Helping develop Zimbabwe's communities....

During my career as a professional photographer I have been fortunate enough to work with some exceptional organisations and corporates dedicated to uplifting Zimbabwean communities through their Corporate Social Responsibility and community development programmes. Covering these programmes has taken me all over Zimbabwe and I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people in areas I had never travelled to before. I always walk away from a trip inspired by the efforts of both the communities and the organisations running the development programmes.

Hot stuff in Harare - Cardamom Restaurant...

I have mentioned this before in some of my food photography blogs, and I am not ashamed to repeat it, my stomach does love a good food photography session! The appreciative grumbles and rumbles certainly did not stay away when I photographed some of the mouth watering dishes at Cardamom Restaurant in Harare recently!

Nesbitt Arms...

The iconic Nesbitt Arms in Chiredzi has recently undergone a soft refurb and so I was approached by the marketing team to help create some fresh images of the newly refurbished rooms and exterior of the hotel.

A tasty calendar...

I am lucky enough to do a lot of food photography, so I was more than pleased when I was approached by Freddy Hirsch Zimbabwe to help them create images for their 2019 calendar. The meals where prepared by the awesome chefs at The Bistro Restaurant and my good friend Giani DiTano was in charge of the art direction. The brief was to photograph scrumptious dishes of food that showcased the range of Freddy Hirsch spices. I also photographed each spice pack in the studio along with a heaped pile of the spices to showcase the vibrant colours of each spice. I am sure you will agree that the combination of delicious food and vibrant colours complement each other well in the calendar.

Sitting under the stars...

I’m not sure if there is anything more peaceful to do as a photographer than to sit under a million African stars in complete silence, with only the occasional clatter of your camera’s shutter disturbing the peace. Whenever I get the opportunity to do it I always wonder why it has been so long silence I last did it, and resolve to do it again soon!

Thankfully that is often easier than it sounds, especially in Africa where, even near a large city like Harare, the light pollution is not too bad. These photographs where taken at a popular tourism destination, Domboshawa, just a 15 minute drive from the edge of Harare. In a matter of a few hours and with 2 camera’s set up I manage to capture a variety of different angles of the iconic boulders, in amongst my musings at the stars!

If you would like to learn how to photograph the stars I will be leading workshops out to Domboshawa soon, please feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more, or check out our available courses here.

Axia Corporation...

Axia Corporation is one of Zimbabwe’s largest corporates with interests in the home furnishings and appliances, automative and distribution markets, so when they asked me to help them create some unique images for their 2018 annual report I was delighted!

The brief was to capture engaging images of each brands’ retail premises, staff and products that encapsulates their commitment to a quality product and service. I spent a day shooting at each brand, starting with the automative giant Transerv which you can see below.

The next day I joined the Axia marketing team at their home furnishing and appliance division TV Sales and Home where we visited a variety of their retail stores to capture the staff, retail spaces and available products.

To cap it all off we spent the day at one of the countries largest fast moving consumer goods distribution companies, Distribution Group Africa. Their distribution centre must be one of the biggest commercial spaces I have ever photographed, with the opportunity to create vast wide angle shots being around every corner! Check out some of the shots in the gallery below.

I would like to thank the marketing and admin folk from Axia as well as all the SBU’s that we visited while shooting for the annual report for their hard work and patience during this frenetic exercise!

The kind of Trouble we love having in our studio....

I am a great lover of Chilli sauce, and Dr Trouble is about as good as it gets! I have photographed Dr Trouble in the studio before and so was more than excited when I was asked to photograph their new bottles which had been re-labeled. The brief was to get a variety of shots of the front and back of each bottle, as well as a variety of creative shots of individual and groups of bottles. I am very happy with the results, let me what your favourite shot is in the comments below!

Zooming in on Zimplats...

I was thrilled to have been contracted this year to photograph one of Zimbabwe’s largest mining groups, Zimplats for their 2018 Annual Report. The assignment entailed 3 full days of photography at their main Ngezi mining operation, in their surrounding community and at their ore smelter. The scope of the Zimplats operation is massive and despite running around like a headless chicken for the duration of the assignment I felt that I only really scratched the surface in terms of the potential images on offer.

One of the requirements in the brief was to capture new, alluring images of their mining infrastructure, so I was up and about capturing images in the soft early morning light as well as the wonderfully complimentary evening blue light. I was also asked to capture as many intriguing pictures of the Zimplats employees at work, with an emphasis on capturing as many different woman in their varied roles at the mine. Check out some of the resulting images below, and be sure to see their annual report here.

After shooting the mining operations I turned my lens to the Selous Metallurgical Complex (SMC) where the mined ore is smelted down for transport to and further refining in South Africa. Again the emphasis was to be on the scope of the infrastructure as well as people at work in their various roles at the SMC.

The shear size of the infrastructure at Zimplats is nothing less than overwhelming, and there is no better way to show this this then with a drone, I flew my aerial buddy a lot during my shoot and managed to capture some wonderful images that give the perspective of size and scope well.

Zimplats is no stranger to their local, regional and countrywide community and they have consistently implemented and supported projects aimed at uplifting both the infrastructure and people within those communities. No corporate shoot would be complete without a focus on these community development efforts.

Overall I had a manic but enjoyable time shooting for Zimplats, and I am sure you can agree that I managed to capture the essence of their operations, people and community efforts well. I am very happy with the results and thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the team at Zimplats! I would like to extend my thanks to the Zimplats team for all their hard work involved in making this shoot a success.

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!