blog

• Color, Cable Cars, Cape Town.

  A full and fabulous one. A 7 am call to breakfast, fueled up and hit the road for Bo Kaap. Brilliantly colored muslim neighborhood in Cape Town. Famous for its rows of brightly colored houses. Several film takes walking along the sidewalk gave me plenty of opportunity to study the architecture and color palate here. What a way to say good morning.

  All the pretty colors. Lindsay in front of her dream house.

  Yann is always taking me picture. I guess I have that coming. Im grateful to have this experience documented this way.

  We wrapped at Bo Kaap and headed to the bustling V&A Waterfront. Think San Francisco, complete with long meandering wharf, trendy restaurants and even a BIG male sea lion who swam right into view as we were filming. Oh yes, and that big amazing mountain as a back drop. We worked and worked and stopped here for lunch.       Sea lion says ho. Statues of Desmond Tu Tu and Mandela on the waterfront. Our Through the Lens team: Director Chris, Producer Paul and AD Billy. We don't have any fun.

  From the waterfront we piled into the car and made the short trip partially up Table Mountain. We cued up for the cable car and let them do the rest. Atop the nearly 3000 foot flattened peak, the views of the city and sea beyond are stunning. Breath taking. It's remarkable that a vantage point like this is so easily and quickly available from town. From up here, it's clear what makes this place so unique and special. This is a city, living, breathing, existing in the contours of some amazing natural features. The flow of its building is threaded through a defining topography. Buildings and congregations wind through hills, spilling out to sea shore like a river. There is harmony between urban development and the earth here. The respect for these natural features is clear among the people of Cape Town.       We spent hours and hours on Table Mountain. I never tired of the view and couldn't stop shooting from all sides. But sun was setting and we descended and piled in the vans for a quick trip to Camps Bay beach, where I'll be doing some swimming later in the week. Shoes off and out onto the sand for a few minutes of filming as the big sun dipped into the Atlantic. Into the Atlantic! I even saw the fleeting green flash at the moment the sun disappeared into the horizon. Ive seen this many times, but only in the Pacific.         We had a late (late) night dinner with more meat and wine on the table than I can remember seeing, both exquisite products of South Africa, both smooth and infused with the flavors of this remarkable landscape.  Another day of shooting with our team is ahead of me. I believe we start at the local wares market. Not sure where we'll end up after that, but I remain so grateful to have work and fun in this remarkable place. - HP