Ok, so this is something completely new to me; a French Bull Dog Puppy shoot! It was a bit like doing a cute baby shoot but with puppies! Admittedly it’s a whole new world for me. These dogs are not any dogs, they are the French Bull Dogs. I knew nothing about them before I did this shoot but now I know a whole lot more. And I have to say that these animals come packed with character. Next week I will be visiting these farm pups again for another photography shoot. For me, my photography challenge is to capture their characters….and boy, do these pups have character. Next post coming soon!
(Drum Roll)……………….Introducing THE finest, most spunkiest and cutest South African farm bred French Bull Dog puppies around today.
I’m delighted to have been asked to document phase 1 of this cattle breeding program in the Umzimkulu district in KwaZulu-Natal. The St Paul Farmer Production Support Unit, funded by the South African Department of Agriculture, have been tasked to improve the genetics of the communal beef herd over a 3 year period by introducing Brangus genetics via artificial insemination. This project is in partnership with Afrivet, Acendis Bioscience and Embryo Plus.
Phase 1 involved a 10 day program of estrus synchronization of the cattle so that AI could be performed at the same time.
I’m looking forward to documenting this project over time and following its progress. Hopefully in a few months time, this page will be full up of baby Brangus calves!
St Paul Farmer Production support Unit Feed lot near UmzimkuluProject funded by the Department of agriculture Rural Development, KZN
FPSU Team
These images are licensed to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, KZN
Photographing small businesses or start-up businesses has opened many doors for me through which I get to step into someone else’s world for a few hours. Not only do I get to learn about a new industry, but I get to meet people doing what they love to do, people who have identified what brings them joy, purpose and fulfilment and who are actively and often bravely, pursuing it by making it a way of life. Meeting these people is the part I love about my job, people who are gifted one way or the other and through business, are sharing their gift with others.
Elizabeth Thornton is one of those people. In fact she has modelled her business on ‘gifts!’ At the Bella Rosa Bloom in the Garlington Estate in Hilton, you will find a buzz of activity – be it arranging the most exquisite bunches of flowers, landscaping and rose management, hosting guests in her self-catering accommodation and running a gift shop! She has a strong team working with her too who make it all possible. Faith now runs the flower business, gift shop and the accommodation and then last but not least, the men in pink! The men in pink of the Bella Rosa Bloom head up the landscaping and rose management. You cant miss them (!) with their vibrant pink shirts, big smiles and their love of gardening. Elizabeth’s garden speaks for itself and for their work!
If you are like me who forgets most birthdays, and you live in the Hilton area – this gem of a florist and gift shop will definitely come in handy when you need to make a quick plan for a gift and one that will brighten up anyone’s day! Take a look at the photos and see what Bella Rosa Bloom offers.
The new Bella Rosa Bloom website will be up and running soon. If you have a small business and would like to build your photo library for marketing and advertising purposes or need to update your website, please get in touch to find out about my commercial photography packages on offer. And if you are in need of a great website designer, I highly recommend Webdoor , a responsive web design agency and web-based technology consultants who are based in Hilcrest in KwaZulu-Natal.
Take a peak at some of the photos of the Bella Rosa Bloom!
My recent photography tour of a number of nursery’s that have embraced the Ellepot propagation system included Danroc, a state of the art nursery and leading Macadamia nut farm in the White River area. Anton Wessels is the manager of Danroc Nursery and his attention to detail and discipline becomes quickly obvious when touring this nursery. Danroc have adopted the Ellepot system, planting Macadamia nut cuttings into Ellepot paper pots. According to Anton, Ellepot’s phenomenal root architecture and root mass is a major factor in the way of giving his trees the best possible start, especially in the way of healthy roots. Check out this incredible Mac operation!
Macadamia’s being planted at Danroc Nursery in White River
Stepping up from Ellepot Global 032 Air trays to Ellepot Global 006 Air Trays
This was a scorcher of a day! 42 degrees in White River and spending most of that time in tunnels photographing Ellepot seedlings being planted and grown at the Sappi’s Ngodwana Nursery … a day’s sauna session and some steamed up lenses to say the least! But what an impressive nursery. Sappi have recently embraced Ellepot and as a non-Ellepot expert, it’s becoming very obvious to me that the proof is in the roots! This last week, I have been on an Ellepot photo tour in the White River area photographing a number of nurseries that have embraced the Ellepot planting system.
My goal was to build up a photo library of Ellepot’s customers nursery operations, capturing their individual stories and how changing to Ellepot has benefited them. For Sappi, the roots give their trees the best start a forestry operation could hope for. And importantly, using the Ellepot system means the roots are not damaged when removing them from the trays when it comes to planting the seedlings out. Take a look at how Sappi are embracing Ellepot.
Lianne Ashton Photography 
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