The Oak At Bo-Swaarmoed
“The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed – Bo-Swaarmoed Pass, Ceres, South Africa” – Standing alone in quiet authority, The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed offers a powerful meditation on time, transformation, and grace. Captured in the remote highlands of the Matroosberg mountains, just outside Ceres in the Western Cape, this image draws you into the raw, introspective silence of a high-altitude forest on the cusp of winter.
Photographed using professional Nikon equipment at the golden edge of the season, this singular oak rises from a gathering of trees like a memory made manifest—its branches still clinging to the last embers of autumn. Against the hush of the Koue Bokkeveld’s chill air, the remaining leaves glow with a quiet defiance, speaking of life’s persistence amidst surrender.
The Koue Bokkeveld, or “cold antelope field,” lies over 1,000 meters above sea level. Its rugged terrain, renowned for snow-dusted winters and fruit-laden summers, presents extremes of climate and character—an ideal canvas for imagery that seeks the spiritual within the natural.
Psalms 147:16
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
Inspired by Psalms 147:16: “He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes,” this work resonates with sacred stillness. The soft breath of frost settling over the land is captured with both intimacy and grandeur. The oak, both subject and symbol, becomes a vessel of quiet strength—its form textured with the marks of seasons past, its leaves like whispered prayers suspended in the cold.
Unlike its companion piece, The Ghostly Oak Brooms, which speaks of collective presence and spectral form, The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed focuses on individuality, endurance, and luminous solitude. It is an ode to the single soul among many—the figure that holds space for beauty, loss, and renewal all at once.
Every element in the composition—light, form, contrast—has been rendered with meticulous care. There is no digital manipulation. Only the craft of light, timing, and vision brought to life through the lens.
The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed is a signed and embossed Limited Edition print (1/25), with 25 editions still available in the series, in an exclusive collection. This is printed on museum-grade archival paper or canvas for discerning collectors and institutions. It is a lasting tribute to the majesty of the African winter landscape—and a quiet call to contemplation for those who value meaning as much as beauty.
This is not merely a photograph. It is a moment of reverence made visible.
This is a signed and embossed Limited Edition print. (1/25)
$1 500.00 – $2 000.00
The Oak At Bo-Swaarmoed
The Oak At Bo-Swaarmoed
“The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed – Bo-Swaarmoed Pass, Ceres, South Africa” – Standing alone in quiet authority, The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed offers a powerful meditation on time, transformation, and grace. Captured in the remote highlands of the Matroosberg mountains, just outside Ceres in the Western Cape, this image draws you into the raw, introspective silence of a high-altitude forest on the cusp of winter.
Photographed using professional Nikon equipment at the golden edge of the season, this singular oak rises from a gathering of trees like a memory made manifest—its branches still clinging to the last embers of autumn. Against the hush of the Koue Bokkeveld’s chill air, the remaining leaves glow with a quiet defiance, speaking of life’s persistence amidst surrender.
The Koue Bokkeveld, or “cold antelope field,” lies over 1,000 meters above sea level. Its rugged terrain, renowned for snow-dusted winters and fruit-laden summers, presents extremes of climate and character—an ideal canvas for imagery that seeks the spiritual within the natural.
Psalms 147:16
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
Inspired by Psalms 147:16: “He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes,” this work resonates with sacred stillness. The soft breath of frost settling over the land is captured with both intimacy and grandeur. The oak, both subject and symbol, becomes a vessel of quiet strength—its form textured with the marks of seasons past, its leaves like whispered prayers suspended in the cold.
Unlike its companion piece, The Ghostly Oak Brooms, which speaks of collective presence and spectral form, The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed focuses on individuality, endurance, and luminous solitude. It is an ode to the single soul among many—the figure that holds space for beauty, loss, and renewal all at once.
Every element in the composition—light, form, contrast—has been rendered with meticulous care. There is no digital manipulation. Only the craft of light, timing, and vision brought to life through the lens.
The Oak at Bo-Swaarmoed is a signed and embossed Limited Edition print (1/25), with 25 editions still available in the series, in an exclusive collection. This is printed on museum-grade archival paper or canvas for discerning collectors and institutions. It is a lasting tribute to the majesty of the African winter landscape—and a quiet call to contemplation for those who value meaning as much as beauty.
This is not merely a photograph. It is a moment of reverence made visible.
This is a signed and embossed Limited Edition print. (1/25)
$1 500.00 – $2 000.00
Print Information
The Cameras
The camera type used in the shot
The collection was photographed on one of the following cameras using either digital or photographic film, which I then hand-developed in chemistry to attain the ideal contrast and colour. The negatives/slides were then scanned and prepared for print with reference to the original photo without any digital alteration.
Digitals are shot in RAW and processed in Photoshop.
Large Format
Shen-Hao 4×5, 4×10, 5×7, 8×10, Pinhole
Medium Format
Yashica 44, Baby Rolleiflex, Pentax 645n, Mamiya 645 1000S, Yashica Mat 6×6 TLR, Pentax 6×7 MLU, 6×7, 6×8, 6×9, 6×12 Roll Film Backs, Fuji GX617 Professional
Small Format
Nikon F5, Nikon F6
Digital
Nikon D800e, Nikon D4, Nikon D5 and Fuji GFX 100
The Collections
About our collections
Photographed over a period of more than ten years, these superb fine art prints are a joy to behold.
The collection was photographed on either digital camera or photographic film. When using photographic film, I then hand-develop in chemistry to obtain either a negative (C41 process or black and white chemistry) or (E6 process) to obtain a positive/slide. The film is then scanned, edited and prepared for print with reference to the original photo without any digital alteration. The negatives/slides and digital RAW files are edited in Photoshop to attain the ideal contrast and colour, and minor blemishes are removed.
Collections are either Open or Limited Collections; which are limited to twenty-five (25) or less if stipulated, regardless of size or medium selected.
The Editions
The edition process and signing
Limited Editions:
CFP Prints limits their limited editions to a maximum of twenty-five prints, regardless of size purchased, this ensures exclusivity and your print remains a sure investment.
Signing:
All our prints are individually signed and embossed, ensuring authenticity and collector value. Each limited edition print is hand-numbered—for example, 10/25 indicates the 10th print in a series of 25, with 15 remaining. A notation of 25/25 means you are viewing the final print in the edition, and only 25 prints will ever be produced.
The Framing
Our framed options
At CFP Prints, we offer a signature-styled framing option upon request. This bespoke option is carefully designed to complement our fine art prints understated elegance, using archival materials to preserve both beauty and integrity. While framing is not standard due to the unique preferences of each collector, we’re happy to discuss bespoke solutions that suit your space and vision.
Should you opt to frame independently, we strongly recommend professional framing. Unframed prints are delicate and should be handled minimally and stored flat, not in tubes. Every piece deserves a presentation that matches its significance.
Please get in touch if you’d like to explore framing options with us.
The Photographic Process
How film images are processed
The collection was photographed on photographic film, which I then hand-developed in chemistry to attain the ideal contrast and colour. The negatives/slides were then scanned and prepared for print with reference to the original photo without any digital alteration. It is a once off shot, no AI.
The Printed Medium
The types of canvas and papers we use
Mediums:
CFP Prints offers prints on premium Hahnemühle Cézanne Canvas 430 gsm pure cotton canvas and Hahnemühle Fine Art Papers, particularly the Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm, 100% cotton, white, high-gloss finish paper.
Canvas: Hahnemühle Cézanne Canvas. This natural white canvas is made from 100% cotton, is acid-free and ideal for photographic and fine art reproduction. The finely woven surface is matt and provides extraordinary elasticity, making it ideal for stretching over a wooden stretcher bar.
Paper: Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta is a pure cotton paper with an inkjet coating that has been perfectly optimised for the needs of FineArt applications. The natural white paper comes in a pleasant, warm shade of white and contains no optical brighteners. The exquisite surface texture gives the paper a lovely, delicate feel while at the same time lending it an artistic note. In combination with the high-gloss premium inkjet coating, it produces stunning print results with outstanding reproduction of colour and detail, deep blacks and perfect contrasts. The barium sulphate in the coating makes Photo Rag® Baryta a popular alternative to analogue baryta paper. The combination of the cotton artist paper and the high-gloss inkjet coating lends FineArt prints a striking character with a beautiful, elegant sheen, without glare. Photo Rag® Baryta is acid- and lignin-free and meets the most exacting requirements in terms of age resistance.