This face makes me happy.

Today I have been married for 5 years. I have nearly known R for a decade. In five years we have packed in so many life events I think his head is still spinning! For a person who doesn’t like change he is doing remarkably well adjusting to life with me.

The secret to our happy marriage is that we both think that we got the best end of the deal when we met each other. You know how sometimes you think another person is better than you in every way? Well we BOTH think that. We both feel like we have scored the deal of the century! It makes for great respect and never taking each other for granted.

xx

By the way he will be horrified that he is appearing up this close on my blog.

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Graciously and FINALLY accepting the awards you have generously offered me. Thank you.

Along the way several people have been kind enough to nominate me for blogging awards and as you  may know there are things to do do accept them. Until now I have not had enough time to accept them, but I haven’t forgotten you or your kindness in nominating me.

My solution is to accept them here. I will try to complete the requirements as a whole. I hope you will forgive me if it isn’t quite exact.

In an odd twist, one of the awards is the new one I just created myself that has no requirements, so Gerty, ‘Thank you!’ your kind words and encouragement always make me feel good about myself and I appreciate your support. You can check out Gerty’s blog ‘Paradise has Mosquitoes’, here.

Many thanks to Korea, Love & Longing for nominating me for the Reader Appreciation Award. Happily accepted. Sorry it took so long!!

Here are the answers to the questions you asked.

1. Your favourite colour: Its a close toss up between red and yellow. Different days you will get different answers. The exact shade makes a difference and I am not fond of them together – they remind me of fast food that way. We all know what I’m talking about!

2. Your favourite animal: Exotic Animal: Tiger. I love them for their exquisite markings. Bird: Pelican. Any animal that can store its lunch in its mouth for later is just plain efficient. No messing around there. Australian Animal: Wombat aka Mini bulldozer. If you haven’t read the picture book Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French. Go do it now. I’ll wait until you get back until I continue.

3. Your favourite non-alcoholic drink: Pineapple juice with lemonade. What can I say, I like pineapple.

4. Facebook or Twitter: Facebook. I am on Twitter but don’t really use it. Although Facebook is fast annoying me with the increase in advertising and clogging up my feed with pages I haven’t liked. If it wasn’t such a good social networker I would leave it now. They know that. Thats why they are commercialising now that it has become a way of life.

5. Your favourite pattern:  Um, are we talking texture or sewing? I am partial to the pants pattern I use to sew my boys pants and shorts and I quite like stripes???

6. Do you prefer getting or giving presents: I like both, but I find it frustrating. I can never find exactly what I want.

7. Your favourite number: 3

8. Your favourite day of the week – Saturday. Its the start of the weekend and I know I’ll have my husband home for a couple of days!

9. Your favourite flower – I like the old fashioned charm of the David Austin Roses.

10. What is your passion – Educating my children in a way that will impact the world in a positive way. Capturing their journey in still photography.

My thanks also to Beadstork for her nomination for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Graciously accepted and again, sorry for the delay!!

Here are 7 random facts about myself:

1. I am technically challenged. I can work out most things as I go, but it doesn’t seem to matter what I do the information leaves my head as quickly as it entered leaving me to start from scratch again.

2. I like baking. Generally things that aren’t good for me.

3. I like fruit in salad. Think pear, apple or mango.

4. I am qualified as a Homoeopath and Graphic Designer and was midway through a Psychology degree when I decided to put my education on hold to have a family.

5. I love dancing. I do acrobatic pole dancing and have also done belly dancing and ballet (both classical and jazz).

6. If I had lots of money I would have heaps of kids.

7. My first attempt at photography in High School was so bad that I was turned off photography other than family snaps until last year (2012). What did I take a photo of that was so bad? A stone snake ornament for the garden. It was horrible.

Finally thank you to iamtwixietops for her nomination for the Liebster Award. Again, I have been thinking I needed to get to this, but just haven’t been able to get to it until now!

I am going to um, bend the rules slightly here. As I have just stated 7 facts about myself I will add another 4 to make up the required 11.

+1. I am addicted to Alchemy Chai Syrup.

+2. I enjoy all of the conception, production and editing of photos. I could do it all day everyday!

+3. I wish I could live on a country property near the city. I need the city to learn things like pole dancing, but I love the space of the country. I like to look outside and see nature not concrete.

4+. I am physically affected thinking about spiders. I don’t like them. Even though I know that they are good for the garden and I am happy for them to live out there if I can’t see them (ostrich theory applies here), I can’t deal with them in my house. If I find one I make my husband catch it and relocate it to our neighbours garden (the one neighbour who won’t talk to anyone across the street). I was given a special long arm thing to catch spiders safely for Christmas and just looking at it gave me the willys when I thought about what it was for. Its now in the kids toy box.

Here are the answers to the questions left for me to answer:

• What is your greatest dream? to live out a long and happy life with my husband and children (its working so far!)
• Who is your favorite teacher and why did you like him/her? I had a teacher in Primary School called Mrs Stanley. I was smaller than the other kids and had trouble doing the same physical activities as I was younger than most. She gave me personal encouragement to achieve goals. I remember her kindness. She was lost to cancer years ago.
• If you are to meet one celebrity who would that be and why? I’m not much into celebrity. Does the Dalai Lama count? I think he has a great view of the world. If you can still feel compassion in the midst of unfair treatment then you are on my most highly repsected list.
• Who is your most valued Role Model and why? I would have to say my husband. He is better than me in every way. He is also the opposite of me in everyway. He shows me the other side of any given situation. He is giving, loving, patient and full of energy.
• Black or White? White.
• Coffee or Tea? Tea. Religiously. Every morning and night. Preferably Chai, but Lady Grey or even normal tea will do.
• Heart or Mind? I think one exclusively of the other is dangerous. A combination with balance is the only option.
• Who is the most important person in your life now and why? My children. I would move mountains for them if need be.
• If you are to pick one scenario in your childhood days that made an impact in your life what would it be? My positive experiences of Christmas as a child has practically turned me into a Christmas elf. And now anyone who comes into my world is in turn Christmaserised!
• What is your perfect date? Something relaxing. Fish and chips by the river and a walk in the warm breeze with a dip at the end.
• Who is your best friend and what makes him/her the best of them? My husband is my best friend. He is the best because he accepts me faults and all.

 

The Blogs I Love to Read In No Particular Order:

A Walk With My Camera

Life, Photography & Other Mistakes

Frames & Focus

Junsjazz Images & Inspiration

Sethsnap

Hundredpics

Richard Tulloch’s LIFE ON THE ROAD

Steve McCurry’s Blog

David Williams Photography

Sigoese

I would like to say that this list is by no means extensive. I check in with many blogs for different reasons and I enjoy them all. These are 10 of the photography blogs I follow. I love their photography and the effort that clearly goes into constructing a well thought out and beautiful blog.

I will nominate each of them for an award, but it will be The Clements Award because I just want them to have it. Irrelevant of whether or not they decide to link to me they deserve recognition for their efforts. Congratulations.

WHAT A MARATHON! If you made it to the end type ‘pickles’ in the comments (just to confuse people – naughty me, I must be delirious from typing)!

 

 

 

 

Its Been A While and I’ve Changed.

I have updated the Who I Am page. Let’s face it, this blog is now about my photography more than anything else. I can’t say I won’t post other things, but I am photography focused and the page now reflects that.

Help to make someone else’s New Year dreams come true.

A couple of years ago I decided to start a new family tradition. Every year we would donate $25 to KIVA.org. Kiva is a charity that loans donated money to people living in poverty who are trying to help better their situation. As a family at Christmas we sit down and read through the profiles of people needing a loan then loan them the money. Every year the money is given and is repaid. Then we loan the money to someone new. We could as easily ask for the money to be given back into our account, but we don’t need it at the moment and I like to think that as we continue to give we can help more and more people.

If you have ever thought about giving to a charity I recommend checking it out. There is nothing like the gift of helping someone help themself because it will keep on giving long after our $25 is gone.

How KIVA works

You can check out KIVA through this link.

Blown out of the water! My resolve.

Photo by Bree Vracic of Life In Still Photography, featured on Style Me Pretty.

ITS NOT MINE!! Booooooo, I wish.

Every now and then, usually when I think I have taken a few photos that I think are pretty nice, I stumble across a website or blog by an actual photographer who takes amazing photos (in my opinion) and makes me think I have no clue what I am doing.

I have been thinking recently about what I like as far as photography is concerned. I tend to have two styles I am drawn to. The first is photos that point out the beauty or interest of everyday things and life. I like them in black and white and also in colour and I find that often when I take photos they trying to emulate this style. I took a photograph recently of my brother’s partner. She was out in the bright sunlight in her sunglasses and she turned her head 90 degrees to look at me as I clicked. The photo had shadow and the inevitable skin rolls that occurred when she turned her head. When I went to edit the photo I considered removing them. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The I thought I should at least minimise them. I couldn’t even bring myself to do that! I considered why I didn’t want to remove them. If it was my photo afterall I would want them removed. I decided that the rolls were what made her human. If you turn your head and your skin doesn’t react there is a problem and the human element is what attracts me to these photos. Being human and living life is beautiful and I like to capture human.

The other style of photography I am drawn to I struggle much more with. I stumbled upon a website of a photographer, here, that works from the city I live in and I was blown away. Of course I immediately wished I could take beautiful photos like this woman. They are the polished, beautiful, light airy portrait photography you sometimes see especially with wedding photographers. I see these photos and I love them. If I was having my photo taken I would hope for something like them. If I were to take photos to give to a client I would hope they could be like that. I would be proud to show my work. The problem is they aren’t natural to me. I have no idea how to create them, but I would love to learn!

So now I have a path. I resolve to develop my skills in this new area for me. To try to capture the airy, clean feeling that is so alien to me. I have no idea where to start. Tips??

New Year, New Face

I thought the start of the new year warranted a make over. What do you think? Do you like the new look?

The People Around Me Series, Photo 3

An ode to Australian Bushranger heritage??

I often have trouble discarding colour information, but I thought this image worked better in black and white.

It seems as I go along I have found that I have developed a style of my own! I seem to love taking portrait photos where there is an intense gaze between the camera and the subject. I feel like the bond gives a glimpse of an unspoken conversation that I want the viewer to read like a book. I doubt whether the majority of people viewing the photo would have that conversation, but it is a conscious choice that I have found I am making repeatedly when I choose which images to share.

So there you are. I have my first style. Exciting.

I hope you’ll forgive me?

I hope you’ll forgive me my absence the past few days. I have been RELAXING! Well, in a photographic sense anyway. I did go to an evening photography class and played with a few tricks on the camera and I will post them, but not tonight. I am taking a deep breath before lauching myself into my December Photo Challenge that starts tomorrow!! I hope a few of you will join me. I’m getting festive!

My Headspace

Recently I have been increasingly frustrated by my photographs.

I came upon this blog post by Otto von Münchow accidentally in my browsing about photographic vision and it dawned on me that my frustration is twofold.

Firstly, I am impatient at the gap between my creative mind and my photographic skill. My ability to manouvre and capture with my camera the images that I see in my head are worlds apart. There is little I can do about that except practise and take as many opportunities to try and try again in order to see improvement over time. I accept that. I am cutting myself a break. I have only been doing this since May. I can’t expect miracles.

Secondly, I have been taking opportunistic photos. I have my camera handy when possible and snap a quick photo here and there. The blog post, along with a comment that photographer and fellow blogger Mel Mann left for me asking me whether I felt that I had captured the feeling of air, made me think. YES, THINK. I really should have been thinking more often, earlier. I can only say that I am swept up in the rush of life with young children and that I am trying to fit everything in. But I can see upon reflection that my frustration was in the lack of intent in many of my photos. Looking back at many of them I see plenty of objects, but my favourites include images that tell a story. My children ‘hunting’ a shadow speaks of the imagination and fun of childhood, a couple in my photography class in an intimate moment supporting each other in their learning, even a flower in my garden showing the delicacy of its nature using light. All of these photos were taken with intent. I had a vision of what I wanted to show and tried to convey it in an image. Whether or not other people liked them is largely irrelevent to me because I am satisfied with them.

So it is my resolve to try (where possible – I am realistic and I know that I have limited time) more often to start with a vision and try to create it. I have no idea whether I am capable of that. I am sure the results will be highly varied in their success. I can only try. If I keep trying eventually I will get better at it.

Elemental November: Water

Can I put my general lack of photos this week down to the meandering nature of water? I will say I was trying to BE LIKE water, hehe. Tomorrow is the start of AIR week 🙂

Hmmm that one is going to be more challenging.