Bustling around Banff Lodge...

Earlier this year I was asked by the team at Banff Lodge to create some new marketing images of their BnB. Situated in the Bulawayo suburbs this family owned BnB was a real pleasure to shoot!

I was asked to cover all the public areas of the BnB in different lighting conditions and including some of the staff at work in the restaurant and their popular pool deck, I particularly like the images of the pool and external images of the BnB in the blue evening light, check them out below and see for yourself.

In addition to the general public areas some of the rooms had been newly refurbished and so some great images of these were also needed, what would a hospitality shoot be without pictures of the sumptuous rooms on offer?

Another highlight of the day for me was shooting their new food menu, the main challenge here was keeping my grumbling tummy at bay during the duration of the food shoot! Check out some of the delicious results below!

Its always a pleasure for me to do hotel photography and on this occasion with Banff lodge it was no different, I would like to say a huge thanks to the team on the ground who made everything happen to effortlessly!

Bakers Inn...

When Zimbabwe’s biggest baker Bakers Inn asked me to come in and help them with imagery of their bread bakery for their website I was naturally thrilled! Bakers Inn have bakeries in both Harare and Bulawayo and I was tasked with capturing images from the Harare bakery that showcased both the equipment, process, premises and people involved in the process. With the bakery churning out over half a million loaves of bread a day you can image that is is quite a bustling place to be!

I started with some exterior architectural shots of the office block and then moved inside the bakery to capture all the machinery and staff at work. Needless to say the delicious smell of baking bread that assaulted the senses was both fantastic and distracting as my tummy didn’t stop grumbling!

Helping Bakers Inn with their corporate photography was a pleasure and I look forward to working with the giant bread maker again soon!

Relishing time with Rocco...

I was thrilled when we where approached by Rocco to photograph their awesome range of teak platters and chopping boards. Sustainably harvested from Zimbabwean teak, the products from Rocco ooze woody warmth and the natural grains in the wood lent themselves well to the camera in the studio.

To give the client an idea of how their product would look on different backgrounds we photographed the same serving board on all of our different surfaces in the studio. Rocco liked one surface in particular and we then photographed all of their product on that one surface, check out all the different shots below? Which one is your favourite? Please leave us a comment at the end of the newsletter wit your preferences.

IN addition to the different surfaces we also photographed the products on a clear white background and deep-etched the images so that Rocco had the option of having a uniform clean look on their website gallery as well as being able to place the deep-etched images onto adverts and marketing materials. You cans see the clean, white images below.

And finally we photographed all the products on the dark, charcoal surface that was the client’s preferred choice. As you can see the warm, richness of the wood contrasts well with the darker surface, allowing you to really appreciate the unique grain of the wood.

We thoroughly enjoyed working with the team at Rocco to showcase their amazing product, if you have a product that you would like photographed please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Peeling back Nyanga's layers...

Nyanga is home to some of Zimbabwe’s most dramatic landscapes, and because of this it is a landscape photographers dream! The weather is also often dramatic and this combined with the beautiful surroundings can leave you running from heather to fern trying to capture all the camera worthy vistas.

I am often a twitching, nervous wreck when I am trying to enjoy a family break in the Eastern Highlands as I never leave the house without my camera, much to my patient families annoyance.

That being said, with easy access to some of the best views in the area, who can blame me? Check out a selection of images from my last few visits to the Eastern Highlands below and feel free to leave a comment!

Their Casa was my Casa...

Nandos Zimbabwe is one of the biggest fast food retail outlets in Zimbabwe and so when I was approached by them to photograph their casas nationwide I was ecstatic! The Nando's casas are beautifully appointed and their modern, colourful designs make every angle a joy to photograph. My brief was to capture the daytime and evening atmosphere of each casa by shooting wide shots as well as close, detailed shots of the furnishings.

I am very happy with the results but will let the images below speak for themselves! As usual I would love to hear from you so if you have any comments please feel free to contact me!

Deloitte

When the worldwide accounting giant Deloitte asked me to photograph their new offices in Harare recently I was more than thrilled by the opportunity. Housed in one of the more recently completed office parks in Zimbabwe's capital Harare the space leant itself well to being photographed. I was asked to capture a variety of angles of the externals of the building at sunset as well as in the evening, placing emphasis on their brand name as far as possible.

Which image do you like the best? Feel free to email me and let me know your thoughts! A big thank you to the team at Deloitte Zimbabwe for the continued support.

All about the Architecture...

I am lucky enough to do a lot of architecture photography and so when Geoff and Graham from Architectural and Planning Studio got hold of me I was literally rubbing my hands together! APS have worked on a number of amazing projects around Zimbabwe and the region and they wanted me to visit their recent sites and capture a variety of images for their new website. So I was happily dispatched to the 4 corners of Zimbabwe as well as Mozambique to photograph all their hard work. The brief was to get a good variety of wide shots showcasing the project in its entirety and then focus in and look for engaging, abstract shots that really emphasise the design elements in each project. I covered some great projects including the shiny new Megahey library at Peterhouse school, KFC outlets in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls to name a few. The project is ongoing but I think if you have a look at the results I have managed to produce so far you should be as happy as I am with the results!

I would like to extend a big thank you to the team at APS for their trust and continued support!

Living it up and La Rochelle..

Nestled in the Imbeza valley near Penhalonga in Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands is possibly one of the countries best kept tourism secrets; La Rochelle Country House. The former home of the eccentric Courtauld family it was generously donated to the National Trust of Zimbabwe on their passing and has recently been refurbished and offers sumptuous cuisine and unique boutique accommodation to the discerning visitor.

La Rochelle are focusing on the experiential traveller and so a large portion of my brief was to showcase, often in close detail, the unique settings, drinks, dining and more that is on offer at La Rochelle.

And it is certainly undeniable that La Rochelle is one of the most unique buildings in Zimbabwe, the original architects where instructed by the Courtauld's to create one of the most 'ambitious' homes of their time (in the 1960's). True to form and built on a large scale for entertaining their guests, the facade of La Rochelle is truly fascinating.

Thankfully I had a good amount of time at La Rochelle which allowed me to capture as many of the experiences on offer. From exceptional food and drinks to wandering through the immense and captivating gardens, sipping gin and tonics by the pool or enjoying a relaxing session in the Spa, there was certainly a lot of opportunity to create and capture some stunning marketing pictures. Because of this, I would like the images to speak for themselves, so sit back, relax and enjoy the splendor of La Rochelle!

Batonka and the beautiful Blue...

Batonka Guest Lodge must be one of the most well appointed small boutique lodges in Victoria Falls so when they asked me to help them update their marketing gallery I was thrilled! Although the focus was to create some fresh material to be used as signature images for the lodge's new marketing strategies some more general shots of the public areas and rooms where required to replace older images. You can see some of the great results below.

The owners of the lodge really love the look and vibe of the property in the 'blue light' just after sunset so as the sun started to dip over the horizon there was some frantic activity to ensure that all the areas we wanted to cover were well prepped and looking fantastic. I'm sure you will agree that the character of the lodge is really accentuated by the soft tones and poppy colours of that magical blue hour. 

In addition to the beautiful blue images above we took to the air to look for some unique angles of the lodge that really showcase the green haven that it is. As usual my drone did not disappoint and I was able to capture a stunning sunset above the lodge. 

All in all I am sure you will agree with me that the shoot was a great success, thankfully so did the owners of Batonka Guest Lodge who where thrilled with some of the fresh angles that we managed to capture! I had great fun shooting Batonka and would like to thank the owners for the opportunity to shoot and showcase the lodge.