing photography. You can take a look at our portfolio archive at http://takersphoto.wordpress.com Book now or forever hold your peace.

Stay tuned to see how the rest of my tricks reveal themselves, but for now, happy holidays everyone and travel safe.

xx

The headline is correct. ZARA the amazing Spanish high street retailer is coming to South Africa, this is according to Emma Jordan over at iFashion.co.za.
The glorious store is finally coming to “the motherland”. The location of the first flagship has yet to be announced, but some people are already speculating (and perhaps silently praying to the universal laws of fashion karma – if they exist) that it would be in Sandton. Merely a stone’s throw away from my house. I am using too much hyperbole. Centurion is a little more than a stone’s throw away from Sandton. I digress!

The first thought i conjured up was “the clothes”, after having been slightly dissappointed when shopping at Mango both in Havana, Cuba and in Sandton. Inditex spokesman, Raúl Estradera Vázquez, says that the store will carry a collection designed for the Southern Hemisphere that is in line with offerings in Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, etc. I immediately went onto the zara.com website to see what that would mean for little old me, and I could not see the Australia site, but however Colombia is another country in the Southern Hemisphere, and it seems to be completely unchanged from the Singapore one… Is this their chikanery?

No puedo imaginar una cosa mas mejor que esa! Que maravillosa!

Voy a dedicar mi dia a los ropas de ZARA.com (bet you wish you studied spanish like yon mia now huh?!)

Manei’s Choice

Mbali.r’s Choice