Serendipity in Autumn

There has been that crispness to the air this week, that only autumn brings. The sun is still shining but the sting in the cool breeze reminds you it's time to add another layer of clothing and perhaps think about airing the winter doona. Our neighbour has a glorious liquid amber tree that stands as a beacon of reds and golds and rust at the moment, and today while I was doing the mundane task of hanging the washing on the line, I stopped and watched how the breeze was picking off the leaves and sending them whirling, twirling, cascading to the ground (and into the pool...). I did chuckle to myself when I thought of this autumn tree. And then I thought of the iPhone shot I took, was it last year or the year before? The well timed shot showing the leaves being flung from the tree...hmmm... I couldn't quite remember so I continued the task at hand so I could get back inside and away from the chilly air.

Much later when I was checking my emails, a serendipitous moment occurred! For in the bunch of emails was none other than the one I receive from Photojojo, reminding me what I was doing a year ago, in images, thanks to their Time Capsule email. I can't remember when I signed up for it, a while ago now I'm certain. I love getting this email and I have to say that I never remember it's due until I see it in my inbox, then it's usually the first email I open so I can see what I was doing a year ago. So when I opened the Time Capsule, there was the shot! "The Scattering autumn leaves in the warm breeze" shot, taken on the 11th May last year. The tree is looking a little bare this year and the wind was definitely not warm but the dancing leaves were just as beautiful.

Have you signed up to the Photojojo Time Capsule email? If you've got a flickr account, then what are you waiting for?! It's sure to put a smile on your face as you go back in time and view what you were doing this time last year. Especially today when we tend not to print up our images, what better way to revisit your photo archives than with this little time capsule.

And because you can never take enough autumn photos, here's some dreamy samples I shot with the Olympus E-PM1 and a homemade bendy lens:

Oh, and as an aside, to let you know that the Sausage Sizzle and Cake Stall held in Leura this past weekend raised over $800 for Team Blue Magic! Thank you to all our supporters and I hope you enjoyed the cakes, slices and sausage sangers!

Book Review - "Mezza Italiana" by Zoe Boccabella

I would like to start with a disclaimer. I am not a writer. I am not an editor. I am not a book reviewer. These days anyone with internet access can start a blog and share their opinions with others. So, look at me as one of those anyones who has a blog and is happy to share an opinion or two with whoever is happy to come across and read it.

Right, with that out the way, I'm going to tell you how I felt when I finished this book. Disappointed. That, is not the end of my review, by the way. Let me explain further. The title and author's name caught my eye, "Mezza Italiana" by "Zoe Boccabella", the collage-feel to the cover also appealed. But it was the blurb on the inside cover that sent my heart racing. This was the book I had been waiting for and finally someone had written it. And this was my mistake - I had set it up to fail, to fall from the dizzying height from whence I'd perched it.

The story is a common migrant story of growing up in Australia in the 70's where Italians were still referred to as 'wogs'. The older generation Italians were holding fast onto their traditions while the teen generation just wanted to fit into the Australian way of life. If that meant denying or stifling your heritage, then so be it; they weren't interested in their heritage; I wasn't interested in my heritage. I had expected the narrative to meander through the author's journey in some sort of logical order and to be charmed or shocked, whatever the case may be, by the anecdotes where I would nod my head in agreement and understanding. If I use the analogy of meandering along quiet country lanes and being charmed by the surrounding scenery, then this book does not fit with that analogy. Instead, imagine you're in a buzzing city with tight little lanes, distractions are everywhere. The lanes look enticing, exhilarating until you come to dead end after dead end. The buzzing little lanes whilst offering initial promise, fail to deliver. They soon lose their initial appeal and instead become annoying. So it is with a lot of the author's anecdotes in the book. I felt as though I was trapped in those buzzing little lanes wearing a blindfold and not being able to get my bearings, constantly bumping into the dead end walls.

It was relief I felt when I came to the end. And of course disappointment.

Another disclaimer for you - I don't have the foggiest at what is involved in writing a book, how the process works, how long it takes, how many re-writes are involved. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to write a book that not only recounts your journey physically and emotionally, but also the journeys of your nearest and dearest. I do appreciate the enormous effort involved. What I don't understand is how the book slipped past the editor and over to the printer without just one more critical read-through.  I am not a high school English teacher and I'm sure this post is peppered with errors, but I feel the narrative could have been improved immensely with tighter editing. There were too many unanswered questions for me, too many half anecdotes, no photographs (apart from the covers).

The trouble is, no matter how well it could have been written, this book was always going to disappoint me to a certain extent. Do I recommend you read this book? No, I don't. Unless of course if you are related to the Boccabella family then you may be privy to some of the stories already and your knowledge will be able to fill the many gaps that left me wanting. If in the future, I purchase another book with a similar story, I will lower my expectations and simply go along for the ride without being so critical of how the story should be presented. 

Where have all the Spiders' Webs gone?

September Rain, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

I would love to boast and say the reason there are no spiders’ webs around my home is due to the fact I am fastidious and clean my eaves and gutters regularly. But that’s not the case. The photo I’ve included was taken over two years ago. The spider web was huge. I have iron verandah posts and plenty of shrubs and trees perfect for web making, and yet, not a decent spider’s web has been formed in such a long time. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of spiders. In fact last week I almost picked up what I thought was a dead huntsman spider – he wasn’t dead at all, and only moved at the last minute before I picked him up. Luckily spiders don’t frighten me, or I would have been in trouble. The flower pots on my verandah are riddled with red back spiders, but no webs. We used to have magnificent St Andrew’s cross spiders spin their webs amongst the rose bushes, but they’ve moved out as well. So, what’s going on? Where are they all? How can I invite them back? Where do I send the photo shoot invitations out to these unknown spiders who once resided in my garden? I really miss being able to take photos of their webs. I’m a much more patient person now with a few more skills under my belt and I would love nothing more than to take photos of their glorious homes. I will simply wait patiently until the spiders return. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, then pop your feedback into my comments below.

If you would like to buy this image as a greeting card, wall art, canvas or print, it is available for sale at my gallery over at RedBubble.

An old lens is like an old friend...

sweetly do I surrender, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

Yes, just like an old friend that you come to know and love over the years, a beloved old camera lens can still make your heart sing...

I’ve been so infatuated with the lensbaby lens lately, that I almost forget I have other lens I can use. One lens in particular is my Canon EF 70-210 f/4 and one I picked up many, many years ago while travelling through Europe. Sure it doesn’t have the Image Stabilisation of its newer contemporaries, but I love it all the same. I used it this weekend for the first time in a few months, and as always, was pleased with the results. I’ve added a couple of images here to show you what it can capture. Both images are from flowers in my garden, the large daisy being a most unusual variety. Whenever I'm pressed for time and just need to have my camera in my hands, there's nothing like a wander through my garden to keep me going...

daisy in my garden, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

Missing Socks? The Magical Appearing Argyle Socks(223//365)

223//365, originally uploaded by medias res.

It’s common knowledge that single socks disappear somewhere between when they’re placed in the washing machine and when the wash cycle finishes. We don’t know how they disappear or even where they go. But disappear, leaving their partner behind, is a common sock phenomena. Now, explain this next little sock mystery – a pair of woollen argyle socks have appeared down the side of my lounge chair. How long have they been there? Why hadn’t I seen them before? How did they get into the house? Had anyone else seen them and chosen not to mention the oddity of a pair of socks poking out from the cushions on the lounge? Could it be there is a second family living in my house afterall and this is a piece of evidence to prove that? I have interrogated all members of my family to no avail. Nobody has ever seen socks like that before. I have done the Cinderella thing, too – forcing my family to try them on as erky as that seems – and no, they don’t fit anyone in the family. Strange but true.

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

It's not very often that I find myself witnessing a sunrise with a camera in hand. Not very often, as in, ummm, never. So it was with a little apprehension that I tagged along to a sunrise shoot at Echo Point this past weekend.
Now, I'm not one to be anal or superstitious about things, but as soon as I put on my shoes and socks in the incorrect order, I knew this was going to be one of those days. Sure enough, I wasn’t 200m from my door when I realised that I had forgotten my jacket, beanie and gloves. Although it’s October, these items are essential for the upper mountains, especially since the sunrise shoot would be one of two locations that day. In the process of performing a U-turn, I managed to spill most of my espresso into my centre console (why don’t they make travel mugs to fit centre consoles I’ll never know...). So with jacket, gloves and beanie now in hand I hurried, as best as the speed limits allow, up the mountains before the sun rose over the horizon. Did I mention there are major road works being carried out in various locations up the mountains, which I hadn’t factored into the time required to get from one end of the mountains to the other?
I could see the sky was getting increasingly lighter with each passing kilometre and I was possibly not going to make it in time. Not only that, but there were no clouds or mist to be seen. I was also 10 minutes behind schedule, and I was meeting two other photographers, lets simply call them P1 and P2, and I certainly didn’t want to keep them waiting. Taking advantage of a red traffic light, I took the opportunity to call P1 and P2 to ascertain their whereabouts. Imagine my surprise (read horror, shock, astonishment) to find they were actually about 25 minutes behind me and would certainly not make it in time...P1 and P2 are dedicated and passionate photographers who think it quite normal to get up at stupid o’clock, drive countless kilometres simply to shoot a stunning sunrise – had they put their shoes and socks on incorrectly that morning as well?
Needless to say, it’s just as well P1 and P2 didn’t make it in time. The sunrise, while pink and pretty, was also very plain, very quick and very ordinary. This wasn’t going to be one of those Kodak moments. There was no cloud. There was no magical Katoomba mist rolling through the valley. And it was over in a matter of minutes.
Remind me again why Cosy Bed Syndrome as mentioned in a previous blog posting is a bad thing?

Featured Artist - Mary Trebilco

A month ago, i was fortunate enough to conduct a brief on-line interview with the photographer, Mary Trebilco.  Mary displays her work on RedBubble as well as Flickr, and her specailty is flower and macro water droplet photos.  Below is a small sample of her work.

      

 

 

What camera do you use?

I use a Canon Powershot S3 IS, which a friend recommended to me a couple of years ago. As a total amateur, I was desperately in need of help choosing the right camera, so I’m grateful to him for pointing me in the right direction. I just love it…. although I have a lot to learn yet before I’ll get the most out of it.

What is your favourite colour?

Tough question, really… because (especially when it comes to photography) I love all colour – and it depends on the situation. When it comes to clothing, I’d have to choose burgundy. But I love being surrounded by warm tones (probably because I live in Tasmania), so I tend to decorate with burnt ochre/terracotta shades.

What triggered your love for Macro H2O images?

A friend introduced me to Flickr late last year, and I was absolutely enthralled with the brilliant macro water shots I saw there from some very talented artists (like Angelique Brunas. When I finally learned how to use the SuperMacro setting on my new camera, I was amazed to find that I could get close enough to capture refractions etc. It’s rather addictive once you start, isn’t it?!

4.What else do you like to photograph?

I love to capture sunrises, sunsets and other scenic shots, but my main love is macro… either water drops, feathers or flowers – especially flowers – but I love it even more when you can combine two or more of them!!

What are your inspirations when photographing?

Colour, colour, colour…. and light. I’m not a colourful person normally, but I’ve come to love capturing rich or bold colours in my photographs, and the right light on something pretty will stop me in my tracks.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Travel the world (with my camera, of course) .... but I’m afraid I don’t have anywhere near enough money to do it with!! ;-)