About

All my life I was fortunate to be able to travel across the continents. When I was little we lived in Hong Kong and New Zealand among other places and already early on I developed a passion for photography and sailing which I learned in Wellington harbour.  For the last 30 years I have owned and sailed classical sailing boats; the first, “Winsome Lady” dating back to 1934 and then “Lady Ailsa” from 1955. Small but beautiful wooden sailing boats. Mahogany on oak frames and classically rigged. Now I’m older (or grown up?) I’ve moved on to the dark side with “Nim”, a modern, steel, Dutch coastal motor boat.  The combination of all these circumstances have allowed me to develop my hobbies in ways that others might not have had. I am very lucky.

My work is also my passion and that also has provided me with an opportunity of travel; sometimes to places not ordinarily on the tourist trail. Places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kurdistan, West Bengal.

We all have New Year’s resolutions. Most are doomed from the outset. This January 2018 I decided that I would document my travels and photographs through a regular blog and because some content is related to work activities we decided to link it through our business website. I have called this site “Foto Dubois”, the latter word being the French translation of my name, meaning “of the wood”.

These small articles should not be seen as serious works of prose. They are intended to bring some levity from my personal experiences into a world of business which is increasingly focused on productivity and political correctness. Many are written in haste from a hotel bedroom or from an airport lounge while the memories are fresh and unadulterated by new experiences.

My blogs are rarely researched, they are off-the-cuff writings. Facts and fiction will feature side by side. Some find them readable, others find them a waste of time others will judge them as self aggrandisement. Be that as it may, what I can truly say is that any opinions are my own and so are the photographs. You are free to read them or not.

Vincent van Walt, February 2018