Last of Phil's choices

 I was going to cheat and put these photo's in for my choice of HORSES but on the way home from the hairdressers today, I found the circus was in town.  But as I just love these photo's I thought I would share them with you.  I photographed them from the latest Country Living magazine, there is no way that I would get the opportunity of taking photo's such as these.  Aren't they just wonderful.

 This is the wonderful stables, the horses bring themselves in each morning

and leaving the stables, they run a horse trekking business, wouldn't you just love to go, its in the high country in the Victorian Alps, bucket list!!!!

 Sorry little one, you are second best, he came up to my waist

                       they where only interested in eating grass, no wonder they are so chunky

Phil's September choices

My photo's of COFFEE and no I didn't eat the cake I put it back for John

 GRASS I left it a bit late to get anything better, had thought to go find an old junk yard with grass growing up through the junk

 got a bit mixed up with Phil's blossom and Paddy's spring so added this photo of my grapevine with its lovely new fresh gree leaves with the sun shining through the leaves.

this was the only sprig of BLOSSOM on my pink wisteria tree at the moment, it did look pretty against the blue sky, one branch has blurred when I focused on the blossom.  Just a horse to go.

Sharon's choices for September

 My choice of COWS taken rather quickly, we where driving on a back road and thought these cows where such a lovely pastural scene, but there was nowhere to pull of the road, so it was a quick turn on of the camera, up to the open window and snap, while John kept an eye out for traffic coming, fortunately there was not a lot of traffic on this Monday.  A little bit like NZ!!!!

 My choice of FORM OF OLD TRANSPORT was these beautiful old green trains, I love the colour, all weathered and worn.  I have some shots on Paddy's choices as well of same trains.  They where huge and quite hard to get the length in the shot, love the shunter bars on the bottom of the front, I wonder if they where to clear things that might have been on the tracks.

 I just had to include these wonderful old Buick cars into form of old transport, aren't they gorgeous.  I do so envy the people who do them up, and then travel around in convoy, dressing the part with their rock and roll music, so nostalgic.  Now thats living!!!!!

 Here is John drooling over them, was such an exciting find at the bulb farm of all places, one has to be always prepared, never know what photo opportunities are going to present themselves.  Don't you just love those long elegant curves, they don't make cars like them today aye!

 I tried all different angles to take this photo of a bronze STATUE of the Collie Coal miner, this was the best I could get without too much background distraction, I got down low and aimed upwards, can you see the Caddy in between his legs.

I like this close up one of him looking into the distance, Collie is a big Coal mining area.  While I was taking these photo's, it was when I noticed the beautiful old green trains just below that pink building.

HANDMADE is one of my sample peices for a workshop next month, the photo's in the collage are ones I took at New Norcia of the boys boarding house, to me it represents loneliness and the stairs lead up to the passage and the eye leads onto the empty room with the sunlight shining in the window,  this is the reason I take so many photo's, so I can incorporated them into my art.  Do you like it?

Paddy's choices for September

 my CLOSE UP OF A BIRD I chose a rather large bird, at least this goose stood in one place long enough for me to get a photo.  Another thing I want to practise is getting close ups of birds, but I find with little birds you have to be patient and prepared to sit and wait for the right moment.

 these two birds where in the park at Collie being fed bread, this duck is a handsome bird

A

 these wonderful old trains where huge, steam trains I think.  I loved the colour and chose them for my WHEELS photo's, the top one is inside the engine room and are all the steering wheels.

OLD AND WORN above is on the front of the trains above, I loved the colour and below a rusty old tank.

 SPRING has sprung in WA, above is the beautiful wattle with the bright blue sky background and below stunning canola fields, it was just an amazing sight down at Collie.

 and Kirsty's Manchurian Pear trees in full blossom, my pear tree is no where as nice.

 and the McCartney rose climbing up my Pink Wisteria tree, which always surprises me with suddenly being in bloom.  The bees are scrambling around in the pollen like drunk men.

My choices for September

 Just for mum COLOUR PURPLE

 VEGE GARDEN in progress and below sort of finished, still got to put sawdust around beds

 vege bed No 2 not quiet finished either, have to pave and put up a screen

 BUDGET MEAL when I was at Ballingup I had Japanese Noodles for lunch on the Sunday, while I was waiting I watched the Japanese lady cooking the dish, she used a flat hot plate.  I kinda figured out how she made it. Put fresh Udon noodles $2.99 serves 4 in bowl and pour boiling water over. Chop up fresh vegetables i.e. cabbage, carrots, chives etc just lots at least half was vege's, I am including bean sprouts and mushrooms this time.  Just put in a hot pan with a spray of oil, keep tossing.  Pull out noodles from boiling water and toss with veges when mixed add splash of Japanese Soy Sauce $1.95 bottle, toss some more and splash of Sweet Soy Sauce Kecip Manis $2, toss until spread through noodles.  See above.  Put in a bowl zig zag over top Japanese mayonnaise,  sprinkle over top dried fish flakes $2.75 pkt enough for about 6 meals, sprinkle on top chopped up fine sea kelp.  see below.  I would say it would have cost less than $10 for 2 meals.  Tastes really yummy and so healthy.

Collie RIVER branches on right side brought down in the bad storm we had earlier in the year, I just missed all the wattle trees in flower.

New camera

 after much deliberation, to and fro ing, we finally settled on a camera.  We got a Leica V-Lux 3, 24 x super-telephoto zoom or 600 mm, 25mm wide angle.

 just playing around, this is John's camera (hehehe thats what I tell him) full zoom 24 times and below is mine which is only 10 times, so its a big advantage there, of course its not as good as your changeable lens that you can get a much closer range, but good enough for what we want.  Not much difference in the sharpness and colour but then both are Leica lens.

 Above is John's camera and below mine so much wider angle.  You can see how low the dam is by the darker mark on the tower where the water level should be.

and John took this on the macro setting, he had a lot of fun with it.

 My challenge was to take natural portrait photo's of older people, what angles to get them to sit or stand, which way to get them to turn their faces so face was in part shade part sun.  This one of John came out quite good as he hates posing for photo's.  When I did the workshop in New Norcia the only bit we covered in portrait photo's was having the light shining on the side of the face and to have the person looking to the right or left of your shoulder not straight at you.  We had a lot of fun trying different places and sitting in different angles.

 this is the slipway for the over run from the dam.

see I had my little camera, it was a lovely day, we climbed way up to the dam where we got lovely views.  I wanted John to run buck naked through the bush but he said he would need to wear his shoes and sox or he would get prickles in his feet, what a woose, and no he didn't oblige would make a good action photo aye.  We where there for about 4 hours, took our lunch.  This is something I am really looking forward to doing when John retires next year, as you can go through the week when there is no one else around.