Photography Life

Spectators tries to hide from the hot kalahari sun

We weren’t going to photograph. We were tired, so we were just going to approach the soccer coach and check when they would train during the week.

Of course, once out on the red dirt of this Kalahari soccer field in the Northern Cape of South Africa, speaking to the coach and spectators of the game with their fold-up chairs and umbrellas for the brutal sun, it didn’t take long for Morne to say he was going to get a camera from the car, I just nodded.

It’s a fantastic location, to us it epitomises South African soccer. The dirt is a fine grain of red-brown coloured Kalahari sand, that is kicked up easily by the feet and settles again as a fine layer of red dust on your legs. The field boundary has been drawn in this iconic dirt with a stick and holes in the goal net have been fixed with black plastic bags.

Action on the red sand

The field separates the township and the highway and motorists honk their horn in support of the game as they drive the last leg into Upington from Cape Town, 800km away.

Despite being the first game of the year, the action is gripping as bodies soar into the air and slide along in the dirt.

Morne had not been out long with his camera when he had a small following of children checking out his shots. This had been common at all soccer games we have photographed around South Africa, but this time a new interest was shown. Rather than jumping in front of the lens to get in the pictures, one boy found a long reed stick, threw its length over his shoulder, picked up the shorter end and copied Morne in holding it like a camera, shooting the game!

This was too much for me, I grabbed the car keys and went to get the other camera from the car, I had to photograph this!

Two photographers shooting the action

Slowly more and more boys were finding cameras in all sorts of props; a section of water hose could actually be looked through, plastic drinking bottles and cans made the clicking noise of the shutter and they would take my photo with it, then show me the image on the back!

Finally the original little photographer regained his status at the top, sticking the bamboo stick (now appropriately shortened) through the shorter hose pipe and into the top of a Powerade lid, thus creating his lens with focusing ring and all!

No doubt we will see them again as we plan to return to this great spot for some soccer training.

Cheers

Keturah de Klerk - Photography Life