eBay...

I just sold one of my cameras on eBay.

Woo Hoo, but you may think that this isn't really news of note!

However, the camera I sold was listed just over an hour ago! I had two people send me messages regarding it and before I could respond to both of them it had sold...

What else can I sell? I now have a couple more cameras, a printer, a scanner, a fridge, a washing machine, 3 x port barrels (believe it or not)... Hmmm, methinks I may be a little busy over the next few days and it sure beats a garage sale...

Now, where did I put the boxes for all of this stuff?

HTML Guru required... Apply within,,,

I'm not sure how this blog template works? I was going along nicely with a large image for a banner and then all of a sudden on the computer at work I could only see a regular banner, at home the banner hadn't changed.

Then I logged in and found that I can only see a small banner!?! I've tried to change it (also tried to work out how I got a large image in the first place) with no luck... The only option I can see is for the width of the banner not for the height...

If there is anyone lurking who can give me a simple explanation please do so...

Cheers, Mal...

PS: If you can also tell me how to generate a space between paragraphs, sometimes I get one sometimes I don't???

Spinning Lights

Just a couple of crops from the ferris wheel series I took on the same night as my header photo.

I took out a medium format camera today. An old Mamiya C3 twin lens reflex camera, one of the ones with two lenses, one above the other... Very cool, a bit of fun, very heavy and I might just do it all again one day soon. I need to get the film developed and if any have come out nicely I might try and scan them... Stay tuned.

Dreams

If our brains are so creative how come we can't remember dreams? And, this being true most of the time, how come when we do remember parts of dreams we can't work out what they mean?

Being able to fly by flapping my arms always seemed like a cool dream, why couldn't I fly higher than the powerlines? Why were there powerlines in my dream?

How many words do we need, really? A challenge...

I know that there are some wordsmiths out there... I have a challenge for you...

I visited the National Gallery of Victoria today to look at the photographic portraiture exhibit. There were a varied range of images taken over the last 150 years or so and they showed the development of photographic portraiture with a leaning towards roleplaying. Effectively these were set up portraits rather than candids.

I then went around a corner and found myself looking at some wonderful 16 and 17th century portraiture (when only the rich could afford it - or cared enough to commission it)... The descriptions were wordy and informative.

One of my photographic assignments is to take an image that can only mean one thing, this got me to thinking...

If a picture paints 1000 words how can it mean just one thing? No ambiguity - everyone who looks at it gets the same message? So how many words do we really need...?

The challenge: (This has been done before in a short story course somewhere)

Write a short story that includes the subjects of mystery, sex and religion. The short story must be written with as few words (in number) as possible...

I will post the best one in a few days, but I warn you... You won't beat mine for brevity!

It took much longer than a few days but the answer is here...

Spray Tans & Photographers

Let me get up on my soapbox for just one moment... Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...

The only people to whom spray tans look good are Oompah Loompahs. The particular shade of orange that results from a spray tan will never render a human being as looking healthy. Please from this moment forward cease and desist from applying this CR*P to your skin before special events (such as weddings).

If, having read this, you decide to have a spray tan applied. Please, please, please have a shower and be fully dry before adding white clothing. One poor unfortunate I met recently sweat orange stuff through his shirt and asked the photographer (me) what could be done... I am forever grateful that I found the sense not to say what I thought (he copped enough of that from his friends... The poor thing). I just mentioned something about photoshop being pretty good these days!!!

I am stepping off my soapbox now... Over and out!

Vertical learning curves and brain fade...

It's 10:30pm, someone in a unit nearby has the music up, maybe we can hear it because the doors are open, it's warm...

My brain is in a weird tired overdrive...

Have you ever had so much information coming at you that by midday you are getting frustrated with yourself because you can't remember how to do what you quite clearly were capable of yesterday?

From the start at work today I was trying to catch up. The comment I heard towards the end of the day was "why am I having to tell you things twice?"

I know the answer... I don't yet know how to do what you are telling me to do and telling me once isn't enough!

I am most definitely getting faster though and today I finished everything on the job sheet; which was a first... Yay me... Except for the CD that wouldn't burn properly and then the second one that did the same thing??? May have done something wrong there...

As much as my employer is pushing me and as frustrated as I get with myself things are improving. I have to remind myself that I have only worked in that environment for a total of six or seven days... Plus a few weddings now...

Then home is fairly intense at the moment read about it at Cinta's blog. Things will be better there from next week as Cinta completes the fun run and gets into the course; as I have no doubt she will... (Interviews and exams where you aren't sure what the questions will be about and what will be required are always stressful)...

Summer Break Assignment

Here's the brief; I have to present a single image for each of 10 subjects. They must be creative and I can take as many images as I like but I can only present the 10 best images.

1. Something cool...
2. Something you can't touch...
3. Something small...
4. Something of my town that would attract overseas tourists...
5. Something that sells renewable energy...
6. Something that shows an Australian summer through recreation...
7. An image that can only mean one thing...
8. A landscape at dusk or moonlit...
9. An image where music is the theme...
10. A publicity image of myself...

At last the fun stuff begins. This is the first "creative" assignment for the course, the previous assignments are to show that you know how to work your camera... I already have some ideas (I can't touch my toes, for example! LOL Seriously; if I can find a rainbow with the moon behind it I may be on to a winner - this will lead nicely into the moonlit landscape). If you come up with any ideas let me know.

These images must be taken on 35mm slide film rated at 100 ISO so the technical side of getting an image to work without any manipulation or post processing comes in to the mix as well.

Now the real fun begins!!!

Photoshop

Wow, I knew you could do some stuff in photoshop... Serious stuff! I thought I had some of it learned and felt that I could get things done. (I really knew that I wasn't up to commercial stuff)...

How silly you can be? Imaging thinking that your amateur fumblings would cut it in the commercial world. I have heaps to learn and have already learned quite a bit (mostly that I can get things done but I take too long!). So the next few days will be dedicated to photoshop, a wedding shoot, a trip to Sydney to have a look at and hopefully purchase a car (subject for another entry). That's if I can fit it around the cleaning, washing, eating, excercising, sleeping that are requirements...

I can now, slowly, process a series of images and:

• Match exposures
• Match colours
• Add fill light
• Bring back highlights
• reduce shadows under eyes and around the face
• generally fix minor problems (the wardrobe error that I tried to fix yesterday would have been so much easier to fix before the photo was taken - the clients had already approved the photo for a poster without noticing it.)
• Move and resize images into pre-designed album pages

With about 600 images per wedding (+/-) just the first four on that list takes about an hour if the photographer is consistent with their settings.

And we got our first "creative" assignments from school this week. The first couple were "make sure you know how to use a camera" assignments. This means that over the next couple of months I will be out with my camera. The brief is quite simple and yet stimulatingly complex... EG: present a single image - a photograph of "cold". I'm looking forward to making things frosty! Stay tuned...

Last Day... New Beginning...

The very last day of pre-hospital emergency care for me... For 30 years now this is what I have done. Ever since I saw an ambulance at a hospital careers day in my first year of high school. With time in the army as a medic, work as a nurse in a small (tiny) country hospital and a large city hospital, 12 years of ambulance work and for the last 9 years first aid training. It has finally come to an end.

It was all I ever wanted to do.

To expect things to stay the same is silly, life progresses and needs change.

Throughout my life I have had an interest in photography and, if you have been reading my blog, that's what I am pursuing now. Time to let the creativity out and now it's official.

Today is a day of running around and getting stuff sorted out and finished off. Tomorrow I am off to work as a photographer/assistant.

And so a new chapter begins. Deep breath... Plunge in!

First Photos

Wow, this wedding photographer gig is both hard work and fun... I certainly have a greater respect for what they do having run around for a couple of days taking images and then sitting down to process them.

The two images I have here are from Mark & Alicia's wedding on Friday and Ruben & Chantel's wedding on Sunday. They were all fun to work with and I appreciate the experience. It's fun to be around people who are both very excited and very distracted by proceedings.

Congratulations to all...

PS: If you know of any good photo locations around Melbourne could you please pass them on? We had a hiccup where a location needed to be booked and wasn't so we had to try and find another, at very short notice. You can imaging the running around and the pressure applied to both bride and groom and the photographers.

My first official (paid) day as a photographer...

This is it! My first outing with a camera that I am to be paid for. Finally I'm going to be able to start justifying spending so much money on gear. I will try and post tonight with a photo...

Photographers first day...

Well, I've had my first day with my new employer... I processed some images, tried to learn how to send off images to the printer (most user unfriendly program ever devised!!!), learned a bit about how things work and suggested to Mark (the boss) that maybe a server would be better than having images on every computer in the place...

My first wedding, as an assistant, is on tomorrow with another one on Sunday... Nothing like getting started... The pay is ok as an assistant but to be the lead photographer is a much better wage so working towards that will be the next step. Mark also wants me to do sales and when the studio is set up portraiture.

It looks like this will be a fun and exciting learning experience. Bring it on!

School last night was good too. The girls are starting to look at me everytime there is mention of a piece of equipment as they think I might already have one. So far it seems I have... It has made me realise that my business really did do ok and I got some nice toys from it. The trouble is that cash is flowing out at a bit faster rate than it is coming in at present and the next round of toys might have to wait a while... Oh well, I should use up the toys I have before I get any more anyway...

We learned a little more about aperture and how it has an affect on the depth of field. There was some discussion about circles of confusion (Imagine sharp focus as a pinpoint. Anything in front or behind the item in sharp focus will be out of focus. The human eye cannot distinguish between a pinpoint and a small circle. The items that are in front of or behind the focus point will create small circles of light rather than a pinpoint. This allows for an area before and after the pinpoint to appear sharp with human eyesight) and I think Brian will discuss hyperfocal distance with us next week. Imaging using a magnifying glass to burn paper. To do this you have to focus the light to as sharper point as you can. If you lift the magnifying glass away from the paper, or towards it, you will get a circle of light that is not sharp enough to create heat once it is over a certain size...

Oh well... It makes sense to me...

Photographer or Photoshop expert?

It all started with a quick trip to the Adobe website. I went there in search of any updates for Photoshop and found a reference to a "Masterclass" in Melbourne. It was free to register so what did I have to lose?

The course/lecture was yesterday and there were over 100 people who turned up to have a look. The lecturer was a "world renowned" photographer (don't get me started on Americans being the champions of the world... Like the World Series of this or that that is only run and won in the US and no one else even knows it happened!). It turns out that you can be a world renowned photographer by being a photographer that works for Adobe and lectures around the world on how photoshop works...

In saying that Julieanne Kost is indeed a good photographer who is an awesome power user of photoshop and all of the associated programs, having worked for Adobe since 1993.

Have you ever been to a product information session that inspired you to buy the product and then when you got it home you couldn't work out how to use it? It looked easy when the expert, who has been using it since they knee high, demonstrated it!!!

Anyway, I guess there's a whole 'nuther learning curve in front of me...

The photography course last night was good. Brian was back and we had a look at how lenses worked and the relationship between the focal length of the lens and the aperture and how that affects the amount of light that gets to the film. I'm glad that there are experts out there who make lenses and get the maths right! About the only thing that Brian didn't mention last night was that the more light that a lens can allow to get to the film in the shortest time, the more expensive (and bigger, he mentioned that) the lens will be... Brian had some of his good lenses and his professional film camera there for us to look at and, I have to admit, a little bit of lens lust happened on my behalf... If I was able to sell my left kidney I may, just may mind you, be able to afford some of the gear that I want but don't really need... Yet!

There are so many excellent and creative photographers out there, will we ever be as good as them? What will it take? What will it cost in time, effort, commitment and money?

There is one other thing I have been mulling over in my mind. Ben mentioned last week that when he first started as a wedding photographer he was allowed to use three rolls of film. One for the bridal party preparing for the wedding, one for the ceremony and one for the formal portraits after the wedding. 36 images in total for the whole wedding. For this he was paid $35.00 (it was the early 70s) but if he mucked up a shot he was docked $5, if he mucked up 2 shots he was docked $15 and if he mucked up 3 shots he wasn't paid. He got good quick!

Nowdays, with digital cameras, it isn't unusual to take 3000 images of a wedding! 3000 images to take, process, select from, maniplate and WADE THROUGH PER WEEK! Wouldn't it be a better option to take 300 good images and work with them than to just keep pressing the shutter button and hoping for a good image?

Yesterday Julieanne mentioned that as a (World Renowned) photographer she expects that she will only use 10% of her images and of those only 1 will be really good. Hmmm, if a photographer makes a living on 1% of their images there are only two options.

1. Take more photos.
2. Increase your skill so that your percentages increase.

I know which I will be aiming for, I want to be a photographer, not a photoshop expert...

Photography blogs...

I have been looking around all of the photography blogs I can find - well those that list themselves as photographers anyway (apparently there are 13000 of them in blogspot land alone. I am up to about the 1000 mark)...

I need to change my profile photo! Some of you are very good looking! My photo is just that little bit scary and certainly not as professional as I should have it if I am to call myself a photographer...

Self portrait time.

May need to wait until the hayfever settles down otherwise I will just look scarier (then again, Halloween is just around the corner).

New Job!!!

I've been looking for jobs recently. It's not that I don't like the people I am working for, I do, it's just that I am pretty much over teaching first aid. I have been at it for close to 30 years! I have always wanted to be a photographer (well, not always but for a long time) and I finally started to apply for photography jobs.

I had an interview early this week, I got the job! The owner called tonight having spent most of the day until 8pm answering client calls. He said that he fully realised that he needed help with both the business side and the photography side and that I was right for the job.

Wooo Hooo!!!

Assistant photographer and assistant on the business side too. Life is good!

Photo Course: Night Two

The second night of the course is over... Ben is the second photographer/trainer we have met and he was in tonight because Brian was doing some family stuff (sending his son off overseas, I think?). Ben has a passion and enthusiasm for photography and a fairly kooky sense of humour (associated with a very infectious laugh). Everyone left tonight with a smile on their face...

Tonight was interesting and gave a little background on photography and some very basic terminology regarding how light is captured in a camera and how the parts all relate. Aperature, shutter speed, film speed (sensitivity)/sensor 'sensitivity'... All very basic so far. I wanted to do this course partly to find out what I didn't know and I'm expecting that part to come. I certainly don't know everything, it's just that the basics are the basics...

Ben took us on a tour and showed us the darkroom, the studios, the computer room and the staff offices. Then he did a portrait session and took all of our photos using a single studio flash with a medium sized soft box. He showed us some basics of how to position someone and get them at ease. I cannot believe the comments from potential professional photographers about not liking to have their photo taken! (Girls; if you ever read this - please try and get over that feeling and learn to love it. You will be so much better at getting your clients to relax if you have worked out how to do it yourself)... Ben also showed us some basics for adding and removing light with light and dark paper. Basically to either fill or shade part of an subject to give a more sculpted look to the model.

Tonight everyone was a little more relaxed as the first was over and we are starting to get into it. The comment "we are all going to spend the next two years together" made everyone relax a little more and go with it (thanks Paula)...

I have had my first roll of slide film developed and as soon as I work out how to scan them I will show some of them here. Stay tuned...

It's started!

Yay! It's finally started. The first evening of my photography course has passed. The group is small, I'm the only guy, apart from the instructor, and we seem to have a range of experience in photography from a brand newby to someone who had to defer her training due to family stuff and is now back to continue. Some don't have cameras yet which I find really interesting...

I spoke, briefly, to the returning student and she mentioned that when she started she had to unlearn so much that it became frustrating... I think the newbies (no disrespect intended or implied) may have an advantage, I probably have so much to unlearn that I will lose weight! Certainly I have probably got lots of bad, self taught, habits...

We discussed, very broadly, a range of photographic styles, a selection of career options i.e. Journalism, Weddings/Portraits, Travel, Art, Landscape etc...

We are to shoot 35mm transparency film for the first semester in a manual camera (or on manual mode) for a couple of valid reasons;

1. You can't cull your mistakes, you will learn more from the mistakes than from the fluked "good shot"...
2. You will consider your image making more if there is a financial cost to each shot.
3. You can't modify the image once it has been taken... You can't tweak it before you present it!

So, with the expectation that we will probably shoot 4 rolls of transparency film (36 shots each) per week I am considering the possibility of purchasing bulk film and loading canisters myself... Woo Hoo, a real step back into the age of dark rooms, dark bags, knock before entering signs, red lights, the smell of the processing chemicals...

I am in the dark, my eyes are open, I can't see a thing a timer is ticking behind me, I can hear my father fiddling with the development trays... Hmmm, nostalgia kicks in big time!

Mission in the first week, shoot a roll of film using various manual settings to show an understanding of (or to learn about) the relationship between shutterspeed and aperature...

And so it begins!!! :)

The "Art" of photography...

Only one day and a few hours to go until the start of my photography course... I have the gear I need, cameras (both digital and film), I have the cards/film I need to start, the cables, lenses, hoods, flashes, filters, bags, covers, computer, monitor, scanner, printer, software, cleaning gear, batteries (and chargers), straps, bells & whistles and light meter.

Now, where did I put my creativity? I know it's here somewhere under this pile of stuff that will require a month at the gym and several visits to the physio to carry around. And therin lies the "Art" of photography... It's 80% hard work, 19% knowledge and skill and 1% being in the right place at the right time.

Being in the right place includes: finding that bargain that no-one else has noticed, seeing the light as it takes on that afternoon or morning (a bit too early at this time of year) glow, finding the perfect subject, having the camera set properly and capturing "the moment"...

The creativity is around here somewhere, the skill will be in developing it and learning how to channel it when it's needed (which is always)...

The fun needs to start today! Why am I waiting for tomorrow?

You know... I think the real art of photography is finding out what people want and giving it to them. Especially that new 39 Megapixel Hasselblad H3D... (Please give one to me - Pleeeeze!)...

More photos to come soon, of course getting film scanned will take a little while...

Photography

Seriously considering which way to go with photography? Do I use digital or film, 35mm, medium or large format?

What do people pay for in photography (other than the never ending supply of new gear)? Let me know...

If there was one photo that you would like to have on your wall; which would it be? Then I can work out how it was done, if I could do it and what I would need to learn (or buy... I said it was never ending!) to do it.

Life...

I'm sure that if you were interested you could find any number of ramblings on blogs all over the internet by people who put their own meaning to life...

So I thought that I would tell anyone who visits about mine...

Let's start with this; until you know where you are you cannot look at a map and work out where you are going!

I had someone yesterday try to tell me where we need to get to on the map and I understood completely that that was where we needed to go. However I was in a new town and didn't know where I was to start with; so it was almost completely useless to tell me where I needed to get to.

This resembles life from time to time; you have a clear idea of where you want to be but because of circumstances you have absolutely no idea on how to get there. Not because you don't know how or that you don't have the means but quite simply because you don't know where you are to start with.

This will inevitably lead you to significant frustration as you try to move ahead but continue to run into barriers to your progress that you had no idea existed. If only it was as simple as pulling out a map and driving around a few blocks until you saw some street signs so that you could orient yourself. Oh for an internal GPS and a map!

I find myself in this situation at present; I am in a fantastic new relationship having recently been divorced. I have just cleared 99% of the wreckage from that previous life. I have a good job doing what I know (30 years this year of pre-hospital emergency care training and career has qualified me for it), I have signed up for a photography course which has been my passion for many years and would still like to complete the paragliding course that I started last year (Hmmm, combining all three, photography, paragliding and pre-hospital emergency care??? Maybe not!). My finances are starting to improve (anyone who has been divorced will understand) and I didn't dip below zero... So things are on the up and up.

So why do I still feel disoriented? I need to know where I am on the map; I need the GPS to kick in. I need this to happen quickly for my own sanity and for the sanity of those around me. Once I work that out it will all start to make sense again and I will believe that I can get to where I want to go; believe me when I say that that will be a relief!

Depression, post traumatic stress disorder, grief, loss and stress have all visited me in the last 18 months. I have been separated from my wife, lost my mother, lost interest in and sold my business, had to move house due to financial issues relating to all of the above, had to sell my vehicles to avoid bankruptcy. I have found a new love briefly and lost it due to all of the above, found Jacinta, found a new job and find myself trying too hard to make it back to the top of the pile which just seems to be straining everything.

The only thing I haven’t done so far is to find myself…

I said to my sister at one stage last year that if anyone else told me “take it one day at a time” I would have to kill them with a dessert spoon! In reality however, that is really the only way to do it; you can’t hit fast forward and skip to the next episode.

I think too much about what I would like and I am trying too hard to get there. I am not sure yet where I am and as a result I am spinning my wheels and trying to catch everything and hang on to it for dear life. I have lost too much recently.

I need to relax…

I need to breathe…

I need to slow down and smell the roses…

I need support…

I need to lighten up…

I need to realise that I need time and that it will happen one day at a time…

I need to help myself…

I need to find my location on the map…

Once I’ve done that there will be no stopping me, I will have my mojo back!

It's all in the name...

How do you choose a name when you find the little bundle of fluffy joy that is ready to be adopted into your family?

I guess there are numerous ways but when we picked up this one he was nameless and we couldn't really decide... We already had a boxer and we wanted a tough little friend who could cope with the boisterous play that a boxer can dish up. I thought that a mini fox terrier would be a good choice. We found him at a pet shop, tiny (he could fit into my hand) and shaking as mini foxies tend to do... A trade was made and we took him home. On the way we decided to visit friends and show him off, they had an older miniature poodle called Bertie.

We arrive at Sue and Pete's with our new bundle of joy and rang the doorbell. I put the puppy on the front step and as the front door opened fully Bertie, completely unaware of the new addition, walked across the opposite end of the room. Well! Have you seen the cartoon Tassie Devil that goes into a spin? Our little bundle of joy and warm fuzzyness saw Bertie and decided immediately that he was a threat to his new mum and dad. The teeth (very sharp baby puppy teeth mind you) were bared and an amazing growl, no less threatening for it's high pitch was heard, followed by barking and Bertie was promptly chased from the room and didn't come back!

His name became Agro, not that he ever exhibited that type of behaviour again. and he now lives with my ex, his mum...

Little visitor

I arrived home tonight after dinner out with Jacinta and Amy (nice to meet you Amy)... At the front door is a small garden with various trees and a little pond. As I came up to the front door I noticed movement in a tree at about shoulder height and there he (? she) was, I asked nicely if I could take a photo and the possum obligingly waited until I got back with my camera.... Unfortunately there was a leaf in the way that I didn't see in the dark and the photo didn't work out as well as it could... This is a crop of the original...

Just over a month until the photography course starts, can hardly wait!!!

Photography

Well, I've done it! I have always wanted to 'do' photography for more than just fun. The problem for me is that I don't know what I don't know and therefore I'm not sure if I could make it out there in the real world with (or against) the "pro's"... So I've signed up for a two year professional photography course which starts in October. Woo Hoo! Now I will be working towards making money from something I love doing. How soon can I start? I'm thinking that I will document my progress through the course here.

Stay tuned!

Hint of Spring

It's getting lighter earlier, it's just a little warmer, sunset is just a little later, flowers are starting to pop out, there are a group of scented magnolias on the block that smell particularly good (can't wait for one of those warmish, still evenings where the scent just fills the courtyard...

Spring is on the way...

Spooky

Well, we were in Tasmania see... At Port Arthur where there are supposed to be ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night... I was taking photos around the ruins of the chapel and I managed to catch an image of something I wasn't quite expecting... Quite unusual to see one like this in daylight... The camera just wasn't quite up to getting it in focus... Now, where did I put that photo of the Thylacine?

Aurora Australis

Constitution Dock, Hobart. Saw this very large ship (relative to me, not necessarily to other ships!). I immediately recognised it as 'the Australian icebreaker', I'm not sure why??? Googled it tonight and found I was almost right... Aurora Australis.

The sunset had painted the clouds a very complimentary orange/pink colour.

Plant sex...

I have been watching a succulent plant outside the kitchen window for the last couple of weeks. It has started to flower (spring must be on its way! Yay) and I finally managed a half decent photo of it. A couple of years ago I watched, entranced as a plant around the corner from home started to flower. The 'tree' was about 3 metres high and then a stalk started to grow from the centre. It grew another 3 metres at least and had the most wonderful spray of white flowers in a similar style to this photo. The really really good bit was that the flower stalk grew from nothing to 3 metres in only a couple of weeks! Amazing...

PS: How much deeper would the oceans be if sponges didn't exist?

Guess?

Hot out of the camera... I'll let you know if you can't work it out...

Winter Blues

The days are short, the sun stays hidden. Staying in bed with a book is a thing to look forward to... Spring isn't far away (well we are half way through winter) so a nice flower photo to whet the appetite...

Before you hassle me about spelling; to whet is 'to sharpen'... :)

Maggie

Maggie is the most psychotic, neurotic, crazy, ball chasing, rock retrieving bundle of loving energy that I know. I spent some time with her last summer and haven't yet been back to see her. She chases her tail (stop that Maggie), she barks at the highest frequency that humans can hear and at as many decibels as she can muster, she usually waits to do this until you have your ear next to her for maximum effect!

From The Garden

A little reminder of summer gone. Maybe a series "from the garden"? Hmmm... Off to get my lens back from the repairer today, can't wait to try it out...

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal! Awesome place, I was taken there by a friend and our guide was from a family who once oversaw the finances of Agra. Agra is the city closest to the Taj Mahal and includes the Red Fort (which we didn't visit). From the residence of our guide we had views of both.

The building is abour 204 feet high and as soon as you walk in to the complex (don't take a mobile phone - you will be frisked by the police on entry) you realise two things, it is a long walk still to the main building and it is HUGE but it looks close (a sign of being HUGE!!!)... Did I mention that it is HUGE! My Hindu guide assured me that it was built by the Hindus long before the Muslim Shah used it as a mausoleum to his wife. He used the Hindu symbols as justification for this, "surely a Muslim Shah would not have used Hindu artwork and symbols on a Muslim temple" was his main argument. The debate will rage (quietly - I hope) for a lot longer yet, I'm sure...

My overwhelming memorys of India are, the enormous population (15 million people in Delhi alone), poverty and SMOKE... As soon as we landed we could smell smoke and on the last morning we were there we had breakfast in the hotel and there, in the shafts of sunlight through the room we could see smoke. The burning of dried cow manure to fuel cooking fires seemed to be the source!

The population is supplemented with a Noahs Ark of animals roaming freely throughout. Ubiquitous cows, dogs, cats, monkeys, donkeys, camels, horses and we saw one elephant, painted in a riot of colour just wandering along the side of the road!

The traffic was horrendous, we arrived at 8pm in Delhi and had a 180km road trip to Agra. In Australia you would expect that trip to take about two hours - not so in India! It took two hours to get out of Dehli and another two hours to negotiate the highway to Agra. On the way dodging trucks, buses, scooters and all manner of home made contraptions. Barun, our host explained that in Australia you drive on the left, in America you drive on the right, in India it is optional... To be driving towards a bus at 100kmh is an interesting and very unnerving situation, where did I put my first aid supplies? Did I bring enough to fix amputation?

Would I do it again? Maybe? It was certainly a place with a rich cultural heritage and very colourful once the layers of dust and smoke were removed...

Back!

New day, new post with new internet connection that seems to be working as it should. Posting a flower shot taken with a 105mm macro lens in my back yard... I was looking at some photos posted on DPReview last night and as far as macro photography I have a long way to go. Seems that Jacinta, having handled tarantulas and huntsman spiders (by handled I mean in her bare hands without a safety net!!!), is a little spooked and maybe disgusted by close up images of the little creepy crawlies that can be found in the garden so I will try to make do without those images. I'm pretty sure that a 10" x 12" image of a hairy spider is unlikely to find its way onto someones wall, unless they took the photo...

Off air for a short time

We are upgrading our internet access and we have been sent back to dial up for a couple of weeks! Apparently to upgrade from ADSL to ADSL2 the ISP has to do something that takes 7-10 working days. This is a ploy to make you feel like things are going faster than before because after two weeks your point of reference is dial up speed and I could walk faster than that!!!

Also having camera and lens challenges. All have been sent in for adjustments and I can't see an improvement, the saga continues...

Hence, no new photos and even if I did they would take too long to be uploaded.

Stand by for further developments as they occur...

Silver Lining

Apparently if you take baby steps, one day at a time and search for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow you may actually find a cloud with a silver lining...

Now, back to work!

Which do you prefer?

Colour version as per my header or the Black and White version?

I could do some more work on this version so that the black halo around the lights isn't as obvious...

Fireworks

I took my car in to be fixed today, the radio antenna was damaged by the windscreen repair dude... I had to take it back to the dealer as no one else knew how to fix it...

I took my bike so that I could get home, looking forward to a longish cycle home I mounted the bike, clipped in my shoes, decided to turn left onto the path instead of the road, hit a patch of gravel and fell off! Landed on my hip and elbow. Bruises on the elbow showing, bruises on the hip being felt! No damage to the bike as I managed to protect it with my body!!! LOL...

Thought I would add another photo for your viewing pleasure. Will need to make an effort and get out and take some more... This one was taken on the same night as the one in my header...

Now where did I put the ice pack?

Daph & Son

Good friends own a farm in eastern Victoria near Leongatha. They have had Daph since she was a calf and here she is with one of her calves. I enjoy going out to the farm and it doesn't happen often enough, I grew up in the country and love the lifestyle. However the work is in the city so here I am for a little longer yet.

Today I signed the divorce paperwork, hmmm... It's a whole bizzare set of emotions, none of which make you feel upbeat and full of enthusiasm. I do wish Mel the best and I hope she finds, or has found what she is looking for, sorry I couldn't help with that Mel.

Onwards and upwards!

The Old Chev

What a magnificent weekend for open top touring. Jacinta & I went down to Point Lonsdale to see her Mum (& Dad) for mothers day and this old Chev was parked in Point Lonsdale on Sunday morning. These old cars are awesome in that they had a lot of the things that current vehicles, as far as creature comforts, have but none of the safety features (like crumple zones!). You can't see it from this angle but car is a four seater. The other two seats are found by opening the 'trunk' backwards and climbing in over the top... What a way to spend the weekend... P.S: This wasn't our car although we could probably have offered to swap it for a little while!?!?!

We were having a coffee at a cafe across the road the evening before and three powered paragliders flew past along the beach towards Queenscliff, reigniting my desire to finish my paragliding course and get back up there. One day, when time and money aren't a problem anymore...

Jacinta

I first met Jacinta in Richmond at Boheme, a restaurant in Bridge Rd that we have since visited a couple of times. If you haven't been to Richmond in search of food recently, give it a try, there are a wonderful selection of fine gastronomic experiences to sample. A favourite for breakfast is Olmecs (also on Bridge rd) where they make their own bread and cakes in the bakery at the back of the restaurant.

Jacinta is a very creative person who is constantly looking for new things to experience. RSVP was one of those things and she met a few people before she found a "keeper", that would be me! :) The thing that she wanted to do last year that she didn't get around to was paragliding. Maybe when the weather improves we can get up to Bright and jump off a cliff together?

Jacinta is (in no particular order):

• Sweet
• Caring
• Funny
• Articulate
• Creative
• Photogenic (she doesn't agree! They never agree!)
• Tidy (her flat is tiny, being neat helps a lot)
• Loving
• Well travelled
• and heaps more

Life After

After "the separation" from my wife of nearly 20 years in early 2006 I met a beautiful person who lived near Williamstown. I took my camera down to the bay one morning and took some photos. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best so there were a few limits to what I could come up with. There are a gazillion yachts and boats of every size shape and configuration moored in the area and from the right angle there are nice views of the city of Melbourne across the bay. I must get down there more often...

The relationship didn't last. It was too soon for me and I took a while to realise that. I will always keep fond memories and I wish her all the best for lifes adventures. I met Jacinta soon after...

Light, Science & Magic

I thought a brief explanation of the header to my blog might be appropriate.

A book (Light, Science & Magic) was recommended to me by a very switched on gentleman (Jeremy Daalder from Image Science in Melbourne) once. He had come to visit me at my request to show me how to sort out my colour management processes. I was trying to print some of my photographs and I just couldn't get the colours to come out right. Turns out there is a whole "nuther" stream of science to do with colour management. He helped me out and recommended this book (as do I for anyone who is serious about photography and how to light their subjects). As the title suggests photography is all about light and how it is used to get the image you want.

By the way; Jeremy was most helpful in getting the colour management stuff sorted out and I now enjoy the process and am spending a lot less money on wasted paper and ink! Thanks Jeremy...

I've just been to a Photographic Marketing Association conference/trade display in Melbourne and it has reignited my desire to be a better photographer. Once I work out all of the things I can do with this blog I am hoping it will help me to promote my work and allow people to comment (constructively) on my photography.

Jacinta and I

I met Jacinta in September 2006, she replied to a "kiss" on RSVP and we met for a coffee. It is always interesting to meet people for a coffee and then find out that they don't drink coffee, or tea... Chai Latte (skinny) was the preferred choice that night and I must say that I'm converted. We had dinner and promised to call each other. The next morning Cinta invited me to the movies at the Astor Theatre, a step back in time where they play two movies for the price of one and have the most extraordinary choc top ice creams that appear to be hand made... We ended up seeing each other on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday that first week. We obviously didn't scare each other off! One Day we went to see my sister and one of my nephews asked how we met? "The internet" was my immediate reply and he just said "Oh!" and that was it, end of conversation. Kids are funny!

The daughter of one of Jacintas' close childhood friends wanted a "pink" party for her 21st. We did our best but were well and truly outdone by some of the outfits... The guy who dressed all in black was someone we kept a wary eye on all night!

Introduction

Hello!

It was suggested that I set up a blog to show off some of my photos and to provide an outlet for the "creative juices". It was suggested, once again that I should set up a blog and then once more, until last night I logged in and here we have it.

The plan is to learn how to create the blog, upload some photos and then work out how to get people to look at them, comment on them and maybe even buy them...

Currently working on how to host photos so that they can be uploaded and viewed here.

Expect some changes as I work my way through this.