Place taken: Knsyna

Everything in life is part of a system starting from the smallest creatures on earth to the largest. This principal can be applied to the growth of a country where we are all part of a chain where weak links hold us back from achieving greatness. No matter if you are a street sweeper or a CEO of a large corporate company; we all have our roles to play in making it work. Work hard, stay positive and we can achieve.

“Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘this is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude, follow it.”   -   James Truslow Adams

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

Place taken: Midlands

The realities of living in South Africa are both negative and positive; however one that is prominent in my mind is the beauty that our country beholds. “The dramatic shapes of the Drakensberg, the soil-coloured waters of the Lekoa, iGqili noThukela, and the sands of the Kgalagadi, have all been panels of the set on the natural stage on which we act out the foolish deeds of the theatre of our day.“ - I am an African speech

We have the splendour of beautiful hot sunny days in the Highveld to snow capped mountains on the Drakensberg peaks to warm windy afternoons in the Cape. The joy of waking up to blue skies and the sound of the birds in the trees is something that is hard to give up.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

Place taken: Nelspruit

Our quest, our mission, our goal, is to make South Africa an even greater country than it is today. There may be crime, there may be poverty; there always will be. But let us, together, make a change and work together creating a brighter more prosperous future for generations to come. Because if we don’t, there will be some very tough times a head.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”   - Henry Ford  

 

 Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

Place taken: Johannesburg

The weather in South Africa is magnificent, and attracts many foreign visitors during the holiday seasons. Very often we wake to sunny blue skies with a fresh crisp breeze to the face. But when the rains fall down in Africa, they truly do come down hard.

A couple days ago in the late afternoon, the clouds began to close and the sky went dark. (I knew we were in for a heavy downfall) As it began to rain, I noticed a poor man dragging his cart up the road; filled with cardboard and empty plastic bottles. The rain was coming down firmly as the man resisted up the hill; occasionally stopping to wipe the rain water that was beating on his face. As he reached the end of his journey up the road, the man stopped; putting his cart to the side; and looked up into the dark sky, in an almost beseeching manner. He rubbed his face once again, to clear the water from his eyes and proceeded across the battle ground, where rain drops smashed down on the path in front of him.

His destination is the shield provided by the large trees on the side of the street, where a young man has covered up his roadside stall, waiting in anticipation for this battle to end, and the sky to open once again.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

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Place taken: Johannesburg

Street vendors are all over South Africa and although most of them are illegal, it provides these people with a job. They also provide passers buy the chance to purchase affordable small quantity items such as an apple or a plastic bag filled with brightly coloured chips. Nourishment is essential in the development of our country; not only the nourishment of our people, but the nourishment of their attitudes. 

I believe that if you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience. - Eddie Rickenbacker

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

Place taken: The Midlands

Whenever I think about the Midlands in Natal the most prominent thought that comes to my mind is the misty weather that you experience there. This past weekend I travelled to the Midlands in Natal which was a great escape from the city life in Joburg; with nothing more than occasional reception on my cell phone and my digital SLR camera in hand. We stayed at a small, rustic yet comfortable place on the edge of a gorge which had an unbelievable view. What a great country I live in!

South Africa is not just a place of sunshine and blue skies; it is a place where everything (no matter how different) can come together and merge into something amazing! 

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson

Place taken: Johannesburg

I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa’s
I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa
I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa

When Africa weeps for her children
My cheeks are stained with tears
When Africa honours her elders
My head is bowed in respect
When Africa mourns for her victims
My hands are joined in prayer
When Africa celebrates her triumphs
My feet are alive with dancing

I am an African
For her blue skies take my breath away
And my hope for the future is bright
I am an African
For her people greet me as family
And teach me the meaning of community
I am an African
For her wildness quenches my spirit
And brings me closer to the source of life

When the music of Africa beats in the wind
My blood pulses to its rhythm
And I become the essence of music
When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun
My senses drink in its rainbow
And I become the palette of nature
When the stories of Africa echo round the fire
My feet walk in its pathways
And I become the footprints of history

I am an African
Because she is the cradle of our birth
And nurtures an ancient wisdom
I am an African
Because she lives in the world’s shadow
And bursts with a radiant luminosity
I am an African
Because she is the land of tomorrow
And I recognise her gifts as sacred                    - by Wayne Visser

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson ( www.simondavo.com )

Place taken: Johannesburg

Something that I find really fascinating is how many of the kids in South Africa are so photogenic and love having their pictures taken. It often happens that you are asked to take their picture if they see you are a holding a camera. The huge smile on their face once they get to see their picture on the small LCD screen is absolutely brilliant. That emotion of happiness they show is what I really want to capture on camera; and this is something I’ll have to try.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson ( www.simondavo.com )

Place taken: Johannesburg

The word ‘joy’ can be used in so many different contexts but for this image it shows the joy in children. The kids of South Africa today, are a very important part of our country as they are the next generation and the future. However many children in South Africa are abused or without parents, due to our high HIV and AIDS levels.

“Don’t find fault, find remedy.” - Henry Ford

This quote is so true and as South Africans we should all try to keep this instilled in our minds. Make a difference and do something about a problem. Help those kids in need because a child deserves a home with loving parents and at least one meal a day.

Be the shining star in some child’s life by giving what you can. Visit http://www.noahorphans.org.za/ for more information.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Copyright (c) Simon Davidson