Shrooms

Posted by trish on Feb 14, 2012 in Shoot | 1 comment

My friend Kathy was looking for these pictures on my blog. They’re not there anymore, because I got rid of them all in a big clean-up.

You know how sometimes you feel like you should just delete your whole stupid blog and start from scratch?

Dont.  It’s not all stupid.

(Thanks, Kathy!)

In 2010 I went to Sweden and spent a couple of hours hunting for mushrooms in a forest with long-time family friends, Agneta and James.  It was truly magical.  I wish my girls could have seen this place.  Maybe they will, one day.

sweetie-pie

Posted by trish on Feb 6, 2012 in Shoot | 0 comments

This little poppet is the younger daughter of some friends of ours.  They’ve just moved back to Canberra after several years living, working and making beautiful babies in Brisbane.  I’m so excited that they’re back, and that I get to take pictures of their girls.

So many of my friends have beautiful children!  It’s ridiculous.

Miss Harriet

Posted by trish on Jan 6, 2012 in Shoot | 2 comments

She didn’t much want her picture taken, so I just sat and waited for her to decide she was ready and when she looked over at me I clicked.  A moment later she decided she would like to have her picture taken, but none of the shots I got after this one were as lovely.

Harriet is my friend Sophie’s daughter, and recently became a Big Sister.  I think that extra maturity is reflected in her eyes.

Sixty Years

Posted by trish on Jan 2, 2012 in Shoot | 1 comment

Just before Christmas I was asked, at the very last minute, to go along to a 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration, to take some photos of the family who were all gathered together for the first time in a long while.

They were having dinner at a restaurant in a beautiful garden setting, so I suggested we take some photographs outside before they all disappeared inside before dinner.  So at about 6.30pm, just as the light was getting good, I took group shots of everyone and recorded the event for family albums.

When they were done, the bride and groom set a blistering pace across the lawn towards the restaurant and I managed to fire off a couple of shots as they scurried away.

This is my favourite.  PJ made it a black and white image, which I think is perfect.

I love that they’re still holding hands, after all these years.

Video of the storm last night

Posted by trish on Nov 30, 2011 in Shoot | 3 comments

Electrical Storm in Canberra 29 Nov 2011

I’ve never uploaded a video to my blog before so I have no idea if this is going to work or not.  I held my iPhone up to the window and just hit ‘record’, hoping to get a few good, bright flashes.  Yeah, I got a few.  It wasn’t hard.

Here’s the radar image from 10.40pm last night; the storm lasted until about 2am.  I know, because I was wide awake, writing my First Crappy Draft.  1500 words to go! Whoot!

I did but see him zooming by…

Posted by trish on Nov 27, 2011 in Shoot | 1 comment

POTUS was in Canberra two weeks ago. I picked Madi up from school (Ella went to a friend’s house) and we rushed down to Parkes Way to see the motorcade go past.

I had the 70-200m lens on, but still couldn’t get very close.

There he is! In the back seat! Waving! (or does he just have his hand up like that all the time, so it looks like he’s waving in every single one of the 1000s of photos that get taken of him at times like these?

There was a woman standing next to me who thought that THIS guy was Obama.  No, he’s Secret Service.  This car was behind the two ‘Beasts’.  I’m not sure why the window is open.  I didn’t see an enormous gun sticking out of it or anything.

And then… he was gone.

The Money Shot

Posted by trish on Nov 16, 2011 in Shoot | 3 comments

This is Darcy, by the way (Ella’s puppy).  I was shooting in f4.0 at 1/40 and just happened to get her when she was sitting very still. Every single other picture I took during this little session is blurred on account of the slow shutter speed (I was shooting in Aperture Priority and wanted the depth of field).

Photo by me.  Not by PJ.  Just wanted to make that distinction clear.

sleepy puppies

Posted by trish on Nov 13, 2011 in Shoot | 3 comments

PJ took these today.  The puppies have started doing this thing where they come and lie under the table where we’re sitting and they just fall asleep.  Even if they’ve just had a big nap.  I’ve had them lying at my feet while I’ve been typing my NaNo Novel in my study.  They’re so cute.

So, just to be clear, photos and post-processing by PJ.  Click on each image to enlarge.

Shameless Puppy Post

Posted by trish on Oct 24, 2011 in Shoot | 5 comments

All images by our in-house photographer, PJ.  Click on each thumbnail to see ALL the cuteness.

Baby Humpback

Posted by trish on Oct 11, 2011 in Shoot | 4 comments

PJ took the girls and Katherine to Jervis Bay for the weekend to go whale watching.  They were very lucky to see a humpback whale and her baby frolicking in the water near Point Perpendicular.  The captain of the boat said it was likely the baby had just had a big feed because he (she?) was leaping about in the water like a toddler on a sugar rush.  For PJ, it was a photographer’s dream come true.Just confirming – PJ took all these shots, not me.  But I’ll be going along next year!

nom nom nom

Posted by trish on Oct 2, 2011 in Shoot | 4 comments

Our local butcher takes lamb bones and splits them lengthways down the middle, so small puppies with tiny teeth can get stuck into the marrow.

Sucking the marrow out of life… who said that?  Robin Williams in ‘Dead Poets Society’, I think.

This was the puppies’ first introduction to marrow bones.  They went a little nuts.  Five seconds after Darcy had claimed her half, she growled at anyone who came too close.

They’re so cute when they get all territorial and primal.  This is Darcy, getting in touch with her Inner Wolf.  Grrr….

*UPDATE Our Vet does not recommend splitting bones for puppies, as they can easily break their teeth on them.  And the marrow is basically just fat which, at this young age, is not good for puppies at all.  So, no more split bones for them.  Sorry puppies!  Instead we give them raw chicken necks and raw chicken carcasses, which they love.  They just chew the bones up and swallow them – though you should keep an eye on them as they’re eating, in case they start to choke on bits.

my girl

Posted by trish on Sep 25, 2011 in Shoot | 1 comment

fire

Posted by trish on Sep 25, 2011 in Shoot | 5 comments

Sometimes, you see a shot, and you cross your fingers and aim your camera and you hope that you get it.  Then you do.Maybe in some ways photography is a lot like fishing.

This is Sophie, one of the riders in Madeleine’s group jumping class, riding as the sun set slowly in the west.  I’ve taken some crackers of Sophie during their lessons but this one is my favourite so far.  Her parents have asked me to get a print done for her.  I’m chuffed, I really am.

Saffy

Posted by trish on Sep 25, 2011 in Shoot | 4 comments

Photo by PJ. 

Darcy

Posted by trish on Sep 25, 2011 in Shoot | 2 comments

Photo by PJ.

piccolo puppies

Posted by trish on Sep 22, 2011 in Shoot | 6 comments

My friend Kate came around today to meet the puppies and request more photos of the puppies on the blog, please.  Oh, okay then.

That’s Saffy on the left with the big white tip on her tail.  Darcy, out of focus in the foreground, is slightly bigger, slightly darker and has only a little bit of a white tip on her tail.  The thing under Saffy’s eye, I’m sorry to say, is just dirt.  We gave them a bath tonight, on account of them smelling like dogs.  Dogs who had just spent half an hour chewing lamb bones that had been thoughtfully split open lengthwise in order to access the marrow, which ended up all over both of their faces and all of their paws.

Anyway, moving on…

Kate asked how much they weighed and since I didn’t know we got out the kitchen scales.  Turns out Darcy’s got about 300gm on Saffy which, when you only weigh a bit over 1.5kgs is quite a lot.

Just for the record, I’ve got a squillion pictures of them on both cameras but I’m having technical issues tonight (meaning I have no idea what I’m doing and PJ isn’t able to help because he’s got More Important Things To Do if you can believe that).  As soon as I get them ready, I’ll post them.  Including… are you sitting down?  A picture of Saffy looking NOT VERY IMPRESSED at being given a bath.  They’re so cute when they’re cranky.

The pups are here.

Posted by trish on Sep 17, 2011 in Shoot | 9 comments

(all images by PJ)

You think that’s cute?

A minute ago, Saffy got up and toddled out of the crate where she and Darcy were sleeping.  She went and had a little drink of water, then came over to say hello to me and we had a little cuddle.  After a minute I guided her gently back towards the crate where Darcy had started to whimper in her sleep; her breathing quickened and her legs were twitching as though she was having a bad dream.  Saffy crept back into the crate, lay down against Darcy – spooning her – and put her front left leg over Darcy’s shoulder. A moment later they were both asleep again.

You can’t make this stuff up.  It took all of our collective self control not to burst into tears, didn’t it Madi?

Yes, it did.

On this day

Posted by trish on Sep 14, 2011 in Shoot | 2 comments

On this day last year, I woke up in Oslo.  I am really dying to go back there.  It is a stunningly beautiful city, and I spent many, many hours walking around the streets just outside the city centre, marvelling at the architecture and the light.  I hope I can go back soon.

What keeps me going.

Posted by trish on Sep 2, 2011 in Shoot | 3 comments

This is a piccolo latte. Actually, it’s two piccolo lattes. I’ve switched from drinking flat whites to two piccolo lattes, which is almost the same thing but I’m pretty sure it’s still less milk.  And that seems to be making a big and positive difference in my life these days.

Good luck finding the focus point in either of these pictures.  Geez, I’m losing my game.

Half a pound. Each.

Posted by trish on Aug 28, 2011 in Shoot | 7 comments

They are so tiny.

This is Saffy – she belongs to Madeleine.

She is quite outrageously cute.

And this is Darcy, who belongs to Ella.  Darcy has a little tuft of white hair on her forehead, which may or may not remain.  Otherwise, they’re a little hard to tell apart.

I mean, come on, this is just ridiculous.

We went to meet Juliann, the breeder, in a carpark just of the highway she comes in on.  I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but we were going to see three pups and the girls would choose which two they wanted.  Juliann opened the puppy carrying case on the back seat of her car and handed one to Madeleine, one to Ella and the third to PJ.  There was no discussion, it was all over immediately.  PJ gave the third one back (eventually!) and the girls didn’t let go of the pups they’d been given.

We get to bring them home with us on September 17th.  I’ll try really hard not to let this become a Puppy Blog but the first few weeks might be a little difficult.