arums

Cape arums, one of the great joys of spring. In marshy and wet spots throughout the province, surviving even in heavily degraded wetlands in the middle of settlements, and despite being picked mercilessly. Luckily this one of the things that stays the same.

everyone wants to be immortal

Things change. Things stay the same. I took this picture more than 10 years ago, on Adderley Street Cape Town. This guy and a friend were huffing glue from a brown paper bag, but stopped to ask me what I was doing. He had a sad and beautiful face, and asked if I would take his picture. While he was posing he told me that they lived on the street. They didn't ask me for anything else. I don't remember his name.

Cartier-Bresson

In honour of his birthday today. A photo I grabbed at a 2003 exhibition of his work in Paris. Yes, I did get told to put away my camera immediately, but sometimes quick shots are the best.

35mm Contax with Zeiss 50mm f1.4 back in the silver halide days.

Digital has made me a better photographer, but I do sometimes miss the excitement and fear of seeing the film when it first comes out of the developer tank.

Sparaxis grandiflora, (bulbs from Kirstenbosch Plant Sale, March 2011)

A picture, from this early spring, because gardening and taking photos is currently more compelling than writing, editing photos and posting.

Food for the Rich (1) Labneh

It's hard to be witty about yoghurt cheese. Which is tragic since this is a momentous post - the very first of a series to be titled Food for the Rich. The title pleases me since it is 1) ironic and 2) stolen from an old book of the same name. But more about that in the next post. For now it is only important to know that this is actually food for the impecunious who have an appreciation for the finer things in life.

So without further ado, on to the labneh. It's nothing more than drained yoghurt, thickened to a cream cheese consistency or thicker, and with a bit more tang. There is a reason it's eaten throughout the Middle East, Greece and large swathes of the Med. It's cheap, easy, keeps really well for a fresh cheese, and of course, tastes fantastic. Labneh is mostly eaten drizzled with olive oil and piled onto whatever local bread is available, sprinkled with herbs or not, as you prefer.