I've been so busy making sure everyone else is on track with their exhibition planning and printing that I've kinda forgotten about my own work. Fortunately, I have a wonderful friend who lent me his house, his printer and his cat for an intense weekend of printing.
Printing party supplies for me and the cat.
Decision making time for which paper looks best.
Pretty happy with the progress here.
My Matisse and Henson inspired blue nudes.
With help from Chyna the cat.
A while ago a few of my past students from RMIT short courses expressed an interest in taking the next step with their photography and exhibiting their work. I asked for a 'show of hands' to see who was serious, and now we're about two weeks away from opening night and I think I can officially add 'herding cats' to my CV. There are 11 of us - two photography teachers (myself and Bryce Dunkley) and 9 past students. If you're in Melbourne you might want to call in and check it out. Opening night is April 5 and it runs for a month.
I'm loving my new Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Camera. When I was a teenager I carried a compact camera with me everywhere but the slr is a bit heavy and bulky to do that. The iPhone has been a stand in for a few years but, while it's better than nothing, it is a bit limited. So I saved my pennies (tax return) and bought myself a birthday present last year. My first slr was a Fuji, so my choice was swayed slightly by nostalgia. It goes in my handbag and when I go for a walk I can whip it out any time I see a flower or garden I want to photograph. If I'm on a dedicated garden walk I'll take the Canon with the 100mm macro. I might save up for a macro for the fuji but I'm pretty happy with what I can get with the 18-55mm lens.
I had a meeting on the other side of town last week and I walked back to the city afterwards via the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Good thing I had the fuji in my bag so I could snap a few photos along the way.
My favourite pic of the day. See below for the 'before' shot. I had a class coming up on composition and design at RMIT and I wanted to add another example of 'filling the frame'. This one will do just nicely. I also like the lines and the colours. It just has nice 'feel' about it, don't ya reckon? I call it 'Shark Fin'.
It's an Agave. I initially thought it was a kind of cactus (cacti?), so I can show you how to photograph it but I'm not too good at plant identification. That's why it's handy having a horticulturist in the family to correct me. He's my big brother and you can ask him questions too if you have any. Here's his blog. He'll be our bus driver and resident green thumb on the Carnival of Flowers tour.
This is the 'before' shot of the one above it. A clump of agave with a playground on one side and the loo on the other.
Below are a few other shots from wandering through the gardens. And this was only a small section as I was passing through along one side, and it was the middle of the day, not exactly ideal for photography. I discovered a little Craft Cottage (no photos of it this time, the light was too harsh) and talked to the lovely folk about maybe running a photography group there.
I was flicking through some recent photos, trying to keep my Lightroom keywords up to date, and started to notice some nice colour blends. Here's a couple I put together, all shot from wandering around my neighbourhood in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. I might have to go back through some older photos and look for some more as I quite like these. Or maybe I'll just grab the camera and go for another walk to see what I can find.
Don'y you just love the different colours, shapes and textures of flowers?
It's probably just as well that Ceres Nursery is in Melbourne where I'm limited to gardening in pots, and not in Qld where I'd go broke filling up my yard with all the delights they have for sale. I went for a walk there yesterday and it was so hot and muggy I piked out and caught the tram home. In true Melbourne style, today I'm wearing a jumper! (Why do we always talk about the weather in Melbs?).
Anyway, it's just the cutest little nursery and I bought myself a punnet of lobelias for my pots. I snapped a couple of shots while I was there and thought I'd share them.
Gardening is good for the soul. (So is taking photos!)
It started off as a true blue Bunnings style sausage sizzle.
I'm at home in QLd for a couple of weeks to finish off some work around the house and sent out the invitation to a 'Granny Flat Warming Party'. The only problem is, I don't have a barbie. I was planning on going to Bunnings when Mum asked why I wasn't checking out Gumtree (seeing as I drove her crazy through the building of the Granny Flat with my Gumtree bargains). Good idea, I think. And so, I did.
And lo and behold there's a barbecue in my area that's FREE. But it's huge. It won't fit in the car. I ring the number to ask if it comes apart. Not really, the guy says. I discover he's only a few blocks away and consider wheeling it home. But the heat and humidity pretty much ruled that out. And then he offered to throw it on his ute and drop it around. So, I get a bloody huge 4 burner barbie with a side gas thingy and a rotisserie that I'll never use, for free, delivered.
It took me two days to clean the thing but it came up trumps (must get a new expression as that one has negative connotations these days). I feel a little bargain-hunters shiver of contentment every time I look at it.
I even had a volunteer to cook on the day. Thanks Arthur (my second cousin). Top job mate. Love the apron.
My special boy saying 'Croc's Rule'.
The freshly painted pergola with the twinkly lights from Ikea, the new barbie, the piano waterfall, the granny flat in the background, with the doors from an old pub in The Rocks in Sydney that I swapped a photography job for, surrounded by a mix of mine and mums plants. I think this is an area that will get a lot of livin;.
