Remembering Africa

The homework for my writing group this month was to retell a memorable meal.  In the process I was taken back to Africa, October 2002, Jackalberry Lodge in the Thornybush Private Nature Reserve, adjacent to Kruger National Park, South Africa. 

So my blog for this week is a tiny part of my memories of our incredible "soft option" African experience. I feel so lucky to have had this experience and would recommend it to anyone who has the dollars. 

I only had a film camera those days, but oh my goodness I soon learnt to quickly change films rolls. I would love to go back now with my digital camera! 


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Pumpkin soup - autumn warmer

Inspired by the colour of the autumn leaves at the Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park last weekend.... (if you missed it you can click here - Autumn in the Golden Valley Tree Park)



 and a burst of sunny cooler days but cold nights, I decided it was time for pumpkin soup. I love making and eating soup, and pumpkin soup is one of my easy favourite recipes if I am in a hurry. 

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Autumn in the Golden Valley Tree Park, Balingup, Western Australia

It is autumn here in Australia. As our native trees are evergreen we don't experience here in Australia the rich fall colours on mass like those who live in the northern hemisphere. There are pockets though where this can be enjoyed.

One place is at the Golden Valley Tree Park located on two former farming properties (c 1890s) only 2 kilometres south of Balingup in Western Australia's south west corner.  Last weekend we visited to see the autumn colours. It was a beautiful windless day and as there was a light cloud cover it was actually a great day for walking and photography. 

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Playing with food at 1/800th second exposure

This is just a short post from me today as I am preparing for a "food photography" workshop that I am running at beautiful Lyndendale Gallery next week.

Recently a Photography Group of Bunbury topic was "Freeze Frame" - an image taken using a shutter speed at 1/800th second or more. 
I am very happy to say that I received a "silver" award for this image.



The most essential ingredient for this shot was to have a very patient partner to help you by pouring the wine. My husband fitted the bill - bless him. We tried many different glasses and many pours over an hour and a half. Pour, put back in the bottle, clean up, pour again. You need to take multiple shots of every pour.

In the end this shot won it for me with the way the wine sloshed up both sides of the glass and those drops bouncing off the rim. 

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ANZAC Day - 25 April 2015 - 100 years centenary - We will remember them

On 7 September 1914 Norman Albert Clayden, a 19 year old Mercantile Clerk, originally from Pingelly where he had gone to school, his current address listed as C/- Hill & Hill, Wagin, Western Australia, enlisted, as did thousands of other young men from across Australia, only a month after the declaration of war on 4 August 1914.

Norman was a Lance Corporal and was assigned to the 11th Infantry Battalion AIF, H Company, a rifle company.

Following a period of training at Blackboy Hill Camp, Northam, the Unit embarked from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia, on board Transport A11 Ascanius on 2 November 1914.
The Ascanius formed part of the convoy of 38 troopships carrying approximately 35,000 Australian and New Zealand troops destined to join the Imperial Expeditionary Force. They reached the Port of Alexandria, Egypt on 2 December 1914, where they spent the next nearly 5 months before being deplored to Gallipoli, Turkey. 

Norman was shot in the head and killed on 2 May 2015 at Wire Gully on the Gallipoli Peninsula, only a week into the Gallipoli campaign.  

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Bushwalking at Hoffman's Mill, Harvey - Western Australia

Do you like bush-walking? Do you have a favourite walking track? 

I enjoy bush-walking when conditions are not too hot and the wildflowers are blooming. It is always a peaceful way to escape from our usual work-day lives. 

I also like to take photos of wildflowers, and I have always said you can always find something flowering in the Australian bush somewhere. And autumn is no exception.

Last Monday the rain eased and the sun welcomed a beautiful autumn morning. We hadn’t been bush-walking for a while as summer down here really is too hot, but with the arrival of autumn and a rare day to ourselves, we decided to take the opportunity to visit Hoffman’s Mill.  


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Raindrops on roses

Raindrops on roses I think have suited my mood this past week, and there they were in my garden, like silvery glass baubles glistening on the leaves in the autumn sunlight seeping through the grey clouds.


Autumn has come to my part of the world in Western Australia, and with it has come the rain that we have desperately waited for. It rained in a steady drizzle for several days, a good soaking rain, breathing life into our dry gardens and land.

I used a macro lens and shallow depth of field like F/5 to blur the background. Remember to protect your camera from the rain!

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Lunar Eclipse, Western Australia, 4 April 2015

On Saturday night 4 April during the Easter period I was thrilled to be able to photograph the lunar eclipse.  We were out in the central Western Australian wheatbelt visiting my family who farm in the area, so conditions were going to be perfect with absolutely no ambient light from towns, highways, factories etc. 

The total eclipse was due to be at its peak around 8pm. Early in the evening the clouds started to roll in, but I was able to get some photos during the early phases of the eclipse.  In simple terms the lunar eclipse occurs when the earth passes between the moon and sun creating what they call "the blood moon".

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Autumn arrives in Western Australia

Autumn has arrived in the south west of Western Australia. Although our Australian native trees are evergreen you can see autumn colour starting to appear in the imported tree varieties that are dotted throughout our towns and countryside.


On the weekend I celebrated the arrival of autumn by joining a water-colour workshop run by Marguerite Aberle at Lyndendale Gallery on Crooked Brook Road just out of Dardanup, about a half hour drive from my home. I had been promising myself to attend one of Marguerite's workshops for a couple of years, and what a joy it was to finally attend. The theme for the workshop was autumn colours.

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Continuing my 52-2 project

My regular readers may remember that in 2014 I completed a 365 project - one photo a day for a year. If you go to the link you can see my 2014 year in pictures - 365 project  It was a huge undertaking, but I found it hard to stop when the year ended so I embarked on a new project - 52-2. This is a project conducted through the Western Australian Photographic Federation and is encouraged by our local Photography Group of Bunbury. You can read more about it here - WAPF - 52-2 project

The brief for the project is to take two photos a week - one colour and one mono for 52 weeks. It is actually a great way to get into the habit of experimenting with mono images. I introduced my project to you on a blog post in early February - A new photography project for 2015 and I thought today I would bring you an update

PS - I did finish this project - and printed a book at the end - for some reason I haven't shared with you.  Sorry! 

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