Originally from Benoni, Methven first moved to Barberton in the late 1990s in search of a better life for her daughter. “I was working in corporate marketing, travelling constantly,” she said. During that time, she visited Germany, Belgium, Holland and the UK as part of her role promoting the company’s products. “I was earning well, but I was missing out on my daughter’s childhood.” She made the decision to leave the Johannesburg rat race and return to a slower, more grounded life.

A visit to her grandmother, who had raised her, changed the course of things. Finding her in frail care, Methven made the decision to bring her gran to live with her and her daughter in Barberton. “My daughter would play school with her great-grandmother, sneak her sweets at night,” she recalled. “It was such a beautiful, gentle time.” She spent several years balancing caregiving with work in local real estate. When her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s progressed and she could no longer provide the care needed, her gran was placed in frail care in Middelburg. Not long after, in 2006, Methven took a bold step and moved to a Big Five game farm in Limpopo. It was there, armed with nothing more than a small Kodak camera, that her photographic journey truly began. “The elephants were the only thing big enough to capture with that little camera,” she laughed. “But I started noticing the birds, the skies, the light.”

By the time she returned to Barberton in 2012, photography had become more than a passing interest. She began documenting behind-the-scenes moments for Barberton Tourism, from the launch of the GeoTrail before it became a World Heritage Site to adventure sports events and vintage car visits. “People would invite me somewhere, and the first thing I’d ask was, ‘Can I bring my camera?’”

Methven later managed Royal Sheba Guest House, where she often filled in when photographers failed to arrive for pre-booked shoots. Her natural eye and local knowledge turned her into an unexpected favourite among well-known town visitors. Yet, it was nature photography that truly held her heart. A few years later, she moved to Nottingham Road, where she and her then partner helped rescue and release injured owls. Her love of bird photography deepened there. “I used to walk the farm trying to identify bird calls. It became a game, a challenge. That’s where my passion for birds really took flight.”

She returned home to Barberton in November 2020, once the worst of lockdown was over. It was during these long, quiet months that she began sharing her sunset and bird photos more regularly. Perched on her stoep with a cell phone in hand, she captured changing skies over the hills. “You can look at a sunset now, and in two minutes it’s changed completely. I wanted to freeze those moments.”

Today, she uses a Nikon P1000, sticking to bridge cameras because she prefers their simplicity. “I know nothing about lenses. This has always been a hobby,” she said. Even so, her work has gained unexpected traction. Before her passion for photography took hold, she and her sister Michelle spent their childhood learning classical piano, eventually completing up to Grade 5 through UNISA. Though she no longer plays, she credits those early years with shaping her eye for detail and quiet observation.

Her page, Shut Her Up Photography by Chantelle Methven, has drawn in fans from across South Africa. Her moon photographs, in particular, have earned her acclaim. One of her supermoon shots even sold to a buyer in Mossel Bay. She has since been featured on We Are South Africans, a Facebook platform with over 800,000 followers. Despite winning hundreds of awards on photo-sharing sites like Guru Shots and Viewbug, Methven remains humble. “I still don’t think I’m good enough. But people seem to enjoy what I share, and that means a lot.”

Her dream is to compile a coffee table book of her favourite images, something she can one day hand down to her two grandsons. “When they’re my age, will the elephants and rhinos still be around? Will the air still be clean? I want them to see what I saw.” Now rooted once more in Barberton, Methven lives with her dog and rents out a cottage on her property.