Midlands of Kwazulu-Natal
In 2013 I put together a collection of images that I’d taken in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands over the previous years, intending to use them as a gift for our daughter Shayne Baillie who’s lived in England for the past twenty years or more. She deeply loved the Midlands, and it seemed appropriate to present them to her as a gift. The question, as always, was how?
I was fortunate to link up with a gentleman who was a retired book binder, and he agreed to make up one copy for me if I provided him with the printed content. I did this, he wove his magic wand, and the result was way better than I’d anticipated. The book was sent off to Surrey, and a few weeks later I received a tearful telephone call.
I enjoyed compiling the volume every bit as much as I’d enjoyed taking the photos and writing the scraps of text, so much so that I’ll probably be setting up a second volume, this one dealing with another special region of the province, the Drakensberg. This will be done in conjunction with my friend Nola Meiring, also an enthusiastic photographer and lover of the Berg region.
To all of you who love the Midlands, I hope this blog brings you some pleasure.
Doug.
Comments
What a wonderful pictorial insight into the Midlands. Lovely work Doug.
This is a superb piece of work showing the beauty and diversity of our wonderful "Midlands". Thanks for sharing Doug.
Wonderful, Doug. I am speechless. Have you ever read Tolkien's ending to The Lord of the Rings (not the movie, the real thing)? “And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.” He must have been thinking of the Midlands.
Lovely images Doug - need to have a good look on my laptop as phone little small for reading. Well done!
You hope it will give "some" pleasure, Doug? This beautiful blog has in both words and photography held me spellbound. Thank you so much for reminding me how blessed and privileged I was to live amidst such beauty.
Very nice Doug - glad to see that you included the cane fields....
Such a beautiful photographic meander Doug. Thank you for sharing your passion