After teaching a workshop in London with Dmitry Stepanenko, it was back to the project with a city that had been on my list for a long time. So, for City #50 during my 100 City Project I took the longest direct flight in my life down to Cape Town, South Africa.
Situated in one of the most picturesque spots you’ll find anywhere for a city its size, there’s no denying Cape Town is a good-looking city. Nicknamed the “Mother City,” sitting below Table Mountain next to endless beaches, you’ll also find one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world. With all of its natural beauty, it’s not surprising there’s a very outdoorsy feeling here. Mix all that with its urban atmosphere, history and mix of cultures, it makes for one of the more unique cities yet during my project. Cape Town has a lot to love about it, all with some beautiful light and stunning backgrounds that make it a great city for some street photography too.
So, here are my first impressions of Cape Town, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
7 First Impressions of Cape Town
(From a Street Photography Perspective)
1. This one’s been on my list for a while and it didn’t disappoint
Cape Town has been high on my list since as far back as I can remember. It’s impossible to look at pictures of the city and not want to visit. Other than Morocco, Africa was also the one continent I’d experienced the least up to this point. Before this project, the main thing stopping me all these years was airfare. Flying to Cape Town, and Africa, from the U.S. has always been the most expensive destination for some reason, coming in at around $1500 whenever I’ve checked. But this time I checked from my stop in London to teach a workshop and it was just under $300 for a direct flight. Easy choice, finally time to go.
When you look forward to something for so long, it’s easy to be disappointed. Cape Town came with high expectations and I’ll admit the first day or two, I worried I may have overhyped it. The places I was recommended the most for shooting, like the V&A Waterfront, felt inauthentic and overly touristy. Where was the “Mother City” I imagined? Well, luckily I spent over a week there and was soon able to find it. Cape Town is big and full of interest, you just have to take time, and transportation, to explore. I expected a city unlike any other in the world and in the end, that’s exactly what I found. Cape Town is one of a kind. One of the most picturesque cities in the world, while still being South Africa and providing that edge, character and culture.
2. Impressive City Backdrops. Take a street photography break and climb Lion’s Head too.
Capetown might have the most impressive backdrops of any big city I’ve been to. Rio de Janeiro is hard to beat looking from above, but down on the ground, it doesn’t get much better here for an urban landscape. Everywhere you go, you have a background of picturesque mountains behind the city buildings and beaches. It’s most known for Table Mountain, a very impressive and uniquely flat-topped rock structure that covers much of the city, but that’s not all it has. You also have Lion’s head, a grassy hill with a rocky top shaped reminiscent of a lion, and then next there’s Signal Hill, another picturesque grassy hill that reflects light nicely. And a little further, you have the very impressive Twelve Apostles Mountain Range, a long rocky structure extending from Table Mountain to the southwest. Having all these amazing backdrops will make many photographers excited. Even if you’re shooting street, it doesn’t hurt to have this in the background.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that if you’re here, you have to climb Lion’s Head. While Table Mountain is the symbol of Cape Town and provides great views at the top too, nothing beats the top of Lion’s Head. The climb to the top is a lot of fun too. Get up before sunrise and easily trek up the grassy hill until you get to the rocks where the real fun starts. While climbing up boulders and rocks this high might seem intimidating, you’ll see elderly couples going up along with you. I usually stick to street photography, but on my last day here I couldn’t leave without trying it and it was the most enjoyable hike and view I’ve had anywhere.
3. Endless Beaches
One of my favorite aspects of Cape Town are its endless variety of beaches to explore for photography. Many of them have their individual character and different atmospheres, while usually having some interesting streets to explore nearby. If it’s nice out, they’re guaranteed to be active too, especially on the weekends. Not only are they interesting, unique, and active, but they’re also beautiful, especially for a large city. And those mountain backdrops only make the beaches more impressive.
You’ll find a mixture of golden sand and grey rocks that give that African beach look, but the natural rock pools can be some of the best for capturing life. Children, and even adults, come here to jump in the pools, climb the rocks and lay out on the hot stone. Most of these are found on the Atlantic (west) Coastline. At beaches like Camps Bay, maybe my favorite beach, you’ll even find a large pond in the middle of the sandy beach where people can swim. Most of these beaches attract plenty of locals too, and on the weekend you’ll see families, friends, children and young couples all here enjoying picnics, recreation and some relaxation. Then on the False Bay (south) Coastline, you’ll find some of the old fishing villages, like Kalk Bay and Fish Hoak, and Boulder’s Beach in Simons Town, famous for its penguins (although I wouldn’t recommend it for street photography, unless you just want to see some penguins and tourists). And of course you have Muizenberg, famous for its surfing and colorful beach huts.
While I already named most of them above, below is a list of some the beaches I’d recommend in Cape Town for photography:
- Sea Point
- Camps Bay
- Hout Bay
- Kommetjie
- Muizenberg
- St James
- Kalk Bay
- Fish Hoek
- Three Anchor Bay (no beaches, but a large green space with a promenade and outside gym overlooking the ocean)
4. V&A Waterfront not my favorite, but it might be yours
What’s the most visited attraction in Africa? Egypt’s pyramids? No. The Serengeti? Nope. The most visited attraction in all of Africa is a shopping complex. Not only surprising, but kind of sad if you ask me. I’ll be honest, though, calling it a shopping complex isn’t fair. It’s situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbour, containing 300 acres of retail outlets and ocean view restaurants, working fishing boats and container ships, street performers and more. It’s as touristy as it gets, but guarantees non-stop activity with the ocean on one side and the backdrop of Table Mountain on the other. And people love it, obviously.
This all makes it the place nearly every local recommended first for street photography. I understand why with all that activity, but for me it just wasn’t that interesting for photography. A good place to go for fun with friends, but so extremely touristy and inauthentic today, in my opinion. But that’s just my opinion and plenty of others will love it for street photography. You have an outside shopping and entertainment atmosphere with plenty of people, street musicians, nice backdrops, boats and other interest so it’s definitely worth checking out. And many of you will keep coming back for more. Just not me.
5. Woodstock is interesting
Woodstock is Cape Town’s oldest suburb. A century ago, Woodstock was a fast growing working class industrial town, but later hit bad times and turned into a poor, run down and crime ridden neighborhood. Over the last decade, though, it’s changed dramatically, becoming a hipster hotspot. Similar to other gentrified hipster neighborhoods around the world, you’ll find a vibrant blend of art, design, food and fashion with the edgy character of its past mixed in. There’s still a lot of diversity and mix of cultures found here, though, and plenty of local life. While it has been changed and cleaned up quite a bit, it’s still not completely safe feeling, as you will wander into spots that look like before if you explore enough. Overall, though, I found this one of the more interesting neighborhoods to shoot in.
There’s a rough, but photogenic mix here, with graffiti and hipster influence next to its gritty, slightly run down past. Do be careful once outside the streets lined with cafes and hipster hangouts, even though I did find these areas the most interesting and authentic.
Other spots closer to the center that I’d recommend checking out would be the colorful Bo Kaap neighborhood and along Greenmarket Square.
6. Cape Town is big, Take the train
Cape Town feels really big, especially with Table Mountain right in the middle of it all. This means not only are many places spread far apart, but sometimes you also have go around the mountains to get there. Except for right in the center and waterfront, it’s not the most walkable city. You will need to take plenty of transportation if you really want to see what this city has to offer for street photography.
For example, one of the most popular areas to visit, which I’d also recommend for photography, is down around Muizenberg/Kalk Bay. This is a 45 minute train ride from the center. If you’re going to rent a car anywhere, this would be the city. But if you’re like me and don’t, then the train is really your only option without breaking the bank for a taxi/uber when going south. The MyCiti bus can be another decent option if you’re staying up around the city center to Camps Bay/Hout Bay. You just have to make sure you account for plenty of time with either option. I’d also recommend not trying to fit too many places in one day. I’d choose one area that included multiple spots nearby and make it a day’s focus to explore there.
Starting early is also smart, while making sure to head back earlier than normal to give yourself time to make it home before dark, when Cape Town can become much more dangerous for exploring.
7. Use Uber
Uber is a game changer in South Africa. The difference it makes here for safety and transportation is bigger than any country I’ve been to. While Cape Town feels safer than Johannesburg, it’s still definitely not as safe compared to most other cities in the world. You have to watch out here if you explore around. Locals will always make it sound more dangerous than it is, but there are plenty of areas where you can feel and see the danger. Muggings are not uncommon, especially at night, and this is still South Africa. Combine this with how Cape Town can feel spread out, and you’ll need to use to transportation.
Unfortunately, taxis in South Africa can feel dangerous too. Many of the drivers are criminals using this as a cover up job or side job. They’re not always friendly and if you’re unlucky, there’s always a chance something could go wrong. At the very least, they’ll try to rip you off. Fortunately, Uber solves all these problems. They’re much safer due to Uber’s background checks and strict guidelines. They’re friendly and comfortable. And they’re even quite a bit cheaper. Using Uber is a no-brainer here. Only one bit of warning is that taxi drivers aren’t very happy about losing their business so sometimes they will attack Uber drivers when they see their stickers in the window. I didn’t have a problem, but the Uber drivers are sometimes worried depending on the area they’re in and might not pick you up or drop you off in certain areas that are known to have other taxis around.
Cape Town Doesn’t Disappoint
Cape Town had been a dream city of mine for years and it didn’t disappoint. That’s not easy to do. Honestly, I can’t imagine many people being disappointed with a city like Cape Town. There’s too much to like about it, while constantly being surrounded by stunning natural beauty. As all those skyline photos show, there’s no city like Cape Town. And luckily, that rings true for exploring its streets, landscape and life on the ground with your camera too.
If any of you have been to Cape Town before, tell me about your experience and impressions of the city and country in the comments below! And stay tuned for more on Cape Town, including some of the best Street Photography shots I captured while there.
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(from a street photographer’s perspective)
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