Poppy Love

Windy & Cloudy 19ºC

In a week that was low in inspiration; low in creativity; low in mood, got my hands on a bunch of my favourite blooms - the simple yet extremely beautiful Poppies - just the thing to get back on a high.  It has become the star three days in a row, in my Project 365, my camera and I just can't get enough of them...over two hundred images in three days with more to surely come as they bloom.

Think I might be the last person to know that sunshine is what these cut flowers needed, after having them for the last two days the buds haven't budged a bit and none of them were opening so I put them out in the little sunshine we had this cold windy Winters morning for a couple of hours and I was pleasantly surprised to see they were opening up and shedding their shells right in front of my eyes...amazing, well to me anyway.

The journey of a poppy is just like the ugly duckling story, beginning from the humble, ugly and hairy bud to progress to the final stage of their journey to bloom into beautiful delicate blooms...

From an ugly duckling ...

A smile that hides a secret

to cracking open...

to shedding it's shell...

to freedom and having a stretch...

to breathing in the beautiful fresh air and feeling the sunshine...

to grow into the beautiful Swans that Poppies are...

These shots were all taken in the same space of time so they are all different buds and flowers...if only I had the patience and time to shoot one bud and it's journey to beauty.

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Vivid • Darling Harbour

Warm 20ºC

Last night we visited the second Vivid location in Darling Harbour, the light displays weren't much but there were a few highlights.  

Cockle Bay - Darling Habour

This lighthouse is behind the Australian Maritime Museum and for me it was the highlight of the displays.

Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse • Darling Harbour

Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse • Darling Harbour

But monotone is always a winner to me

Light display on the hour with fireworks...

Light displays over Pyrmont Bridge

Darling Harbour bokeh

Display on Australian Maritime Museum

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Alternative Photography

Cloudy...Late Rain 21ºC

Photography has been my full time hobby for the last three years and has been a love of mine since my son was born nine years prior to that.  Since then I had spent two thousand and eleven embarking on and completing my Project 365, a photo taken every day and posted on photography site Flickr, for the entire year and am currently half way through my second attempt at completing another Project 365.

Not long ago I stumbled upon a photography technique called ICM - Intentional Camera Movement, whereby the camera is rotated or moved in one direction - diagonal, horizontal or vertical to create an abstract and/or artistic result in the image.

These are some of my recent attempts at this technique...

Willow Trees in Centennial Park

Maroubra Beach at sunset

When I got this shot on screen, I was surprised at the result...

Seagull at Maroubra Beach at sunset

Another form of ICM is intentional camera blur which gives off an impressionist painting look whilst still maintaining the form of the original image and produces bokeh to no end when light is involved...

It's always loads of fun experimenting with different techniques and seeing the results, most of the time you get some nice surprises, of course there times that they are put in the trash as well...but that's the fun of experimenting.

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Farewell Autumn

Storms, heavy rain and windy 16ºC

We are now two days into Winter and it sure feels like it today, the weather was ferocious and unforgiving if you were out and about but if you could forgo going out, stay indoors and snuggle up then it's the perfect weather.  Officially we have finished with our Autumn season but there are still the late hangers on so there are still quite a bit of reds, oranges and yellows colouring our trees.

Here are just some of this season's colours...

Till we meet again in nine months

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