Reflections
Dugong, Nets, and the Space Between (2010)
These three pieces were written in 2010 during time spent in the Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique.
I travelled there initially as an underwater photographer, intent on finding and photographing dugongs. What followed unfolded more slowly and less cleanly than I had expected. The experience became not only about an elusive marine mammal, but about the human systems that surround and press upon fragile environments, often without malice and seldom with clear intent.
The first piece, Christine, is a personal account of searching for a dugong and discovering the limits of pursuit. The second, The Nets Between the Islands, steps back to observe the labour and effort of artisanal fishing families working the shallow waters of the archipelago. The third, Who Is Allowed to Fish?, reflects on the contradictions inherent in conservation, tourism, and consumption, including my own place within them.
These pieces are presented as they were written. They have not been updated or revised to reflect subsequent events. They stand as a record of what I saw, what I failed to capture, and what I learned at the time.
· The Nets Between the Islands
· Who Is Allowed to Fish?
I have spent much of my adult life photographing places and moments that sit at the edges of human attention. Sometimes the camera delivers what I hoped for. Often it doesn’t. What stays with me longest are not the images that worked cleanly, but the experiences that resisted being simplified.
This series grew out of one such experience. It sits somewhere between photography, travel, and reflection, and belongs as much to what I failed to capture as to what I did. I have left these pieces as they were written, because they mark a particular way of seeing that was shaped by time, place, and limitation.
They remain part of an ongoing conversation I have with the natural world, and with my own reasons for pointing a camera at it.
Down at the Corner.
Signs, they’re everywhere. Directing you here, directing you there … helping you find your way, if you’re looking.
In the shade of a corner post.
Most days you’ll find me here, at the corner, in the cafe there … because the coffee’s good, the vibe homely and coffee makes the world turn.
Pop on down for a visit and a chat, and bring your camera. Let’s go shoot magic.
Dawn in Durban
Behind the city’s hotels and apartment blocks that line the beachfront, and at the southern end, is the busy harbour port that underlies Durban’s commerce and importance.
Durban – the busiest port in Africa
Here, away from the docking cargo ships and container vessels, artisanal fishermen scratch for prawns and fish for bait. Expensive yachts lie at mooring and fishermen launch their charter boats.
Sunrise brings a special warmth and beauty to this working harbour, softening it and painting it in promising pastel shades.
Yoga Back Bend Poses For Free Diving.
Helen is devoted to yoga, and she’s also devoted to free diving. While one is about breathing and the other about breath-hold they’re both ultimately about the union of breath, mind and body.
Helen Garner Weaver – free diver and yoga teacher.
Helen’s a “backbender”, preferring backbends to bending forward. And it makes sense given backbending is about stretching the chest and lungs and opening our hearts in a way of being that is joyful and fearless.