A Vincent Mounier Photography Blog
Cape of Good Hope - The Postcards and a Happy New Year
December 31, 2012
As promised, here are more Cape Point pictures.
After the critters, I've decided to combine flowers and landscape in one post since they are part of each other.
Cape Point
I guess it is appropriate that I am writing this on New Year's Eve and the word "hope" is in the title. The ability to hope has to be one of our greatest strengths. It focuses our mind and, far from being a passive, fatalist attitude, it channels our will into action and turns coincidences into fa...
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Cape of Good Hope
December 28, 2012
Part of the Table Mountain National Park, Cape Point stretches south of Cape Town at the bottom of the Cape Peninsula that forms False Bay's west shore. It is downwardly crowned by the Cape of Good Hope which was created along with many universal landmarks during my youth's early reading years.
The Cape might have long lost its title of southernmost tip of the continent to neighbor Cape Agulhas*, but literature, it seems, inspects geography through a romantic lens and h...
Constantia Chameleons - 2012 Pilgrimage
December 26, 2012
The green belt in Constantia is changing. Some areas are being cleared, others encouraged to flourish. Paths are drawn, bridges rebuilt. After an obviously wet spring, the belt looks lush and fresh, covered in flowers.
But the chameleon habitat seems threatened. Of course chameleons are probably spread out in multiple spots but the few low trees or bushes where I have been finding them year after year are now more isolated, the grass around them being mowed on a semi-re...
Christmas Cat, Happy
Our cat happens to like wearing things. He mellows out and seems perfectly content. But I can't figure out if he's thinking: "Merry Christmas, peace on earth, good will to all creatures great and small," or just "Pellets. Day-in, day-out."
Don Estorbo de la Bodega, Christmas Elf
Don Estorbo de la Bodega, Christmas Elf Crowned
Rough Seas in Kalk Bay
December 22, 2012
Harbour House, a favorite waterfront restaurant of ours in Kalk Bay near Cape Town, recently lost windows to a rogue wave.
Waves crashing over the Kalk Bay harbour pier
A few weeks ago, when having lunch at bottom neighbor Live Bait with Selina, the waves were strong enough to give patrons a few sweats, as the water crashed loudly against the tall glass bays and managed to spray nearby tables with a salty twist.
The restaurant's ocean facing lower wall is the actual...
Flying Over Africa - Part 2
December 18, 2012
As promised, here is the second batch of pictures captured while flying south from Amsterdam to Cape Town. These were taken roughly in the last third of the flight, somewhere between Angola and Namibia, around sunset.
I particularly like the one of the jet on a parallel course. It's one thing to see another aircraft in the busy airspace above New York, it's another altogether to have company in the numbing immensity of African skies...
Notice the jet on a...
Flying Over Africa - Part 1
December 15, 2012
On the second leg of our journey to Cape Town, we took off from Amsterdam Schiphol, flew southeast towards Paris, then due south until the mountain wave over the Pyrenees was unmistakably felt, a strong chop keeping us seated with the seat belt sign on until we were well over the Mediterranean. The plane's route then took us over Northern Africa, Algeria at first, then Niger.
35,000 feet above the Sahara - Click here for same location on Google Maps satellite view
I ha...
Sahara
December 11, 2012
Our KLM flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town took us over the immense Sahara Desert in daylight, a spectacular overflight I will post more about soon.
There will also be many South African flowers, fynbos, a chameleon update, much larger animals and some beautiful scenes from the Table Mountain area. Stay tuned.
Sahara Desert seen from 35,000 feet, somewhere over Algeria or Mali
Bound for South Africa via Amsterdam
December 1, 2012
As longitudes and latitudes are crossed and mixed once more, this blog is going to dive into a short hibernation. There might be a brief update or two from the road, wi-fi permitting, but otherwise I will see you all on the other side, not even 10 days from now.
This is not a photo trip and I don't expect too many landscape opportunities, but Cape Town is incredibly photogenic and even on a social outing, one eventually finds scenes to aim a camera at. And then of cours...
Boreum Hill, Brooklyn
November 29, 2012
This was late fall, we were walking back from Prospect Park. Not all of Brooklyn has gentrified. Some neighborhoods remain sketchy. As always, a single block is enough for a full transition from stuck up, I eat organic and go to art shows civilization to I eat when and what I can, and go to fights on the street, minimalist survival zone.
Who would want to rent anyway?
A shooting took place not far, the next morning
Yes, I do get visions of concentration camps - Bu...
An Early Winter Walk to Brooklyn's Pier 6
November 26, 2012
In slow recovery from what seemed like a nasty bronchitis, I ventured out on a cold late afternoon, chasing a light that did not truly happen. A low cloud layer had blinded the sun like a hood placed on a falcon's head, temporarily crippling it.
I walked down to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 just in case, snapped a few shots and hurried back home as the wind whined, reminding me I should be sheltered and warm.
Cruises are back in action, so is the Staten Island Ferry...
The Poetry of Amazon Customer Service
November 24, 2012
Here are some excerpts of my recent email interactions with the mighty Amazon support imbeciles regarding my Kindle app for Android.
There was a known highlighting issue, forums were full of complaints about it, I figured I'd add my vote to pressure Amazon into correcting it. Here is part of the reply, the rest is all templates and not worth quoting:
"... I'm really very sorry to know about the problems you're having with your Kindle for Android application. We certain...