May 27 - Iconic

Iconic - I love architecture and there are many iconic structures in the world. In Paris I immediately think of the Eiffel Tower - in Sydney, the Opera house - in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge - in Rekjavik, Hallgrimskirkja ... I could go on for pages :) I have my files from France open, so I am dreaming of Paris today and that spectacularly iconic metal tower.

May 26 - Humour

I'm a month behind with my posts - so will try and catch up when I can.
Walking through the old part of Lyon, we came across this gorgeous old door - the original sign reads institute of sciences, but there has obviously been a takeover by the comedians - I'm sure they have breathed some life into the old building...

May 25 - How I see myself

Hmmm, digging into the files for this - walking the coast track near Sydney - of course I see myself from the inside out, so no portraits ;)
This is how I usually see myself - outside, walking with my camera and not sure where the next best shot will be...

May 24 - Hot

The Waterworld show at universal studios is non-stop action - the sets are great for photography and it's an opportunity to practice some wild action shots. this one looks very 'hot' and of course it got even more explosive after this...
This has had some enhancement to give a HDR effect which adds to the 'hyperreality' of the image

May 23 - Homemade

Homemade fig jam is one of the joys of living on a farm - so are fresh and dried tomatoes, pumpkin soup, oranges, beans, lettuce, lemons ... I love our orchard and vegetable gardens! This was the most recent fig jam making, but I forgot to take a photo of it all bottled and awaiting eating - no chance now, it's all gone :)

May 22 - High Speed

This driver had his foot firmly on the accelerator as he went across the top of the mountain at the Bathurst racetrack.

May 21 - High Key

The challenge - a high key image that isn't 'washed out'

so I used some sea creatures that had naturally lost some of their colours, 

then played a little in PS to lighten more without losing detail.

I prefer finding live starfish underwater when we are diving, 

but this stack of dried ones in a seaside stall are still beautiful

May 20 - Heights

Mt Evans is the highest paved road in North America. It is in the Rocky Mountains near Denver. The day we drove up to the summit started fine and sunny, but at the top it was bitterly cold and windy. Being in a convertible car didn't help as the heater didn't really have much chance. Coats, jeans, scarves and woolen hats were the outfit of choice.
At this altitude in a plane you need constant supplemental oxygen and at the summit, signs warn of altitude sickness. We spotted goats and yellow-bellied marmots at lower lookouts - at the top it was icy cold and rocks dominated the landscape. 

May 19 - Heavy

Heavy! I think this photo speaks for itself :)

May 18 - Healthy

What could be healthier than fresh, warm, free range eggs?
The colours are true - the Arucana lays blue eggs :)

May 17 - Happiness

Happiness is being a dog...

May 16 - Hands

This little Californian critter was nibbling on some seeds,
his little hands were busy searching and sorting
...then making sure they got straight to his mouth!

May 15 - Growth

This climbing rose has grown up a palm tree - I love the pink flowers against the colour of the sky

May 14 - Groups

Groups of birds - of course!!
These Turkey Buzzards had their wings hung out to dry on a misty summer morning
on the California coast.

Closer to home our group (gang?) of boys in the hen house always had to climb higher than the girls
Showing off? or staying away from the fierce mama chooks?

May 13 - Gross

Gross - disgusting, awful ... my daughter can't understand my fascination with fungi :) ... although she did say that this jelly fungi (tremella) was 'pretty' until I pointed out that it had lots of tiny slugs living on it ... then it was 'gross' again - sigh - I think it's great!

Not sure if the second image will show the slugs - they are tiny - all the little black bits are tiny slugs. I have seen them on an orange jelly fungi as well, so I can only conclude that it is a habitat for them.

So... building on 'gross' here's a picture of another fungi she hates ... Xylaria, also known as 'dead man's fingers' and for good measure of gross - an inkcap (coprinus), which autodigests itself with enzymes that cause it to liquefy and dissolve...

May 12 - Glow

Glow ... the huge moon the other night was an opportunity to see what the Canon compact could do, handheld, from our front garden. Granted, we have no ambient light from other buildings, so the stars here are spectacular. Here's the result, with a little high pass sharpening and contrast. 

Once I had the basic photo I ran it through some PS filters just to see what happened and surprisingly 'fresco' gave an abstract glow result that I really liked.

May 11 - Gloomy

filtered light shows the detail of this wooden deck, partly submerged in a gloomy pool, surrounded by reeds and pond weeds...

May 10 - Glass

Glass - I LOVE these chunky stained glass windows by Leonard French in Canberra's Bookplate cafe in the National Library. The artist also has a spectacular ceiling in Victoria's state gallery. The food's not bad either, but the windows are why I eat there when I'm in Canberra...

 

May 09 - Glamour

Glamour - I think that egrets are a glamorous bird - especially in mating season when they grow a cape of beautiful lacy feathers which blow softly in the breeze. Who wouldn't like a glamorous gown like this? or would you rather be a glamorous peacock with a long, iridescent tail?
Still plodding along the paths of learning I played with these to give an old, slightly tinted B&W image with a pale vignette - not sure that it was successful, but have learnt lots :)

May 08 - Girl

Girl ... I took a portrait of a girl, changed to B&W then overlaid the words of the Davy Jones song 'Girl' to make a different sort of image for the theme. Still trying to stretch the boundaries and learn more about PS. Decided white words looked cold, so pink adds a bit of a glow to the B&W.

May 07 - Garden

 

Mt Annan Botanic garden is a cool climate garden in the Blue Mountains area of NSW. It is on a hillside with views across the valleys and winding paths connecting all levels and areas of the garden. It was interesting to see the stand of Wollemi pines (not in these photos) - a species unknown until about 10 years ago, found in the Wollemi National park, near to Mt Annan. I loved the bog garden with its collection of sundews, pitchers and other carnivorous plants and was happy to spot a New Holland honeyeater amongst the pink heath, which gave a beautiful colour contrast.

May 06 - Games

On a morning walk we came across some kangaroos playing 'boxing' games. It looks as though the older male was playing with a young one - his son maybe? When another youngster came across to join the fun - the older roo encouraged them to spar with each other while he watched close by.

May 05 - Fuzzy

Fuzzy fungi today - this fungi felt like velvet and was a rich caramel brown colour

May 04 - Futuristic

A 'futuristic' experiment today
I used a photo of a sandstone cave roof that has a chimney effect, gave it some contrast, then overlaid a colour gradient. Finally I used star brushes to paint a galaxy of sorts. This is the result. I was thinking about trying to add a spaceship but see if you can find what I finally decided to fly through my futuristic galaxy...

May 03 - Furry

Close up and furry ... this grey headed flying fox decided to share in the bounty of our fig tree this year.