South African Malcolm Lange wins Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010
South African Malcolm Lange wins Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 ahead of South African champion Christoff van Heerden (second) followed by South African Daryl Impey (third) due to a brilliant team strategy.
Remember my picture of 32 km remaining yesterday?
Well, seems that was a good intuition as it’s here where the grand finale over 109 kms was decided today in the early morning hours: the decisive break of 12 riders moved clear of the large peloton just before the climb towards Chapman’s Peak Drive. . . and while these pictures are straight from my camera, they show the first batch that zoomed through… and those were the ones! I think the camera on the motor bike in the background is directed towards Lance Armstrong in red and black on position 6… but that’s just a guess (but I have the close-up too…). Proudly South African in any case… YEBO GO GO!
South African Malcolm Lange wins Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010
When I perceived the faint vibration of the first helicopter this morning, I knew it was time to secure a place along Noordhoek Main Road to catch the first batch of the Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 racers – amongst them without any doubt Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France 7 times in a row and is definitely the center of (media) attraction in Cape Town right now – … and so it was!
Due to severe crosswinds they arrived later than in years before, but zoomed passed the early cheerers, supporters and fans who were having family-wise power breakfasts along the road and were definitely enjoying themselves…
Lance Armstrong on Twitter
While I was still down there taking pictures of the “new generation”, world cycling superstar Lance Armstrong was already on Twitter – so to speak straight after the race:
“Argus Cycle Tour done! What a cool ride/race. Congrats to @darylimpey on gettin’ 3rd. Wind was howling out there.”
It was a beautiful day for the world’s largest timed cycle race … and it was pretty windy, although luckily not as strong as back in 2009 when just about 50% of the field managed to finish.
Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 Leading Results
Here are the 109km leading results as published:
1 Malcolm Lange (SA) Team Medscheme 2hrs 39min 55sec
2 Christoff van Heerden (SA) MTN Energade
3 Daryl Impey (SA) Team Radioshack
4 Burry Stander (SA) Team Specialized
5 Rene Hasselbacher (Aut) Team sainfo.co.za
6 Dean Edwards (SA) House of Paint
7 Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Team Kuota
8 Johann Rabie (SA) Team Medscheme
9 Lance Armstrong (US) Team Radioshack
10 Nicholas White (SA) Team Medscheme all same time.
It’s the night before tomorrow. . . and Noordhoek is ready for the cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010!
Noordhoek ready for Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010
Earlier today, I hopped out with my camera to see if Noordhoek was ready for the Cape Argus Cycle Tour – and all I saw were those distance shields as you see above!
It had considerably cooled down after the heatwave and there was a light drizzle . . . perhaps the best preparation after all! Later in the afternoon the air was abuzz with helicopters and I knew the real thing had started.
From Noordhoek it’s exactly 32 kms to the finishing line in Cape Town and as of tomorrow morning everything here will be closed off – no traffic other than those 35,000 + cyclists zooming past! You better don’t be in a hurry to get to the airport! There will be tons of fans, drummers and cheerers lining the streets, offering water and shouting encouragements for the strenuous part ahead!
What always amazes me is how well everything is organized! Once the cyclists are through it’s paper cups and empty bottles literally everywhere… and the next morning there is absolutely nothing! It’s all perfectly clean and back to normal: South Africans deserve a huge round of applause for the way they pull things together and make events so special!
The 2010 Soccer World Championship in June will be memorable – garanteed!
Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 in Noordhoek on Google Top 10
Talking of races. . . the biggest and fiercest ones these days take place on the Internet – so here’s some high performance with yesterday’s article “Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 in Noordhoek” – it went straight to Google Top 10… first through the finishing line… and this within 5 minutes. Not sure anyone will cycle that fast tomorrow . . .
Web Design Consulting
Web Design Consulting stands for high performance on the Internet and attractive designs. If this is what you need, have a look at my SHOP HERE or get in touch with me to discuss your needs.
In the early morning hours this coming Sunday, Noordhoek will be wide awake and buzzing with helicopters monitoring and filming the first of well over 35,000 cyclists of this year’s Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 as they zoom past idyllic Noordhoek Village and up towards Chapman’s Peak and the so-called “…most beautiful coastal road in the world”.
For the many cyclists from abroad it will certainly be an “African Experience” of a kind! Read on to see who’s here!
Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 in Noordhoek
The Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2010 is hosted in Cape Town – 30 km North from Noordhoek – South Africa; it is a 109 km cycle race following a circular route from Cape Town down the Cape Peninsula through spectacular scenery to look at but at times quite gruelling to accomplish from a cyclist’s point of view. The start of the race is in the centre of Cape Town, following the M3 South to Muizenberg, then Main Road along the False Bay coast to Simon’s Town and Smitswinkel Bay. The route then crosses the peninsula and heads north along the Atlantic coast through Scarborough, Kommetjie, Noordhoek, Chapman’s Peak, Hout Bay, Suikerbossie Hill, eventually Camps Bay and with its finale in Green Point.
The annual event is the first event outside Europe to be included in the International Cycling Union’s Golden Bike Series.
Lance Armstrong in Noordhoek
We have seen many well-known cyclists from all over the world and this year’s star is noone else than Lance Armstrong! This man from Texas has an incredible story based on his iron willpower: having survived cancer, he won the Tour de France in 7 consecutive years. What an inspiration!
What I find interesting is how Lance communicated via Social Networks on the Internet – in this case Twitter ! The word spread faster than any newspaper could get it out… and perhaps that caused a rapid reaction and solution to his ‘full passport’ problem at the Airport. I fished some info on this from the Internet for you here…
He has been seen around already and there is no doubt we see Lance Armstrong in Noordhoek very early on Sunday morning! Well… a flash of lightning he will be – no doubt!
Living in Noordhoek South Africa is so special that it inspired me to finally realize a project I had on my mind for a long time, namely to create a visually rich and environment oriented website or rather a dynamic blog called “mynoordhoek.com”. It won’t be just any website . . . :)
Living in Noordhoek South Africa
When living in Noordhoek, South Africa, you come across many little creatures that express their Joy of simply Being and certainly never fail to comment on your presence in one or the other way – just as this inquisitive squirrel when I took pictures of Noordhoek Common . . . a typical, idyllic view of graceful horses grazing on rich pastures, surrounded by white ibis… with the dramatic backdrop of the mountains against a deep blue sky.
MyNoordhoek.com
MyNoordhoek.com is mine!
To start such a dedicated project, one of the first steps is to secure the right domain name – in this case: mynoordhoek.com
To be continued. . .
Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
Co-Founder of YORGOO, YCADEMY and Semiomantics.
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Today, everything on the Internet is about Pictures, Images and Media. With the fantastic evolution in Digital Photography over the past years, almost everybody is in a position to take good, sharp pictures.
The question then is to take it a step further – in my example below I created a Polaroid Look with Photoshop.
Polaroid Look with Photoshop
You can either create a Polaroid Look with Photoshop by working your way through the steps – possibly following a Photoshop Tutorial – or you use an Action Script and then go wild using your imagination. Personally, I like a combination of both so I save time, get what I want and then manipulate it for a dramatic effect or whatever I want to convey.
Captivating Web Graphics
With a few mouseclicks and an eye for forms, proportions and colors one can create Captivating Web Graphics that reflect any mood or mission we wish to convey; here’s just another example right from my Studio in Noordhoek, Cape Town. . . waving a last goodbye to the sun who will now disappear behind Chapman’s Peak until November. . . when it will emerge again and bless us with those unique and dramatic sunsets that some may call ‘kitsch’ and many others – like me – just recognize the supreme beauty of Nature and be grateful for it:
This and many other Graphic Design Services we offer at Web Design Consulting or directly at our SHOP. Just get in touch with me and we will give your website or blog a look that talks.
Before the next heatwave is hitting Noordhoek, South Africa, and forces me into the turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean… I thought I’d have some fun with Photoshop Action Scripts and create one of those elegant page curls!
Photoshop Action Scripts
Photoshop Action Scripts are just brilliant for shortcuts the professional way! It also means that we can serve our customers better and provide them with captivating web graphics and great Graphic Design Services that make their blogs and websites simply stand out!
At Web Design Consulting we are committed to offering the best – and this means consistent learning and acquiring of new skills and investing in the best tools and equipment.
How to Create a Page Curl
I remember sweating when trying to Create a Page Curl in Adobe Photoshop for the first time… years back on PS5.
Today, it’s just a matter of a few mouse-clicks and it’s done.
What I noticed, however, is that there are quite some quality differences in Action Scripts, some render better results than others… so the Art is to find what suits our needs the best.
Photoshop Ycademy Workshops
Learn more about how to improve your Knowledge and Skills at our regular Photoshop Ycademy Workshops.
Having said that… and while our SHOP is avaliable 24/7/365… I will do one more post for a dear friend and I’m off to the Beach!
Sensuality has to do with our five senses – sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell – and our degree of awareness thereof; in other words our perception of Life and anything that happens around us.
Sensuality is what my Online Newspaper Touch Vision Talk was built on where we constrain ourselves to five main categories, referring to the five senses… plus obviously media-oriented categories like a photo gallery, a featured gallery, an art and presentation gallery and a media gallery for videos.
In the Digital Photo “Taste of Paradise” that I took of an adorable little sunbird on dark blue agapanthus blooming right now in Cape Town’s unique Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens yesterday – and the colors are absolutely untouched while I obviously turned this picture into a bit of Wildlife Art by creating and integrating other elements of my own personal taste – , I may assume that this Picture talks to more than just your visual receptors!
Sensuality in Images
In our previous article under the main topic ‘Web Graphics Design’, we spoke about “Pictures that Talk” and how to design “Images that Create Empathy” … and my simple answer to this is by creating digital pictures and images that appeal to one or more of our senses – and this irrespective of the topic. We can do this by expressing or translating our personal perception, understanding and skill in terms of :
Taste and Finesse
Aesthetics
Humor
Simplicity or Elaboration
Accuracy and Photo Realism … or the exact opposite thereof:
Absolute Freedom of Form and Shape etc…
in the style, technique and ways of our own choice.
As with anything of value, the closer we are connected to what we are doing – really within the process and part thereof – the more sensual the result and the response it triggers.
BEing in the NOW is the secret of it all – and the most important lesson to learn. Touching and being touched… that’s all there is.
When creating a look that stands out a bit from the rest on a website – like we did for our new Semiomantics Shop at the smashing Ycademy Business Building Seminar this past weekend -, it’s all about details… even if it’s just about whether a corner is sharp at 90 degrees or rounded or swung in a decorative fashion.
With all Seminar participants professionally equipped with Adobe Photoshop, everything becomes possible for the knowledgeable web graphic designer, and here is a brief Web Graphics Tutorial as to “How to Create Rounded Corners” – ending with a picture like this:
How to Create Rounded Corners
Here is a step-by-step guide for you to follow and get the exact same result as I do – just click the images to get a bigger view in the overlay and simply observed what I have done… it should be really clear… :
1.
Open your Photoshop and pull in an image that you want to give some rounded corners, say at 15 degrees.
Open … and browse to your Pictures and select one.
2.
On the left side Tools bar, click the ROUNDED RECTANGLE TOOL.
3.
On the top horizontal bar, set the Radius to 15 px and see to it that you also select the rounded corner rectangle here of course.
Now place the cursor – which is a little cross now – a little to the inside of the top right corner and pull it over your picture, so that you have equal distances and a fine ‘frame’.
4.
Now you’ll be shocked that your picture disappears – duh! What happened?
No stress! Right-click on the layer – which now shows a Shape – and the Layer Styles with the BLENDING OPTIONS at the top open. Scale down the Blend Mode Opacity to 0… and you will see your picture appears again – like magic!
5.
Go to PATHS. If you don’t find them on the right side of your screen, click on Windows at the top, tick Paths and you have it. Whenever you miss a tool, chances are big you find them here.
Now right-click on the highlighted (blue) Shape 1 Vector Mask.
The Make Selection Popup opens – just as you see it on the picture here.
6.
Give it the values as on the screenshot – i.e. :
Rendering: Feather Radius : 0
Tick anti-aliased
Operation: New Selection
OK
You see the ‘marching ants’ now…
7.
At the top, go Edit > Copy Merged
8.
Then go File > New and open a new transparent picture; its size should be big enough for the picture you just worked on.
9.
Then go File > Paste
HOPPLA! Your picture with the rounded corners waits for you!
Now you can save it and use as you intended to!
Ycademy Workshop
I hope this was of help; if I missed something or wasn’t explicit enough, or you get lost somewhere… let me know! We will do this exercise and more about creating Web Graphics and Images at tomorrow’s Ycademy Workshop at 7 pm London time in yorGOtalk, our brilliant Conference Room by Microsoft!
I wish you much success in Creating your own Web Graphics!
With the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup on our doorstep, South Africa is gearing up to an event of exorbitant proportions and an influx of people from all over the world the Rainbow Nation has never seen before!
Have a look at the Soccer City 2010 Stadium in Cape Town and let the architectural forms and African music give you goosebumps in anticipation of the thundering event that awaits us in June – everybody included!
Accommodation, B&B’s and places to stay in South Africa will be the hottest topic around – and with it. . . 2010 Cape Town Accommodation.
2010 Cape Town Accommodation
2010 Cape Town Accommodation – including accommodation in Noordhoek as part of the Southern suburbs along the Atlantic seaboard – will be especially sought after for the matches so far scheduled according to the official FIFA Schedule :
Match 2
11/06 20:30 Cape Town Uruguay – France
March 11
14/06 20:30 Cape Town Italy – Paraguay
Match 23
18/06 20:30 Cape Town England – Algeria
Match 30
21/06 13:30 Cape Town Portugal – Korea DPR
Match 44
24/06 20:30 Cape Town Cameroon – Netherlands.
If you spent all your money on Soccer World Cup Tickets and you want to get away from the buzz and madness of the town, Accommodation in idyllic rural Noordhoek – just 30 miles from Cape Town – may be a great choice.
Web Design Consulting
If you need to get onto the Internet map for 2010 Cape Town Accommodation it’s a bit late, but not for us at Web Design Consulting!
Expect high Performance at reasonable prices… and screenshots to proove we are among the Formula 1 drivers on the Internet highway!
While I enjoyed Noordhoek Beach watching one of the rare Oyster Catchers – an endangered species – . . . our articles about 2010 Accommodation Noordhoek have made their way up to Google Top 10 with the power of Semiomantics and smart Network Publishing.
Oyster Catcher on Noordhoek Beach
2010 Accommodation Noordhoek
Have a look at the latest results for “2010 Noordhoek Accommodation” on Google Top 10 which show that, within this short period of time and without the keywords within the domain name in any way, we now occupy 7/10 spots on page one on Google:
Stunningly amazing results!
However, on the Internet there is no standstill; like on Noordhoek Beach we are constantly on shifting sands with high tide and low tide and lots of surprises inbetween!
So we have to be flexible and teachable all the time to work on our continued success.
New Semiomantics Seminar 2010
As we are starting with our first NEW Semiomantics Seminar 2010 today followed by our first InfoCall 2010, my entire focus will be there in order to be even better equipped in terms of latest Knowledge and cutting-edge Technology to best serve our customers at Web Design Consulting.
