©Copyright  DAY10  Kalk Bay Harbour, Cape Town

I'm not fast food, not even minute steak... I am more like slow roast! I take time to settle in to get to know my surroundings and absorb what meaningful to me.

...and getting to know the fishermen is no different. third visit here now and we are slow roasting... becoming accustom to each others quirks and steady sun rising habits. they are a good group and I can see myself back here often in this challenge. they show me the birds, they point out possible pictures, they lean into the sun for me for silhouette company. coffee cups steam in the stealth of a new wait of their day... boats bobbing just a little too much to head out into the depths. I take in their friendly open weather beaten faces, soft eyes, hard lives

the light is exciting after yesterdays disappointing no show glow. its a feeling I needed after a bit of a grumpy start to my morning. only a few minutes from home and I am in another land, passing the harry potter fan club in one of those old original mini's, so close to the ground their feet are almost touching. sneaking into the harbour parking lot, already with a knowing smile on my face. am a little early for this morning's 7:29am sunrise. all is good with this moment of the world's world

an acquaintance banter with the strolling fishermen, a walk to the end of the pier and a synchronistic capture by Peter Haarhoff, met out on our missions at Cape Point on my 100days100beaches challenge in 2011. we exchange sunrise portraits, me by him on his phone and me from him on my camera. Peter runs a number of photographic courses, including photographic day tours in and around Cape Town and Western Cape  (http://www.capephotoco.co.za) good to meet you again out there Peter... see you again some other random time

a good morning spent, spirits lifted, ready for cuppacino and warmth...

©Copyright  DAY9  False Bay, Cape Town

bliss... being out with mother nature and her stormy erratic nature is both a blessing and a blasting, happily spent with her either way

dark mountains and mist blend with dark roads and haunting walkers, headlamps and footlights amongst the smarties of headlights of oncoming traffic

making my way to kalk bay harbour again, it beckons its sultry mood to my camera's eager features. just one solitary fisherman out casting his line, legs hanging over the wall and glimpsing his sense of time. it was a hope to capture is silhouette against the only beam of light, but the lack of enough casts its shadows on my light. we chat a little, I walk on some further, scoping the landscape and talking to the birds

Jonathon and company eye out my pacing, twitching and ready, a nervous flapping, a moment's escape. his human friend, the one who walks with me, Jonathon the seagull is a long time old friend. they flap and they hop along the hopscotch they spot, watching me cautiously, sensing my plot

kalk bay, some sleeping, the training huffing and creeping...

the smile of my face holding firmly my mornings simple stories...

©Copyright  DAY8 Sunrise Beach, Cape Town

there is more black in the dark grey this morning, as I rise and step out from my quaint cottage and into a comforting warm air

a silent debate in my head still undecided of today's dawn adventure. a rally between Kalk Bay Harbour somewhere and Sunrise beach... it will come to me.

and it does, I knew it was Sunrise Beach, but was hesitating to trust in my knowing little head whisper due to the darkness and wonder at any light. but still I head off to Sunrise Beach, joining the traffic snail up and down Ou Kaapse and through the circles of Muizenberg workers

somehow beach with out wet toes doesn't seem to qualify as a beach 'lopie'. frozen or sand crusted, feet must meet waters edge with camera in hand and then all feels well with the world. and this morning is no different. a long story of beach spreading thin on either side, a sneak of sunrise camps over the mountain waiting for to hit this mercury glistening beach.

no one around for the first 15mins, just my spirit and the family of birds, playing and saying their peace to the rising sun. walking legs in distance too far to wait for. I feel it, that feeling that is the reason this has already become a friendly habit to my days. a quiet and unaffected beauty, baron of stresses and messes, freshness and may morning bite. I shiver with pleasure and with cold and know that again, this is the home of my soul.

beach medicine taken and almost ready to go, a friendly-as-always early morning walker enquires with his eyes as to the spring in my step and the lightness of time which flies. he greets me with questions and drowns me with smiles and heads off into the dunes one with his nature. a glimpse of an image that has to be taken, into the zone and gone within seconds............. and a knowing smile that that was the shot (thank you) 

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DAY7 Brass Bell, Kalk Bay, Cape Town

... quiet and calm out there this Sunday morning while the world slowly wakes, while the surfers warm their hands on cold paper cups, waiting for a waves to make waves

its going to be brass bell this morning, that much I know when I wake. how or what or when is always under debate on these early morning pilgrimages. will the light behave, will the light be enough or too much.

...driving, warming, peering, then parking and skipping quickly over the lazy road of kalk bay's weekend locals. down through the famous brass bell tunnel and out to the ocean swirling satin smooth around the bay. no ripples, no sounds, no one near or far. the orange pink on the horizon just offering a slight mirror on the brass bell tidal pool as a lone bird stands by watching this lone human bird capturing a moment with her kalk bay world and its history

onwards, outwards, early even as one of the first at cest le vie, a steamy crispy just outta the oven baguette with butter and my usual cuppa in a bowl - on order for a sunday morning, mother's day before work

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DAY6 Simonstown Harbour, Cape Town

Its a later start to my working day this morning, only need to be there by 9am, so can venture a little further from home, do my sunrise clocking and still get to work on time. I wake knowing its going to be Simonstown Harbour this morning

Now enjoying the stealth walk to my dark car in the dark mornings, well after the now usual head talking to I have to give myself to get outta bed and on with it...

passing kids and parents on bikes with headlights, out early along the common, smiling at the family and their ducklings starting their weekend in splendid style

I set off over a favourite drive - Glencairn Carriage Way, in a hope and glimmer of a mornings capture. never quite sure if I will succeed each morning, in finding a view of interest or a stream of light enough to expose enough to see something in the grey. but its part of the challenge I enjoy. to make something that sometimes appears as nothing and feeling that moment when the picture I want appears for me momentarily to cash in stone

The birds are all blurred this morning, flying so fast past the masts, they are not possible to stop in mid air for them to appear as they are - feathered form in flight from dawn

the docks are quiet, only lights on here and there.

my heart is at home out here on a roam, feeling a peace that settles and calms...

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DAY5 Muizenberg West Beach, Cape Town

 well this one could be interesting... went to bed and it was raining, woke up and it was raining, got dressed and it was raining... and then the rain stopped enough for me to climb into my flowered gumboots to get to my car across the farm in one dry piece, with camera and duvet-jacket in hand

driving again in the dark, observing my far-from-sullen-grey world with new eyes, now with that odd excitement in my belly at being up with the dark society and heading into a life before work. I knew it was going to be muizenberg today - unsure since there really was no light in todays crying skies. but an uncanny faith and challenge to myself, almost always there is a ray of light somewhere to be found, if you look hard enough and a mystery to our oceans that I love to catch the spirit of

park my car in an almost deserted car park, baron of even the surfers, except for one. ok now what - where was the illusive light going to beam at me from... I take a few but really nothing to write home about... lone runner sober beach silly hardly wave waves.

trudging the beach in my gumboots for the first time is like standing in the rain under an umbrella - feet getting soaked my the creeping waters, but toes staying dry. in all my time with challenges, I have thrived on the icy feet in water moments as I roam my beaches in search of its moment.... so its oddly out of touch in gumboots but weirdly like I am walking on water:)

and then there it is.... turning to face the long wide stretch of famous Muizenberg beach, an opening in the clouds and a mirror on the beach. its not only about the capture, its how it all captures me.... again a morning in awe of my life and were I live and how each mornings photo adventure can bring such simple humble magic to my day

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Day4 Oukaapse Weg, Cape Town

A little less than an inch of light out there today - but driving over Oukaapse this morning meant an immediate stop.... gorgeous crazy weather day in erratic as ever Cape Town...

Pulled in at Silvermine and climbed out into a very chilly breezy freeze, but never the less the smile on my dial as bright as ever.

night lights of early morning cars making their way down the mountain roads flicker like glow worms against dark foreboding shoulder of Silvermine Peak. a life before a life, as commuters make their way to the city or schools or gyms or waves. it feels special to be a part of this night shrouded time before dawn

Day2 St James Tidal Pool, Cape Town

There are plenty of people out there who 'remark' about why I do these challenges - and to be perfectly honest, its cool they think I am a little left of centre at times:)

it shows me my world, it changes my habits, it creates new ones, it harbours new mini daily adventures, it inspires me, it inspires some of you, it gets me living a whole little life... before I even get to work.

it shows me your world - those who are up and at it too... swimming, running, plodding, walking the dogs, delivering the paper, baking the bread, cleaning the windows for a coffee shop huddle to soon be formed. early morning commuters, newspaper men, garage workers and hawkers. all making their ways thro the dawning days sun breakers

..and in only one day, I look forward to the next mornings sunrise (a thought creeping in is to swim again, perhaps?) but one challenge is enough for enough. swimming again, in the icy ocean waters will come when the time is the time

DAY1... Dalebrook Tidal Pool,                     Kalk Bay, Cape Town
.... It starts with an early morning rise in the dark. Driving thro the quiet streets of Noordhoek to an old long time favourite...... Cest le Vie in Kalk Bay. To await the sun...

No one around, not even the sun, just the baker (Jo) with her hot steamy bread, making mist on the bakery windows. Dark ominous clouds, with little bite, break between the horizon and the tidal pool wall.

Sunrise predicted as 7:20am but no one and nothing to be seen. So I pack my little frozen toes back over the road and into the cosy warmth of C'est le Vie...         Hi Jo - long time long time....sorry! great to be back...

After a hand-warming bowl of cuppacino, its time to head to work, but one more quick dash to the pool to capture a smidgen of sun teasing at the clouds

4 bobbing heads beckon my urge to respond. What could I do but ask them to repeat their bobbing swim against the crazy grey waves and a blimp of sunrise. Thanks Paula and swim buddies - takes me to the moment with face spread in an early morning smile