In May this year, Cape Town’s gorgeous Kelp Forests were unsurprisingly named one of Bloomberg’s Seven Wonders of the World. I have no doubt that My Octopus Teacher contributed to the attention, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Robyn Simpson. This is not to detract from the award at all, but rather to express my surprise that these glorious underwater worlds were not celebrated sooner.
Read also: Cape kelp forests named one of the Seven Wonders of the World
Nonetheless, from Netflix Documentary to Natural Wonder, our Cape Kelp Forests are still capturing hearts all over the world. The most recent blow of steam came from popular Instagram platform, 9gag. The 53.7 million follower page shared a video clip by 30-year-old photographer, Joseph Orsi — and I’ve fallen in love all over again.
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Orsi has provided the world with a fresh perspective of our proud, local Wonder. Whilst Craig Foster studied the underwater oasis from the depths of the ocean in his documentary, Orsi gives us a view from the top thanks to his mastery of drone technology and videography.
“I gained the gift of flight at a time when I had lost the gift of walking,” says Orsi.
“When I purchased my first drone, I had been bed-ridden for months, recovering from a mountaineering accident that left me with a broken foot. Hopping to my parent’s back porch on my good leg, I launched my Mavic Air and explored my neighbourhood with more freedom than my legs had ever afforded me. I was hooked.
“Drones give a photographer the gift of perfect compositional freedom, and a traveller the gift of massively expanded accessibility. My favourite part of drone photography, however, is the ease with which I am able to create unique images, even in the most overshot of locations. And in those locations that are undershot, I am often simply the only person in history to have ever taken a picture from the perspective of a drone.”
The footage, shot in Elands Bay, is nothing short of psychedelic. Watching the ebb and flow of the ocean decorated with the tips of life rooted far below is truly mesmerising, almost meditative. Here’s to yet another creation that makes me proud to be Capetonian.
Watch Joseph Orsi’s magic:
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Picture: Joseph Orsi