A Part of Their Story

Michael Marabini and Vicky Heideman
Grahamstown

"Hey, Mike."
Grant moves his chair away from the desk as he answers the call - never the world's best multi-tasker - and begins to pace around the house. Into a room one minute, out the next, up and down the hall - his typical phone call routine, but this is no typical phone call.
"You want me to do what?"
I motion with my arms trying to catch his attention and involve him in a game of charades so that I can figure out what's going on.
"Yes, she is."
He catches my eye, but refuses to participate any further than that.
"Yes, she does."
I narrow my eyes now, wondering what exactly it is that I "do".
"Okay, bud. Meet you there."
He hangs up the phone and sidles back in front of his computer, ignoring the glares that I am sending in his direction.
"What's going on?" I finally shout, giving in to my frustration and curiosity.
"Oh," he says as though he's just realised that I'm there. "We're meeting Mike and Vicky at Home Affairs in half an hour."
He turns back to the PC.
"Uh... why?"
"Just as witnesses."
"To..."
"Their marriage."

Fast forward three years, and there I am, my camera in hand, snapping shots of Mike and Vicky. They're fresh from their honeymoon and standing before friends and family in full wedding attire saying, "I do." It's an anniversary party, really - a reason to celebrate three years of happy marriage with those that they love most. And once again, I am a part of their happy moment. I'll also be the one to remind them of their anniversary a year down the line.

A year and a half later, and Mike and Vicky stand in my studio under the harsh, bright lights. I like to think of the pictures that I take as family photographs - a monument to the life that the two have built for themselves around each other, and a testament to the love that they share. They laugh and make fun of each other, they tease and taunt and compliment. They try to stay serious, but they just can't do it for more than a few seconds at a time - can never take themselves too seriously. It's just not who they are. Five years in and Mike and Vicky are just as in love as the day they got married. It's not something that can be said for every couple, not even for most. But I look at them, and I think to myself that I can see them being just as happy in five, ten or twenty years to come.

Thank you, Mike and Vicky, for allowing me to be a small part of your story.

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.