I have taken a bit of a sabbatical from blogging so far this year, so to get things going again I thought I should take a belated look back at 2022 …..

During 2022 my photo library increased by some 2000 images and for this retrospective (Yes! I’ve always wanted to use that word) I have limited my Photo Pick to the 40 images which appeal to me the most, often for different reasons – some are technically good (well, I think so anyway) others are reminders of a particular moment or place or special sighting – the very brief comments tell a bit of the story of each image. So to start with ….

The Places

One of the first places we visited in 2022 was the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus – the evening light was magical

I love the moodiness that overcast skies bring to a scene and this one had the benefit of a sunlit foreground and overcast background

The classic view of Table Mountain from Milnerton beach, a stone’s throw from where I was born

This unusual view of the southern Cape coast was taken from my seat in a plane on its way to land at George

A double rainbow over Mossel Bay just begged to be photographed

Our drive to Weltevrede farm near Prince Albert was an absolute delight with views like this around every bend

Evening tranquility at the dam on the farm Prior Grange near Springfontein, Free State

Our stay in Victoria, Australia provided widely contrasting experiences

Atlasing in the southern Cape around Herbertsdale provided this beautiful early-morning scene along the winding road

Another moody scene, this time with fishermen providing the focal point

Paternoster beach was another excellent spot for sunset photography, with gulls adding that extra punch

The flowers in the Postberg section of the West Coast National Park were spectacular (a separate post on this still to come)

Another view of the iconic mountain that I grew up with, this time from the waterfront at Cape Town

The Birds

I spend most of my photographic energies on capturing images of birds, not always successfully. These are some of the better ones

The photo of a Cape Longclaw shows why it was given that name

This is a photo by Estelle Smalberger who kindly allowed me to use her images. What a privilege it was for me to be the one to first find this species – never before recorded in southern Africa!

Such elegant birds….

Cape Weavers treated us to a show while building their nests in front of our patio

Some of the birds seen during our Australia visit

My favourite bird photo of the year! Just seeing this scarce bird is a treat, capturing an image in flight from one bush to the next is a bonus

Cormorants are not colourful birds, but those eyes….!

Darter creating an arty pose

The Cape Batis likes to stay concealed so I was happy to capture this image as it flitted about in the depths of a bush

Not as clear an image as I would have liked but the in flight action is just perfect

Our favourite Cape Town destination is Kirstenbosch – always an opportunity for a few pleasing images

The Other Stuff

We visited a butterfly sanctuary which was great for close ups of some of the beautiful specimens

Nice to watch the Zipline in operation at the Point in Mossel Bay – now if I was a tad younger…..

The little village of Friemersheim has been turned into a living Art Gallery (more in a future post)

That sign conjures up all kinds of thoughts, doesn’t it?

A view from the inside of the Singapore Airlines plane that took us to Australia via Singapore

A tranquil scene on one of my atlasing trips

Cow in the flowers….behind barbed wire

People in the flowers on a sunny day

I can’t imagine a life without photography .. or birding of course