Big Mouth, little brother.

My little brother bragged about me, and the exhibit, on his blog this morning and then added a link to here so that people could come and view my photography.

So I decided to follow the link myself to see which of my photos would be the first viewed by a complete stranger.

Sadly, the first page of photos were not 'bragworthy' at all!

I really do need a website - or maybe just a facebook page?

Anyway, I've decided to find some of my favourite photos from the past 18 months (I can't believe that I have been keeping this blog for 18 months!!) and post them here today for the viewing pleasure of any newbies who might believe my brother and come looking for photography that is (according to him) "a must see"!

That is my effort for the evening. My brain is mush. Tonight has been a little R&R and I had a couple of wines with the girls at the club.
Tomorrow I get to spend a few hours with my Chicklet family, so there should be photos :D

Nite all.

Watching out for me.

I was pedalling past this house which is situated overlooking the river.

The walking path goes right past it.

After having a knee reconstruction last month, the man who lives in there was doing his exercises, walking up and down his stairs, when he spotted me and gave me a wave.

"Have you got your camera?" he called out (silly question!).  "The owls have been here three days in a row, but I haven't checked today ... come out the back and have a look."

So off we trotted out the back and around the corner of the house.

There they were.  Two small Tawny Frogmouths sitting close together on the branch.  They are very small compared to the two in the tree on my Holden Man's property.

Much to my annoyance, he appeared beside me and gently prodded the owls awake with a broom handle! "I'll get them to open their beaks for you" he said.

I suggested to him that they might avoid his property in future if he did this too often, but he said "Nah, I do this all the time when friends come over.  It doesn't seem to bother them."

**rolls eyes**

When I left his house, I decided to have a second coffee for the day and rode to the bakery (which is basically just across the road).  As I alighted from my trike I noticed a man running across the road from the caravan park waving his arms.

I looked behind me thinking that he was waving at somebody else, but then I heard him say "Just the girl I've been looking for!  I know where there are some owls!  They've been in the same place for four days now!"

"Excellent!" I replied "Lead the way!"

We began walking towards the house that I had just left and I said "Are these owls sitting in a frangipani tree in that house over there?" I pointed.  "Yes!" he said excitedly, until he realised that I had just been there.

I told him to keep me in mind if he sees anything else that I might like to photograph.

I really must make myself up some business cards with my mobile phone number on them to hand out to all of these enthusiastic spotters.  I believe I would be kept very busy every day, wildlife chasing!

There is one sentence that is most annoying and I hear it almost every day ... "You should have been here yesterday!"  (If they had my phone number, then maybe I could be 'there yesterday'!)

It's nice to know that people are watching out for me and thinking of me when they see something worth photographing.

I've had a good and productive day today with the camera - though more for the exhibit and less to share here.

Can't believe how early I am tonight!

Nite all.

The Decoy

It was low tide as I left the Seat of Knowledge this morning, so I pedalled along the river to the beach.

There waiting for me, and preening themselves for the camera, were three delightful pelicans.

Further out in the water, on a sandbank, was another group of pelicans.  Just as I was about to take their photo, they all took off and began flying further up the beach.

I looked in the direction that they were flying to see yet another large group of pelicans about a kilometre along the beach.  I could barely see them with the naked eye, but they were more visible through my 400mm lens.

So I decided to go for a walk along the beach to see if I could catch up to them and get close enough for a good shot.

By now the tide had turned and was beginning to run in.

When I got well past the halfway mark, every couple of hundred metres, I took a photo, just in case they decided to fly away and I couldn't get close.

The closer I got, the little streams from the ocean were beginning to flow deeper across the sand as the tide came in and my shoes got wet as I tried to tippy toe delicately through them (I hear you laughing at the vision of me trying to be delicate!).

They were beginning to look in my direction and I kept my eye on them because I didn't want to miss a good shot if they all took off together.

It seemed like I would never reach them! It took forever to get there! They all started to waddle towards the water.

Then one of them took off and flew towards me, flying almost directly over my head! I raised the camera and fired off a few shots to get this.

While I was getting this shot, much to my dismay, the other pelicans took off and flew behind me ... BACK towards the spot that I had just walked from!

So back I walked, through ankle deep water in some parts to get to the soft sand beach, so that I wouldn't have to walk through so much water.

It was good exercise and it was a glorious day, so my only complaint is that I couldn't get any worthy shots of such a lovely large group of pelicans.

Thank goodness I live in such an honest town, because my trike and all the junk in the basket, was all still waiting for me where I'd left it almost an hour earlier.

I had a sneaky little hide behind Kaz and Lucy's Man's house on my way home, to see what birdlife might be lurking in the bushes, now that Spring is creeping up.

I found a new bird that I've never seen in real life before. A Spangled Drongo.

My mother used to call me a drongo sometimes  - obviously not after the bird!

There was a cheeky little Grey Fantail and a couple of Brahminy Kites sitting high in the trees and some Noisy Friars washing themselves in the puddles, but nothing much else.


I'll try again in a couple of weeks.

Boo Radley phoned and asked if I'd photograph his beloved Port bottle collection for him, so I did that this afternoon too.

I've told him that I am far too busy and important to be at his beck and call over the next five weeks (okay, maybe I didn't use those words exactly), so he knows not to call me for photography duty until after September.

I spent the afternoon getting a couple more shots for the exhibit. I'm happy with two of the four different sets I created.

I'm feeling 80% happy with my progress at this stage ... which is a whole lot better than I was feeling last week!

So, except for the decoy pelican that foiled my group pelican plan, it's been a productive day!

Nite all.

Small Steps

I am taking small steps and getting there slowly, but surely.

Just a quickie tonight.

Another shot of the Osprey from yesterday, which I thought was pretty cool.

You don't get to see a bird's tongue very often do you?

Today was morning tea with the girls and I took Aussie H's disc of photos, and my computer, so that they could all see the photos too.
Now that Aussie H has a copy of them, I can start emailing a few copies to everyone else.

Taking small steps to bed now.

Nite all.

The Gallery

Adoring Husband and I went for a drive to Maryborough today, to have a look at the gallery and check out the frames that I can use for the exhibit.

The gallery is bigger than I remembered and so are the frames, which is a good thing!

So I feel a lot better about the exhibit now.  Less stressed.  More comfortable with what I'm doing.  I'm still having a bit of a crisis of confidence, but only because I'm wishing that I'd taken more photos in 'raw' (photographers know what I mean - non-photographers really don't WANT to know what I mean!).

Also when I compare my photos to Photoshopped photos, I can notice a big difference and I almost wish I'd learned to use PS!  I just keep telling myself that I take photos of real life and I want it to look like real life.

Anyway, the gallery staff are going to help set the photos into the frames and hang them a few days before opening which is now confirmed 7th September.

I think that I'm on track.  My 'to-do' list is getting longer, but I'm not bothered by that just yet.

I'm ok.

After Maryborough, we drove to The Bay and met Vegan Chickie and fam for lunch.

Little Chicklet is growing up so fast, that I can't keep up.  She's talking so much and is so tall!

This is her, leading Mama and Dadu.  She is definitely the boss of the house!

I love that she knows me now and calls me 'Boz' - much more fun than Nana or Granny :D



There was lots of giggles and silliness to be had and all too soon, it was time to leave.

Adoring Husband and I both got goodbye kisses today!

As we got to the car, I looked up and saw an Osprey perched in the tree not too far away.

I've wanted a photo of the Osprey for a long time now. It's probably not as good as I'd hoped, but we all have to start somewhere!

That's it for my day I think.

I stayed awake til after 2am to watch the Aussie, Adam Scott attempt to win the 2012 British Open Golf Tournament. He went into the final round with a handy four stroke lead and when I went to bed, he was on the 10th hole still with a three stroke lead.

Alas, when I awoke, he had lost the tournament. Maybe he'll win the next one. He's young enough to win lots of major tournaments. Go Adam!

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Less Discombobulated

I'm still not completely back to normal, but I felt a lot better today and was even capable of doing a baked dinner in between editing photos.  So that tells me that my brain is improving.

I got a phone call from my little brother last night!  We talked for over an hour!

He has been on an emotional roller coaster ride of late.  Life is 'happening' for him, which is great, and he is moving forward with his life, which is also great.  I still worry about him.

We talked about photography and he directed me to the redbubble.com site where I was able to find some of his old work from more than two years ago.

I remember that I saw some of it a few years ago, before I became a photographer, and thought then how good it was - but I was still pleasantly surprised by what I saw.  Some of his work is as good, or better than I remembered.

I told him that after we do Tasmania this year, for our next trip, we might find our way up his way and he can take us to all the secret places that I could get some great shots.

Free accommodation (or somewhere to set up our campervan) and a free tour guide in what is generally known as 'paradise'.  That's a pretty good deal!

Anyway, it was GREAT to catch up with him and spend so much time chatting about 'stuff'.

Today, I found my 'Repetition' shot.

I visited Boo (the man I met on Friday) this morning.

I didn't plan on the visit.  I just happened to ride past his house, as I do almost every morning, and he was in the garden so I called out to him.

He invited me into the garden and I took a couple of photos of plants for him.  I also found this plant which I though was excellent for the 'Repetition' challenge.

I had planned on a different kind of shot from his house, but I really needed to get the shot out of the way so that I could focus properly on my photos for the exhibit.

So here it is...

'Repetition'

Today, I made a rough 'to do' list.  I shouldn't have done it.  I panic a bit every time I look at it.  I know that when I start crossing things off the 'to do' list, I will feel a lot better.

It's a good thing :D

Nite all.

Discombobulated

My brain is so fuzzy today.

I am even finding it difficult to make decisions.

For example, Adoring Husband asked me if I wanted to go to the supermarket with him to choose stuff for dinner and I just looked at him, all the time wondering what sort of answer I should give and how I was going to decide.

Really?  How hard can it be?  Yes or No!

Not a drop of alcohol has passed my lips in 2 weeks, so I can't even blame that for making me fuzzy-headed.

I even came home from my morning ride early.  I think I was home before 9.30am.

It's probably not the best time to be doing it, but I've been researching prices online for printing my photos at small poster sizes - around 30x40 cm.

From there, I began to panic about how many I should be printing and whether they should ALL be that size or not.

Then I realised that I have to print some postcard sized photos to sell at the gallery, along with my jewellery.

I also have to think about how I am going to display my jewellery!

I need a 'to do' list lol.

I need to find somebody who will speak publicly and introduce me and my photography at the opening.

I need something to unscramble my brain.

I need an Assistant!  Who will work for free!  And tell me how talented I am!  Somebody with a clear head!  A mover and a shaker!  A motivator!  Somebody hardcore!

Ok, I am exhausted!  That gave me a sudden adrenalin rush.  I'm over it.  NEXT!!

It may have been a short outing, but I got a couple of nice photos.

Pale Headed Rosellas are one of my favourite birds (of which I have many!).  They are so pretty, and very difficult to photograph because they are so skittish.

These two flew across the road in front of me, into a palm tree, so I stopped the trike and waited to see what they would do next.

I didn't even notice the bird bath until they flew to it.  First one, and then the other.

I took a couple of shots before I crept closer.  Every two or three feet, I would take another shot, just in case they noticed me and took fright (and flight).  I didn't get very close, but close enough to get this shot, which I'm pretty happy with.

I think these Pacific Basas are nesting quite near to the Seat of Knowledge! They have been hanging around there for a couple of days now. I need to start exploring and following them.

Can't wait to see their babies this year!

This has been a nice little diversion, but now it's time to get back to the job at hand - and I can't even sign off with 'Nite all' because it's not even 4pm!

I'm still discombobulated.

Afternoon all.  

Funny how life happens

I met a man today.  He lives in a prominent spot in town but I've only seen him twice in four years and I have NEVER seen his wife.

Today I met them both and sat with them at their dining table drinking coffee, chatting and sharing life stories.

I was pedalling past his house, as I have done, almost every day for 3 years.  He happened to be leaning out of his second storey window, looking at his back garden.

As I looked up and raised my hand to wave (which I have never done with him previously), the wind blew the hat from my head and I was forced to stop the trike to retrieve it.  I don't recall ever losing my hat while riding my trike and this is a very windy town!

It may sound weird to some of you, but I feel like it was one of those 'had to happen' moments - like the universe planned it this way.  (I can imagine some of you rolling your eyes or sniggering disbelievingly at my suggestion)

That was when he noticed my camera and he asked what sort of things I photographed.  When I told him 'mostly birds', he began to tell me about a Sun Bird that flies into his garden sometimes and in the middle of the conversation, he decided to come downstairs to chat.

He invited me back within the hour to have a look at his garden and so I returned, met his wife and spent ninety minutes getting to know them.

An amazing man.  An amazing woman.

He specifically asked me not to share information about him to anybody outside my close family circle, so even though I am bursting to tell you all about him and my experience with him today, I cannot.

I will be going back to learn more and to take photos, some of which, I WILL be able to share, so watch this space!

Prior to meeting this man, I had an interesting time down at the beach ...

These two were building a nest - and they nested in the same spot last year!

This guy was very wary of me and it wasn't long til ...

... he took off with his fish!

There are lots of big birds around at the moment.  I'm having a field day!  Getting lots of exercise as I fruitlessly chase the kites and eagles across town on my trike, waiting for them to come down low enough for me to get a shot!

Sometimes I get to the right spot, but can't get my camera ready quick enough.  Sometimes I carry my camera while I pedal, but the birds swoop into the water before I can even stop the trike!

Honestly, if someone followed me around with a video camera, they would probably get some funny footage!

I was very happy with today's effort!

I'm off to watch the footy with Adoring Husband now.

Nite all.

Cool-ish

I'm wearing long sleeves and slippers!  I'm feeling quite chilled!  This is becoming a habit!

I didn't do much photography last night at all, because I didn't have the props that I needed, however,  I DID finish one of my challenges and that was for 'Cozy' ...

A grotty dog amid all that whiteness - probably not the most attractive cozy, but it's good to have one finished. I tried to squeeze this psychotic dog into an ugg boot, but she wouldn't have a bar of it!
Now to concentrate on 'repetition'.

I tried rippling sand on the beach ...

... but I didn't care for that at all.
I tried rusty wire mesh ...

... but that didn't appeal to me either.

Then I tried a pile of slip rings ...

... but they don't even look like repetition - they just look like a pile of slip rings - if that?!

So I still have a couple of other ideas to try tomorrow and I still have 9 days to play with, so there is no rush just yet.

I had a really great visit with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet today. We had popcorn and watched Playschool, but gosh she seems so much older than 18 months. She has so many words and is such a clever little munchkin. Bright as a button and needs LOTS of stimulation.

I just love her to bits!

Well I think I might have an early night tonight - just so that I can snuggle into my warm fleecy sheets and get this 'cold' out of my bones.

Cool-ish might be an understatement. Perhaps it's actually c-o-l-d!

Nite all.

Bliss

Oh how blissful it is to sit in my work area!  My head feels so much clearer!

I do still have to work on my time management though.  I need to do that fast before my time runs out and I have none left to manage!

Even though it was cloudy today, it was still nice enough to pedal around for a bit over an hour.

I found the Pacific Basa causing trouble in the bird world.

Wherever I hear the birds squawking and screeching, I find this guy perched nearby in a tree. I am yet to find where they are nesting.

Aussie H dropped by this afternoon and I got to show her the photos from her party. I think she was happy with them. She did say that I am now booked for her 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays, but then, I do come at a good price ... free!

I've spent many many days editing 170 photos, then creating a slide show, with the photos in order, comments at key parts of the party and with various music tracks in the background. I've discovered that it can only be played on a computer and not a dvd player. **sigh**

So now I have to download a program that will allow me to save it so that it can be played on a dvd player ... that way Aussie H can watch it on the big screen.

It seems to take me so much longer to teach myself 'stuff' these days.  It's hard work!  A slow process.

Ah well, it's almost done.

A nice peaceful shot this morning on the change of tide.

It was nice to see RR at the Seat of Knowledge this morning. He is not allowed out in the sunshine during his chemotherapy treatment, so he hasn't been able to take his usual spot for a few weeks.

This morning was very dull and cloudy with a few very light sprays of rain, so he came down to sit with us for an hour or so. It was good to have him back.

You may notice that I am here early tonight!

I have a couple of ideas for my two flickr challenges.  Best Cousin in the World and her lovely MIL gave me some ideas to try too, so I'm going to spend some time 'having a go' at them tonight.

If they turn out ok, I will share them tomorrow :D

Nite all

Two Days

Two glorious days of sunshine and now the forecast is for two miserable days of rain - again!  Ugh!

At least I got my washing dry.

Check out the beautiful blue sky in these photos ...

I found him by chance today.

I cut my ride short today and came home to make Roast Chicken and Veggie soup for my friend Kaz who has come down with the flu.

She's had a tough couple of months.

I hope my soup helps her to feel a little better.

Personally, I think my chicken soup cures EVERYTHING!

There was enough left over for Adoring Husband and I to have for lunch and it was damned good!

(Even if I do say so myself!)

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing exhibit stuff.

Then to top it off nicely, I had a call from Number One Son! It was a good call and it was nice to catch up with him.

Now I'm off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin.

Nite all.

Sunny Day

I can't begin to tell you how glorious this day has been!

I woke to the sight of a perfectly blue sky and not a cloud to be seen.

The sun was shining brightly and as I neared the Seat of Knowledge on my trike, the sunlight was glistening like diamonds on the water.

My boys were all sitting at the Seat of Knowledge, obviously happy to see the sun and to get out and about.  I think we've all had enough of being stuck indoors!

While I was there, we noticed this shag out in the water with a fish that looked way too big for it to swallow.

Hovering above the shag was a Brahminy Kite.  It swooped a couple of times, but the shag ducked under the water too fast for the kite.

It was very interesting to watch ... but I really hoped the kite would win ... as long as I got the shot of course!  It didn't and I didn't!

After I left the boys, I rode along the path beside the river until I reached the beach.

The tide was on it's way out, so I decided to go for a walk along the beach to see what I could find.  It the best time to see the kites and eagles in action - they search for the fish that get caught in the rock pools and puddles.

There were quite a few of them way out over the ocean - too far for my lens to reach them.  One solo pelican came almost close enough for a photo, but decided to stand on a sand bank just out of reach.

There were plenty of seagulls out and about - a bit boring.

I took photos of ripples in the sand for my 'repetition' challenge, but when I saw them on the big screen, they didn't really appeal to me.

I found some rusty wire mesh which looked interesting to the naked eye, but not so, through the view finder.

Then I had a quick visit from a Whistling Kite.  He flew right over my head and I swear he was looking right at me!

He didn't stay long, but I got a quick shot.

I finally, but reluctantly, found my way home. I so wanted to enjoy the whole day of sunshine, but there was work to be done at home.

I did some washing and then tidied up my work area where I usually make my jewellery.

I needed a quiet area where I could focus on editing my photos. I've wasted far too much time on the couch being distracted by the TV and Adoring Husband, so now I have no excuses.

Time to get down to business!

So I've had a productive and most enjoyable day. The burst of vitamin D triggered my motivation beautifully and I'm feeling very enthusiastic about tomorrow :D

**raises fist in the air triumphantly** Onward and upward!

Nite all.

I See Stars!

No ... I didn't hit my head!

The rain has stopped and I walked outside about an hour ago and saw stars in the sky!  How exciting!

I could see the cloud clearing out to the west this afternoon and it provided a beautiful sunset over the lagoon.

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight ... isn't that what they say?

By the time I realised the colour was happening, there wasn't time to get down to the river.  I'm sure it would have been pretty spectacular down there - however, the lagoon was pretty special.  I didn't have the tripod with me either, so I had to take the shot hand held.

So, by rights, the sun should be shining tomorrow and I plan on getting some good hours of photography in - although I might need to get some good hours of washing in too before I run out of clothes to wear!

In the meantime, I have two challenges for this month in our flickr photography group.

"Cozy" and "Repetition"

Any ideas out there?  Would love to hear them?

Time for bed ... I will star gaze out my bedroom window, until I fall asleep.

Nite all.

I'm Baa-aack!

Thank goodness for JB Hi-Fi which just opened their store in The Bay last week!

They had a battery charger to replace mine.

All is right with my world again.  **sigh**

Oh ... except for this incessant rain!

My wish is for the rain to stop between 7am and 10am every day ... then it can continue for the remainder of the day.

I can't go riding.  I can't take photos.  Ok, so I can take indoor photos, but you all know how I love to take my photos outside!

I set the mini challenge in the 104 group this week as 'Food', which was pretty handy considering how miserable the weather is for outside photography!

All prepared lovingly by Adoring Husband.

While we were in The Bay today, we drove over to have coffee with Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet (Chicklet didn't have coffee).

I think this photo shows how much she loves her Mama :)

Tonight was Christmas in July at the pub.

We only decided to go this morning when we received a phone call from The Speckled Hen telling us that some people had dropped out and we could take the seats if we wanted them.

It was a pleasant night, but we were home before 9pm.

There was entertainment - a female singer, who had a lovely voice, but not much personality to entertain.

There were lucky door prizes, of which we won NONE.

The meal was a smorgasbord of chicken, turkey and ham with roasted potato and pumpkin and boiled mixed veggies.  Some type of Christmas pudding and custard for dessert.  For an extra $2 and for being gluten intolerant, Kaz and I got to have pavlova for dessert instead.

I don't think we'll go again next year.  It didn't feel any different to any other night at the pub.

I do think I might go climb into bed and let the sound of the rain on the roof lull me to sleep.

Tomorrow, I might finally get to finish Aussie H's birthday photos!

Nite all.