Saturday 29 June 2013

My first Portguese word

My younger son has sent a Brazilian charmer to work for my older son and learn about NZ dairying.  Leonardo didn't know that part of the job would be teaching me a few words of Portguese so that I know how to ask for a cup of coffee when I visit Brazil in January.  Have I mentioned that I'm visiting Brazil in January?  I'm sure I've told half the English speaking world, I am so excited about it. 

I now know how to ask for coffee, black, no sugar.  And that's pretty high on my survival list.

What I didn't expect was that my first Portguese word would be 'peacock'.  I'm not too sure how helpful that will be when I get there.    

Over the next few days I will practising 'Please, thank you and cheers'.  What else is important?




Friday 28 June 2013

FSO - Light and dark contrasts

I'm not sure if I get what this topic is all about.  Childminding has been my top priority this week, so I haven't given it much thought.

I took a few shots with the topic in mind.  Right or wrong, here they are.




I'm confident that by the time I've looked at what the rest of the team have posted (here) I'll know a lot more about the light and dark contrasts.

Monday 24 June 2013

Afterthought

As so often happens, the day after I do my FSO post, I find more shots on the topic.  

 I had a few hours to fill at the netball courts on Saturday while Krystal played two games, with a break of over an hour in between.  I was given a short and sharp lecture before we arrived about what I was and was not to do as a supporter. 

I have to say, I followed instructions to perfection.  I did not tell her even once what she should be doing, even when I could see she was out of position.  It wasn't too hard, she played well. 

And I took photos, as requested.




Friday 21 June 2013

FSO - Through the Fence

The fences at the airport which is a good 40-45 minute drive from home but not all that far as the crow flies.  Yes, they are my mountains of home and you can see the tower on the left hand peak. 


Fences in this part of the world are usually a lot more functional than fancy.  The next two are from the same spot, looking in different directions.




Up the road from home:


At home:


I'm in a bit of a rush, on child minding duties.  Not this grandchild this time.


And got to have one "the grass is greener" shot for Ginger.  Don't ever try to tell me sheep aren't stupid animals.
 

I wonder what sights we will see through the fence at FSO this week?  It might be a while before I get to see them all, but I'm definitely going to check them all out. 

Sunday 16 June 2013

Oz in a puddle

We got the heavy rain that was predicted.  It bucketed down and I lost power for a while.  Can't do much locked inside with no power so indulged myself with a nice nanny nap mid afternoon. 

When I woke the rain had gone, the sun was shining.  And Australia had come to visit.

It had!  There it was, right in the front yard.  OK, grass was invading Queensland from the Coral Sea, but there it was!




Friday 14 June 2013

FSO - The Odd Rule

Thanks for the link to the tutorial, Rebecca.  “Odd numbers are better than Even ones in photography.”

I'd never heard about that rule before but when you test it out with a camera, it's true.  

I trawled through the archives concentrating on threes.



Then I came across this shot from last winter. It doesn't quite fit the rule but the lines crossing in the middle of the shot draw the eye to that point and I see three at that point.  It works for me. 


I went looking for more examples.


And then looked for examples with five objects.  I don't think the shot looks too cluttered, maybe because the hens are all at different levels.  I had to be quick, Aiden thought we were outside to put them back in their run and was doing a bit of hen hunting. 


Actually I think I prefer the shot with five.


Thanks for this topic, Rebecca.  It's good to learn something new.  I'm sure, once I've looked at how the others of the team composed their Odd Shots (they will be here),  I'll have a deeper understanding and be able to cope with choosing the Spotlight photos for this week.

Friday 7 June 2013

FSO - Warmth


I haven't had time to swap my daughter's car keys for the USB stick that I left at her house.  I was pleased with the shots for the topic that I got while in Taranaki,  but that's where they still are.  So here's what I had on the camera. 


And one I found in the archives.

I'm feeling the cold as our winter sets in, so will look forward to looking at some lovely warmth as I visit the rest of the FSO team.

Monday 3 June 2013

The second subject

It's great to have a grandchild who has been trained to be patient and wait without complaint while one of his companions stops to take photos.  

When my camera isn't trained on Aiden's it's pointed at Mt Taranaki.  The mountain was out in her early season dusting of snow when I arrived on Friday.  In the evening, as the last of the sun was sitting gently on its slopes, I drove up to the end of the road on which my daughter lives.


 I'm glad I did because he has been hiding ever since.  I have difficulty calling him a he, he's far too beautiful to be a bloke mountain. 

Yesterday afternoon Bill and I took Aiden for a walk before it got too cold. I thought perhaps the cloud was lifting.  But no.


 Hold on.  Look carefully, for a few minutes he did poke his head out of the top of the clouds.
 

How lucky am I to have two such perfect subjects while visiting Taranaki?  And Now I better grab a bite for lunch and charge the camera before the little man wakes from his nap.