While I was shooting at the classic car expo, I came across a stall selling old workshop tools. The seller wanted to know why I was taking pictures of “my junk”. Well, old tools have history. They tell a story, and they leave questions behind. Who owned these tools, what were they used for, how did they end up here, what was fixed or made using these tools?

Junk? I don’t think so.

Sometimes you need to have some fun, enjoy the process and not  worry too much about the outcome. So when I saw that my Christmas tree lights had not yet been put away, I plugged them in, took out my camera, set it on a low shutter speed and did some finger painting!

The results are a little abstract and trivial, but I had loads of fun, and sometimes that is what it is all about.

Although thinking about it, the bright lights in front of a black background could be an omen on the future of the SOAP bill; I hope so.

Here are a few more of the pictures.

Above is Eagabbit, and below my original picture.

Amazing what you can do with digital manipulation.

A couple of six second exposure of one of the streams inside Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town. Kirstenbosch,

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is truly one of the most beauthful gardens in the world. It covers approximately 46 hecatares, and contains a staggering 7000 different plant species. The Cape Floristic Region, which includes Kirstenbosch, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site –the first botanic garden in the world to be included.

We were there for a picnic to celebrate a friend’s birthday, you are welcome to take your own picnics, but they also have two wonderful restaurants.

You can find more details on their website.

I took this picture on a whim of somebody taking some notes at a Toastmasters meeting. I am not sure why, but I quite like the unplanned setting, the folded glasses and blue pen, with the writing hand in the background.

Day 72: Chains, originally uploaded by Craig wants camera stagetime.

A chain lying on the ground. Is the strength holding somebody back, or providing support to help them to move forward?

This really was an experiment. I was trying to capture the drop of soap
slowly falling into the bottle while all of the little bubbles rise to the
top. I am not too sure how it worked out, but nevertheless it is all I have
for the day, so here is photo #35. Please let me know what you think.

A view outside a window, looking through a wooden window blind. Just a
little flippant experiment.

A view down Main Road, taken through a rusty pole. I like the contrast
between the light and dark.

Day 3: Glass Whirlpool, originally uploaded by Craig Strachan.

An abstract rendering of glass ready for recycling. In a sense the spiral represents the glass being sucked into the recycling system to be processed as something new.