Annika Stagg - Cello

Yesterday I took a loooong lunch so I could do a small photo-shoot with my friend Annika Stagg who is due to go back to Germany on the weekend, where she has been playing in symphony orchestras. It was my first chance to give the D300s and the 50mm f1.4 lens a proper run - and I have to say, I love the results! The day was overcast and threatened to rain, but the afternoon light was lovely down at the end of Glebe Point Rd under the two huge fig trees that look out over Blackwattle Bay.

Spring in the Garden

Spent the weekend reading the Nikon D300s manual - and that's a first for me! actually reading a manual!! lol - and then went out in the garden to see what the new lens can 'see'... LOVE the results!!

In spring a young photographer's fancy turns to thoughts of... new camera gear!!

After waiting MONTHS since being smitten by a 150mm Macro lens - it was love at first sight! - Nikon has fiiiiiiinally released the D300s. You can read all about it on dpreview. The lovely Annie from Digital Fun Stuff rang me today and I'll be bicycling down to their store in Pit Street in the city as soon as I can to pick it up! There's still a bit of a wait on the 150mm macro that started this whole thing - there are none in stock anywhere, it's that popular! - but it will give me time to experiment with all the knobs and buttons on this Ferrari-of-a-camera so I know how to drive it properly. The lens-of-choice to get things going is Nikon's 50mm f1.4, a delicious portrait lens by all accounts - so wish me luck!

Buddha Belly Cafe and Garden Centre

The Buddha Belly is a delightful cafe and garden centre in the leafy northern suburbs of Terry Hills in Sydney. The restaurant looks out over Oriental gardens with a carp pond and bonsaied trees that flow through to several small out-buildings made from transported traditional Indonesian architecture, housing artisan home wares. The owners were very generous in allowing us to wander for hours, making photographs of their collection of plants and garden art. The Cafe serves great Chai and their traditional Nasai Goreng is delish!

Right next door is Mr Bamboo, if you happen to be looking for a rare variety of bamboo for your garden.

Broome Photographic Tour

This time last year, I was planning a trip to Broome, to take my parents on a holiday to the North-West. Prior to travel, I had consulted the Oracle - (Google) - on things to do in Broome and came across Nigel Gaunt of Red Dirt Photography, offering photographic tours of the region. This was an inspired discovery - Nigel is an accomplished teacher and superb artist and the twelve hours I spent in his company with a small group of other photo-enthusiasts was enriching on both technical and creative levels. Seeing the landscape through Nigel's eyes really changed how I 'saw' the desert of the North-West - revealing the rugged beauty of the remarkable landscape west of the Pilbara.

With my background in both Chinese Medicine and Photography, I was initially lured by the idea of there being a ‘Chinatown' in Broome. But along with learning about the fascinating and chequered history of the pearling industry in Australia, it was the startling blue of the sea and sky contrasted with the red earth of the Pindan desert that really captured my eye.

So I share with you here a few of the images that came from this journey.
September 2008.

Rives - Performance Poet Extraordinaire!

I have just discovered John G Rives - a very clever, very funny performance poet.
Rives is a performer, a storyteller and an author. He has appeared on multiple seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam and was a member of the Def Poetry international tour group. He has made multiple appearances at the international thinkers TED Conference and has published several pop-up books for children.

Here's his rap on YouTube about Deaf Poetry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtVepS53t0




Here's his "Mockingbird" remix of the 2006 TED conference
http://www.ted.com/talks/rives_remixes_ted2006.html



Here's his rap on TED.com on the conspiracy theory of Four In The Morning:
http://www.ted.com/talks/rives_on_4_a_m.html



And a cerebral poem interpreting emoticons...
http://www.ted.com/talks/rives_tells_a_story_of_mixed_emoticons.html


enjoy! :))