Cape Crusaders

HERMANUS

Camdyn: Hermanus is an incredibly unique spot with nothing quite like it anywhere else on earth. It is the mouth of the Klein River which often doesn’t have enough water to flow into the ocean so it backs up into a lagoon, sometimes mere meters from the waves without mixing. However, when a big enough storm rolls through, the river mouth opens and the whole lagoon drains, leaving behind an extremely shallow but flat-water playground. The last few years the lagoon has been drained but this winter had the right conditions to top it up perfectly.

I’ve had my eyes glued to this spot this winter and finally a big storm with the perfect direction appeared. For some reason this spot is often on in the early morning and characteristically it was peaking with gusts over 40 at 8am. When we got there the parking lot was totally empty and we ended up scoring this session completely to ourselves! A few days later the water level went too high and the river mouth opened and drained the spot once again. Hopefully there’ll be more sessions next year.

Andrew: The Cape of Storms stood up to its name for sure! Battered by waves of horizontal wind and rain, I managed somehow to keep my camera dry. This is by far the worst-case scenario as a photographer, as our equipment is not just expensive – it’s personal, an extension of our vision which enables us to capture small moments in time. These moments tell a story – the sand blowing, the wind whistling, the gusts driving surface waves on the lagoon, the hazy mountains in the distance, and of course the brave kiter performing his dance with the elements.

This day was particularly exciting. We had just received the 2026 Nitro and I could see Cam’s excitement as 2025 had thus far been very trying. We were expecting a bit of a crowd as the predictions were for a solid day and the lagoon had not yet breached into the sea. We arrived at a gloomy dark and moody lagoon. It is tough to kite alone, you need to self-motivate and to believe in your ability to push your limits whilst being safe at the same time. I don’t like these situations and if something goes wrong, I’m limited to a clumsy response time and limited resources to help. But Cam and I have kited enough together to develop trust and to understand what we can capture together.

Shooting in a ‘Monkey’s Wedding’ where the light exposure changes all the time is crazy frustrating but sometimes you get lucky with light on the subject and a dark moody backdrop. This along with the haze from the sand blowing over the lagoon made for some incredible captures.

FISH HOEK

Andrew: I’ve spent endless days at Fish Hoek whilst Cam and his sister, Summer, competed in junior Life Saving competitions. Not known for kiting, with its limited beach at high tide and onshore winds, Cam decided to check it out. Late afternoon, it was the first southeast wind of the season, and the beach was deserted due to the horizontal windblown sand. The beach looks over False Bay with the Kogelberg mountain range as a backdrop. Fish Hoek itself is an old fishing village which has morphed into a slow suburban town with a windblown shaggy look. The dunes here used to blow to Noordhoek in the summer seasons and back again in the winter. Development and housing estates have restricted this, and the new stabilizing windbreaks on the dunes offered an interesting foreground for my frame. The deal here is that I move around the beach finding interesting angles and Cam needs to look out for instructions of what is working or not. Mostly we plan a shot, in our minds, and I try to bring it to life on camera. Easy… yeah right!

Camdyn: I’ve been going to this beach twice a week almost every week for most of my childhood. I started out there as a Nipper and over the years I trained as a lifeguard and worked voluntary duty during the summer holidays. I left that life behind years ago but I always knew my path would cross onto this beach once again. I’m surprised it took so long! This beach is a hidden gem of a kite spot and apart from the tricky launch at higher tides it is one of the most beautiful spots you can ride in Cape Town.

BLOUBERG

Andrew: I arrived late and, being early summer, the sun disappears quickly behind the horizon. I didn’t manage to get much in the way of filming content and was disappointed when I put my camera away. Cam went onto 14m lines just for fun and I was headed back to the car out of the wind. Heading up, I turned to see the sunset and caught Cam in a perfect horizontal loop over a container ship with the sun dipping below the horizon. Scrambling for my camera, I watched the hues of the sky turn pink and the lights of the city start to glow. It was as if the stars were about to line up! Just then the container ship swung on its mooring perfectly so the sunset shone through each stack. I was running up and down the beach trying to frame the shot with Cam unknowingly just having a blast. Finally, he came in and I was able to explain what I was trying to get. Problem was, we were literally running out of light! Just goes to show, you need to watch the sunset even if you are having a bad day.