Knowing where to stand

reflections

2012-03-03T07:38:00.001+11:00

Another photo from my visit to Cockatoo Island last week.
Originally used as a prison for convicts and also used for ship building & repairs. At one point Australia's largest ship building yard.
Now a heritage listed site that is fascinating to visit.

Love all the rusty machinery, and loved this reflection.

Joining in with weekend reflections.

Charlie

2012-03-02T08:04:00.000+11:00

When I was looking through the photos that I have taken this month to find February's photo-heart connection I couldn't go past this one.

I think it's mostly the subject that connects with my heart... but I do love this shot.

I took this shot one afternoon when Charlie had come home from school.

I had my camera (as I sometimes do) and when I pointed it at him, this was his immediate response.

Love that smile.

It's been a big year so far for Charlie.

He started high school and has had to deal with a lot of changes:

catching buses & trains, making new friends, more homework, remembering which books he needs.....

Although overwhelming, he has approached it all with enthusiasm, confidence and a determination to do his best.

In fact, the same way he approaches everything else in life.

I'm so proud of him.

And more that a little bit inspired by him as well.

snap it {sky}

2012-02-29T07:35:00.000+11:00

Drawing week

2012-02-27T16:26:00.000+11:00

Last week I went with a friend to Cockatoo Island to see an art exhibition called Drawing Lines in the Sand.

The exhibition was quite small so we had plenty of time just to wander around the island.

One thing I loved was seeing dozens of people, sitting in various locations sketching.

After chatting with one of the artists, we discovered it was drawing week at one of the art colleges in Sydney.

I thought it looked so lovely to sit in this beautiful place and create art.

I would have loved to join them, but it's not really my thing...

so I took photos.

I loved how they were all so engrossed in what they were doing.

scavenger hunt

2012-02-26T17:05:00.000+11:00

Last week I went with a friend to Cockatoo Island.

Cockatoo Island is a heritage listed island in Sydney Harbour. You can find out more about it here.

It has an amazing history and fantastic buildings and more recently has become the host to many art exhibits.

We went to an exhibition called Drawing lines in the sand:

"six installation projects that engage with various aspects of Cockatoo Island's institutional heritage and topography."

I was able to collect photos for this week's scavenger hunt while I was there.

Crossed...

This installation has to do with boundaries, barriers & dead ends. Something to do with the regimentation of behaviour. Didn't really get it.

However, the way that the bars & tapes & flags crossed over made me think of this prompt.

A glimpse...

of the Harbour bridge.

Handwritten...

This graffitied bus was from a previous street art exhibition.

Bliss...

starting our adventure with a coffee.

Grey...

mostly grey, with a splash of red!

{in the picture} February selfies

2012-02-24T22:28:00.000+11:00

More self portraits for {in the picture}...

Here are my 4 for February.

(well, my plan was to do 4 each month... but I've done 5 again!)

I'm having such fun doing these!!

Joining in with Christy at Urban muser.

snap it {colour}

2012-02-22T07:09:00.001+11:00

A moment in the hammock in our back yard.

Lots of colour!

shadow shots

2012-02-19T07:01:00.001+11:00

I haven't joined in with shadow shot Sunday for a while.
So when I spotted these shadows on a recent walk with Poppy, I thought I would take some photos.

Snap it {yum}

2012-02-15T08:05:00.000+11:00

A BBQ on Saturday evening- a beautiful sunny afternoon after a rainy morning:

potatoes, salad, meat & a nice glass of red wine.

yum....

spiral staircase

2012-02-13T16:34:00.002+11:00

When I was a child I used to love visiting people who had a spiral staircase.

I thought it would be so fantastic to have one.

And now I do.

It was in our house when we bought it 10 years ago.

It's actually not as exciting as I thought-but kids who visit us think it's quite special!

ten on ten

2012-02-10T22:50:00.004+11:00

Ten photos over ten hours on the tenth day of the month.

Joining in with Rebekah at a bit of sunshine to document my day....

Made school lunches,

washed & folded washing while a tradesman did some installing,

a combination of sun & rain (sunny while i took Poppy for a walk),

& a few other bits & pieces.

This is what my day looked like..

Hope you had a great day too.

home....

2012-02-08T08:20:00.002+11:00

..is where the heart is.

here are some hearts that are around my home.

Joining in here.

scavenger hunt

2012-02-05T16:58:00.001+11:00

Strike a pose...

I went out this week to have a go at taking photos of myself for a self portrait project.

It was quite funny & anyone watching would have thought I was crazy.

Anyway, here's one that I thought would fit this prompt-
I am striking a very casual pose here!

Footwear...
I gathered some of my shoes together & Poppy was keen to join in the photo!
My shoes are all looking very well worn & it's definitely time for new slippers.

Hobby...
photography!

Shiny...
shiny kitchen utensils.

Colour me green....
nicely mown green grass.

Well, I've managed a self portrait for each of this week's scavenger prompts!

I'm joining in here if you want to have a look at more scavenger hunt posts.

photo heart connection

2012-02-02T09:03:00.000+11:00

Photo heart connection is an idea from Kat Sloma where you find the photo from the last month that you really love.

Not so much from a technical point of view, but an emotional one.

I thought I'd join in.

I don't often review my photos because I'm usually thinking about what I will photograph next!

So this is the one that I kept stopping at.

I took this while I was sitting on the beach in the late afternoon, taking photos of my son & his grandfather while they were fishing.

This lady & her grandchildren(?) were walking along, chatting, looking at shells, watching people go by & checking out the fishermen. I enjoyed watching them interact & I think this photo captures the connection that they have.

The special relationship that is between grandparents & grandchildren.

It kind of reminds me of my own childhood when we would stay with my grandparents, who lived in a coastal town.

We would walk along the beach, around rocks, look at shells & no doubt share moments like these in the photo.

Back to school happy

2012-02-01T07:13:00.000+11:00

There is much to love about school holidays.

Six weeks of them.

However,

James has been eagerly anticipating a return to school & routine.

He has been holding & touching & handing me the school picture every day in this last week before school returns.

So finally Monday arrives.
His bag is packed....

Shoes are on...

Ready to go!

A very happy boy.

Joining in with faith hope & a whole lot of love photographing happy.
See more here.

scavenger hunt

2012-01-29T16:07:00.001+11:00

On Tuesday I took James to Manly for a few hours.

It wasn't beautiful weather, a bit grey & drizzly, but we managed a lovely walk.

I had my phone and some of this week's scavenger hunt prompts in my head so I captured a few images that fit.

I had to snap quickly because James likes to keep moving!

Smile....

James is always smiling, especially when we're out & about.

Stand alone...

this little girl was walking ahead of us & stopped as she waited for her mum to catch up.

I thought she looked gorgeous in this dress & this location.

Perfect for this prompt.

Rusty...

a rusty chain attached to a wall.

Artificial...

an artificial flower on each of these tables at this cafe.

(this photo would also work for repeating patterns)

Repeating patterns...

A number of repeating patterns in this photo: the bunting, the palm trees, the patterns in the pavement.

Have a great week!

{in the picture} January selfies

2012-01-27T23:30:00.000+11:00

I've decided this year to join with Christy at Urban Muser in a self portrait project.

My plan is to take 4 selfies a month and then link them up with her at the end of each month.

Here are my January photos.

I was only going to take 4 each month but I took this extra one and quite liked it.

So there's 5 this month :)

I've just noticed that I wear alot of red!

B&W guitars

2012-01-24T07:36:00.001+11:00

We have a few guitars at our house.

I enjoyed taking some B&W photos while David played.

Love the shapes, lines & shiny bits.

scavenger hunt

2012-01-22T16:04:00.001+11:00

Sunset...

The sun setting behind a tree in our backyard.

Black & White...

Charlie's beach hat.

A day in my life...

This is our local shopping mall, we live quite close & we often take the dog for a walk along here.

You can see her in the bottom right corner (she's a bit overexposed) and Charlie is holding her red lead.

Four...

Colourful...

windows

2012-01-19T23:09:00.000+11:00

I always enjoy reading Kat Sloma's exploring with the camera series.

The most recent one looks at the joys of photographing windows.

So, I took this first one today and the others I found when looking through some old photos.

Some reasons why windows can be so interesting include:

the shapes and lines,

the way the light shines through & what you can see on the other side.

Interestingly shaped windows can be used as a background,

and windows can be part of a repeating pattern.

That's my exploration of windows for the moment,

you can see more here.

Kookaburras

2012-01-18T08:33:00.001+11:00

These kookaburras joined us on the verandah on our recent holiday.

I think they were hoping that we would share our dinner.

Joining in with World bird Wednesday

the beach at sunrise

2012-01-16T16:43:00.001+11:00

I always love the colours of a sunrise..

I love this time of morning and the promise of what the day will bring.

waiting for a coffee

2012-01-14T06:51:00.000+11:00

The other day I went for a walk with my boys & my dad.

I loved the look of this reflection as I was waiting for my takeaway coffee.

I loved the fluffy white clouds in reflection & the real green grass through the window.

The coffee was good too, & so was the company.

Joining in with weekend reflections....

ten on ten

2012-01-11T06:49:00.000+11:00

It's time for ten on ten again.

(Ten photos over ten hours on the tenth day of the month.)

It's still school holidays, so we had a slow start to the day after a restless night.

Listened to music, watched a movie, patted the dog.

In the afternoon I took James to the zoo.

I love the giraffes, his favourite is always the sheep.

This was what my day looked like...

I love this way of documenting my day.

Looking out for beauty in the ordinary.

I have so much to be grateful for!

Fishing with grandpa

2012-01-09T16:56:00.001+11:00

One thing that I loved these holidays was watching Charlie & his grandpa enjoying each other's company.

I loved taking photos at the beach in the beautiful late afternoon light as they baited their hooks, cast out their lines & reeled them in.
(they didn't catch anything)

The waves lapped around their ankles and their feet got buried in the sand.

Special times.

scavenger hunt

2012-01-08T16:13:00.001+11:00

More photos from the beach.
I'm joining in this week's scavenger hunt over at Ramblings & photos.

One colour...

(mostly)

Laundry...

A few beach towels and swimmers.

Empty...

An empty flipper stuck in the sand, on an almost empty beach.

One dozen...

I think there are 12 paw prints here..

Soft..

beautiful, soft feathers of a kookaburra that joined us on the verandah of the holiday house where we were staying.

reflections

2012-01-07T06:39:00.001+11:00

Our family has just spent a week on holidays at the beach.

One morning I got up early to take some photos.

I watched the sun rising and the light reflecting on the ocean.

I walked further around to the lake and found some beautiful early morning reflections.

Very beautiful, peaceful & still.
Joining in with weekend reflections!

Memories, dreams & reflections 2011

2012-01-01T17:39:00.000+11:00

I thought it was a great idea to look back at my year so I'm joining in with Ashley at Ramblings & Photos to reflect on 2011.

There is a list of 25 things to share, so I've searched through my photos from the last 12 months and have found some shots that fit....

so this is what my 2011 looked like!

Number 1- me!

I started this blog in February 2011.

It has been a lot of fun. And I've managed to take photos regularly and post them here.
I have been so inspired by beautiful photos on many blogs, fun prompts to join in on and encouraging comments from all of you.
Thanks!

Number 2- I love you, Number 16- Let's do it again.

David & I had a few days away in Kangaroo Valley in May. It was so nice to have some time together, out of routine.

I'd love to do it again.

Number 3- still laughing

I was doing some baking & left the flour on the bench in the kitchen. James, who loves to explore, discovered it & tipped it all over himself & the floor. I came downstairs (I had only popped upstairs for a moment) and found this! James thought it was hilarious so I took a photo & laughed too.

Number 5- birthday

Charlie & Nick took a friend each to Luna Park for Charlie's 11th birthday in January.

Number 6-friends

We've been connected with these families for more than 15 years. I get together with the mums once a month(or so) to pray for each other's children. So nice to see our children growing up, knowing they are being prayed for.

Number 7- I was inspired..

I was inspired by many things & people in 2011 but I've chosen the beach as my inspiration photo.
as I look through my archive of photos I've found that the beach is a common subject in my photography.
I'm often on holidays & relaxed when I'm at the beach.
I love the sunshine & sparkle on the water, the blues of the ocean & the sky.
Always good times at the beach.
I really enjoy taking photos here.

Number 11-A day in the life

Coffee-something I do every day!

Number 12- All smiles

This photo always makes me smile, I love the look on Poppy's face as she looks over Charlie's shoulder.

Numbers 4,8,10,13- the seasons.

Number 14- family or home

A backyard BBQ with family, one of my favourite things.

Number 15-Celebrate!

Number17- I miss you

This locket that I'm wearing belonged to my mum. She died just before James was born which means that she only met 1 of our 3 children. I would have loved them to know her & would love for her to see the people that they are becoming.
I miss her.

Number 18- Beautiful

I think roses are beautiful. We have lots of them in our front yard & I'm very grateful to the people who lived in our house before us who planted them. They always look stunning.

Number 19- dress up

Charlie & his library teacher at this year's book week parade.

Number 20 -Macro or close up

Number 9- travel or vacation, Number 21- holidays

In March we did a theme park holiday-It was really fun!

Number 22- my favourite

Too hard to pick an absolute favourite, but I did love this one.

I also loved taking it because I went to the zoo without any children and was able to wait & watch while the zebra moved into position.

Number 23- don't ever change

I'm generally relaxed & calm about most things. I hope that doesn't change.

Number 24- just because...so there.

She's so cute!

Number 25- hopes & dreams

Many hopes & dreams for 2012.
It's a big year for our children: Charlie moving into his first year of high school, James continuing on, learning life skills & independence & Nick completing his final year at high school.
I'm so proud of them.
My hopes, dreams & prayers for them for 2012 are that they will:
have fun, be resilient, make good choices, try hard, be good friends to others & know that they are loved.

So glad to have reflected on my year.
Happy New Year to everyone!

Christmas greetings..

2011-12-27T11:03:00.000+11:00

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas xx

Magnolia flowers

2011-12-23T08:25:00.001+11:00

I've been waiting and watching these Magnolias...

yesterday they were buds...this morning beautiful flowers!

Peace

2011-12-21T19:37:00.000+11:00

I have a boy who thrives on routine so a combination of school holidays, a boring day at home and unseasonably cool & cloudy weather is a recipe for mayhem.

So, this afternoon I took my restless boy out into the fresh air to a park by the river to find peace ( for him and me).

It was just an hour but it was lovely to be by the water, on the grass & wandering.

Peace.

Red

2011-12-21T06:34:00.001+11:00

Zoom lights

2011-12-19T20:09:00.005+11:00

I was reading this blog post at the Kat Eye Studio and thought I'd give some creative lighting shots a go.

I liked the idea of changing the focal length during the shot with a slow shutter speed.

It was fun!

I love the effect.

I was holding the camera rather than using a tripod so there are a lot of wiggles.

These 2 photos are outside our house.

I wanted to see what it looked like with coloured lights, so I wandered up the street.

I rested the camera on a brick wall outside someone's house for the photo below.

It was still wiggly though.

Very cool!

scavenger hunt

2011-12-18T16:00:00.000+11:00

Joining in again this week with scavenger hunt.

What is it?...
Can you guess?

On Friday night our church put on Christmas carols for the local community.

This is the same (or similar) photo that's in focus.

Children sleeping..
I cheated a bit with this one.. I asked my niece to pretend to be asleep!

Joy...
at the carols....this is one of my faves...

windows..
I was thinking a window with Christmas lights but instead this is my kitchen window sill.

Half..
Half a glass of wine & some snacks while we wait for the carols to start.

Bells & bokeh

2011-12-12T18:30:00.000+11:00

Trying to get a little bit creative with photographing our Christmas tree decorations!

ten on ten-the hipstamatic version

2011-12-11T07:36:00.000+11:00

It's time for ten on ten again!

This is what my day looked like- a photo every hour over 10 hours.

Today I used my iphone and a hipstamatic app.

The day started at 6am and consisted of a yummy breakfast, Charlie's cricket match, a walk with the dog & a Christmas tree!

(And there were other bits & pieces in between &after.)

I'm joining in with Rebekah from a little bit of sunshine.

Dinner by candlelight

2011-12-09T22:38:00.000+11:00

Some weekends my husband cooks me a special dinner for no reason.

I'm grateful for that.

the colours of Christmas

2011-12-08T10:27:00.001+11:00

Love, love, love.

2011-12-07T07:15:00.000+11:00

scavenger hunt

2011-12-04T16:37:00.000+11:00

Portrait...

a framed portrait of our beautiful pooch, Poppy.

Nostalgic...

I can't help but feel a little nostalgic as Charlie finishes primary school in 2 weeks. I went to watch his last interschool softball game on Friday. Coming up are a whole lot of lasts...assemblies, helping in the canteen, Year 6 farewell & of course his last last day of school.

(They won the softball grand final..Yay!)

Time...

Full of light...

This was the base of the enormous tree that is in the Queen Victoria building at the moment. Beautiful, and full of light.

Motion...

Some graffiti on the wall as I'm zooming by in the train.

Christmas light reflections

2011-12-03T06:04:00.000+11:00

Joining in with weekend reflections

Twinkling lights

2011-12-01T06:03:00.000+11:00

I was in town yesterday so I made a brief detour by the Queen Victoria Building beautifully decorated for Christmas with lots of twinkling lights.

The Christmas tree is so BIG! It's 3 storeys tall.

This dome with lights is Santa's place and the enormous tree is in the background.

This baby looked so precious in Santa's arms...

And here is a section of the tree with lights. I couldn't manage a photo of the whole tree.

Wild Iris

2011-11-28T22:01:00.001+11:00

These Dietes grandiflora or wild irises grow outside the front of our fence.

They look beautiful when they are in flower.

They looked great this afternoon in the late afternoon light.

scavenger hunt

2011-11-27T16:00:00.000+11:00

Waiting..
I went to the zoo with James yesterday. It had been raining all morning but the sun came out beautifully when we were there.
This is a photo of puddles in the car park- I really liked the reflection.
Because it had been so wet there weren't many people there... which meant no waiting to get in & no waiting for the sky safari!

Foliage..

beautiful green foliage surrounding a gardenia in our garden.

Candid..

We went to our first Christmas function for the year at Nick's school this week.
Nick (on bass guitar) & his friends played "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock.
Not a Christmas carol but they played really well!
And the decorations were Christmassy.

I think that this photo qualifies as candid-
I love the way that they're looking at each other & enjoying playing together.

Knife, fork or spoon..

All three! Camping utensils joined together with a ring.

rule of thirds..

This blurry image looking out over bush & lights- the horizon 1/3 of the way from the top.

This or that...

2011-11-24T23:01:00.000+11:00

I think this should be the last of my photos from our weekend away.

Spreading out photos over a number of posts helps to make that holiday feeling last :)

One of my favourite things is to walk along the beach in the early morning.

And often walking with a camera helps you to notice things that you otherwise wouldn't.

Then ...heading back up the sandy beach steps...

And this photo was taken later in the day....

I thought this boat looked really cool, with the hint of another sailing boat on the horizon.

Thought I would join in with this or that today, a link that I've just discovered.

Seagulls

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000+11:00

Whales ahoy!

2011-11-21T16:24:00.001+11:00

We were so excited to see whales frolicking off the coast on our weekend away.

I took these photos from our deck in the holiday cabin that we stayed in.

It's an amazing feeling watching these enormous, beautiful creatures playing in the water.

It looked like there was a mother and a baby and there could have been more.

There was a lot of tail slapping an an occasional leap out of the water.

All greeted by squeals of delight from onlookers.

Very special.

They were relatively close to shore-but still a bit tricky to get good shots.

scavenger hunt-weekend away

2011-11-20T14:55:00.001+11:00

We've just spent a lovely weekend away with people from our church.

Each year we book out many cabins & campsites in a caravan park about an hour away from our home.
Then we enjoy hanging out together.

Always a good time..

this week's scavenger prompts were perfect for a weekend away at the beach..

Mainly one colour...

The view from the deck of our cabin, both mornings we woke to this amazing sea mist.

Around the home...

some bowls after a dessert of watermelon & blueberries on Friday night.

Reflection..

Saturday morning walk around the rocks.

Writing...

Water...

I had 100's I could have used here!

Something borrowed...

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000+11:00

Almost finished reading "The Help".

This book borrowed from my lovely friend.

I'm really enjoying it. I think books are my favourite borrowed thing.

So nice to read something that has been recommended by someone you know.

Friends...

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000+11:00

Ten on ten

2011-11-10T22:53:00.000+11:00

What a day!

I'm joining in with ten on ten again with Rebekah at a bit of Sunshine.

A busy day in a busy week.

I love the idea of capturing beauty in the every day.

The tenth was a very ordinary day with quite a bit of rushing around and some messy dramas.

Life can be so hectic, so chaotic and so beautiful.

So, over 10 hours (or so) I have taken ten photos.

Here is my day.

6.30am- out the front

watermelon for breakfast

games with cousins

through the window

traffic

....still in the car

A piano key fundraising idea for Charlie's school- purchase & decorate then return to make a sculpture using all the beautifully decorated old piano keys. They're raising money for the new piano!

my reflection in the microwave!

Poppy enjoying a heart shaped bone

Charlie with an ice block after a hot day at school

Aqua

2011-11-09T21:33:00.001+11:00

Aqua- the colour of water.

I was at the beach and noticed this photographer shooting a model with a flowing white dress..

They started on the edge of the pool...

then when I walked by a bit later they had moved right out onto the rocks.
Such a great spot! Such a beautiful day.

Fresh fruit & veg

2011-11-08T06:01:00.000+11:00

I used to shop regularly at the markets for fresh fruit & veg.

I hadn't been for a while, but realised that I need to put aside some time occasionally to buy in bulk for my hungry family.

I thought I would take the camera to capture some of the colours & the energy of the fruit market.

It was very busy.

This kind man had noticed that I was taking photos, so he arranged his mango boxes nicely for me.

(I also bought a box of these)

Love this purple..

I wouldn't normally take the camera somewhere like this, but I'm finding the more I do,
the more comfortable I feel about taking photos in public spaces.
(although I was approached by security after I'd done my shopping & taken these photos.
I was told that I should have checked in at the office first. Who knew?)

scavenger hunt

2011-11-06T15:51:00.003+11:00

Joining in again with Ashley for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Food:

At the fruit markets.

Purple:

It's Jacaranda time in Sydney and there is purple everywhere!

(3 photos- I couldn't decide which one :))

In disguise:
Wasn't sure what to do here so I just grabbed some dark glasses frames & a hat.
I'm completely unrecognisable :)

Shapes:
Circles!
A moving sculpture inside this Renzo Piano building.

Photographer's choice:
I actually took this photo a few weeks ago. I'm rather partial to a fence photo & I really liked this one.

In my backyard

2011-11-04T21:15:00.001+11:00

I'm grateful for visiting wildlife.....

this cockatoo visited us a few days ago...

(it drove our dog crazy!)

he was very noisy, and loved showing off his yellow crest...

I really like cockatoos.

Joining in with Maxabella loves...

Found texture

2011-11-01T08:57:00.000+11:00

After reading Kat Sloma's post for Exploring with the camera series: Found Texture,

I thought I would keep my eyes open for some texture on a recent trip into the city.

I didn't have to look too far: Sydney is full of texture.

Many of the early Sydney buildings were made of sandstone.

Here are a combination of textures outside the Museum of Sydney.

I found some more texture on our ferry trip home.

Dirty, rough ropes,

shells attached to the sandstone walls and the pole at the wharf,

and a smooth, shiny painted seat.

scavenger hunt

2011-10-30T15:51:00.000+11:00

On Wednesday I caught a ferry to the city with a friend and went to the Museum of Sydney.
There, we met up with a group for a tour of some Sydney architecture.
So nice to be out & about in my city.

As we wandered we found out some really interesting things about early settlement in Sydney & modern buildings.
I took photographs & some fit with this weeks scavenger hunt prompts.
Here they are.

Macro/close up:

A close up of an art installation that is currently outside the Museum of Sydney.

This is the wider shot!

Found texture:

Sandstone walls at the Museum of Sydney.

Home:

A broader definition of home; Sydney.

I was born here & I've lived here all my life. Sydney is home!

So lovely to have been out on the harbour this week.

Cover:

an interesting covered walkway in the city.

Tree:

A tree stands amongst traffic lights and signs.

A tourist in my own city

2011-10-28T21:31:00.001+11:00

I was very grateful to spend a few hours in Sydney on Wednesday doing an Architecture walk.
The architect who led the walk was very interesting & engaging.

We began at the Museum of Sydney which is the site of the first governor's house,
then we walked around the block to check out some ideas about architecture.
Fascinating!

If you're interested you can find out more about what we did here.

Renzo Piano was the architect of this building above.
He used simple ideas & simple materials (glass, terracotta, cement) to create something amazing.
There are also all sorts of connections with this building & the architecture of the Opera House.
Heavy/light, spinnakers/mainsail....
If my brain was good at remembering details I'd tell you more.

So great to be a tourist in my own city-however it wasn't 'touristy' at all.
More like a "carefully crafted urban narrative lurking beneath a guise of informality."
( a quote from the brochure)

It really was very good! Must plan to do stuff like that more often.

And no better way to return to the suburbs that to catch a ferry home.

Being grateful with Maxabella loves....

Looking up

2011-10-27T06:03:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I went with a friend on an architecture walk around Sydney. We had a tour with an enthusiastic architect who had a conversation with us about some of the history of Sydney and some ideas in architecture. It was really very interesting & great to be a bit of a tourist in my own city.

Also, perfect for looking up- this weeks prompt in 52 photos project.

Scavenger hunt.

2011-10-23T15:04:00.001+11:00

I thought I would take the camera when I was taking Poppy for a walk.

I managed to gather the scavenger hunt photos for this week.

Words....

Under....

we passed this lady who was under an umbrella

Orange....

Fly....

I was on the look out for something that was flying, I thought this bee would do.

Always look on the bright side....

of the moon?

I also thought I would add a photo of Poppy. She's one who always looks on the bright side.

She always thinks she's going for a walk, she always thinks that she's going to catch that lizard in the grass.

She has a great attitude!

Shadows

2011-10-23T07:05:00.000+11:00

I was walking around the block with James on Monday while Charlie had his trombone lesson. We made some very cool shadows.

Joining in with Hey Harriet for Shadow shot Sunday

*I was going to post this last week, but I forgot!

a week of gratefuls

2011-10-21T21:40:00.000+11:00

This week I took a photo each day of something that I was grateful for.

Linking up with 'Maxabella loves..'

monday: card tricks with my eldest son. The rest of the family were away for 2 nights in various locations.

Grateful to have time with Nick.

tuesday: Tea with a friend who is having treatment for breast cancer.

She is doing really well.

I'm grateful for that.

Wednesday: I'm always so amazed at how beautiful (and practical) spider webs are.

This one was stretched across the porch & attached to the front door.

I'm grateful that I saw it before i walked into it!

thursday: On Thursdays I take my niece & nephews to school & preschool.
I'm so glad I can help out. I'm very grateful that my boys have lovely cousins.

friday: Grateful for the beautiful spring weather. So good to get out in it!

Have a lovely weekend.

Afternoon sun

2011-10-19T07:20:00.000+11:00

A dragonfly

2011-10-17T22:38:00.000+11:00

This dragonfly was trapped in our kitchen overnight- flying around the light in frenzied activity. I couldn't get it outside, so I just turned off the light and went to bed. All was quiet today but my son noticed it this afternoon- resting on this african violet pot on the window sill. I took it outside and took some photos- it has such beautiful lacy wings.

Granny Smith festival -scavenger hunt

2011-10-16T15:16:00.003+11:00

Yesterday I went to the Granny Smith festival. A festival in my local area that celebrates our community and green apples!

If your really interested in finding out about granny smith you can look here.

The action is only a few streets from my house so I thought I would wander around, take the camera & search for this weeks scavenger hunt items. This is what I found:

Abstract.....

beautiful abstract art was being sold.

Round...

a clock.

Fire...

if there was a fire, this fire station is conveniently located at the end of the main street where the festival starts.

Seeing faces in strange/unexpected places...

on someone's back!

Stars...

do you think that these could pass as stars?

Strawberry tart

2011-10-15T19:28:00.000+11:00

No bake strawberry tart, made by Charlie(11), consumed by the family...yum.

to be creative....

2011-10-13T08:06:00.000+11:00

Getting out & taking photos is quite therapeutic.

I really enjoyed spending an hour at Fagan Park with my 3 kids last week.

Not only are there large areas of gardens & a lake but there is a homestead that has been converted into a museum.

I felt like I had my creative outlet for the week....

I really enjoyed taking some photos.

The children have gone back to school this week after a 2 week break.

While there are a lot of things that I love about a break in the routine, I do find that by the end I'm really quite tired.

James has an intellectual disability and is quite demanding but he really loved the open spaces here & I managed to take some photos. Yay!

My other boys were also very patient :)

Feels good to make time to be creative.

Ten on ten: back to school/work.

2011-10-11T06:00:00.000+11:00

I really love this idea of documenting my day. Ten photos over ten hours on the tenth day of the (tenth!) month.

I am joining in again at a bit of sunshine for the ten on ten project.

After 2 weeks of school holidays it was back to routine today.

This was my day:

Scavenger hunt

2011-10-09T15:43:00.000+11:00

Here is this week's set for Scavenger hunt Sunday!

Landscape...

The colour wheel: Complementary/triadic colours....

Triadic- using secondary colours: purple, orange & green.

Black & white...

I've been taking photos of flowers lately, but don't usually convert them to B&W because I love them in colour.

I thought I'd use these 2 photos for today's black & white prompt.

Food....

Feels like I'm always wondering what we'll have for dinner- spaghetti & something tomato-y is always a good option.

Blank space......

Nick made this heart for me about 7 years ago (he's now 16). It is on our kitchen wall. I thought I would use it in the corner to add a bit of colour to my blank space.

Reflections

2011-10-08T06:53:00.001+11:00

I was filling in an hour or so with my children during these school holidays.

I captured these beautiful reflections in a lake at Fagan Park.

Circle bokeh

2011-10-06T06:46:00.001+11:00

I love the roses in our front garden.

I love this circle bokeh.

So pretty!

I love that it is Spring where I live.

A martini...or two

2011-10-05T07:20:00.003+11:00

A rose bud

2011-10-04T07:41:00.001+11:00

I really like this white fluffy thing that has blown into the stem of the rose.

Love that our roses are about to bloom!

The colour wheel

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000+11:00

I was just reading this post & thought I would have a look through some of my photos to find how I use colours on the colour wheel.

This front section of a beetle is an example of a triadic colour scheme. Red, yellow, blue- the primary colours- all equally spaced on the colour wheel.

I wonder if this is too- with the red & blue of Charlies' clothes and the yellow(?) of the sand.

This lavender below with the orange flower background and a hint of green is also triadic except with secondary colours.

And I'm not really sure about this one...purple, green & brown (& sand)?

There are so many colour combinations....check out Kat Sloma's Exploring with the camera to find some really great explanations of how all the colours fit together.

Skywatch at the zoo

2011-09-30T05:24:00.001+10:00

I took James to the zoo yesterday.

The weather was crazy.

The sky was amazing.

I had my iphone with me.

Linking in with skywatch friday.

Along the fence

2011-09-29T07:11:00.000+10:00

I love photos of fences.

I noticed these beautiful fences yesterday and wanted to photograph them.

I liked looking through the fence...

...and looking along the fence.

I'm linking up with 52 photos project
This week's prompt is 'along the fence.'

A rusty fence

2011-09-28T13:43:00.002+10:00

Linking up with Favourite photo of the week & Wordless Wednesday

A boy & his dog.

2011-09-26T15:47:00.002+10:00

I love this interaction with my boy and our dog.

First day of school holidays and there's plenty of time for Charlie & Poppy rumbles. They both love it!

Joining in with Lisa at the creative exchange.

Scavenger hunt

2011-09-25T14:12:00.001+10:00

I really enjoyed collecting this weeks scavenger hunt photos.

Check out more over at Ramblings & Photos.

Low Key...
I didn' know what to do here.. until I realised that low key was to do with lighting. I'm not sure that this is low key lighting but I quite liked this shot.

Colour wheel: monochromatic....

yellow!

Circle...

We love this circular stained glass window at the front of our house.

Scarf...
Nick bought me this beautiful scarf when he went on a school trip to Cambodia. I love the colour.

Phone...

the key pad of a public phone that is not far from our house. I wonder if anyone ever uses public phones anymore?

Skywatch

2011-09-23T05:28:00.003+10:00

I've been watching clouds all week and really love the wind blown look. I took this the other morning from my back yard.
Joining in with skywatch Friday

A Spring walk

2011-09-19T14:58:00.000+10:00

I'm just loving Spring. On Friday morning, I took the camera and walked down my street and found these beautiful Spring things.

Joining in with Lisa at the creative exchange.

Shadow shot sunday

2011-09-18T06:14:00.000+10:00

Here is my sweet husband waiting patiently, checking his blackberry, while I stop to take some photos.

I like the shadows that he makes.

Look here for more shadow shots.

Our summer holiday

2011-09-16T20:10:00.002+10:00

Every summer we spend a week at this beach.

We love it.

We found out recently that the house that we've rented for the last 7 years is not available.

So, of course we had to find another house near the same beach.

David and I went there yesterday to find one.
We needed to make sure it suits the particular needs of our family.

And it does.
And I'm very grateful.

Not only did we check out the house, we wandered to the beach and found a nice place to have lunch.

A lovely day.

Looking forward to that summer holiday!
Look here for more reasons to be grateful.

Nick

2011-09-14T05:49:00.000+10:00

One of the things that I love about being a mum is seeing my boys grow up. Seeing the people that they are becoming.

The other night Nick came home after being out and we sat together, he played the guitar, I took some photos.

It was nice just to hang out together. Comfortable.

I'm very proud of who he is.

(He even gave me permission to post these photos.)

Joining in with Lisa at the creative exchange

Finding my eye

2011-09-12T20:08:00.000+10:00

I have just completed a finding your eye e-course by Kat Sloma and I thought I would tell you about it.

(Just in case you were thinking of doing one)

These are the things that I loved about the course:

Receiving an email twice a week that was for me!
Thinking about photography- we were encouraged to photo journal, which was great. It helped me to articulate what I like to photograph, what I don't like to photograph, what motivates me and influences my approach to taking photos
Kat's approach to art & creativity-looking at what we observe & what inspires us. Gently encouraging us to travel on our own journey- to find our unique eye.
Being encouraged &inspired by fellow class members, each with different skills, interests & passions.
Everyone can work at their own pace, no pressure to complete tasks in a given time frame.

SO...

I'm feeling more confident in my photography!

Confident to continue to take photos of things that I'm familiar with....

more willing to have a go at shots of things that I find harder (& even consider a bit of editing)...

and being more confident to share myself through my photos....

Basically, I'm inspired to keep on taking photos!

Click the button to find out more about the courses:

Scavenger hunt

2011-09-11T15:26:00.001+10:00

Joining in with Ashley for this week's scavenger hunt.

Bokeh...

Process of Elimination....

I did some cropping to eliminate the edge of the chair and other distractions.

Remember...
This cute little teddybear alligator clip helps me to remember to pay those bills.

Statues...

A gift that came from Greece. I love her.
And I think she casts a beautiful shadow in this photo.

Flying High...
David flew in yesterday morning after a week in Indonesia. I thought I would use his luggage for the flying high prompt-(he had been flying high).

Ten on ten: Saturday

2011-09-10T20:45:00.000+10:00

I love this idea of documenting my day. Ten photos over ten hours on the tenth day of the month.

I enjoyed it last month so I thought I would join in again at a bit of sunshine for the ten on ten project.

Busy day today: it started with sunrise out of the bathroom window at 6.30am.

David returned from a week in Indonesia, Charlie had his first cricket game, James had an outing, Nick has exams to study for and we had some lovely friends with a baby over for lunch.

This is what my day looked like.

Process of Elimination

2011-09-07T19:35:00.000+10:00

Seeing these scooters made me think of Kat. So, I thought that I would link in with the latest in her

Exploring with the camera series: Process of Elimination

She talks about eliminating things from an image that take away from the main subject of the photo.

Here's my example:

This is the first photo I took.

I love the textures of the fences behind but it looks too messy.

I moved myself and the camera a little to change the framing...

And here I get the chance to show off my lack of editing skills!

I cropped to get rid of the poles to the left.
I would have liked to get rid of the middle pole but I don't know how!
Instead I played around with the colour to make it less obvious.

Definitely a better photo than the first.

I just need to learn some things about editing.

Into the light

2011-09-05T19:17:00.000+10:00

I've been doing Kat Sloma's Find Your Eye:Journey of Recognition course, which I have really loved. It's been great to think about all the thing that I enjoy about photography and also be challenged to try new things. One of last weeks tasks was to take photos in a different light.

I would normally choose morning light because it suits me to photograph at this time and I love the soft, filtered light of the morning.

So, I decided to take photos from dark into bright light.

It was really hard. I was quite frustrated. I had this great idea to frame the Opera House with the beautiful sandstone arch. As you can see there was some difficulty getting the exposure right.

In the end I decided just to get the beautiful morning light on the sand stone.

I also had the same exposure issues with this ferris wheel. If I tried to get the texture of the fence exposed beautifully then the ferris wheel was over exposed, and if i exposed the ferris wheel well, the fence was in darkness.

I understand that these technical issues are a bit tricky because of the limitations of the camera sensors and some of these thing could perhaps be sorted out in post-processing.

I was quite happy with this one below.

As frustrating as it was to be unable to find the right settings, I did enjoy the experience of having a go.

Scavenger hunt

2011-09-04T14:13:00.000+10:00

I was down near Sydney harbour on Friday and managed to photograph most of this week's scavenger hunt prompts.

Stairs...

I really liked these sandstone steps.

Macro..

Clouds...

There was a military exercise going on and helicopters were flying around. I liked this cloud formation and changed it to B&W for dramatic effect.

Abstract...

I think that the Sydney opera house design is quite abstract.

Smile...

that's me when I got home!

Joining in with Ashley for this weeks Scavenger hunt.

Sydney harbour bridge reflections

2011-09-03T07:25:00.000+10:00

Joining in with james at Weekend reflections.

Flowers & vases.

2011-09-02T21:28:00.000+10:00

This week I'm grateful for cut flowers and a beautiful wine bottle that makes a lovely vase.

Joining in being grateful with Maxabella loves.. & the Beetle Shack

Knobs, locks and latches

2011-08-31T08:26:00.000+10:00

We live in an old house and I really love the detail in the door knobs and latches. I thought I would photograph them today.

I'm joining in with Lisa at the Creative Exchange.

Liebster blog award

2011-08-30T19:34:00.001+10:00

I was very excited to find that Celine from Hong Kong Badger had nominated me for the Liebster Blog award.

The Liebster award is meant to connect and highlight new(ish) bloggers that have up to 200 followers.

As with other awards, this one has a few rules:

Link back to the blogger who gave you the award to keep the chain going.
Choose your top five, leave them a comment to let them know.
Post the award on your blog.
Soak in the love.
Spread the love :)

These are some blogs that I like to visit .
( I actually kept it to blogs with less than 100 followers because it was too hard to pick.)

1.twice designs

2.Life's Rich Pattern

3.Sunflower Status

4.Catching sundust

5.Little Nan

Be sure to check out Hong Kong Badger . She has a really cool blog.

Some great photos and some interesting stories to look at .

I really like checking it out.

Shadow shot Sunday

2011-08-28T07:05:00.000+10:00

Joining in with Hey Harriet.

Weekend reflections

2011-08-27T06:36:00.000+10:00

I was at my son's book week parade this week and I found these really cool reflections.

Joining in with weekend reflections

Book week parade.

2011-08-26T15:01:00.001+10:00

I was at Charlie's book week parade this week and as part of Kat Slomas find your eye course, I took loads of photos.It was an opportunity to experiment with taking photos of things that I feel less comfortable with. I don't feel confident taking people shots, because people move.
Especially at an event like this!
It was fun and I took a few that I really liked- I loved this one of Charlie.

He was dressed up as a character from a series called Maximum Ride. About orphans who had science experiments performed on them- hence the wings....

His lovely library teacher was the Mad Hatter, I really like how colourful she was...

I liked this shot of a teacher dressed as a witch in the middle of a crowd of children...

And I quite enjoyed taking a close up, I loved this smile....

It was fun, the kids looked like they enjoyed it, the teachers were all dressed up, and I found that if you take a lot of photos you're bound to get a few good ones.

Tulips

2011-08-24T08:40:00.000+10:00

I have these tulips on my kitchen windowsill at the moment. I'm really enjoying watching them open, and loving the sun shining through the window.

I'm joining in with Lisa at the Creative Exchange.

Scavenger hunt

2011-08-21T14:26:00.000+10:00

Geometry....

geometric patterns on tiles on our porch outside..

and geometric patterns inside on the rug.

Brushstokes...

Hanging by a thread..

Collage...

First time I've ever done a collage!!

On the dotted line......

Night photography

2011-08-20T18:31:00.001+10:00

I stood out the front of my house just as it was getting dark...

I looked down the street,

across the road,

up the street,

and back to our front porch.

Joining in with the Kat Eye View of the World:exploring with a camera:night photography.