Cape Town

Over the holidays, I spent about a month traveling around the Western Cape of South Africa primarily in Cape Town proper. It was my second trip to the Southern Hemisphere, but my first visit to the African continent and my first holiday season spent on the beach. The festive atmosphere of New York during December and January makes it one of my favorite times of year in the city, and to be honest I did miss it a bit. But ringing in the new year during summer has its own unique charms and it was a tradeoff I was more than happy to make.

When photo blogging about these types of trips I typically like to go in chronological order and provide some context for the images. I’ve only just returned home, however, and I’m still processing the experience and sorting through the 250+ photos I took (not to mention still formulating my thoughts on the severe drought, energy shortage, and post-apartheid climate — all of which seemed to exist just below the surface throughout my trip). Cape Town is a beautiful place, though, with beautiful people which is what I’d like to focus on here for now.

So rather than putting together a multi-part series over the next few weeks, I thought I’d publish a handful of my favorite images and let those speak for themselves.

Equipped only with my Leica M 240 for the month, I was using a Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 most of the time, but briefly alternated between a vintage Canon 50mm f/1.4 LTM and my most recent acquisition, the Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5.