White Rose Heart (haiku)

at the heart of it
you catch more bees with honey
than with vinegar

Rainbow Umbrella

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Washing Up

When I finally made the decision a year ago on which DSLR to go for, the Olympus E510 won the day - it was the smallest, lightest DSLR on the market that also has Live View. When I first unpacked the box from my favourite camera shop, I was eagerly looking around the house at things to take pictures of, to see what the camera could see. The back-lighting glowing through the washing up detergent caught my eye and I love the way the bokeh gives the pic a sublime, meditative air - that dedicated 50mm f2 macro lens makes anything look good!

Calculator Close-Up

Another Canon Close-up, testing out my friend Lisa's Canon EOS 350D that she kindly lent me when I was deciding which DSLR to go for.

Clothes Pegs Close-up

Testing out my friend Lisa's Canon EOS 350D that she kindly lent me when I was deciding which DSLR to go for.

Green Milk Crate (haiku)

patterns everywhere:
compostions waiting for
an eye to frame them

British Medical Association

Walking down Macquarie St Sydney, on the way to see the Jitterbug Photo Exhibition at the State Library, we looked upwards at the Architecture - gargoyles and all - of the British Medical Association building.

Bondi Jitterbug

The State Library of NSW hosted an exhibition of photographs by George Caddy, an amateur photographer, champion Jitterbug dancer and Bondi local. His distinctive photographs document Bondi Beach during the late 1930s and early 1940s and feature parading lifesavers, leisure seekers wearing the latest beach fashions and the astonishing gymnastic feats known as ‘beachobatics’. Show runs from 29 November 2008 – 22 February 2009.

Red Chairs - State Library NSW

I was entranced, on a recent visit to see an exhibition of photos by Bondi Jitterbug George Caddy from the 1940's era, by the design features of both the modern and ancient aspects of the State Library. I managed to snap this pic of the reading chairs and the Dewey Decimal Card files before the Library Nazi came and hissed at me... I wasn't using flash, nor being noisy or obnoxious, or taking pictures of other guests - but I guess they haff RULEZ!

Dewey Decimal System

Remember this?? The card-board file system for finding out were books might be stored on the shelves in a Library... I didn't know these still existed, since the advent of Google. Nice to know an archaeological site like this has been preserved. State Library of NSW. Sydney Australia.

Dried Succulent Flowers (haiku)

end of summer fruits
ripen and compress their seeds
into DNA

Cactus Pin-Cusion

Another lunchtime meditation from the Annandale Garden Centre...

Stop & Smell the Roses...

A delicate China Rose n the front garden of the Uniting Church on Booth St Annandale.

Kitchen Buddha

Wishing you Peace and Harmony in the kitchen and in Life.

Duckweed (haiku)

abundant duckweed
floating on the surface of
a deep blue fishpond

Gumleaf (haiku)

following the path
up the steel steps to the tram
scattered with gum leaves

Objet d' Koala

The wet weekend and Cabin Fever made it imperative to get out and about yesterday - rain or no rain! Umbrellas up, cameras in hand, walking fast down the footpath in Balmain, we almost stepped on this little Koala badge - a found Objet d'Art.

Leaf Litter (haiku)

early autumn rain
washes the leaves from the trees
rusting them to earth

Sitting Duck

This little duck wasn't going to budge from its pool-side seat next to the lotus pond in Centennial Park, even when we got witin a metre of it with our big cameras.

Summer Rain (haiku)

the earth counts blessings
drop by precious drop as the
sky opens its heart

Goosey Gander (haiku)

driving slowly though
centennial park on a
rain drizzled morning

the geese were busy
snacking on the fresh green lawn
and checking me out

Rainy Day Windscreen (haiku)

Sitting in the car
waiting for the rain to ease
watching the raindrops

distort the railings
of a fence across the street
from a warm cafe

Green Zone

Centennial Park is a welcome oasis in the middle of the city, a green-zone for rest and recreation.

Pretty Fly

Sheltering from the heat of the day, we noticed these cute little flies on the leaves of some trees in Centennial Park and decided to explore the macro settings on the camera. An article I read said that the way to photograph insects is to never get between them and the sun - your shadow alerts them to your looming presence - and never breathe on them: apparently they have CO2 receptors in their skin that alerts them to the mouths of larger animals getting too close for comfort.

Busy Beagle...

Doggy heaven, on the trail of a scent in Centennial Park, Sydney.

Waves at Coogee Ocean Pool (haiku)

Photographing the Sea
is all about waiting for
'just-the-right-moment'

when the wave crests and
the water hangs suspended:
a fragment of time

South Coogee White-Balance...

These two images show what a bit of simple tweaking can do with an image... The first image is shot RAW on a Canon G9 (clunky pocket camera) and was closer to how it 'really' looked - it was a grey day, overcast by cloud-covered skies. The second image was processed using the RAW-converter in Adobe Photoshop: a simple change of the white-balance and - Voila! Brilliant summers day!

Gordon's Bay, Sydney.

Gordon's Bay is a jewel tucked into the glittering bracelet of coastline between Coogee and Clovelly. Broad yet sheltered, it has reef-like rock formations that are home to schools of fish, including the legendary Blue Grouper. Snorkelers and dive-school students are seen frequently launching off the ramp between the rocks to explore the wonderland below.

No Dogs Allowed??

No Dogs Allowed?? That's a bit rrrroughff!!

Sunrise Surfers at Coogee

The freshest start to a morning - beating the heat of the day with an early morning dip into the waves of the Pacific Ocean at Coogee Beach, Sydney.

Believe in Your Dreams...

Graffiti on a wall along the cycle-path from Annandale to Rozelle Bay.

Drop Beats Not Bombs...

Check out the singlet with an admirable message hanging in a clothing shop in Broadway, Sydney.