Stilbaai, also known as the Bay of Sleeping Beauty, is a breathtaking seaside town located at the western gateway to the Cape Garden Route in South Africa. It is situated along the banks of the scenic Goukou River estuary, where it meets the warm waters of the Indian Ocean on the south coast. The neighbouring towns of Jongensfontein and Melkhoutfontein have a permanent population of approximately 7500.

The Goukou River and the warm Indian Ocean are the two most prominent natural features of the area. Stilbaai is also a part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, which makes it home to a diverse range of Fynbos species.

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Stilbaai is a hub of interesting archaeological sites, including ancient fish traps that are believed to have been constructed by early ancestors of the Khoi people of the Southern Cape. Additionally, there is a shell landfill site that has been carbon-dated to around 1000 BC.

I photographed this scene at Stilbaai using my Pentax 645n medium format camera on Kodak Professional Ektar 100 film.

Kodak Professional Ektar 100 is a daylight-balanced colour-negative film characterised by an ultra-vivid colour palette, high saturation, and an extremely fine-grain structure. Utilizing the cinematic VISION Film technology, this film’s smooth grain profile pairs with a micro-structure optimised T-GRAIN emulsion to make it especially well-suited to scanning applications, and advanced development accelerators offer extended versatility when making enlargements. Ektar has a nominal sensitivity of ISO 100/21°, and advanced cubic emulsions and proprietary DIR couplers render it with high sharpness, fine detail, and a well-defined edge quality. The combination of rich colours, fine grain, and optimized sharpness benefit this film’s use for nature, travel, and outdoor photography, as well as fashion, product, and other commercial applications.

There is a look about the film that digital cannot produce.

This is a signed and embossed Open Edition print.