Art Thru A Lens

January iPhone pics

2012-01-31T14:24:00.001+11:00

Calendar image

It is still hot

2012-01-02T16:27:00.000+11:00

It's hot

2012-01-01T18:21:00.000+11:00

Still Life

2011-09-11T15:06:00.000+10:00

Well it's Sunday afternoon and since Friday night the Rugby World Cup has been on in the background (I did manage to catch up on Eastenders though) and I must say New Zealand did a lovely job on the first section of the opening ceremony. I do not quite understand this game I am more of a football girl (that's soccer not afl) and enjoy watching Arsenal in the middle of the night (ok last night I only watched the first half before falling back to sleep.......the joys of having Austar in the bedroom).

So DH gave me a few props this morning and said take your pics and use what you want from this lot but you can't add anything else. So this is what I came up with, however I have spent the morning playing with Nikon's Camera Control Pro 2 which enables me to tether the camera to the pc and look at the pics as soon as they are taken. I have saved heaps of time today using this and can see almost instantly on whether I have got the shot or what needs to be altered without keep taking the card in and out. It did however cost DH a trip down to JB to get a longer cord and extension so I could move the tripod around. I can see this piece of software being used often when shooting macro and still shots.

I have also managed to get the majority of my notes onto my iPad while the rugby was on. Which I think I will go and finish off while Australia run Italy into the ground.

Something different

2011-09-08T18:56:00.000+10:00

This is the back of the old Catholic Monastery in Ballarat. The actual building has been made into apartments which are gorgeous inside and very modern. They have kept all the outside original including all the statues which I think is nice (although it is probably Heritage and therefore they had no choice!). If it wasn't for the location it would be a great place to live.

I took this in RAW and with some adjustments in photoshop transformed it to black and white. I would like to look at a photoshop course, having finished my photography degree I think that would compliment it nicely. However I can see it being costly getting printer/monitor/photoshop/camera all calibrated to the same output. I have the spyder monitor calibration which does make a difference but it does change when photos are shown on another computer. I wonder if there is some sort of standardisation that could be used.

I have also been organising all my notes I have taken over the years onto my iPad. I have the majority of my books and magazines on there and as I am trying to be as paperless as possible I am using the Notability app to sort them out. It seems to be quite good I can type it up on word and save it as a rtf file and open it up in the app with the ability to add typing/pictures/drawings. It also has a search function which is the most important function.

Off to soak my sore tender muscles in a radox bath - boxing pt session with Jono was murder. As I have been banned from my spin and pump classes due to ankle injury I got quite sluggish and bleh. However half hour with Jono soon had me back in the groove, and not too strenuous on my ankle.

Flowers Take 3

2011-09-07T19:01:00.000+10:00

Well that seems a bit better than yesterday. A lot sharper in any rate and I must admit I have been really pleased in getting back to my photography although I think I will look for something other than flowers for tomorrow. These were taken without tubes but I am still impressed with my macro lens and the quality it produces.

Flowers Take 2

2011-09-06T18:52:00.000+10:00

So this week is just going to be flowers, but then I have to make the most of these gorgeous colours. DH really likes the lily shot (it looks like aliens was what I think he said!) but the rose is more mine. I will try the rose with the extension tubes tomorrow to see how sharp I can actually get it as this one is still a bit too soft for my liking.

Back to basics

2011-09-04T15:12:00.001+10:00

Well it was definitely back to basics for me today. I cleared off my desk, cleared out my drawers, set up a macro studio so to speak, had a general move around of computer/photographic equipment and then got back to what I enjoyed most.........macro flowers. Ok the photographic side of it came back really quickly but I do admit I had to pull out my old notes on photoshop to refresh my memory. I did however thoroughly enjoy the last couple of hours and now with a more ease of access set up (ie I don't have to move everything off the kitchen table for us to eat anymore) I should be able to quickly set up shots each day.

The topic of today was illustrate attraction and in a round about way I think I did this. These flowers are from my DH whom I hope after all these years of putting up with my idiosyncrasies still finds me attractive enough to buy me flowers. So look forward to more shots throughout the week as I will keep taking shots of these until they have expired.

Spoilt Again

2011-09-03T16:06:00.001+10:00

Due to a poorly ankle (my own fault silly high heels on cobblestones) I have been feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself. I must of however had a very sad face when DH went of to work this morning as I am normally at the gym for a good two hours or more with spin and pump classes and some extra cardio. DH walked in after a morning at work with a huge bouquet of flowers full of spring colours and smells. They are absolutely gorgeous. So in tomorrow mornings light (when I should be at spin class) I will be getting out the macro lens and extension tubes and having a good old fashion play.

Fair to say I have been taking more photos of late with a terrific website that gives an assignment per day at http://dailyshoot.com/ and a 365 photo project http://365project.org/ which I have started. Both have been easy to use and although I do not join in with posting my assignment pics (I am not on twitter to do so) I have been utilising the topics.

So spring has sprung and with a spring in one step and a hobble with the other I am looking forward to the warmer weather giving way to a sunny disposition with expectations of a fantastic summer to come.

Parallel Lines

2011-08-25T19:21:00.004+10:00

Alluring Beauty...(Parallelogram de Crystalline)by Karan Gods Warrior

Enlightened

By your tender beauty

Moon conceals herself behind the clouds

Shimmering

Upon the silent sea

Stars do admire your alluring smile

Glimmering

In the tranquil cold night

Fireflies dance on the beat of your heart

Fluttering

Prancing on gentle buds

Butterflies kiss your delicate lips

A Circle of Sorts

2011-08-24T20:33:00.002+10:00

Celtic Circle: Harmony

If you have been given the gift of circular strategy;

then you will appreciate this poem;

if you enjoy this poem.

Then you will read my books;

if you find that you wish to search for a similar path;

then we will want to know each other.

If we know each other;

then we will help each other;

if we help each other.

then we will both be more successful;

if we are both more successful;

then we can help others;

the Circle expands.

David Morris 1998

Etheral

2011-08-21T15:20:00.000+10:00

Well last weekend saw me watching my eldest daughter graduate from her uni course (she is now in the process of starting her masters and I am very proud her), taking a fall in riduculously high heels on the cobblestones in Melbourne, breaking a uv filter, dropping my camera and dislodging all the dirt inside it onto the sensor and spending Sunday with my foot on ice.

So compared to last weekend this one has been very peaceful, although the gym was a no go zone due to my foot I actually managed to sleep in and enjoy a freshly brewed coffee in bed. Today was spent mainly cleaning my camera and coming to the conclusion I have got it as clean as I can so will have to pass it onto the experts and have it cleaned by Nikon. Luckily although my fall last weekend broke a uv filter it did no permanent damage to the camera or lens and it is only at f22 and above that the dirt can be seen. It has however been nice to have an extremely quiet weekend sometime when you are forced to take a break (such as sore foot = no gym) you actually relax more. It has been nice to have my camera back in my hand again and I feel on a whole new learning curve as I limit myself to A/S/M modes and do my best to ignore the pre-set ones. So after a very quiet weekend I am off to do some more research on my next purchase of camera equipment and a catch up on the photography magazines (well the ones I didn't drop in the bath!).

(Ok so I should have gotten my daughter's boyfriend to move so he didn't have branches coming out of his head)

Mobius Strip

2011-04-03T14:08:00.001+10:00

Those that know me already know I have a facination with time lines and mobius strips. Given that when I came across a mobius scarf Knitting pattern I just had to give it a try and see if I could work it out. Knitting has quite changed in the last few years and good old purl and plain seems to havae lost its way amongst mobius cast ons and magic loop knitting. Given this mathematical form of circular knitting I decided the one person who might just appreciate it for the science of it (not the knitting) was my eldest daughter Jessi. It was easier that I thought and it only took one trial run to work it out. Now to use up the left over wool and to try the magic loop way of knitting (I just cannot get to grips with double pointed needles) I am going to knit some mittens that I came across on another blog by a talented knitter Leslie on "a friend to knit with" blog called toasty. I havent worked out how to put links in on my ipad yet but I am sure I will work it out soon.

It always rains in Ballarat

2011-01-14T17:27:00.001+11:00

Last January we had bushfires this January we have floods. Mother Nature is a bit upset with us at the moment. Although Ballarat and the surrounding suburbs did not suffer the devistation that our northern cousins did, we did however have a few days of constant rain that caused some concern and work for our valiant SES boys and girls. The two photos above were taken of the creek just up from where we live. The MOTH came back from dropping off DVD's and ushered me out with camera in tow as the footbridge had collapsed. We then walked across the road and down the other side where as you can see the creek had reached the footpath at some stage during the day.

Bamboo

2010-07-31T16:54:00.003+10:00

I learnt something about myself last week......I cannot crochet while watching the tv. I had to redo 5 lines of my wrap because I was concentrating on the movie. So I took back up my knitting where I can knit and purl without watching my needles. So my son Lachie got a hat with the left over wool from DH jumper (who is very pleased with his nice wool jumper and says it is very warm). The next wool I picked up was a bamboo/cotton mix which I have never knitted with. I had taken about 4 different patterns for fingerless gloves and put them all together to form a pattern I liked. Mind you they were all made with different ply wool with different size needles etc so I had to adjust more for the bamboo I used. I was very pleased with the result and how quick they knitted up. They have a cobweb frill on the edge (taken from 2 different patterns to get it to sit the way I wanted) and a chevron lace instead of a normal rib.

I have lots of little projects lined up to help keep me awake after 8.30pm each night including a hat and scarf requested by DH to match his nice warm jumper. I brought the same wool as his jumper so his hat and scarf should keep him nice and warm in the UK winter over Christmas.

Slip Rib

2010-07-25T16:23:00.003+10:00

About 4 weeks ago I started knitting a jumper for DH. Each night I have sat down and knitted to the tune of "gee its cold......I wouldnt be this cold if I had a nice warm jumper" and "hows my jumper coming?" etc etc. On Friday I finished the neckline and promised DH that he would have a finished jumper by the end of the weekend. This was one of the biggest projects I have attempted in years. I havent actually knitted anything bigger than a baby's jacket since my children were in kinder. Apart from the reason of keeping me awake I have really enjoyed tackling a project so big but was beginning to regret it when it came to sewing it together. I know this is where you can end up with a really nice handknitted article or a big mess that doesnt line up properly. A couple of hours ago I ended up with a really nice handknitted jumper for my DH who responded with........"thanks sweetie can I have a hat and scarf to match?"

Well his hat and scarf will have to wait a couple of weeks (but I did promise he would have it before our trip to the UK at Christmas) as I am now in the middle of a crocheted slashed vest pattern by a talented lady named Michelle from Tasmania. I will post finished pictures when finished although I have a great hat pattern for Lachie and Kristen has asked for a hat and socks! Not sure about the socks I have never attempted them before but I will give anything a go.

Seasons End

2010-07-25T11:12:00.003+10:00

My DH set off for the gym this morning when within 5 minutes returned came tearing in the house telling me to get dressed I would only have 15 mins before it wasnt there, grabbing all my camera gear and racing us both back out to the car. On his way to the gym he noticed all the mist on the hills and on the water near our house and decided it needed to be captured.

I must admit I felt like I was in the UK rather than central Ballarat when I got out of the car to start shooting........the mists was hanging there like it hangs over the moors. It was also freezing at 7.20 am. We probably needed to be about 30 mins earlier along the creek to get the mist coming up from the water but we did find a nice 7 km walk into Ballarat that we never knew existed.

So the shot of "The ghost of the mist that was on the hills" is a line from a song by Marillion that was my topic so many months ago of Seasons End. I like the etheral look the mist gives everything. I guess now he will have to give me another topic to play around with now that I have finally gotten the weather right to finish that one.

Knitting to stay awake

2010-07-17T18:00:00.002+10:00

Back in January after having lost a fair amount of weight I decided to join a gym. So I started at Fernwood with five days a week totaling 7 hours a week at least. So that is where I have been......well that and doing payroll for a local firm and helping out in the workshop. The worst part of all this is I have been falling asleep at 7pm each night!

So to help keep awake I have retaken up craft (not the wiccan craft I take that as a way of life and dont intend to give that up) its handicraft. It came about as I lost my fingerless gloves and was sick for a week so decided to knit some more. Well not only did I knit 4 pairs for my girls I also managed to stay awake till 10.30 each night I was pretty chuffed. So after a couple of Ron Weasley multi coloured ear covering hats for my son and my hippy daughter I got nagged to knit my gorgeous husband a jumper. Well I have knitted the back, one sleeve and three quarters of the front and decided to take photos of the project while being made. I will post pictures of the finished project (hopefully with him wearing it).

Happy New Year and a big thanks to our CFA boys and girls

2010-01-01T10:39:00.005+11:00

Well the end of 2009 happened at last and considering our house didnt burn and we are all well and safe I think 2010 will be a fantastic year. A big thanks to the CFA for keeping our town safe last night. When the wind changed in our direction we had our car keys in our hand but the heavans opened and we got the much promised rain.

All these photos were taken from our back veranda whilst we were wetting down fences and decking. Just to give you some perspective in the first photo the first fence is ours so as you see once the wind changed the fire would have been coming straight for us.

I hope everyone has a very happy and safe new year and I wish all of you the very best for 2009.

The Early Bird

2009-12-04T09:25:00.003+11:00

I must confessed when we walked out the door at 5.30am this morning I was not awake. My brain would just not kick into gear. After yesterday's very blurry disappointing images I thought I would cheat this morning and see what the camera would do given the changing light, so I set it to automatic and watched the aperture and shutter speed to try and gauge a basic guide. Still what I wouldn't have given for my tripod and time to set up a shot, but it's good to get out of the comfort zone and try something new.

There were a couple more decent pictures this morning but some that I wished had worked didn't (even with the camera on auto). So it might mean a bit of research this weekend and refresh my memory as it's been so long since I have had the camera in my hand. Even with the flash this morning where we walked down by the creek most photos were still very dark due to being surrounded by trees.

Being the weekend tomorrow our morning walk might start a bit later and the light might be a bit better..........however being the weekend we turn off all alarms and relax so it may turn into an afternoon walk.

Inspiration

2009-12-03T09:41:00.003+11:00

At 5.30am this morning my gorgeous husband jumped out of bed and told me to get dressed. Well I managed to put the coffee on before having my camera thrust in my hand, runners done up and shoved out the door. So a morning walk I thought well mornings are cooler than evenings and taking the camera was a good idea in case I saw anything worth my attention. Nick however had other plans for me........as we were walking up the driveway he told me that every now and then we would stop and I would have 15 seconds to take a photo and by the end of the walk I had to have at least two shots worth keeping! Well talk about panicking I am used to being able to set up shots, usually with a tripod and unless I am really slow usually get a decent shot before the flowers die. So with reminiscence of Jim Carrey's Yes Man of the photography/jogging club off we set.

20 minutes and 35 shots later we came home to the smell of freshly made coffee. After looking closely at the shots I took this one was the only one I was actually pleased with. Most shots were blurry, uninteresting and dull in colour. So a lot of practice needed to up my game before I start street photography and shooting on the fly so to speak. Having had no inspiration of late and no 'get up and go' to do anything I enjoyed trying to pick out interesting shots in a very short amount of time. So I intend to stop thinking about not having enough time to do the things I enjoy doing and get out there and 'do it' to quote Nike. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed and I hope to capture as much of it on camera that is possible. Also to up the ante with street photography so I have the confidence to get out there and shoot in the UK and France next Christmas.

I must admit I am looking forward to tomorrow morning and I wonder which streets my guide will pick.

Tulips

2009-08-23T15:02:00.002+10:00

Trying to get back into the swing of things to finish my assignment on still life having lost my original shots (always back up more than once and make sure your back up works!) I saw these tulips at the supermarket on Friday. So between syringing water down a cats throat.....one of our cats Redbull has been bitten by a stray which has abscessed causing him to be in so much pain he doesn't want to drink.....I have been playing around. This is one of the best for the day.

My son the army man

2009-08-01T16:16:00.003+10:00

This is my very handsome son and heir who was yesterday off to his first cadet weekend. It is very scary for a mum to see her son in full army fatigues. But he was looking forward to it and I do hope he is enjoying himself. I dread to think of the state of him when he returns tomorrow night.

These shots were only what I call snapshots lol but the next time I get him in full dress uniform I will take some more formal portraits of him.

Flowers Flowers and More Flowers

2009-05-31T13:37:00.004+10:00

Having taken the opportunity to have a quiet weekend and get back to doing the things I love doing, flowers are still the topic of the day. Something nice and peaceful whilst Metallica is blaring in the background :). Its nice to know I haven't lost the ability to use my camera at all but I think a trip to the optometrist is in order I am now looking at spreadsheets so much I am having trouble focusing my eyes through the viewfinder (even with my glasses on!).

These were both taken with a macro lens on f/13 with a curves adjustment in PS3 and a sharpening layer.

Back Again

2009-05-30T14:56:00.003+10:00

Well after a couple of months of sorting out a new work routine and trying to set up an area of the house where I can photograph without having to move things when feeding time at the zoo comes around........I am back. Maybe not as back as I would like to be with a picture a day but am hoping for at least one a week. Moving into a smaller house was great, it gave me the opportunity to have a big clear out (mind you I have had to store all my sewing and art equipment at work) but I didn't realise that setting up still life shots in a study where you can leave everything as is for days upon end would be missed that much. But having manoeuvred my computer around I can now set up on my desk and leave it there while doing other things till I am finished with it and all being in one spot instead of two actually makes the workflow a bit easier. The only thing I haven't worked out is the light box (it's still sitting in my cupboard).

So flowers being my favourite subject still I have been playing around today and I hope you enjoy.

Weekend Comp

2009-03-14T17:23:00.002+11:00

Well I am back. After a month of packing finding somewhere to live then unpacking I am finally settled and back to my normal routine. I have even gotten another assignment off for my course and am half way through the fourth one. So I am hoping to get back to my photo of a day shots this week.

Last weekend I went to see the John Lennon Imagine photos from London at our Ballarat Art Gallery. They were all photos from the bands beginnings to about 1971 some of them were fantastic. They also had the 41st Ballarat National top 100 entries and they just blew my mind away. All bar two of them had the wow factor and were supurb. It was something to aspire to.

Anyway here is my shot for the weekend comp which I have gotten back into after my move. The topic was a CD Cover insert.........hence Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park.

Taboo Table Topics

2009-01-20T17:25:00.002+11:00

Always when you think of topics not to be discussed at a dinner party the first one that comes to mind is religion. However in our house we welcome boisterous discussion about any topic especially religion. We have always welcomed questions and are interested in the research to find the answers out and how people come to the conclusions they come to. Especially about such an ethereal topic as religion. I am a Wiccan and have been my whole life, however most of my family are Higher Church of England, the MOTH is an atheist and my children have been baptised Catholic from their fathers side. Any wonder when we get people knocking on the door plying their beliefs they go running for the hills.

Our bookcases demonstrate this also. You will find anything from The God Delusion to Darwins Angel to Uriels Machine to Jesus and the Goddess to The Templar Revelation (Templar history is a favourite of mine) along with the must have copy of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Forward thinking and questioning everything is a big part of growing up and evolving as a human being and it is something that is encouraged in our house.

And no the pentagram does not represent devil worship :)

Flowers

2009-01-17T18:39:00.002+11:00

Again my favourite subject. These were brought from a fantastic little florist who doesn't mind selling me flowers that are only going to last a couple of days. When you want to use them for photography you don't really want to wait around for them to open up. I stood them in front of my light box (lovingly made by the MOTH) with a strip of black material in the centre so the only lighting was from the two side panels of the light box. A high key version for this weeks weekend comp can be seen here http://community.dcmag.co.uk/photos/wendoureecats_gallery/default.aspx and although I do like some high key photography my personal preference is for low key.

Wood - Stairs

2009-01-14T17:14:00.003+11:00

It was 38 degrees here today and my topic was wood. Hence why you have a photo of our stairs. It was just too hot to go out. It was too hot to do anything. Can you guess I melt at anything over 28 degrees. I am like the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz...........I turn into a pool of green goo.

I really must get round to staining and varnishing these stairs. I meant to do it when we moved in but time has slipped away and a year has passed. Guess I will have to sand it all back now as well. A nice french blue I think will be the go. Hope its cooler tomorrow and Friday - I still have stone and brick to do this week.

Glass - Library

2009-01-13T16:16:00.002+11:00

This is our local library. Somewhere in my treasure trove of memories are a multitude of library cards for every suburb I have ever lived in. I have spent many wondrous hours in libraries. I was a library monitor for 3 years at primary school. At high school if you wanted to find me I would be in the library. So as you can imagine books and reading are a fairly important part of my life. Whilst reading the MOTH's copy of Jeremy Clarkson's latest novel I found out in 2006 Sony released an Ebook reader (not available in Australia till Feb/March this year). For those of you who read my other blog What My Phone Sees you will know I am a gadget addict. This find of an electronic book reader set a fire to my heart - 160 books in a device no bigger than a Mills and Boon!!!!!! Just what I needed and just the thing for the long plane trips back to the UK. No more lugging around hardback books........my whole library and more on hard drive and memory stick. Then something was brought to my attention by my beloved MOTH - "So no more rummaging around secondhand bookshops in our travels then?" and I thought about all the time I had spent in libraries, all the time I had spent in secondhand bookstores looking for out of print copies of those elusive books. And I remembered losing myself in Enid Blyton's The Naughtiest Girl in the School series, lining up to get the latest Harry Potter the moment it was released and thought sometimes technology loses something in the translation.

However I am sure there is room for both in my life!!!!!!!

Metal - XJ40

2009-01-12T16:58:00.003+11:00

Most of you would realise by now that the MOTH and I own a garage. We specialise in European cars which means we now deal with anything the local garages cant work out. Jaguars always make me feel every inch of my English heritage. Ok so I know they are no longer made in the UK, nor are they owned by a UK firm. In fact they are now owned by Tata Motors, an Indian company. We do many Jags from the old 1970's to the very modern ones that look like a flash Ford Falcon........well if you put two together de-badged it would be hard to tell the difference.

The owner of this 1992 XJ40 came to pick up his pride and joy this morning to find me lying on the ground, camera in hand about to be run over by the plumber from next door. Luckily he is a good customer and allowed me to finish my shoot before racing off to the gym.

Paul and son

2009-01-11T18:20:00.003+11:00

This is my step-brother Paul and his gorgeous son Ashley. It was Ashleys christening today, with my eldest daughter Jessi as godmother, all the way over the other side of Victoria. Up extremely early and only one cup of coffee for a three hour drive. I was navigating and need I say we are going to look into gps systems before our next trip. I navigated quite well in London (we only had one round about that we had to go around twice to get to the exit) and yet in Melbourne I seem to be unable to navigate my way out of a paper bag lol. Paul was kind enough to give me some basic instructions on how to use the gps on my phone but all to no avail.........looks like I will have to find the manual.

What Women Want

2009-01-10T17:20:00.004+11:00

So women want flowers, or jewellery, or a big house, to get married, have kids, be happy, get a good job, money, nice furnishings, happiness, to be thinner, to be sexier, to be prettier, to be fitter, not to go grey, have less wrinkles, pain free periods, no periods, no hot flushes, no dramatic mood swings or even just more time to themselves. I however am not the most normal women in the world. Material possessions don't mean a lot to me. Sure I have nice things and I don't scrimp on my hobbies. I always buy the best I can whether it be the best cut of meat or a new camera lens cause you get what you pay for. But I would be just as happy in a caravan travelling around the world with the people I love as I am sitting here in front of my computer in my nice house surrounded by all the mod cons. I can't tell you what women want cause as a female what we want changes instantly depending on the circumstances. I can however tell you what I want and what I see most women wanting.

Peace.

You can look at all the trouble in the world at the moment. It is brought into our lounge rooms on plasma TVs on 97 different channels. We see all the fighting, dying and war. Like any emotion if you are subject to it for any length of time it tends to take over your own emotions. If you spend a lot of time with pessimistic people you tend to start seeing the down side of everything. Same as if you walk into a room where people are happy and laughing it automatically lifts up your spirits no matter how depressed you feel. War is the same. Brought into our homes over the television it invades our emotions so that our lounge rooms become war zones. We need peace in all areas of our lives and in all areas of our world. Which brings me to my peace. Taking photos of flowers and this shows not only two different colours (white and red) but also two different flowers (carnation and rose) to represent the different nationalities and different skin colourings of our world. We need to let go of these wars and start living in harmony.

Angels & Demons

2009-01-09T18:37:00.003+11:00

These are my own angels and demons. I love flowers, always loved painting them, have taken that love into my photography, they give me joy just to look at them. However I am no gardener. I do not take pleasure in weeding, planting, fertilising or pruning. And this brings me to my demons. We have blackberries. Not just ordinary run of the mill blackberries.........these are alien gestating blackberries. We have tried every type of weed killer. We have cut them back. And before you can turn around they are back again........double. I have had quotes of over $1000 to rid the garden of these but no-one will give me a guarantee they will not return. I fully expect to wake up one morning to the trendels of these hybrid aliens wrapped around my ankle ready to take over my body. These plants were put on this earth to suck the life out of every living thing. Day of the triffids all over again. As soon as summer is over I am going to put a can of petrol and a box of matches to some very good use.

This was taken at f/16, 1/5sec, auto white balance (shot in RAW) and ISO 200. I used side lighting and adjusted the white balance in PS, boosted the curves a tad and sharpened a touch.

A Good Year

2009-01-08T18:36:00.003+11:00

Well this is the only Russell Crowe film (am not a fan of his work) that I went into expecting to hate and ended up buying it on DVD :). Its basically a New Zealander who the world thinks is an Australian playing an Englishman living in France. And it was a very good year. So my very good year is a year of daydreams, of finding my inner child, to allow myself the time to lay on the ground and look at the clouds, to relax, to dream, to play and to find the faeries and other wee folk. It is hard as an adult to play. When I took my three kids for a photo shoot at one of the local playgrounds and told them to go and play they looked at me as if I should suddenly be in a nice white jacket with shiny buckles down the back. We should all stop occasionally and smell the flowers, stop and think and most of all play while you still can. There is still a little bit of magik in the world..........you just need to capture it again.

Gone With The Wind

2009-01-07T16:06:00.002+11:00

Ok so maybe not many of you see the connection with this picture. But 'frankly my dear......I don't give a damn' was the theme here. Talking away to my other half over morning coffee whilst he is reading the paper is not a good idea in the communication area :). I had an idea with dandylions for Gone With The Wind however there were none to be seen. So we started discussing the movie and lines from it and came up with this pic from the most famous quote of all. It is a movie and book that I love although my copy of the novel fell apart from being read so much and it's not a movie I have replaced from video yet. A trip to JB HiFi might be in order this week. I read an awful lot and very quickly with my favourite subjects historical biographies, the Tudor era, time travel back into medieval times and fantasy.

Given the topic and the newspaper appearing in the picture I gave it a bit of a newspaper appearance with some noise.

Trainspotting

2009-01-05T17:45:00.002+11:00

I am not really into trains nor am I into taking pictures of Scottish drug addicts - well unless it is Ewan McGregor :). The only train I have every photographed was the Queen's train in the UK. Given this topic I then looked for another angle and with the brilliant sunshine today on went my polarising filter to capture some abstract shots. My other half commented that this shot was reminiscent of Carl Glover's photographs for Marillion's Marbles album - a comment I was very pleased with as I do greatly admire Carl's creativity.

This was shot at f/8, 1/200th sec and ISO 200. There was not much post processing done as it was shot in RAW I changed the white balance, upped the curves a touch, darkened the blacks a touch and sharpened.

This Year I Will.......

2009-01-04T12:39:00.002+11:00

With Christmas and New Year over and done with for another year I am sure there were plenty of resolutions made that by now have been forgotten :). This is my entry for the first weekend comp for the year aptly titled This Year I Will.......... my interpretation was that most entries would be of family members - spending time with family or landscape scenes - spend more time outdoors or getting fit I took it a bit tongue in cheek. We all make new year resolutions that this year we are determined to keep such as give up smoking, stop drinking, go on a diet, get fit etc. I have made all those and more (although I gave up smoking 4 years ago and am only a social drinker) with this year being no exception of getting fit, finishing my photography assignments and improving my photography. So my entry was very opposite of good intentions.

This Year I Will............Be Very Naughty.

Closing The Old Year

2008-12-29T18:12:00.002+11:00

Well its been 18 days since my last post and all I can say is.........I blame Christmas :). It has been extremely hectic here both at work and in the household. But the end of the year is drawing near and I can only hope that I get the opportunity to be more dilligent about A Photo A Day and actually manage what it says and what I set myself to do. So being as it is Monday and although not yet Jan 1st I will try to keep up and find that extra hour in the day. I keep partitioning for the day to be lengthened to 26 hours (giving a whole two hours per day to myself.......bliss) but nobody seems to be listening :).

Hope you enjoy the Iris.

Something Blue......

2008-12-11T18:08:00.003+11:00

All right two posts in one day......but I had to catch up. And now for something completely different.......ok we will go with something blue instead :). I was thinking of re-photographing 'Something New' but was told that was cheating. But this time Mother Nature smiled down on us with a brilliant blue sky and what better to show it off than the spire of St Andrews Church. I also like the sun's rays coming down infront of the church almost makes you feel all is right with the world.

So off to think about tommorrows topic :) Hope you enjoyed both of todays photos.

Something Borrowed.....

2008-12-11T17:41:00.002+11:00

Sometimes I just think too laterally and my mind wont step outside the box. Topic 'Something Borrowed'. I took photos of the DVDs we hired last night. Ok so that was a really boring photo (the movies weren't that great either). Nick and I started talking about weddings and about what you do borrow from other people for the occasion. Such as experience from other people that have been married before you take not only the experience of their wedding (if you went) but the life they show you now. You borrow from them what you respect and like about the way they are with each other and put that to use with your marriage. Then there are things you borrow off your new partner, ok they happen to be intangible but you do only borrow their love, honour, happiness and hope. They are not yours to keep only on loan while you remain true to that person.

Then I started thinking about the biggest thing I have ever borrowed............the love and trust of my children. Children like any other people that you care about are only on loan. Soon enough they grow up and spread their wings and fly the nest on their own. You can only hope you have instilled the love, respect and values that you treasure in them so they can have the strength to go out into the world and be happy. Fortunately I have three fantastic children who do me credit everyday and have never disappointed me. The Goddess graced me with three beautiful souls to nurture into strong, caring, loving adults. I only hope I have not disappointed her or my children.

Something New.......

2008-12-10T11:06:00.004+11:00

I am starting to feel wedding bells with these two posts (again a day late in posting). I was thinking babies, budding roses, packets of things from the supermarket but decided to get into the Christmas spirit (ok its not in Christmas paper blue and silver are not my colour scheme this year) with a gift wrapped present which to the reciever is always something new. I had a play around with lighting and am quite liking the effect I get from two desk lamps positioned low.

Hopefully will get around to taking and posting todays topic today :)

Something Old......

2008-12-09T12:40:00.002+11:00

This is yesterdays topic set by Nick as Something Old. After taking my three kids to the playground for a portrait shoot (we had a lot of fun with teenagers learning how to play on swings and slides again) I had a think about something old. I found in my glory box something of my Great-Grandfathers left to me. This is a tape measure in both inches and links used by my Great-Grandfather when he was a cabinet maker on the Titanic. And with that story there by the grace of the Goddess goes I. When the Titanic was finished there were quite a number of berths free down in steerage. Fortunately not enough for all of the workers to have a bunk each, so their names were put into a hat and drawn out as to who will be granted a free trip to America. Luckily for our family my Great-Grandfather returned home to Gateshead-upon-Tyne by other means than the fated liner and my Grandmother was born 12 months later. So there by the grace of the Goddess goes my mother and I. For those of you who have seen the famous film Titanic when you see the crockery falling out of the cabinet remember this is the tape measure that measured the original cabinet.

Teddy Photographics

2008-12-07T14:54:00.002+11:00

This weekend's comp was titled Silhouettes. At least it wasn't take your best snow pic given the weather in the UK at the moment lol. So as I was not about to make it an early morning start this weekend nor a nighttime excursion looking for good skyline silhouettes I decided to go with a still life set and use some props that I have used before in a weekend comp. Although I could have cranked the exposure down more and given the teddies more shadows and just an outline I actually preferred this one where there is still a hint of colour and highlights so that you see it more three dimensional than just a two dimension silhouette.

Making The Earth Move

2008-12-02T17:38:00.004+11:00

As we have roadworks upsetting the applecart in our street at work at the moment Nick decided my topic should be Making The Earth Move. That didnt quite work today lol. I could not get one decent pic. So will try again tomorrow with some abstract or I will try and talk Nick into another topic. I suppose I have to accept some days just aren't meant to be :) and better luck tomorrow.

So todays pic is of the sepia version of the weekend comp which I actually prefer to the unphotoshopped one. What do you think??????

Phobias and Fears

2008-11-30T08:29:00.002+11:00

So after actually winning the weekend comp (am still in shock) it was my chance to pick a topic. So I went with Phobias and Fears and limited Photoshop to basic levels, curves and cropping. Well I did so shoot myself with that one. I spent Friday staining paper with coffee (the kids walked into a very messy kitchen and thought I had started the craft stall again) to which my hands still smell of coffee lol. Put quill to paper and had forgotten how messy a quill actually was, am used to my modern fountain pens for calligraphy and my Waterman fountain pen for writing letters. So with hands smelling of coffee and covered with ink and candles lit I set up the shot for technophobia, and it was with baited breath I managed to get it in at all with open bottles of ink and candles on the floor and three cats trying to help!!!! So into processing with a view of that will look great in sepia and a nice thick black border around it. Thankfully I was called away before I had a chance to post it up for the comp and woke up this morning remembering that I had set the limited photoshop and would get bagged for over photoshopping lol. So here is my entry for this week unphotoshopped.

Why are you so sad?

2008-11-27T11:22:00.003+11:00

On the opposite of yesterdays topic Nick decided the drama of why are you so sad? Being stuck at home sick at the moment and no car.......not that I have the energy to go outside anyway, limits my creative flow to a certain extent. So this morning I started thinking about why I am sad and decided that apart from being sick am not sad at all :). I then thought to take it a different way and work out what would make me sad. For those who know me well there is only one thing that would send me into deep despair...........my coffee grinder not working!

A macro shot of my poor coffee beans before they end up in the grinder seemed the only option. Now this should be a fairly straight forward shot not taking up much time or thought........well that prooved me wrong! Much playing around with composition, lighting, RAW, jpeg, macro, aperture priority, extension tubes and some panadol this is the end result.

What Makes You Happy?

2008-11-26T09:09:00.002+11:00

Well topic of the day is set again by hubby and todays topic is What makes you happy? We actually had quite a discussion about this as different things make different people happy. Also different situations can affect happiness. Nothing pleases me more than seeing the people I love smiling and happy.........its something that gives me the feel good warm fuzzies and makes me happy. But that was a bit obvious for a photo. Then there are hobbies......obviously taking photos for me makes me happy, craftwork is another and even something simple like enjoying a great cup of coffee can put a smile on my face. Much discussion later and many ideas thrown out of the window the subject of time came up..........the time to do all these things that make us happy, the time to spend with the people that make us happy, the free time that is not taken up by the routine that we have to do to live, the time that is spent living not just existing.

I thought this looked better in black and white as the two silvers were slightly different and it gave a more old world feel to the pocket watch. Taken in f16, 8 sec exposure, ISO 200 in RAW. Adjusted white balance and curves in photoshop with an adjustment to black and white and a layer of sharpening.

Water Drop

2008-11-23T11:18:00.002+11:00

This was taken back in August and have finally gotten around to processing it. It was taken at f16 and 1/6 sec and looking at the metadata it was taken with an ISO of 500 which is most unusual for me and I cannot remember if I had just forgotten to change it back to 200 or the light was really bad that I needed to up the ISO. Luckily there is no noticable noise to be seen (although am typing this without my glasses so I may be wrong on that account).

Credit Crunch

2008-11-22T13:20:00.003+11:00

The weekend comp subject this weekend was Credit Crunch........you have to take a photo of something that cost under $5. So after much searching around the house and finding nothing of that value apart from toiletries or food I went and brought a bunch of lilies that were being sold for $4.00 cause they were too open to sell at full price.

I hope you enjoy viewing as much as I enjoy taking photos of flowers and am hoping the credit crunch won't stop me from buying flowers to photograph or I will have to find something else to specialise in.

Cleaning not Photographing

2008-11-20T16:26:00.002+11:00

Well today was spent clearing out my office furniture then down on my hands and knees scrubbing white tiles on the floor. Honestly white tiles in a garage who would do that. So a rearrangement of my office has given much more space and light to take photos in when I'm not helping in the workshop.

Here is a photo of our drought ridden lake taken for a photographic assignment A Sense Of Place.

A Day at the Races

2008-11-19T14:50:00.004+11:00

It is Ballarat Cup Day today........a public holiday here in lieu of Melbourne Cup Day. A few hours spent playing with flowers, macro lenses and extension tubes instead of watching the races was a few hours well spent. As with all my macro work the use of a tripod is essential as well as a remote release button.

This was taken with 90mm macro lens and 20mm extension tube at f/16, ISO 200 and 6 sec in RAW.

Primary Colours

2008-11-17T20:12:00.002+11:00

Another topic of the day from earlier in the year which utilised my new extension tubes (thanks Mick & Mo). I was really impressed with the detail they showed and continue to use them with great results in many macro shots.

Abstract Architecture

2008-11-16T11:15:00.003+11:00

Well this weekend has been full of the weekend competion at http://www.dcmag.co.uk/ which has given the whole household a headache. The topic was If I Was President....... so thinking along the lines of racial harmony decided to melt white, milk and dark chocolate in my daughters fondu set.......which decided to crack in half whilst taking photos of the chocolate melting. Back to the drawing board with a circle of jelly babies on the lightbox to have Vodka (one of our cats) stealing the jelly babies faster than I could put them in place. If you would like to see that photo or any others from previous weekend comps you can see them at http://community.dcmag.co.uk/photos/wendoureecats_gallery/default.aspx

So for todays post its abstract architecture of one of the local high schools. Hope you enjoy.

Within an hour

2008-11-13T19:36:00.002+11:00

This photograph was taken earlier in the year when my husband would give me a topic of the day and I would have to come up with something by the end of the working day (its not bad working for yourself you can take off when the weather is at its best). This topic was "Whatever you like but you must be back within an hour" and as the sky was right for this shot I was actually back within about 20 minutes. I adjusted the curves and saturation in Photoshop just to punch the colours a bit which i feel works with this type of architecture shot.

Remembrance Day

2008-11-12T18:30:00.003+11:00

As yesterday was Remembrance Day I thought I would share with you a photo I took the same time last year for a weekend competition of a still life of my Grandfather's mementos. He stood on the shores in Darwin protecting our country during World War 2 and I am very proud to have had him as my Grandfather.

Sapper Archie Robert James Faddie 1921-2001

Slow Train Coming

2008-11-11T15:11:00.003+11:00

I am going to try for a photo a day here. Something that has been done by photographers many times before to help improve their photography. Over the next couple of weeks the pictures may not be from the previous day........I need to get into a routine of taking the photo, editing and uploading it again. I am also hoping that at the start of December my husband is going to give me a topic of the day to challenge not only my creativity but also kick start my brain again.

I hope you enjoy the first photo which started as a set of three different exposures and given a HDR treatment before final tweaks in Photoshop. I will try and give the exif data and the digital darkroom information but for this first one it is a case of what is on the computer at work, and this is it.