Another shot of the flower from yesterday’s blog – this time with a slightly different composition. To me, this composition shows more of the delicacy of the petals and the tenuous nature of how they’re held together. Similar shot in one way, but a very different story if you look carefully.
A return to a flower today. I was looking through my photos this afternoon and came across a series of photos I did a month or two ago that I didn’t like at all. But on looking at them again I have changed my mind. They’re okay-ish.
Here’s one example … I was trying to represent a flower from a different perspective – to tell a different story from the usual front-on shot with the whole flower in the frame. To me this shot is an explosion of colour and line and shape. What do you see?
In 1999, I became a grandmother for the first time. I can’t quite believe that it’s 18 years ago, but apparently it’s true. Phil, my eldest grandson, turned 18 yesterday.
I remember when he was a tiny baby, I’d finish work and head round to give him a bath and a cuddle. Now he’s taller than me, his voice is deep and he speaks in one or two word sentences in that way many boys of that age do.
Here we are at my daughter Rochelle’s wedding in late December.
One of the (many) things I love about Tim is the way he supports me in my photography hobby. He doesn’t only model for me, or provide me with lens and camera combinations that create beautiful images, but he also provides opportunities for me to learn more about photography. We went to Sydney a few weeks ago so that I could attend a workshop on portrait photography. It was fabulous because a whole lot of technical things clicked for me, allowing me to take more control of what I’m doing behind the camera.
I don’t know if my developing skills are apparent to anyone else but me, but I’m now taking images where I control all the really important elements – and by that I mean the light.
Here’s a shot from an impromptu shoot this morning where I was testing a different lens/camera combination than my usual set-up. This was taken using a 42.5mm lens (full-frame equivalent = 85mm), at f1.2. It’s a beautiful lens – look what it does to the background: it gives a gorgeous bokeh* and beautiful separation of subject (Tim, in this case) and background.
The bokeh forces the viewer to focus on the subject and thus its appeal in photography. If all of the greenery had been in focus, the image would have been very busy and the background would have been competing for attention.
Thanks Tim for being a model and especially for being the means of me continuing to learn about photography.
*Bokeh – a Japanese word meaning ‘blur’.
Listening to buskers is easy in Melbourne – there are so many of them and the vast majority are fantastic. Just like Kit Watts. Fabulous sound and a great performer.
Retirement is good for my big sister Debbie. She was able to spend some time with us last week in Melbourne, and found plenty of pockets of solitude and quiet around the city. Here she is at Rippon Lea, a National Trust property, where she whiled away the afternoon.
You can read about her visit here.
Drinking English tea in a French-style cafe reading Russian literature … in Melbourne.
I feel it’s time for a flower. This flower is actually pink, but playing around in post-processing I was able to give it a very different look.
Another shot from the William Ricketts Sanctuary in the Dandenong Ranges. Between 1949 and 1960 Ricketts (1898-1993) travelled to Central Australia and lived with the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte Aboriginal people. He also spent two years in India (1970-1972) living in an ashram learning about the philosophy of Indian people.
The traditions and culture he experienced in Central Australia inspired many of his sculptures. This is one work that shows that influence very clearly.
While the cracks in the sculpture weren’t deliberate, they help to convey a message about the fragility of life and culture and tradition.
A trip to the Dandenong Ranges has become a regular part of our life here in Melbourne. When the city starts to feel like it’s closing in, we head for the hills. Literally. Being amongst the trees brings an immediate feeling of peace. One of the gardens we visit when we’re in the area is the Alfred Nicholas Gardens.
At the bottom of the garden (and the bottom of a hill) is a lake. On the lake is an island. Linking the island and the shore are a series of bridges. On this bridge is my husband Tim. In the distance is another man, a stranger, who told Tim as he walked past that he had good taste in shirts.
I thought the symmetry was pretty neat.
Musings from the cold 