f365: Day 243

Once again we had a busy Saturday. We caught up with our friends Nik and Casey in the morning at the dog park, then did a 2-3 hour jaunt at Bunnings getting things for home renovations (plus a few items we never had on our list in the first place!).

We then did some photos for friends of ours who were attending the "Diner en Blanc" event tonight in Brisbane this afternoon (they were expecting around 2,000 people to attend tonight).

 

Then in the evening, we went to Nik's birthday at Brisbane's German Club. It is a slice of Bavaria in Woollangabba - lots of steins, German sausages, German beer and jovial good fun.

I then rounded out the evening with a Skype chat with my good friend James (in the States). Now I'll just sleep off those beers....

(PS Photo from the German Club of Brisbane -excuse the graininess and low quality but taken with a compact digital camera with flash switched off).

f365: Day 242

It's been the end of a very hectic week and the weekend promises to be hectic as well. I was cooking dinner outside on our temporary gas cooker tonight (our kitchen no longer exists) and Jenn had the two dog's attention.

She was asking Bruce where the baby was - he seemed genuinely interested with plenty of head rolls and lolling tongue...

f365: Day 241

Today's shots are certainly not going to win any prizes for their technical or artistic merit, but the point of this one-year project is to capture shots which either significantly represent the day or have some artistic flavour (admittedly I have not focussed on the latter enough...).

The highligh of today was picking up our new car - our 2010 Toyota Rav 4 Cruiser (4x4). I was a bit nervous driving it home in the dark and peak hour traffic and the height is just accommodated by the garage.

Anyway, a couple of mugshots of the new "mot-a".

f365: Day 240

Today's photo represents our "take out" night a.k.a. Wednesday. We both are massive fans of Grill'd which is a fancy burger chain. I took this shot of their mural whilst salivating over their menu!

However it was hard not to think about Ness a lot as it would have been her 43rd birthday today. Every year so far we have let some balloons off to remember her. As her birthday has fallen during the week (and I am not on holiday), I will let some go this weekend...

A Birthday Tribute to My Dear Sister

Ness, we will never forget you.

We will never forget your distinctive laugh, infectious and loud. Your signature call which would light up any room.

We will never forget your kindness to people and strangers. How you'd drop everything for anyone and put other people's needs before your own.

We will never forget your endless energy, your vivacity and your strength of character. You lived a full life, even though it was taken from you too soon.

You are no longer with us, but memories of you will always stay with us.

f365: Day 239

Our old kitchen is gone! The empty space left behind is impressive and it seems like we'll have enough space for our new kitchen.

The builders came around again today to work on the enclave as well as the veneer wall components. This shot was taken before I went to work.

Also Bruce has taken to climbing into the shower with us. Here he is stomping around in the shower afterwards (second shot).

f365: Day 238

The builders knocked our kitchen out today and it is amazing to see how much empty space there is now! As we have no electrics/lighting around that area, I am unable to take a photo of it (it will form tomorrow's shot), but I have uploaded a picture taken tonight of our temporary kitchen.

It forms part of our lounge and we will be cooking in both this space and outside for the next six weeks while the new kitchen is built!

f365: Day 237

We were out at the beachside suburb of Manly this morning (not to be confused with Sydney's suburb of Manly). They have a terrific weekend market out there plus some good options for walking the dogs.

Today's shot is of Jenn with the two dogs.

f365: Day 236

After months of deliberation, we finally went out and bought a new car! Our trusty Toyota Corolla sedan (2000) has done us five years' of excellent service, but is time it is retired (especially now our family is growing in size).

Our new mot'a is a 2010 Toyota RAV 4 (4x4). We took it for a test drive, paid the deposit, and pick it up in around a week's time. Exciting stuff! A couple of quick snapshots taken of it at the car dealership.

f365: Day 235

Our kitchen was supposed to get ripped out today so I decided to take a last shot of it before work this morning.

The builder did come around today but has decided to start on it first thing Monday morning. So we have our lovely 1950s kitchen for a few more days yet!

Once the kitchen is removed and the adjacent wall also, the kitchen company will then take 5 weeks to build our new kitchen so we'll be living off the bbq for some time....

f365: Day 234

With all this sunlight lately, there are plenty of opportunites to capitalise on the "Golden Hour".

This is a self portrait silhouette shot near work - the elongated appearance and bright sun makes it look I have a very 1970s pair of flared trousers on!

f365: Day 233

Our frangipani tree has been completely bare the last few months. However, new leaf growth has started to appear, signifying the longer, warmer days.

Snapped this shot looking upward this morning with another clear Queensland winter's day sky. Spot the new growth.

f365: Day 232

Another day fighting the head cold and working from home.

Jenn took the dogs out for a walk mid afternoon. For reasons unknown, both of our dogs are just very unenthusiastic about walks - they run a mile when their leads are brought out!

Today's shot is of them both looking completely uninterested just prior to being led outside.

f365: Day 231

I've been fighting a nasty head cold since Wednesday last week - probably one of the worst for several years.

I only lasted one hour today at work, but decided to take my germs home with me and work remotely.

Today's shot are products that I have seen and used a lot of lately.....

f365: Day 230

We had a great time today - this morning we had breakfast with our friends Francesca and Matt. We then drove south down to the Gold Coast, stopping for a couple of hours in IKEA which involved trying to find the car afterwards in the massive car park! We did buy a cot for the baby though, even after realising they'd moved the baby section....

After surviving the IKEA experience, we headed to Brett and Shelley's place. Brett is my cousin (my Dad's sister's son), plus my other cousin Mark (Brett's brother) and his wife Tracey and children were over from NZ on holiday.

It was fantastic seeing them all - Mark definitely looks a lot like Dad - we hadn't seen each other for a few years although am keen to touch base in Taupo next year for a half marathon.

Below is a shot of Mark, myself and Brett. Now the rules of this one-photo-a-day challenge is that I must have taken the shot. While the shot of myself and my cousins was not taken by me (Jenn took it), I have also included a shot I took underneath earlier in the day of the IKEA store.

f365: Day 229

Ekka is in full swing at the moment and with the near perfect weather we've had lately, I imagine the crowd turnouts have been good.

For the uninformed, Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland and it brings together fairground rides, farm animals, fast cars, candy floss, etc etc. We went last year and had a great time. While some regard it is expensive and tacky, I think it is worth going to at least once.

Today's photo involved about 5 seconds thinking time, a quick snapshot while Jenn was driving, and then a quick upload. That is, minimal time and thought. But I had to capture some essence of the festival, even if it is a badly composed shot taken from a moving vehicle!

f365: Day 228

I was the event photographer tonight at an exhibition entitled "Once Upon A Time" at Brisbane's Art & Design Precinct.

Jenn has been working really hard the last few weeks preparing for this and she showcased some of her work alongside the other 30 or so artists.

It was an excellent night - very busy and I have a few images to process and provide back.

Here is one I took early on with Jenn standing in front of her work.

f365: Day 227

"Bruce Almighty" in the kitchen tonight, waiting for his dinner and before the cascades of slobber made their appearance.

Taken at ground level to capture his impatient facial expression!

f365: Day 226

Today was a public holiday in the greater Brisbane area - a.k.a. the "Ekka" holiday. It also is a rough guide to the end of winter, although given we've been averaging 24C every day this month, it feels like winter ended weeks ago!

Last year we went to the Ekka show which encompasses rides, farm animals, wood chopping and "show bags". We really enjoyed it, but decided to have a lazy day today.

Mid afternoon, both dogs went a bit crazy in the backyard, barking at something. Turns out it was a blue tongued skink or simply known as a "blue tongue". While harmless, it wasn't happy with us around but I did manage a quick shot of it.

f365: Day 225

Sometimes the most interesting shots are the quickly taken, unplanned ones.

It was late in the day and I hadn't given scant thought to my daily shot.

Leaving the train at Roma St tonight I realised it was empty plus one of those open carriage trains. I took this one in seconds, before having to quickly jump off.

f365: Day 224

Walking back along Jubilee Terrace on the way home, caught a bit of colour in the cloudless sky in today's photo. It hit 29C today - pretty warm for a winter's day!

f365: Day 223

Once again we are experiencing an early summer, although late winter/early spring is a lovely time in SE Queensland.

We had intended to get up super early for the low tide out at Nudgee Beach, but in the end, settled for a more civilised 8am start.

We met our friends Francesca and Matt down at the beach. The light was great so I have posted a selection of photos for today's post, including a silhouetted pregnancy shot of Jenn!

(Below): Bruce and Cookie at the adjacent dog park

(Below): Matt testing out the water with all dogs present

(Below): This could almost pass as an aerial shot but it is merely a small island disappearing in the rapidly incoming tide

(Below): Something a bit more abstract...

(Below): Bruce up close

(Below): Jenn at 5 months pregnant

(Below): I had just lined up a shot of Ciel when Cookie decided to "photo bomb" it (you can make our her blurred head features!). In there entirely for the amusement factor

f365: Day 222

We are basking in very warm temperatures at the moment and almost everyday this month has been clear blue skies, chilly mornings, but warm days.

Jenn and I were both yearning for a close beach so may try and find some water tomorrow.

One downside - bush fires. This one is not that far from us - we are not sure if it is a controlled burnoff, or something more sinister.....

f365: Day 221

I definitely needed a beer after work tonight. I headed down with a workmate (Stu) to the Breakfast Creek Hotel. It was the perfect wind down remedy! The "Brekkie Creek" has featured on more than one occasion in my blog this year and it is a QLD institution.

f365: Day 220

My earliest post yet. I have a lot to sort out tonight so I thought I'd do my daily shot this morning. While I am potentially missing out on random photographic opportunities throughout the day, if anything strikes me as being photo worthy, I'll update the post later.

We were trying to do a shot this morning showing the massive difference between Bruce's and Cookie's breakfast portions. Bruce has a large stacked dinner plates worth of food, whereas Cookie receives just 1/2 cup of kibble.

Today's shot is of them storming through their breakfast together - Gone in 30 Seconds!

f365: Day 219

While waiting for a bus home, I snapped a night (over saturated) shot of the Albert St Uniting Church. It turns out I had more time than expected as my bus never showed!

Anyway, I went for a wander through the city - it was quite balmy tonight so not necessarily a bad thing.

f365: Day 218

My creativity tends to drop off during the week, but I started reading this book called "25 Lessons I've Learned About Photography....Life" on my Kindle. It talks a lot about reconnecting with the camera and taking more candid street shots.

I shot this one on the way home at Roma St. Quite often while I am waiting for the bus I hear and see the advertising billboards rotating through their advertisements.

I used the oversaturation filter and I think the film frame works well here.

f365: Day 217

A random thing we bought in Hawaii was a President Obama "bobble head". We had the choice of him surfing or playing the ukulele.

Not sure what we'll do with it, but I decided to photograph him in front of our kitchen sink - the bubbles and foam in the background sort of make it look like he could be surfing (the quick props we use on a Monday night...).

f365: Day 216

It was a classical late winter QLD day today - pleasant, calm and wall-to-wall sunshine.

We are on a "desensitise" Bruce mission at the moment. He is pretty shy around strangers and unusual situations, so we took him (and Cookie) out to the monthly Michelton Market. In our opinion, this is an excellent market with interesting food and a good variety of stalls.

Later in the day we all went for a walk down to our local dog park - this one near the Brisbane Broncos Leagues Club in Bardon.

The first shot is Cookie anticipating a bagel at the market and the last two are the walk to, and the dog park.

f365: Day 215

We were really surprised how much Bruce had grown in the two weeks we were in Hawaii (and many thanks to Christine, Ashley and Pep for taking such terrific care of him).

On a day-to-day basis, his growth is barely noticeable, but when you haven't seen him for awhile, the change is more apparent.

Today's shot has been tagged onto the bottom of earlier shots to give an idea of his growth.

The top photo was taken when he was about 2 1/2 months old. The middle photo when he was about 4 months old. Currently he is almost 7 months old and weighs between 40-45 kg. And Cookie certainly has not shrunk either!

f365: Day 214

Oops - a costly move the other day. Just after we'd landed back in Brisbane after our 12 day Hawaiian holiday, I accidentally dropped my fairly new Samsung handset on the ground (blame it on tiredness/jetlag).

The screen shattered - while it is still 100% operational, the screen will need replacing and unfortunately it is not cheap. Anyway, today's shot shows my clumsiness and the fragility of the handset glass screen.

f365: Day 213

Another beautiful sunset as I was leaving work. I applied my favourite cross processing effect which made the colours pop.

Still have a bit of jet lag (been awake since 1.30am this morning) but at least tomorrow is Friday!