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Photo Essay

I always start a post and don’t quite end it, and a few days pass, with new events and things to write about. I thought I’d just briefly go through each picture here and just describe the feelings and thoughts of each day.

The Australian Olympic atheletes came back from Beijing, with some proudly displaying their medals, and others just happy to get the opportunity to compete in these prestigious games. Just only over the weekend before, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in the US while Merrill Lynch went under the wings of Bank of America. It’s a contrast of moods, and you wonder if the world has gone half mad when the unthinkable happens. Heh, but then again, it’s not as unbelievable as you’d imagine it. Nothing lasts forever.

The above picture is just the police band rolling off before the athletes paraded. Heh, I was pointing my camera up and down, and the atheletes even posed for me to take the picture. It was an interesting afternoon, that from the financial shock that rocked the world, one can still find a little corner to forget everything else.

* * *

It’s spring and we decided to make an impromptu trip to the tulip farm. It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve been and this time I have a car and it wasn’t raining. Arrived to a sea of cars and people, the tulip farm was packed. They have events each week and as with 2 years ago, it was Dutch week again with dances and Dutch pancakes etc.

Wasn’t able to get a picture void of people this time but did manage other photos. The above is a modified tulip where the edges looked like cloth frills, like it’s been torn off.

Below I have a heavily edited photo, just to give it a little dramatic effect. Heh, I’m now a fan of the concept of lighting part of a subject to make it stand out in a picture.

Also went to a trout farm nearby and I haven’t edited photos for that event yet so nothing to show here.

* * *

It’s still raining lots. Have a slight shoulder ache from the combination of computer usage (mouse handling), gym and bad posture. Have cut down on the gym and corrected my posture a bit. Shoulder aches less now but it has room for improvement. Heh, it’s a sign of growing old.

Mid Autumn Festival

Celebrated Mid Autumn festival over the weekend. Although it’s not quite ‘autumn’ here, as we are on the wrong hemisphere. My cousins lit the candles and hung the lanterns above.

It was a sort of pot luck occasion, with plenty of food. We even had moon cakes, and Vyanne did some jelly ones over the week to give to friends.

After our meal, we took the lanterns out to the park and walked along the streets. Heh, you get queries from people on the streets and all you can do is just say what the festival is and continue walking. We resorted to birthday candles from the local 7-11 when we ran out of the more traditional type of candles.

* * *

I think my one complaint about staying in Australia is that I miss all the seasonal holidays that I’m so used to having while growing up back in Malaysia. It’s odd to have to worry about whether you can take leave just to fly back to celebrate the occasion with your family and relatives. There are times when you are just disillusioned with the whole idea of living abroad, and getting to spend less time with your family.

* * *

Not very productive these days. Doing many things but nothing important seems to get done.

No Green Thumbs

Some fresh walnuts and hazelnuts, not the kind you get opened and packaged at the supermarkets. Was at Ilia’s place in the suburbs (Vyanne’s friend), and his dad knew the farmer who supplied the nuts, so they got them really fresh.

The picture was lit in fluorescent light, which isn’t a very appealing light. There is only so much you can do to the white balance settings. I want to try to more purposefully to light objects and dim the surrounding area. A flash with a warming gel on it focused to a beam while everything else falling in shadow might help. Will give this idea a try over the next few days.

* * *

Alas, my herb garden is partially dying. The flat leaf parsley and the coriander are already infested by miniature bugs and have more than wilted. I don’t know if this is common or if it was due to my coffee grounds compost. Not sure if the strange Melbourne weather contributed (rain, rain and more rain). Keeping plants out in the open isn’t easy. I am supposed to get a spray bottle and fill it up with crushed garlic juice. It’s supposed to be a natural form of pesticide. I still have some plants worth saving, so I will give it a go.

I have learned some things from this, in that plants need lots of space to grow. The small Styrofoam boxes restricted space and I noted that the plants that had their own lot grew much better. After the demise of some of the plants, reading on the Internet revealed that some plants repel insects. Sage and mint have strong odours, repelling insects (they seem fine at the moment).

What I’d like is a bed of soil to just chuck things in and watch them grow. Spring is here, might just overturn the dead stuff and try it again.