Page 18 - Cape-Camera-September-2023

Cape Camera September 2023

Left: Simon’s image “Is there an-
yone out there” was the second
runner-up in the August PSSA Jun-
ior Club competition.

Several of Simon’s images earned
acceptances in recent salons. On
the opposite page are (from top to
bottom) “Danger Beach” (accept-
ed in the Highway salon), “Sunrise
at Kalk Bay”and “Early morning on
Tafelberg Road” (both accepted in
the SAVAS salon).

Simon Mouton

explains why he just loves Photography!

There is no dull moment when travelling or shooting with CTPS member Simon

Mouton! In a short time he became a competition award-winner for CTPS, a

successful salon entrant and an enthusiastic participant in club activities.

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic bought at a I love taking photographs of just about anything, but
pawn shop in Long Street during my early high school mostly do travel, landscape, nature, street and archi-
career. I was very active in photography during those tecture photography.
years and also enjoyed developing and printing mono- I was fortunate to live in St James for over a year. it was
chrome images. great to explore the whole area from Muizenberg to
My one brother is a very gifted artist, but I soon realised Cape Point. I am currently living in Oranjezicht and am
that I was not very talented at drawing/painting and spending time on the mountains at every opportunity,
took up photography. My inspiration came from Henri revisiting the amazing Bo Kaap quite regularly.
Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Robert Doisneau, W Eu- I have been practicing as an advocate since 1992. I was
gene Smith, and many others. I regularly cycled to the born in Pretoria and attended school from Grade 3 until
Cape Town library for photography books. matric in Cape Town. I lived in Stellenbosch for 5 years
An early memory (whilst still at high school) is of the Rap- prior to moving to Cape Town and attended Stellen-
port cycle tour from Joburg to Cape Town, which was the bosch University for 5 years, after which I lived in Cape
biggest cycle tour in South Africa. The finish line was at Town and Riebeek West for 14 years. I recently moved
the City Hall and the prize giving was on the balcony. I back to Cape Town and it’s fantastic being back where I
waved my Canon AT1 at the security guard, said “Press” lived during my high school years.
and ended up on the balcony with the winners and Miss I met my wife, Karina, during my first month at varsity
South Africa! and we married in 1989 at the end of my fifth year, days
A few years later I was also in the crowd when Nelson before my postgraduate graduation ceremony. We have
Mandela made his first speech from the same balcony, two Labradors and one child, Frank. He is graduating at
after being released. I still have a few monochrome im- the end of this year and starting his accounting articles
ages of District Six (I regret not visiting it more often). with BDO in London. I am looking forward to travels to
For many years thereafter, I only took photographs over London at the end of January to help Frank settle in, and
weekends and on holidays. However, during Covid, I to Ireland in May.
started taking images in our garden (mainly birds) and On a visit to Italy, we stayed in a hotel on the water in
for the first time, actually read my camera manual. Then, Rapallo when Frank was 11. I decided one night that it
after attending my first weekend outing with Kyle & Jon was a good idea to teach him the basics of photography
of VentureKJ, I was hooked again. over a few glasses of Limoncello (for me). He remembers

Cape Town Photographic Society 18