Lost Aussie on the loose

Recovering from Hurricane Sandy

I took the photo of this stone scupture in Bernkastel (but added a different background)... and it seems rather apropos for today ...... which is Halloween...
Unfortunately the trick and (not treat) is that we are still enduring the dramas of Hurricane Sandy.

Thankfully humans and animals in our house are fine but we are day 3 without power and starting to encounter challenges with heating, eating, washing, communications,trash.... and the list goes on.

Most of the businesses around us have no power either, including the grocery stores and the petrol (gas) stations.  Most of the ATM's are out of commission and so are the transaction processing machines at the stores, if you can find one open - so cash is the only form of payment accepted in many instances and that is in rather short supply.

I've actually come to work with my husband today so that I can stay warm, get coffee, hot food and have some degree of communication with the outside world.  It's also nice to just have the lights on!!

And speaking of lights .....my stellar "survival" technique over the last few days has been figuring out how to make a Lamp using "extra virgin" olive oil, a wick made out of an old t-shirt and some craft wire and an empty jam jar (or 6!).....surprisingly effective actually!

DH has also admitted that my penchant for purchasing candles has finally paid off!!

Some Light Relief While Waiting For Hurricane Sandy

The winds are swirling outside with increasing intensity, trees bending, leaves being swept in great piles against the house.....

Inside we await the arrival of Hurricane "Sandy" with torch batteries aplenty, candles and lamps ready.  Food is cooked.  The garden denuded of anything that can remotely fly at any stage.  Dh's guitars have all been stashed in the basement and "pertinent papers" are boxed and ready to head downstairs too. Knick knacks have been removed from window sills and quite a lot of furniture moved to less vulnerable spots in the house.  All phones charged, hard drives backed up and computer equipment ready to be unplugged and moved tomorrow if needs be.

So I'd say, bring it on.... but I really would rather not.

Whilst waiting for files to sync and what not I've been twidding with the odd pic or two snapped while in Germany last week.  In this case some photos of a really intruiging sculpture in Bernkastel depicting stories about the region and the wine making.... and of course concocting my own "photoshopped" version....

and in case you are interested, here are the SOOC images that I used ....

Here's hoping that all my friends here in the NE are staying warm, dry and safe while we endure the trials of Hurricane Sandy.

The Calm Before The Storm

Back on Long Island and getting ready to batten down the hatches in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy which according to all weather reports is going to be a doozy!

After a trip to the grocery store to stock up on appropriate supplies a long walk in the fresh air seemed like a good idea, exploring the fall colors and beauty of Bayard Cutting Arboretum.  A truly splendid spot and one that in a day or so's time might well look totally different and will no doubt suffer some flooding from storm surge as it sits right on the river, adjacent to the coast.

The trees have magically turned color in the week that I have been gone and are truly a magnificent sight. Luckily there were still a few blooms to be found here and there to attract the locals....

I capped the day off with a trip to the movies to see Cloud Atlas which was thoroughly compelling and quite the visual, as well as intellectual feast.  If you can bear to sit yourself down in a movie theatre for 3 good hours, then I highly recommend it!

More Mosel & Bernkastel

I'm getting ready to jump back on the plane to NYC tomorrow having spent a lovely week here in Germany.  Sadly my cold passed onto everyone else in the house here and I'm still trying to beat the end of it.  Just one of those seasonal change things I guess.
Thankfully it did not stop me exploring the slopes of Bernkastel - Kues and snapping some magnifient shots of the Mosel river amidst the vineyeards - even sneaking the odd taste of a grape or two.

It's a fun and quaint town.  Lots to see and do and if you stop by in the next little while you can enjoy a glass of the Federweisser - which is the "new wine" made from grape must, almost freshly picked and just "squashed"....slightly fermented and Oh so good.......

Along The Banks of the Mosel to Trier

I've been in Germany for a couple of days now but ever since I arrived here I've been hit by a horrid cold and flu and today was the first day I felt like doing very much of anything.  So I dosed up on cold meds, popped lots of tissues in my handbag and headed off along the Mosel River for a drive to Trier with my Mother.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to get behind the wheel and do some exploring. The hills beside the river are covered with vineyards and grapevines all in the throes of harvest and autumnal color, the river was calm and still like a mirror in many places making for great reflections off the hills.
The main Summer mob has long gone and it was just lovely to soak up the sunshine and ambience of the riverside and Trier.

So far just a few images of the riverside and hopefully tomorrow when I can keep my eyes open a bit longer I'll have some pix of Trier to share.

The Sands of Time

Interesting how you can come back and look at pictures that you took some time ago, and whether it be the acquisition of new processing skills or a different point of view, how the image can be interpreted quite differently.

This clock face is in fact a massive sculpture (nigh on 4ft high) that was laid in the sands of Cottesloe Beach in Perth (Australia) and I blogged about some of the original images HERE.

Thankfully both my photography and my photoshop skills have improved a little since then and I rather like the revisited version a little better.

And.... I have my bags packed (yet again) and will be heading off to Germany this afternoon to check on Mum for a few days.  It will be interesting to see what colour Europe has to offer through the camera's eye during the fall season and can I tell you how much I am looking forward to an excellent cup of coffee and a pint of Oktoberfest Beer? .....

I'll catch you soon ....across the Pond and the Channel!

Hiding In Plain Sight

I was mucking around with my camera this afternoon and posed this vase of flowers on a stool as a focal point for something else I was going to rush into the frame using my timer.  Turned out that they proved to be a fairly spiffy "still life" subject....

Kind of nice, those moments of serendipity!!

Super Heros - New York Style....

Cruising around the fringes of Comic-Con New York today proved to offer some excellent camera candy.  The great thing was that all dressed up, the "guests" were more than happy to stop to have their picture taken in all their technicolor glory!!!


Totally and utterly mind-boggling the make-up and costumes that were on display.....

Cruising in DC

I've been in Washington DC for the last few days, enjoying wandering about the Smithsonian Museums, taking some pictures here and there.

One of my fave photo subjects is the new roof at the National Portrait Gallery.  It's one of those things that you can take 100 pictures of and it's always different...... light, perspective.. etc

A Recipe For Tempest

Take an image of some weird plaster texture snapped in NYC on Saturday, clone and work the heck out of it to make a decent background, add a few photos of the odd building and basillica from Venice, drop in one more New York City church spire, currently almost sunk, mix thoroughly with the odd texture here and there, blend to taste .... and voila, and you have your very own Venetian tempest!

The good thing is no real buildings were harmed in the process :-)