Only from vacations?

It seems that I am only taking photos on vacations at the moment....
Very poor showing.

With that in mind we recently spent a week visiting the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns.


Xan and Zak during a snorkeling trip, heading down to check out a clam on the ocean floor:

I am not in any way a marine biologist, but from my recollections when I was diving on the reef last... there are some serious problems there.  The colour of coral is so much more subdued that what it used to be.  When Ruth and I were there last, the fish were hard to spot, because there was so much colour around.  Now they show up vivid and bright in their dull surroundings...

We got to have a good look around, as well as the snorkeling, we had a couple of scuba dives as well.
Here are Ruth and Zak in a sea of bubbles of my rapidly consumed air!

Swimming Presentation

Xan received an award for being age champion in the swimming at Downlands this year.
Here is before (and then after) the presentation, looking, to my eyes, extremely adult.

First photo taken with my OMD with the Lumix 20mm 1.7 in the light of the outside passage.

Second one taken using the LED torch from Ruth's Iphone as lighting....

Impact at a distance.

Took this one on Friday the 11th on my way home from work.

It is impressive what the sun does.

Millions of miles away, completely oblivious to us,

Yet still impacts on everything we do.

Weekend of Chess

Zak was invited to compete in the Toowoomba Invitational Chess Tournament over the weekend.
Games got increasingly tougher as he went through, but he finished in a very respectable position.
Very proud of him!

reflection of her.

View from my hotel room Queenstown

This was a couple of hours ago tonight...
Spectacular!

Tomorrow we are going to be coming down a zip line from the top of the mountain in Queenstown.  Should be huge!

Between a sunset like this, and what we saw today jetboating.... it is completely understandable that they would chose this area for the back drop for Lord of the the Rings.

This week's hotel view

Now in the middle of Melbourne City....
The view from my 8th floor balcony...

Slightly different view from outside the hotel.

The view a couple of steps from the front of the hotel I am staying in right now.
A little different to the view I have had for the last year or so!

Life is not a movie

Izak wrote a play this year, that he performed with one of his class mates….

One of the more memorable parts of it

I:  Oh look…. a time portal!!

H:  How do you know it is a time portal?

I:  Well, cause it says so in the script!

But from what I have heard, life in not a movie…. Which unfortunately means we do not get scripts to work out what is going on.

As far as I can work out… if it were a movie, there would need to be more work on the sets!

 

If it was a movie… . I would hope it was something exciting!  Something like a spy movie where you get to paraglide over cities and stuff...

 

It isn't one... cause there are complicated bits, and parts with no scripts.
There are plot twists that make no sense - bits that are tragic or frustrating with no payoff.  There are things that seem important that are introduced to the story, but go no where..

Things that make good stories, are often terrible, confusing or painful to live through.
(but just cause something was terrible, confusing or painful does not necessarily make it a good story!)
People do not come in only 2 dimensions, they come in 3 (or many many more) and cannot be easily read.  (Luckily - this is my favourite type of person! - I must like being challenged or confused [of course being where I am right now, I have a lot of opportunity to be confused!])

But regardless of whether or not there is a director... I am happy to be here!

Wow - obviously feeling all thoughtful today!  I am in hyper-ramble....

Oh Look…. A  time portal!!  (it is not just mogwai and gremlins you find in Chinese shops!)

Away...

Well the set subject for my photography club back home is "solitude"....
If the theme was "birds" or "blue skies" or "family fun" then I would have some trouble....
but solitude.... yeah.... there is plenty of that around if you want it...

Remembering the day

We remember,
there are the solid bits to structure the memory around, then there are parts we think are solid and then the whispy cloudy bits at every single edge, and in all the spaces we did not fill up with details....

Sleepy time....

Quietly snuck up to take a photo of this gentleman catching some Zzzzzzs.
The other customers, and owners of the restaurant were have a great chuckle at it all.

Last night's cook....

On a street corner in Miluo.
Weather was nice.
Food was hot...  temperature and spice wise.

Singapore Takeoff

Flying out from Singapore.
Shot with one of the art filters on my Olympus OM-D.... straight out of the camera.
(Which has stopped working!!! - the camera - no idea about the art filter)....
It no longer recognises that a lens is on it.
The Olympus service people have been good with talking to me.... BUT..... I can't do anything about it until I get back to Australia.  I will not be back in Australia for a month!!!    Very disappointing.

Temple - Yuelu Mountain

Selectivity

Coming back from China (Yay! I am back at home for the moment!!!), I was sitting behind a Gentleman in the plane.  He was busily reading a self help book.  To make sure he took in all the salient points he was underlining them.

The problem was.... that as far as I can tell he underlined the ENTIRE book.

Riding to work

What a job!

This young lady's job was to sit out in the cold and convince the thousands of people walking past to come in and organise their photo sessions.  It very much appeared she was not to move or interact with anyone.

I am not sure how the cost compared to dressing a mannequin to put out there... but that was definitely what she was.

The 2012 Shop Refit Atrocity.

Oh the plasticity!