How many times have you been in a creative hole? Once a month? Daily? For the last 5 months? 5 years? I know the feeling... You are a dear, creative heart who lives for the highs of creating special pieces who then has to deal with the gut-wrenching, life-sucking vacuum of NO-thing being created either for a little while straight after experiencing the high, or for what feels like a drought that has not ended. Fine. I've described your worst nightmare to admit about yourself, what do I propose you do about it? First and[...]
This question is the same as 'what is the meaning of life?' I have found that the human brain needs this question answered. We need a purpose or a meaning. The brain needs to operate from a core out into the world. It needs this as a biological motivator behind every action, besides survival. What I have found is that I have answered this question of purpose for myself and others many times, because it changes. The point is that we do function better when we have a purpose, or a direction. And without knowing what the meani[...]
I am going to share one of my passions with you today: food photography. I started photographing 8 years ago after changing industries from being a full-time chef t[...]
One of the quickest and most accessible ways of improving your photographic skills is to use the camera that most of us have readily to hand almost wherever we go:[...]
I’ve been a fan of Life & Thyme for a long time. I’ve also been fortunate enough to be able to contribute to a few articles there. Not only is Lif[...]
Creative people tend to be very self-critical. It is the mechanism that drives improvement so it is useful if kept in balance. An example is looking back at old wor[...]
In January 2018 I was full of inspiration to find out about ideas and actions that were different in the food world. I craved a story with a deep respect for the env[...]
A trip to Jozi to spend a day in three different kitchens led me to Urbanologi at last. I was writing and photographing for an article about Jozi staff meals and aft[...]
Our favourite Cape Town bakery, Schoon, has relocated and opened up a little shop in Somerset West. When I visited, it was clear that they already have a loyal local[...]
I am often asked where I get my inspiration from or why I choose to create what I do. It's not quite straightforward as I create for many different reasons with many[...]
I recently photographed a travel guide for design-minded travellers, edition Cape Town. I was asked to photograph a dish, a portrait of the head chef Freddie Dias an[...]
I recently had the excellent fortune of shooting for one of our oldest Cape Dutch homestead farms, Boschendal. I had asked the universe to lead me to a property tha[...]
Banoffee pie is one of the simplest traditional American pies. With layers of caramel, bananas, whipped cream and chocolate shavings in a buttery pastry shell, what[...]
I spent all of my twenties in a kitchen. When one chooses the life of a chef, you don't have a pencil holder on your desk, you have stifling heat, fire, burns and si[...]
The idea of foraging for your daily food is not fun for all - especially if you haven’t got a clue of where or what to forage for - so it may seem like madness t[...]
I have asked myself this question so many times: "What is my style?" People often remark that they can tell if a photograph is mine, because they recognize my sty[...]