VIVID MMXIV

Cloudy 20ºC

It is here again, the annual Vivid Light Festival set on the Sydney Harbour,  Sydneysiders have come to love this creative collage of lights in and on all forms, in particular the 3D light displays on all the landmark buildings…and if you like me are an avid photographer then this one would be 'The Event' of the year…and judging by how many folds the crowds have grown, I think many non avid photographers think so too.

Thinking back to the first time I went when it all began in 2009, when it was with much less fanfare than it is today and undoubtedly much less the crowds, I had just got my hands on my very first SLR, with no tripod in hand, we know how those photos came out…but it was enough to get me hooked.

The display on the Opera House, many would agree must be the highlight of the festival, everyone is bound to get a front seat space to admire or photograph the colourful icon…

Light show on iconic Sydney Opera House.

While I love the openness of the Opera House display I also quite like the MCA building light show with it's many human silhouettes…it adds a little taste of what the atmosphere was like on the night and most every other night whilst the show is one…

3D Light show on the Museum of Contemporary Arts building.

Besides the 3D light shows there are plenty to see and the one that I thought was a standout is the water feature setup in Martin Place…a cycle of words and patterns written by the falling water droplets...

A few more of the displays I managed to capture among many more that I didn't get a chance to…

White rabbits under the bridge.

#vividsydney sign…out of the way but strategically placed to show off our beautiful icon.

Some more of our other beautiful icon…

That's all for now but I should be back for more…I'm not good with crowds, I tend to not want to take photos of the displays if there are too many people near them…which rules out 90% of the displays…must make more of an effort…this is three hours worth of my night which probably translates into one photography hour.

•    •    •

Life is Beachy

Sunny 24º

Oh my…how time flies, my first post of 2014, almost two seasons have past since my last post. I have been feeling less than inspired for so many months…whether it's blogging or photography or just life in general.  But the way to get inspired again, I believe, is to go head on into it again and the creative juices should start flowing, well that's the plan.

Anyways, travelling has been a constant this year, three short trips in five months, that's not bad for someone who counts one holiday a year as a treat, so I've been very blessed this year.  Looking at my photos I realised that all my holiday spots this year have one thing in common, they have all been near the beach…thinking about it, all of the places I stayed at were across the road from a beautiful beach…hence this post.

My first stop this year was back in January, when we decided to take our two children to a spot we often frequented as a couple before they came along and turned us into a  family, Port Macquarie on the north coast of NSW, it had been over ten years since we last visited…on that trip we had taken our one year old son…who on this current trip had turned thirteen last August.  Many things have changed but predictably the beaches have remained the same.

Love the calmness of a stone stack.

In March, two of my sisters and I decided to make a short overnight trip to Melbourne, it is a city I had fallen in love with when I visited back in January 2013…we missed it so, so a short trip was scheduled to try to tick off a few of the things on our things to see list.  On top of that list was the Brighton Beach Bathhouses…the beach itself isn't too remarkable but these colourful bathhouses add that special touch that makes it a must visit spot.

Two black swans join in the scenery.

These seagulls have the right idea…sun baking on the rocks off the beach.

Me on the porch of my favourite bathhouse.

Just a week ago, I spent an amazing few days on the Gold Coast with my five sisters, it was a trip down memory lane kinda trip, as almost six years ago {to be exact five years and ten months ago} we were there for my fortieth.  A trip with the six of us…no husbands…no kids…just us…then and now.  We didn't sightsee too much, it was more about retracing some footsteps of our previous trip. It was also about being together…laughing a lot…eating too much…early waking in bed then waiting for the slightest sound that another was awake so that we can all jump out of bed and begin the chatter and laugh all over again…creating memories that will keep us laughing till our next trip, hopefully sooner than six years for the next one.

Taken from up high {seventy seven floors high in fact}

Think I've fallen in love with shooting from up high, though there's not many opportunities that that can happen for me.

The Gold(en) Coast stretching as far as the eye can see and the other way too.

What a life these seagulls have.

Taken where the earth reflects the sky and the sky meets the earth.

Leaving our mark {albeit for only a short moment}.

To mark our day.

Well that concludes my travels for the first half of the year…I wonder if it's an indication of the second half…{hmm, I think it's highly unlikely} if not then I'm still grateful for what I have been lucky enough to have experienced so far.

•  •  •