The Visitor

Ashlea Strydom
Grahamstown

There is a phone call that I look forward to every year. It's a call that will come out of the blue and brighten my spirits. "I'm coming to visit," a voice at the other end of the line will say, and there will be little shouts of joy as I let Grant know that Ash is on her way.

This year was a little different. This year involved Grant and I informing Ash that we were in town to visit, not for long, but wanting to see her. We went to lunch - it was innocent enough. And during the course of a three hour meal and conversation, we managed to convince Ash to come and visit us once more. For Christmas nogal!! We had our doubts that she would brave the bus trip, but she did, making it in one piece, more or less, and with a lot of stories to tell from the journey.

When Christmas day came around, we sat together, Grant, Dee, Ash and I, under our tiny, makeshift tree, and tore wrapping paper to shreds (which I would later force the kitties to sit in so that photographs could be taken) as we unwrapped gifts. And while many wonderful gifts were given and gotten, one stood out as the bestest for me.

"I hereby promise to do a photo shoot with you before I leave... (and you won't even need to nag this time hehe)"

I was practically jumping for joy. In fact, some jumping may have been involved. And so, on a sunny day in January, Ash and I made our way from the lounge to the studio, and from the studio to the botanical gardens and I got to have fun taking some wonderful photographs of my gorgeous, amazing, one of a kind friendling.

It's taken awhile to get them up, but here they are.

Thanks once again to Ashlea, for being the best kind of sport - climbing trees on command and doing things that must have made you think that I was out of my mind. Here's to another two decades of friendship, and many many MANY more visits!!

Teasing and Timid

Rudi Gerber and Roxanne Delport

Grahamstown

“Look forward, man! Cross your arms. Don’t look at me, look at her! Now look at me.”

Rudi looks at me as he issues the instruction, a wide smile plastered across his face and a sparkle in his eye. His good mood is infectious, and Roxy takes his teasing in her step as we giggle away in the studio under the hot lights. She seemed nervous when she first arrived at the doorstep for the shoot, quiet and shy as always, but those nerves are gone within the first few minutes as Rudi’s teasing commences. He has that effect on people, and it’s only gotten stronger since he met Roxy.

I still can’t think of Roxy without the words “lady friend” popping into my mind. It was the way that I was first introduced to her, before I met her in person – mentions around the office of a mysterious lady friend and hints that she might end up being more than just a “friend”. From the moment she started being mentioned, I could see a change in Rudi. It wasn’t anything too big or noticeable to begin with – a skip in his step and a goofy grin crossing his face when he thought no one was looking. But as the months passed, the little things stuck around, and the “lady friend” would be slipped into conversations more often. I would often catch him staring at his cellphone, waiting for an SMS or staring at the computer screen waiting for an IM from this as yet unmet friend of his. We all teased him a little for being so smitten, but none of us knew just how right we were.

As they walk hand in hand through the Botanical Gardens, I can’t help but think what a perfect couple they make – loud, teasing, fun Rudi and quiet, shy Roxy bringing out the best in each other. Whenever I have spent time with Roxy without Rudi around, I have been shocked by how reserved she is, maybe a little nervous around new people. But when she is with Rudi, she comes to life and I can see her fun side shining. And with Roxy around, that goofy smile never leaves Rudi’s face.

“Let’s try the bridge,” I suggest, starting off at my usual spot, my go-to for garden portraits. But it doesn’t take long before the three of us are exploring elsewhere, finding spots more suited to the couple that Rudi and Roxy are. They aren’t the kind who likes to pose for the cameras or to put on a smile. Instead, they are comfortable sitting on a bench, climbing onto branches and walking hand in hand. They are most comfortable being together, doing everyday things with each other, and that’s the kind of love that tends to last.

As I watch the two of them walking ahead, I smile to myself and start looking forward to my next session with them, or a couple just like them.

A Day of Royalty

I can tell as Lwando got into my car that he’s excited.
“Lara,” he announces, his broad smile filling his face and extending to his eyes, “this is Nonkosazana.”
The name flies from his lips naturally, easily. I blink back at him, trying to bring up the courage to attempt the pronunciation myself, and they can see my unease, but rather than taking offense, they giggle to themselves, a shared secret amusement at my English-locked tongue. It reminds me of the giggles that I used to hear in class whenever I spoke Afrikaans in my overly-English, bordering on British, accent.
“But you can call me NK,” she says with a grin, and I smile back, relieved.
“It means Princess,” Lwando informs me, and it strikes me how appropriate that is. She looks like royalty in her cream dress, her hair haphazardly plaited and falling elegantly down her back. Lwando’s princess.

I start driving to our house, and I chit-chat with Lwando in the front about work and life in general, while NK sits in the backseat, silent, taking everything in. We arrive five minutes later, and I walk them through the house, letting them greet Grant as I open the studio, and then leading them into the garden and the garage beyond it. 

I close the door behind them and darkness fills the room, engulfing us in its shadows. I turn on the lights, one at a time, and can feel the heat of them instantly. This will need to be a quick one – hot days are not conducive to long studio sessions. The two of them stand in front of the camera, uncertainly, and I take my place behind it, smiling at them reassuringly before my face is hidden entirely.

And so it starts.
“Look at me.”
“Look at him.”
“Back to back.”
“Change places.”
“Stand up.”
“Sit down.”
“Smile.”
“Kiss.”
I feel like the puppetmaster, pulling on strings as the photos come together perfectly, as I had pictured them in my mind.

After half an hour, I shoot my last studio shot, and turn off the lights. The relief is tangible, flowing from them like sweat.
“How did you find it,” I ask NK nervously. She has been so quiet that I do not know what to think. I don’t know her well enough to tell if this is her personality or if she is uncomfortable. I wait in anticipation, but am not left waiting for long.

"Fun!" She sounds surprised, and I'm taken aback. "I was expectinng it to be so serious!"

I laugh at the thought of a serious photo session.

"What would be the point of that? No one would see your personality!"

With the formalities over, it is time to move our session to the Botanical Gardens for a little more fun. Here, I can tell that both Lwando and NK are in their element. There is no need for direction as NK jumps from bamboo branch to bamboo branch, forgetting about the camera for minutes at a time. This is not acting, not posing, this is who they are, and this is what I love. Soon they are stealing kisses at the fountain, for themselves more than anyone else, their laughter filling the air as I fade into the background.

  

         

 And as the afternoon finishes with a stroll by the river, I realise that I haven't stopped smiling since they first got into the car - Lwando and his princess, a young couple and their closeness.