Cape Town Stadium

On my way to the V&A Waterfront to get my groceries

 I stopped off

to shoot these, hoping to get some nice sunset shots on my way back but guess what ?

 It started raining !

Deja vu ? Work on the facade of the Cape Town Stadium and half a strip of facade is missing on the East side

There was a lone cherry picker at work yesterday but that was increased  to three today

and when I drove to the movies this evening I couldn't believe my eyes but there is half a strip of PVC membrane missing again on the East side I have had  no time to check it out

up close

There hasn't been anything happening on the Urban Park for a long time

and the belt of trees they planted are a joke

it will be a long long time before they will give some shade

Cape Town Stadium photos of the first day in 2010

Click and see both images Extra large

A stunning WC 2010 Cape Town Stadium at night

Click image to enlarge

World Cup Soccer 2010 Cape Town Stadium in Green Point on a cloudy day

The mountains were hidden in the clouds except Signal Hill straight ahead

Spanking new part of Fritz Sonnenberg Road

 Devil's Peak is now totally hidden by the clouds

but the light was really beautiful

On the bottom left you can see the parking area entrance

Table Mountain is hidden in the clouds

I am standing close to the Green Point light house here

If you look  here

you will see where I was standing Note the buildings

Cape Town Stadium the closest I can get without jumping right in

I wonder what the view is like from those seats near the "port holes"

or whatever you call those openings to the outside, it must be amazing

Click on images to see large version

BTW the green lights in the foreground are really that green
and the reason the roof is not blue like here
is that only the inside lights were on and not the 350 spotlights in the roof which make up the "Ring of fire "

You have no idea how annoyed I get when the photo is blown out like here ..

so anyway the well lit :) white road is the new Granger Bay Boulevard which gives access to the stadium

that is where I stood when I took these shots (the last 2 images)

And this is a close up of the V&A Waterfront
it is very busy now with  tourists from other parts of South Africa and abroad

Note the Aqua Festival sign, you can see the seating area and the floating platform

An aerial view of 2010 World Cup Cape Town Stadium which was recently hit by theft

Click image  to see large

Apparently the PVC mesh sheets were torn last weekend during the storm due to theft of aluminum "caps" which attach the PVC sheets to the facade read more here
and the thieving headache here

The stadium is practically ready but not quite...There is still a snag list to attend to + the 4 torn sheets and other small details still need finishing touches The pitch also still needs a few weeks of growth before it's ready for its opening game on January 23 2009 when Ajax Cape Town take on Santos.

This evening while I was shooting on Signal Hill, I met the owner of the cherry picker company (the small serving platforms you see on the right in the photo)

He asked me if I had ever been inside I said No I had not.
He promised me to ask his site manager to contact me via my e mail adress

 Capetown_sa@yahoo.co.uk and he would then take me

 So please keep your fingers crossed for me !
I would love to go up on the roof to shoot !

Also today.... the colours were so beautiful I couldn't resist posting this

Seen many times before but I get never tired of it I hope you do not either isn't it awesome ?

Look at it this way My blog is like a webcamera

except that it is not able to stream :)

I took this shot before I went up Signal Hill this evening

the famous Tablecloth was just forming, it was such a beautiful evening
and such special light

Evening view from Metropolitan Golf club

The wind gusts were so bad

 I had to steady my tripod to stop it rocking

Work going on in the lee of the wind

Still working on the Facade of the new WC 2010 Cape Town Stadium

A gorgeous sunset over Green Point and the new Cape Town Stadium

while the wind kicked up quite a dust storm on the Common and the landscaped Urban Park

click images to see large

The sea was an incredible deep blue

and this is new...

the lights lining the new access road to the stadium are on since about 3 days

They were testing the "ring of fire" again tonight

its such a beautiful sight !

The Beauty of the World Cup Stadium in Green Point, Cape Town at night is spellbinding....

Really ..when they have the lights on like tonight I just can't keep my eyes off it

Please click images to see large

It is also a very clear night

and we had the most gorgeous play of light just before sunset

I am sorry these simply dont do it justice

Smoking "Ring of fire" images of the 2010 World Cup Green Point Stadium

Initially I thought the roof was on fire there was so much smoke but I assume it was the the roof lights smoking

BTW thanks for your views
 My blog post of yesterday got 830 hits.
 The usual is around 250

It kept on smoking till I had to call it a day and finally closed the curtains

A little before the smoke, this is around 1 AM October 21 I used my polarizer for this shot with limited success

The above and below images are sharper shots

Of al the shots I took yesterday this one is my favourite

I love the colour of the PVC facade here

I was hoping for a repeat of yesterdays show but they have only been testing inside lights no roof lights

this was what it looked like tonight

Sunset colours the mesh membrane of the World Cup Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa, but is it beautiful ?

Peek a boo ?
Its maybe early days to judge yet, but I am holding my breath ..
this is how it looks when the sunset "colours" the PVC cloth at 18,30 PM.Sept 16

Click Image to see large
Today during the day with little or no sun the fibre glass infused PTFE fabric mesh cloth has the exact colour of the walls of the old stadium's foundation: Grey

It seems to be  only the first strip which caused problems, the second strip looks tight and smooth 

A trip to Saldanha Bay and the beautiful Langebaan Lagoon

The road into the Postberg Nature Reserve

Today was the perfect day for a 1 hour drive away trip to the West Coast National Park Its where the Postberg Nature Reserve opens its gates in August and September so you can see the fields of wild Spring  flowers and I brought  a picnic along which I had on the beach of the Lagoon 

The Reserve is located within West Coast National Park, skirting the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by hills. In full bloom in August and September, this collection of wild plants and flowers is internationally renowned for its beauty.

Langebaan lagoon 

Click Images to see large

The village Langebaan

Langebaan from the "Lookout" in the Postberg Reserve

Road into  the Postberg Reserve with  view to Saldanha Bay

This is where I had my picnic on the shore of the azure blue water of the Langebaan Lagoon

Wild Flowers in the Postberg Nature Reserve

Unfortunately the photos have the wrong sequence ..Blogger has updated the ;"editor" and now the photos are posted in a different order