Show Horse

Sorry this is so late! I was exhausted after Jazzercise yesterday and wound up going to bed to read very early, then this morning completely forgot I hadn't written up a post the night before. I will get this sorted out eventually. ;)

Anyway, today was Melbourne Cup Day, which probably means very little to most people reading this. In Australia, once a year on the first Tuesday in November, we have what we call "the race that stops the nation". Pretty much everything stops for the Melbourne Cup: in Melbourne itself they even get a public holiday, but even up here a lot of workplaces have functions and/or close early and wind up at the pub for celebratory or commiseratory drinks.

A show horse at Brisbane's 2010 Ekka:

I figured since today's all about horse racing, I'd throw in a photo of a show horse. (Having only actually been to the races once, I don't have any racing photographs to share.) I took this photo using zoom but not macro - the horse was in the arena and I was on the stands. Not much else to say today.

Machinery #2: Ready To Pounce

Ha! Grand plans will always be foiled by circumstance, I think. Day one of my new idea and a storm hits while I'm in the middle of scrapbooking. My mother pulled the plug on the internet long before I was done enough to contemplate my post, and went to bed before I could ask her if I could put the internet back on. Oh well, there's always tonight! ;)

Old-fashioned farm machinery at Brisbane's Exhibition:

One of the sections of 2009's Ekka (what we call the Brisbane Exhibition) included some examples of old-fashioned farm machinery. I just loved the shapes and lines the machines created, especially when viewed from some of the more unorthodox angles. Unfortunately because it was the Ekka, I was laden down with a bit of stuff and couldn't quite try for all of the angles I'd normally use!

Another for the Edges, Angles and Lines series, I snapped this as-is, after mildly adjusting the usual settings (yup, another one for the macro!) and changing my camera's colouring to sepia.

Right There

I've been thinking about how I was going to write these posts every morning, and it's just not working so well. I keep having things to do in the mornings, or places to be, and things are generally too crazy to get this posted up at the same time so I think I'm going to make it that I write these up the night before and schedule them to post in the mornings, like I mostly have been doing. It seems to be working so far, anyway!

Soldier statue pointing at memorial:

Brisbane's ANZAC Square is filled with statues devoted to the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. Sometimes, if you move around to view them from a different angle, it really changes things a lot.

A friend and I used to meet up in ANZAC Square occasionally, and I took this on one of those days, as I waited for her to arrive. I love that moving just a few feet around from where one sits to view this statue makes it look as though he is pointing to the monument above (with the always burning flame in rememberance).

I adjusted the focal length and the exposure time on this, zoomed in a fair bit, then crouched with my camera balanced upon the edge of a seat-back in order to capture this.

Fireworks Light Trail #2

Today I have only an appointment to go to and the rest of the day is free, hooray! Unfortunately my appointment is timed so that gym will not be possible, so I'll need to go for my walk at about 4 o'clock. Other than that, I intend to be fairly productive today with some more craft cupboard (re)sorting, some bathroom sorting and hopefully some scrapbooking and/or card-making. In the kitchen I am hoping I'll have time to make up some fruit salad and some banana bread. What does your Friday look set to include?

Fireworks making light trails in the evening sky:

I snapped this with my camera set up on its tripod for steadiness at the 2009 RiverFire celebrations. I used a combination of the fireworks settings and the night settings to grab photos all night and I think this one was set to "night".

Lights: Ferris Wheel

Welcome to another Monday! It's early morning and the birds have beaten me up again - Summer is definitely on its way over here, despite the chill still in the air overnight.

Ekka Ferris Wheel at night:

I love Brisbane's Exhibition - from the quiet arts competition entries to the busy-ness and bustle of the Sideshow Pavillion, and all the things in between, and I love that there are so many opportunities for photographs of all kinds. As evening turned into full dark on my '09 visit, I stole down into Sideshow Alley and found myself a quiet spot to photograph the beautifully lit up rides and attractions.

This Ferris Wheel shot was taken on the 'night' setting, quite zoomed in, while I braced myself and my camera against a pole. I love the way the night sky makes the colours really 'pop'.

"Lights: Ferris Wheel" is part of my Ekka series.

Jacaranda Blossoms

Good morning! Today my mother and I are going for a picnic in ithe park with my older brother and the three children. It should be a lot of fun, and there may be the opportunity for some nice photography.

Jacaranda blossoms on a clear day:

Ahh, I love Jacaranda trees so much, and of course now that it's proper Springtime, they're all starting to bloom, and the grass around each tree is gradually becoming a sort of lilac purple as it is covered in fallen blossoms. The original reason for taking this photo, back in 2008, was to show my purple-loving friend how gorgeous the Jacarandas are since she had never seen one.

A definite with the macro, I would also have fiddled slightly with the aperture and shutter settings on this one.

City Slant #2

Yesterday's photograph turned out to be quite appropriate since I saw two Eastern Water Dragons while I was on a walk between the gym and my doctor's surgery. Very pleased! And it did, if you were wondering, include the gym and a pumpkin scone. Sadly, there was not enough time for a Lush bath. Perhaps next week?

As for today... it was a very productive and interesting day, but I am absolutely exhausted tonight! And I have a brilliant tattoo that took an hour and a half. :p

Sliding over the edge of the world:

As a postcard, this would be an absolutely shocking photo... but as an interest photo, I love the way it feels like the world's sliding off the edge of the image, carried along by the gently flowing waters of the Brisbane River.

I can't recall what settings I had the camera on this day, probably semi-automatic with small adjustments to the focal distance. I love how clear it all is, and how bright and vivid the colours came out in this set.

This photograph, like the others in the set, is part of the Angles/Edges series, as well as my Suburban Life series.

Cracked

The weather yesterday was absolutely beautiful, but at some point last night it turned very cold! I'm not very impressed, and nor are my goosebumps.

Broken gravestone at Toowong Cemetery:

I caught a glimpse of this old tombstone while I was wandering around looking for something in particular, and it just felt 'right', so I threw my camera onto its sepia setting and crouched down to bring my eye-level in line with the old stone. This one is of course part of the Suburban Life: Toowong Cemetery series but is also tentatively part of a separate series I'm putting together that I'd consider displaying eventually.

I don't have much to say tonight, so I think I'll just put the photo. I may come back in a day or two and add some blurb.

Old-fashioned farm machinery at Brisbane's 2010 Ekka:

Twice As Innocent

Woah, there's a fair bit of rain around again. I was supposed to make it out to the shops but one look at the weather and I decided I'd stay put. Ah well. Tomorrow!

The sweetness of children:

I saw these two cuties at the Ekka a few years ago and not only were they adorable, but look at those backpacks! I got permission from their parents (who thought I was a little odd, but consented anyway) to take this picture.

This is another for the This Way Of Life series; as well, of course, as the general 'People' series!

Surprise Goanna

Good evening! Time's just flying away from me today; instead of being productive I've been watching old NCIS episodes and playing silly games. I decided I'd join in on Project 365 again, even though I'm a couple of days late. Here's hoping that at least one of my P365 photos ends up worthy of posting here. ;)

Goanna sneaking out of his hidey-hole:

I snapped this one at Alma Park Zoo in 2008, after a little bit of climbing(all the best shots require a little creative repositioning). If you don't recognise it, it's an Australian goanna - they're quite large and if you stand too still around them, you're in danger of being mistaken for a tree. (A mistake that would prove rather painful for you as the goanna has very sharp claws.)

When I took this I was using my mother's friend's Canon PowerShot S3 IS, and I don't think I could tell you much else - it was my first time having a play with the camera and my mother's friend couldn't even remember how to zoom on it! I eventually worked that much out. ;)

City Slant #1

Ack, slacker. Had to post this backdated so I could get one for Tuesday. Guess I was too busy enjoying some silliness!

*ETA: If you're looking for something else to read, I've actually updated Little Bloo Creativity tonight, too. Go ahead and check out the shiny ornaments I've been making.

Southbank & the Brisbane River as viewed from the far end near the Cultural Centre:

There's a spot in Southbank that I like to go and sit and just watch the river. On one such occasion I leaned over and snapped this. I know it's recommended that you make certain your camera is flat in order to take a scenery shot, but this sort of angled shot is perfect for my Edges & Angles series.