2017 IN PICTURES AND WORDS | Darrin Henry
It’s been another fantastic year posting blog adventures of 2017 for What The Saints Did Next, something not always obvious when we’re in the moment.
Clicking through our hard drives is a good reminder though for Sharon and I.
Every month has been memorable, from a flight around St Helena in January to a wonderful lenticular cloud in April, right through to December and the party atmosphere at the opening night of Rosie’s place at Ladder Hill.
Travel photography has also been a huge highlight for us in 2017, reacquainting our camera with magical Cape Town and the cosmopolitan buzz of London, plus a summer trip discovering the ancient delights of Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul.
In the spirit of end of year reviews, we’ve picked just 12 photographs that will forever represent defining moments of 2017 for us both.
12 Best blog adventures of 2017
A chance encounter on Day 95 of 2017 – a lenticular cloud added some drama to a casual afternoon hike as it hovered over St Helena for hours. Made a superb photography backdrop as the sun went down.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
St Helena Airport welcomed its very first commercial passenger flight on 3 May 2017, a SA Airlink Avro RJ85 aircraft – 60 passengers in, 48 out. The electric atmosphere at the airport was fitting for such a historic event.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
A light-hearted, candid moment during our street photo shoot in Cape Town with Meghan Lee Prins.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
Hiking Thompson’s Valley Post Box in the rain was probably not our best idea, but it was definitely fun and memorable. Spectacular scenery including a gorgeous rainbow in the valley and a few muddy falls along the way. Unforgettable!
Best blog adventures of 2017.
A day with the British Army’s REME training unit in MOD Lyneham, was a real privilege, especially being escorted by one of St Helena’s very own, David Leo, a Warrant Officer Class Two who works on the base.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
In Bristol, England we were completely blown away by the Graffiti of Stokes Croft. Street art at its best for sure.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
On 1 March we posted the first in our Time-Lapse series. Cyril Legg (74) of Levelwood shared his story of working as a sorter in St Helena’s flax industry, a vital part of the island’s history. We’ve posted a few Time-Lapse stories since, but Cyril was the first.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
This sheer size and scale of the Hagia Sofia Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, is clearly visible in this picture. A photographer’s dream this place.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
Making the most of the St Helena’s tropical assets, the Jamestown harbour was the location for our Breeze 3 e-magazine photo shoot with Saint model, Gemma Lawrence. Rushing to beat the late afternoon light we hopped from fishing boat to luxury yacht to local tour boat. It was a fantastic shoot.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
St Pauls district stole the show at the St Helena Day celebrations in 2017, thrilling the crowds in Jamestown with their enthusiastic New Zealand, ‘Haka’ war dance. One to remember for sure, capped off with a superb fireworks display from the top of Ladder Hill that night.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
Morning coffee with the Lord Mayor of York, Barbara Boyce, and a private tour of the grand Guildhall was a major highlight of our first visit to the walled city.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
11 January 2017 – the day 16 lucky Saints were treated to a flight around St Helena. At a time when sheduled flights were still nearly 10 months away, this really was a special opportunity to take off and land at the new airport. For one passenger, at 73 years old, it was a life changing experience.
Best blog adventures of 2017.
Hey Guys,
We are back home after a long trek from Cape Town to Colorado. It is good to be back. Having kept the mobile phones off as much as possible, it’s a pleasant surprise to have so many WTSDN updates to read, offsetting the mundane tasks, paying bills and such. We want to thank you for the wonderful hospitality and wish you a fabulous 2018. From your 2017 recap, you have set a high bar for yourselves! I had forgotten the lenticular cloud photos.fabulous. Saint Paul’s haka routine made me laugh out loud, and nicely encapsulates the fun-loving spirit of Saints.
Cheers for now,
Rick and Sally
Hi to you both, glad to hear you’re home safe. Watch out for that cold cyclone bomb thingy 🙂
It was fantastic to meet you both and spend some time together. Sorry everything’s always so hectic here in the December month or we could have done more.
Thanks for the support on the blog as always and hope we can bring you some more great photo-stories in 2018.
Very best wishes from Alarm Forest to Colorado 🙂
What a great re-cap amazing pictures and stories, looking forward to your continuous work as we glide through 2018. Best Wishes for the New Year 2018.
Cheers Borbs, best wishes for the new year to you too 🙂
Great photography and story telling as always look forward to further blogs in 2018
Cheers Lawson, best wishes to you for 2018.
Blog writing has already begun!! 🙂
I normally reads every one of your BLogs But for some reason i missed the one about visit to the base with David 😊, which was a awesome one. So THIs was a GREAt reminder, thanks for that. Look FORWArd to your 2018 blogs 😊
That day at the REME was amazing, so much opportunity for young people joining the army.
Thanks for the comment Elaine, best wishes for 2018.
Cheers 🙂