I am an amateur photographer (i.e. photography is not my source of income) from a small rural town in South Africa called Piet Retief. 5 years ago I met a person who played a very important part in my life, and showed my how beautiful the world can be through the lens of a camera.
As a tribute, and to show that person how much she has changed my life, I want to do a drive of 4550 km to collect the best and most rare pictures I can find. One of the ideas is to photograph the rise of the super full moon on 28 September from the Kalahari Desert.Hopefully this project will also contribute towards my dream of becoming a renowned full time photographer.For this project I will need about $ 15 000.00.
I currently shoot with a Canon EOS 550D, and use the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4.5-5.6 IS II, and Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lenses. $6000.00 will go towards new gear : Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera, and Canon EFS 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, Canon EF 25-105mm F4.5 L IS USM, and Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lenses. The remaining $7000 will go towards the trip.The route I plan to take will be as follows :Departure from Piet Retief, via Johannesburg, to Springbok in the Northern Cape. This trip will take 4 days, with 3 nights along the road depending on how many stops for pictures are made. From Springbok, down to Saldanha, which should take 2 days, with stops along the coast to photograph the “kleinbegin” houses, and the fishermen living there. From Saldanha to George, to photograph the Knysna forests, taking 3 days for the part, as I plan to make as many stops as possible, try to get into the places normal travelers don’t see. From there Beaufort-West, to the souther part of the Kalahari, and spend 3 days there driving around looking for shoots. This is also where the super full moon shoot will take place Next is Graaf-Reinet, for one day of historical shooting, then through to the Addo National Elephant Park. 3 days in the area, from the elephants to the coast, looking for shots. Then up to Port St. Johns for 2 days, and then to Underberg for 2 days, which is situated at the foot of the Lesotho mountain ranges. Then it will be time to head on home. This trip covers 19 days, and 4550km, not counting the distance driven looking for shots.Should I not reach my goal, it will not change the trip, only the dates on which it will take place. This photo-discovery of South Africa is definitely going to happen.One of my lifelong dreams have been to write a book, but I never got around to it. Now, I have my heart set on a photographic book exploring South Africa, and not just the pretty tourist destinations. I want to get to the heart and soul of South Africa, meet it’s people, and take photographs that I might be able to publish in a book.
The other aim of this project, is to place myself on the map as a photographer of note, and be able to do photography full time.The whole project will also be published on my website : www.nicojacobs.co.zaPlease spread this around on social media, word of mouth, or whatever means necessary. This will be enable me to follow my dream, and to show people around the world what South Africa is really like.