The Fort

Beauty and emotion is not always on the faces..it could be through your actions

Koketso and Wada's Patlo-Magadi..

For us its all about story telling and the ability to create everlasting memories in both an artistic and elegant way..the ability to document culture from a lively perspective and most importantly the ability to capture emotion in the purest form..that is what The Fort is all about and what we strive for at every event that we are assigned to..

This was a marriage of two cultures, Tswana and Pedi..so it was very important to capture the essence of the traditions at play..while the setting was in Serolong culture, I could not help but admire how prominent the Pedi culture naturally commanded attention at the Patlo-Magadi and throughout the day..the colourful Pedi dresses and their free spirited excitement was something that truly added vibrance to the pictures..in the end I hope the pictures tell the story in more detail..Kabelo 🙂

PHOTO QUOTE OF THE DAY

Philippe Halsman (1906-1979) was an American portrait photographer known for his experimental techniques and collaboration with Salvador Dali. He photographed celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Winston Churchill, and his work was featured in major publications such as LIFE magazine.

Learn more about Philippe Halsman at https://quote.joeedelman.com/halsman

"The immortal photographers will be straightforward photographers, those who do not rely on tricks or special techniques."
- - Philippe Halsman

Keletso & Refilwe's kgoroso..all in a day's work..key to ensuring a proper ex*****on of an event is ensuring that you have full information of everything that will take place on the day..that will allow you to first of all have all the equipment and manpower that you will need..

All my clients will attest that before I engage into a contract there would have been a portfolio presentation of my work and a detailed discussion of their particular event..the reason being that;
1. The meeting allows the photographer to know and understand the clients expectations.
2. The clients are able to appreciate the photographer's work in detail and will allow them to decide if that is really what they were looking looking for..you see pictures are just not pictures, they carry a message and so many stories to be told in future..the question the client ought to ask themselves is whether the photographer they have chosen will capture their day in detail and the ability to narrate every moment to their vision.
3. The photographer is also able to state his/her expectations of the clients..not the monetary part 😉..well..that will naturally take precedence..but the photographer needs to state his/her workflow to the clients and how they fit in and what is expected of them (creatively) to ensure a perfectly executed job..

I believe those are the 3 key points to be addressed between the photographer and the client..

I have known Keletso for the longest time and has always been a fan of my work over the years..so it wasn't really a surprise when he contacted me for his wedding in the first quarter of the year..his wedding was on the 1st October but it just showed how organised he was to plan everything a good 7 months before the event..by the way the gentleman is also a good photographer in his own right..since he stays abroad we did our virtual meetings and presentations despite the fact that he already knew my work..I eventually met with Refilwe during Keletso's visit for the final preparations and made the same presentation physically this time..

Their pre-wedding and main wedding were covered by different local photographers, something that I encourage because it is always a win-win situation in that the risk is spread and most importantly the different point of views and creativity from the different photographers..so mine was to cover their Kgoroso..as the pictures will tell you, it was a very detailed and long event that required a lot of experience and skill..there was a beautiful crossover between Setswana culture and the modern day wedding which had to be articulated in earnest..that of course was made easier by our pre-engagement meetings as I already knew how their day would run..

For this Kgoroso event, I was assisted by my long time friend and a very talented photographer, Letso Leipego of Let'z Photography..this year marks ten years of working together and I couldn't be prouder of his achievements over the years..despite his growth and independence in the business he continues to support whenever I need a hand..thank you brother..

It's another long write up as always but I hope the pictures validate the essay! 😉..once more many congratulations to my brother Keletso on his marriage to Refilwe..do enjoy your Christmas in 2 days time and may the Good Lord bless your union eternally!! Kabelo 🙂

Beautiful things....

Anthony and Pamela..the cornerstone of our work at The Fort is to create timeless memories..to capture candid moments throughout your day to cherish for your lifetime..

On the 28th November 2020 I covered a beautiful union of two childhood friends of mine, Anthony and Pamela..a happy third wedding anniversary guys!

I grew up with Anthony in Orapa and while we went to different primary schools we became very close friends at Junior Secondary..we both went to the same Senior Secondary in Letlhakane and were in the same year with Pamela..back then we were teenagers living our separate lives but the beauty of life is that it has a way of manifesting itself..many years later we were reunited by a wedding of my childhood friends Anthony and Pamela!

On this wedding I was joined by Nhlanhla Ncube of Untamed Visuals, a very talented and unique photographer..while I covered the ladies dress up Nhlanhla covered the men's dress up and we converged at the church session until end of day..as always let the pictures tell you about the rest of day!

Once more happy third wedding anniversary to Anthony and Pamela..many the good Lord bless your union eternally! Kabelo 🙂

Mpho and Refilwe..this past Sunday (3rd December) marked the 1st wedding of anniversary of my cousin Mpho and Refilwe..I would have loved to post these pics on their day but office ensured that didn't have things my way unfortunately..

Nevertheless, its never late to celebrate my cousin's monumental day..as you can imagine I have known Mpho all my life and to be honest I regard him a brother as we have been through so much in our lives together (from our herding cattle as kids, to his evolution as a hip hop artist in the early 90s, to our athletics days in our late teens and to our university days in the UK in the mid to late 2000s)..so his day was always going to be special to me..

As expected I was the man behind the lens on the day and as most of you will have grown accustomed to, my pictures are about moments and story telling..Mpho and Refilwe's wedding was short, simple and to the point which made my life much easier as I did not have my support guys with me..it was a very intimate wedding that was graced by family and long time friends of both Mpho and Refilwe..I knew almost everyone as Refilwe's friends are also my friends which made it extra special..

To cut the story short we truly had a ball and please join me in wishing Mpho and Refilwe their 1st wedding anniversary and the many more to come..you have always been a brother and I wish you and Refilwe nothing but the best 🫶..one love..Kabelo 🙂

Resego's Prom Night Photoshoot..this was definitely one of the most effortless photoshoots I have done in a while..the young lady was just a natural in front of the camera and elegant as ever..if she ever wanted to pursue modelling in her career I am sure it will be like a hot knife cutting through butter!! Kabelo 🙂

Beautiful things - the detail....

Ivy's 30th..today is the 24th August 2023 and when I checked the "get info" of these pictures (apple boys and girls will understand 😉), it showed that they were edited on the 24th August 2022 which marks a full year since this photoshoot..As I have lamented before I decided to go on a long imposed break of being active on social media in my business page to allow myself a little breather..

I however still did a bit of work from time to time as I would get calls from loyal followers of this page but decided not to post most of the work since 2020..during this period I had so many reflections about my work and how I wanted to identify myself as a photographer..the style of photography I wanted to be identified with and to be comfortable and confident with my work..

Like I said, taking a break from hoping for the "most likes" on my page gave me the opportunity to reflect on the direction I wanted to take in my work..I like keeping things simple and natural in my photography but I have to admit that there have been several times where I came under pressure with the many trends that I saw from upcoming photographers especially with the "modelling or birthday shoots" but balked..I suppose that is another reason why I probably took some time out and focused more on my personal photography..

Now back to the shoot, I was using my ever trusted Nikon D850 paired with the Profoto A1 speedlight where Ivy was walking the horse and then shifted to a one light set up with the Godox 600Pro monolight with the sun behind her as my backlight where she was holding the cake..the whole idea was to maximise the potential of my equipment with very minimal editing so to give my pictures that natural feel..

Happy 31st to Ivy as it is a year later that I am posting her work! Kabelo 🙂

Pedro & Loungo,

Today marks exactly 3 years since I last made a proper post of my wedding work. I have covered a few weddings in the 3 year period but decided to take a break for sometime in terms of advertising my work. I needed to recalibrate and also allow for more Saturdays to the girls.

Last year was the one year where I was very inactive on my photography and my first gig was in the last quarter of the year, thanks to Pedro and Loungo.

I got an inquiry from Loungo to whether I was still onto weddings or whether I was still on my self imposed break. To be honest I kind of missed the wedding business so jumped at the opportunity.

I am one person who enjoys allowing weddings to flow and play more of a documenter on the background. This allows for that pure emotion from the couple and guests throughout the day without taking the center stage with all the heavy equipment. My weddings are divided into 4 phases, 1 being make up and preps, 2 church, 3 portraits and 4 reception. So its always important that there is a balance across these phases so to ultimately deliver a beautiful story to the couple about their day.

The attached pics are a synopsis of Pedro & Loungo's day. And thank you to Loungo for dragging me out of the little cocoon I had built from weddings. Truly enjoyed my time with you guys. These days I roll solo, so it was also a good test to how well rounded I am in capturing a day by myself.

Finally I would like to thank the couple for giving me consent to publish their pictures as I find my way back to the wedding world. I wish you guys nothing but the best in your marriage! Kabelo

Happy Valentines! Kabelo😇☺️😍

First things first..I have always been a fan of black and white pictures..something I have expressed over time..maybe for the simple reason that black and white pictures are honest..the picture has to be right for you to turn it to black and white..it has to have the right settings, the right emotion and the right background..

The one thing we like focusing on are the first two attributes I mentioned in the above statement but we very rarely take background into the equation though a serious game changer..

I used to decide on what pictures to print for my clients in the past years but of late I decided to deliver pictures and allow my clients to pick which pictures they would want for print..

Ironically most of the pictures my clients will pick would be none of the pictures I had in mind..nevertheless there is this beautiful Setswana adage "mafoko a kgotla a mantle otlhe"..I might have had my thoughts of my preferred pictures, but when its all said and done "the customer is king/always right", something that is so critical to our survival as service providers..

Allow your customer to make the final decision..if it was back then, this picture would have been my choice for the ultimate canvas picture because of my artistic and gibberish justifications as a photographer..but the current cover picture on this page was my client's choice and what a picture after seeing the canvas!!

Detail..the rings..

Beautiful things..wedding dress by Delayna Scott

It was a well needed break from weddings last year as I only covered 3 weddings at the end of year..this time around I am back and fully recharged..for a teaser let's start with beautiful things!!..decor by TebbieMos Décor..Kabelo 🙂

What is key to low light photography is that you simply have to have the equipment to tell your stories in how you want them to be told..

The set up I found at the birthday event I covered this past weekend could not afford any kind of camera lighting/strobes as the ambient lighting from the decor was more than sufficient, lest I spoiled the hard work that was put in by the event planners..

To be honest, to pull off such kind of pictures at the time of the day will not take just any other camera and lens..you want your story to be told in all honesty, the composition to be perfect and the quality of pictures to be exceptional..so you really have to have the right equipment especially if you are a photographer like myself who does not heavily rely on post editing work..

That is where my ever trusted beast Nikon D5 came in..but before I mention the lens I used, I would like to send a special shout out to my brother Letso Leipego who I have now worked with for exactly 10 years..the lens I used was a Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 VR lens which I borrowed from him as I have already destroyed 3 of the same lenses in 10 years and vowed never to get another copy again..

More importantly the event turned into a small reunion as Letso came in as my supporting photographer together with my other brother Zayne Goodwin..though Letso & Zayne ultimately moved on to start their own businesses, these are the two brothers who assisted in building The Fort some 8 years back..God bless you boys!

Back to the pictures, the Nikon D5 is one camera that gets so excited in feeding off the ambient light and will capture the detail of work to the exact specifications provided you know what to do with it..it does not come cheap or should I say did not come cheap as it is no longer in production and was replaced by the Nikon D6 and now Nikon Z9..at some point I did think of replacing my D5 with the Z9 but given the tough economic situation, it will be some time before I ever invite such thoughts again given the splendid work that the D5 continues to do! Kabelo 😇🙂