Nieu-Bethesda

I went to Nieu-Bethesda in April this year for our PhotoJourn class field trip.
We went there because even though it's a small village (it has about 10 streets only!), it's a really artistic/creative vibe... so there are a lot of very random things that make interesting photographs!

Here are my favourite 5 pics and link to the full album on Facebook :)

A Police van stops outside Thandi Mali, Pienaarsig Township, Nieu Bethesda



A Helen Martin cement statue, The Owl House, Nieu Bethesda

The Dutch Reformed Church, Church Street, Church Square, Graaff-Reinet

The Valley of Desolation, Cambedoo National Park

FB Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=427232&id=630265640

Ciao, Gezzie! x

PhotoJournalism 3

I have been extremely busy this year... Haven't ever worked so hard before in my life ;)
But I will soon be posting all of my favourite photographs from my year as a Photojournalism student in 2010.
Exciting times :)

Ciao, Gezzie. x

Happy vibes! :)

Well well it has been quite a while... apologies for that absence!
This post is written in the spirit of 2010 because it seems to be everywhere, filling everyone with such positive attitudes which is really really great! :)

Some reasons why i completely love my life right now"
1) I got to spend December catching up with a great friend who's currently working/studying in UK but came home for a visit and man did we have some good times!:)
2) I spent Christmas with my dad's side of the family, which was super cool because we hardly ever do that! It was so cool hanging out with my cousins, enjoying awesome sunsets and being bad influences on our parents and grandmothers ;) [Plus we got to see some great S.A bands at the Knysna rocks fest, thanks to Prime Circle, Just Jinjer, Evolver and Flash Republic for some sick jams!]
3) I passed my second year of varsity with good marks, got accepted into Photojournalism as my specialisation and am officially half way through the biggest part of my degree.
4) Because of my acceptance into Photojourn I was fortunate enough to be spoiled with a brrand new DSLR camera for Christmas and have been snappin away continuously since then... flip I am SO stoked to be majoring in photography and I can't wait to learn all the tricks of the trade and start creating my own ;)
5) Of course being 2010 in S.A is a whole other level of excitement... I can tell the whole country is waiting for June/July, waiting for our chance to shine in the FIFA World Cup!
6) I'm moving into digs at Rhodes this year... which means more freedom, delicious food and way more time to do things my way!!! Can't wait

K well that's all I got for now but I'm sure I'll have a tonne more later on!!!

Here's to making this a year never to forget! :)

Ciao, Gezzie!
x

South Africa all the way :)

This post is all abouth the awesome country that is S.A :) and in particular, the awesome music our talented artists are producing these days!!!

To start off, one of my favourite South African bands that have continued to grow and find success year after year...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJheWfvuofc
At the moment, they're wrapping up their world tour, which visits 25 international cities, and culminates in Joburg in a record-breaking concert. [They'll be the first South African act to headline a show at the CocaCola Dome]
Congratulations boys - you deserve every bit of success - you're talented, hard working and inspirational :)

Next up, one of the newest acts on the block - Locnville! :)
These kids are from Cape Town and have just made their way on to the 5fm playlist - YAY :)
Theirsound is so unique, a little electro, a little rappy and then they throw in a bit of indie-punk outfits!? I rate they're following in Goldfish's footsteps so here's wishing you the best of luck kids ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc2H1-rz-94

And speaking of the fishies... they've been partying up one heck of a glamorous storm in Ibiza lately!!! My brother really is the greates Goldfish fan, so as a dedication to you lil bro... the awesomeness that is Goldfish...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSBIEMonruE

Ok, now to my top three S.A. bands =)
1 - Zebra and Giraffe
2 - Crash Car Burn
3 - aKing
Zebra and Giraffe speak to the little punk inside of me, i love it ;) They remind me just how cool rock music will always be!! Indie is chilled, punk is fun, and everything else makes me smile too... but rock is what I love and I can't get enough of their amazing songs!!!
Here's a goodie - In My Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzj3vpXgeNo

Car Crash Burn, well I've been a fan of the brothers Barnes since they were 'Tweak'... back in the day ;) and their new age rock sound is simply awesome! :) They grew up a bit, found their inner rockers and exploded with a great debut album. My favourite song from that album - Serenade... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orgDFgcKbBI
Can't wait for the follow up boys ;)

And now to aKing... which I would not have discovered if it weren't for little brother, once again. These Afrikaans punks are SO cool :) I really love their sound... it's all catchy and cool, but hardcore at the same time! I dig it ;) A perfect example - The Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_RADmxHkKg
BUT...watch out for 'You and I' and 'Your Bones' YES :)

Ok, in all honesty I could spend ALL day reccommending amazing South African music... but time is of the essence and I got a lecture to attend ;)

Until later...
Cheers my bru ;)
x

Rolling Stone Magazine has a reputation that preceeds itself...

If you love music and want good advice baout what's worth listening to and what's not, they're the magazine you're likely to turn to. They hold no bias towards any genre or artists. They're just in it for the music and I love it :)

Here's their page on The Killers - http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thekillers

It includes their bio, reviews, archives and galleries. So take a trip through their world for a while and discover why they're such an amazing band!!!

Ciao, Gezzie! x

*Mr. Brightside*

Here it is...
A wonderfully creative montage depicting what love means to me...



I am my own mr. brightside... It always starts with a kiss... I'm always getting jealous... They're always taking off some other girl's dress, not mine... My eyes, they're way too eager... And I'm way too naive... But that's what makes me the brightside to other people... I use my angst to make them smile... Deflection? No.
... Survival

A much deserved shrine!

So my blog is "Mr Brightside's Version"...

If it isn't immediately obvious to some, that title was inspired by my favourite song of all time... Mr Brightside, by The Killers :)




And while it may seem cliched, The Killers are more than just a band to me... they're a piece of my life because I've been listening to their music for what I consider to be the most important years of my life...

See, before they became famous through a featured song on The O.C soundtrack (Somebody Told Me and Mr Brightside), I had already found their music and connected with their thoughts and feelings.



The year was 2005, I was 15 years old and in grade 10 of high school. And I was madly obssessed with Mtv's 'Rock Chart' and after enjoying a usual Tuesday evening watching the Rock Chart, I left Mtv playing softly in the background... and then a scene caught my eye...

It was a crazy parade of colours, melodramatic make-up and outrageous costumes. It was a familiar story to me - boy loves girl, girl has obligations to love superior man, but girl and boy are in love, girl is breaking boy's heart...

And the story was familiar, not because I watch a lot of Hollywood's recycled RomCom's... it was familiar because that is exactly how my life goes. And as I watched the scenes of the music video flash past, I knew I had finally found something special... something that made me feel understood, something that would be a part of my life for many more years come...


And so began my love affair with the crazy cool boys of The Killers :)

They quickly became 'my' band, I watched Mtv CONSTANTLY, looking out for their videos and spent R300 on Hot Fuss, because it had to specifically imported from Las Vegas, all the way to Johannesburg! But it was all worth it, I played that cd from beginning to end, and it felt like home. I had loved every guitar rift, every poetic line, every tangled metaphor and all the colourful tones of Brandon's melodic voice...


This was what good music was meant to be. I had found a gem and they have NEVER disappointed me since then... Look - Day and Age was HUGELY successful ;)



So, the next few posts will be the start of my shrine to The Killers. This was inspired by the brilliance of their new album and the fact that they're coming to play two concerts in South Africa in December this year...



The Killers... in my little corner of the world... REALLY???
WOW... words can't describe how quickly I bought my tickets and how excited I feel every time I realise it's only months away!!!

65 days and counting... =)



To my boys, thank you, I love you, and I can't wait to see you!