Cape of storms – and sanctuary
Jean Tresfon’s photos of nature and its creatures give us glimpses of the world that are seldom seen. Hailing from Cape Town, he spends much of his time beneath the chilly waves and we’ve featured many of his underwater photographs in the past: Check out go! # 131 for his pic of a feeding humpback whale and go! # 87 for a full underwater portfolio. This time, we’re showcasing Jean’s other passion: aerial photography. Jean pilots an Autogyro MTO Sport gyrocopter, which is easy to handle and well suited to photography because of its stability in the air. The open cockpit is the cherry on top, allowing him to shoot without worrying about glare from the glass because… there is none! Jean takes to the sky twice a week to check up on our coastline. “It takes some practice to fly and take photos at the same time,” he says. “I only do it when it’s safe. So many great images have been sacrificed for the sake of staying in the air!” Ultimately, Jean hopes that his photographs – whether shot from below or up high – will inspire more people to visit Cape Town and surrounds and conserve what remains of our fragile coastal ecosystem.