Lost Aussie on the loose

Never Say Never

I posted not so long ago about the fact that I thought that taking portrait pictures was not really my bag.....

Well here in jolly Germany, I got nabbed by my mother and coaxed into taking pictures of two lovely little girls who were making their first Holy Communion today.

The mother of the little girls is one of Wolfe's visiting nurses and she does a lovely job of taking care of him so I could hardly say no!

Posing children I daresay is hard enough, posing them when they don't speak English is just a tad trickier but I snapped a few frames that wil,l I think, please their mother and MY mother will be pleased I used her Cherry Tree as a backdrop.

Cruising The Mosel River

DH has joined me for a few days here in Germany prior to heading off on a business trip.  To make the most of them we hopped on a tour boat that cruised the Mosel River today, giving us ample time to enjoy the view and see more than we could if just walking or driving the car.

At the height of the Summer I imagine these river boats to be packed to the gills, but this week is just the beginning of "tourist" season and so the adventure ride was relaxing to the max...

... feet up, camera out and a beer not too far away ....

Either side of the river.... the view was pretty amazing!

Evening Delight

Getting accustomed to going out and about with wheelchairs, walkers and sundry other balance items today proved to be somewhat of a challenge.  However my Mother's husband rose gallantly to the ocassion and coped really well.  Getting these various items in and out of the trunk/boot (whatever your language) is not for the faint hearted and will take some getting used to for the folk I leave behind, but hopefully having seen it done will prove to be confirmation that it CAN be done!!

It's not really a visit to Germany with my camera in mind and taking pictures is definitely a back-seat to everything else that is going on......

.... however, one can't resist..... looking for the light and those special moments....

Little Birds on the Mosel

Yesterday I took Mum out and about and we visited several villages up and down the Mosel River, including Bernkastel Kues where we stopped for lunch and did a bit of shopping.

There were dozens of these little birds hopping about in the bushes by the river when we went back to the carpark, obviously used to the tourists ..... as they let me get quite close to take their picture!!

Spring In Germany

I've hopped across to spend a few days with my Mother in Germany.  Her husband has been unwell and various members of Family have been tripping from here there and everywhere to check in and help.

One of the tasks I relish when I come to visit is to take the dog for a long walk.  There's a lovely laneway that progresses through a farmer's land, up to a hill where you get a fantastic view of the village and fields.

Yesterday I only had my iPhone with me to snap pix and Spring is nowhere near as far along here as it is in North Carolina, but it's getting there ......

When Nature Does It (..and Photoshop does not)

Panos aren't the greatest of images to feature on the blog but there's not really any better way to show eight pelicans captured in full flight as they cross the oyster beds of the Intracoastal Waterways down in Florida.

Initially when I showed DH the picture he thought I had photoshopped the same Pelican flying at different moments ..... not so ....

Whilst out in the boat last week we came across a "flock"? of nesting Pelicans, 20 or so of them and at one point they decided to take flight and this is what my camera saw... or all that I could snap in one frame, at any rate...

Almost like an Eadweard Muybridge time lapse capture....

From the Intracoastal waterways we ventured offshore towards some of the coastal banks and shoals where there were many birds of different varieties all sitting together and enjoying the sunshine...

My guide seemed disappointed that the birds weren't "doing" anything ... but it seemed to me that since it was the breeding season they were all more focussed on communing and having a chat (prior to mating) rather than fishing or frolicking...

I was just happy being out in the sunshine, on the water and getting up close and personal to a bunch of feathered folk that I normall don't get to see...

Parrot Perfect ...Hello!

There were loads of birds to photograph in the wild while I was in Florida, but I'd be remiss if I did not include a portrait of the Ritzy Parrot.

Perched, seemingly without restraint, adjacent to the pool and spa, he (?) was quite the magnificent specimen and yes, he talked too.... albeit just to say "Hello"....Hello?... and Hello ....

A Blue and Gold Macaw apparently and very impressive indeed.

Floridan Feathers

DH had a conference to attend the past few days so I took the opportunity to forget about house sorting and joined him at Amelia Island down in Florida.

Glorious weather, fab hotel, steps away from the beach and lots of wonderful creatures to capture with my camera.

Today I went on a fabulous boat trip with Captian Russell and toured the inland coastal waterways in search of birds and wildlife to photograph.  It was a glorious day and many pictures were snapped.  We spent the day meandering up and down the coast, trolled through Oyster Beds, and puttered up creeks and tiny patches of navigable water.  It was truly a special day and quite, quite fantastic.  I can't thank the Captain enough.  His local knowledge was stellar and made for an enjoyable as well as educational day.

To Charlotte, NC and back

I've spent the last few days in Charlotte, NC, revisting old haunts and taking the camera to new places that have sprouted up since last I lived here, particularly in Uptown Charlotte.

New eye, new camera and new interest, and there was lots of camera fodder to be found.  Just a shame I forgot my card reader and camera cables, so was not able to post pics while I was there...

The architecture there is really quite phenomenal, lots of cool sculptures to photograph and as it looks like this will be my home again in the not too distant future, I already have in my mind a photo walk tour that could prove to be quite fun.

The main aim of this trip was to house hunt (as renters for a change).  I want a little more flexibility and time to figure out what will work best before jumping in at the deep end and buying a property that is not necessarily in the right place.

We may have lucked out today, but time will tell.  Renting there is a dog eat dog business, hot market and slim pickings to choose from....so fingers crossed that our application on the house of choice goes well.

Finally made it back home to Long Island to be greeted by 22 inches of snow.   I'm sure there are a few landscaping disasters lurking under the fluffy white stuff, but until I can fire up the snow blower and clear out tomorrow, it remains a lovely and pristine vista of chilly white ......

Wistful Thinking

It's nearly 12 months since I hopped on a jet plane and enjoyed my first proper photography/travel workshop in Venice.

I fell royally in love when I was there, not only with the City and it's people, but with my camera too and I'd like to think that leaps and bounds have been made in my photo taking abilities since that awe inspiring visit was made.

This is the SOOC image that I used for the photoshopped version above.

If you've been a student in my Paint Sketch Play class you should have a good idea of how I arrived at the final image.

Lots of Art History and Mixer brushing. 
Layers of texture and sketch. 
Judicious amounts of Gradient Mapping and Selective Color Adjustments, topped off with some Smudge, Blur, Blend and Vignette layers. 
And of course a good crop to find the part of the image that worked best.

Carnivale is almost upon us again.

I'm thinking, wishing, dreaming of being there again.  Sipping little cups of hot chocolate, dining in the cafes beside the Grand Canal, walking the promenade and the Piazza and feasting on the eye candy with my camera....