Month: May 2016

TWO SHEEP MAKING AN EARLY MORNING VISIT TO OUR FRONT GRASS

~ creakingbones ~ 5 Comments

A few weeks back I woke to see a beautiful fox wandering across the grass at the front of our house.

This morning, just after seven AM I opened the blinds,  peered through the fog and there were two sheep grazing happily on our front grass adjacent to the remains of the morning’s frost.

By the time I grabbed the nearest camera and popped outside, the sheep had moved over to near the letter box, still munching away and doing a neater job than my mower.

I managed to grab a few images before the sheep moved on into next door.

I’ve no idea where they went next. By the time I’d changed out of my Jarmies into some warm clothes, put on some shoes and popped back out with the intention of rounding them up and holding them in the backyard they were nowhere to be seen.

Some time later I saw the Council Pound keeper and his van moving out of our street and in a short phone call later to the pound I learned the escapees were in custody, awaiting to be released to their owner.

So far this year we’ve seen an echidna, a couple of tortoises, lots of wild ducks, parrots of many types, a few individual kangaroos and of course the fox cross our front grass.

Not far away there is a small colony of emus so I guess it’s inevitable that the word will spread and they too will come to visit.

I certainly hope so.

Anyway, here are the sheep I’ve referred to.

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WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT.

 

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THE GRASS IS GREENER OVER THE FENCE.

Hoo roo for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAYING GOODBYE TO MY WET PHOTOGRAPHIC DARKROOM

~ creakingbones ~ 7 Comments

After considerable soul searching I’ve finally and irrevocably transitioned from the world of film to the relative ease of digital photography.

No more being tucked away for hours on end in my darkroom inhaling noxious gases from developer, fixer and the rest. Followed then by crouching over the light table to select the best negatives to print. Of course this usually resulted in only one or two from a complete negative roll being up to the standard I required for printing.

The part of working with film I enjoyed most was using my enlargers and various paper types to produce monochrome images for camera club competitions, exhibitions and just pure personal satisfaction.

I am fortunate that, separate from our house is my studio in its own little building. The studio contained my darkroom.

For well over a decade my darkroom had been my ‘Man Cave’.

The ‘Do Not Enter When Red Light is On’ sign on the darkroom door provided a realm of privacy and solitude not even possible in the bathroom.

However, the digital age caught up with me when I bought a little Canon point and shoot digital camera. Shortly thereafter,  Nikon, my film camera off choice, released their first digital SLR camera range.

I purchased a Nikon D100 and I was hooked.

At that time I was still a photography student at my local TAFE ( Technical and Further Education) College and there too, the transition to digital photography was gradually taking place.

When I left TAFE after nine years studying photography, their darkrooms had been closed and all photography courses were digitally based.

Fast forward to 2016.

My wet darkroom had  long been replaced by my digital darkroom located in my home office.

My wet darkroom had simply become a repository for motorbike spares, Landrover parts,  a ride on mower and its trailer, an old electric arc welder and other important bits and pieces that a bloke acquires over time.

Regrettably, I took the decision to close the darkroom and dispose of its total photographic contents.

I looked on Ebay and other internet sales venues and to my disappointment learned that sales of darkroom equipment had fallen into the doldrums. What now?

Through my contacts in the camera club movement I rapidly learned that there were many photographers like me trying to dispose of unwanted dark room gear and I concluded that I was destined to possess it all forever.

Over time I packed the contents in another part of my studio. Seven professional enlargers , chemistry, an electric heated print drying machine, a copy stand, easels, lenses, electronic timers, bulk film, bulk film loaders, film canisters, dark bags, various sized developing trays , print and negative washing equipment, tongs, measurers, digital timers, a full size electric negative drying cabinet, safety lighting kits, spare red glass, and other bits and pieces were moved.

The following two images of some of the equipment will give you a general idea of my disposal dilemma.

 

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SOME OF MY DARK ROOM EQUIPMENT EARMARKED FOR DISPOSAL.

 

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JUST ANOTHER VIEW WITH A FEW MORE GOODIES ON THE FLOOR.

I thought I’d investigated all opportunities until a chance conversation with a fellow photographer saved the day. He was involved in the arty world of one of the larger local high schools.

Their darkroom and its equipment had fallen victim to bureaucratic wisdom .

In the ensuing conversation I offered to donate all of my darkroom gear to the school and my offer was accepted on the spot. Not long afterwards and four car loads later, all of the goodies had found their new home.

Now, my ‘Man Cave’ contains part of my library, some easy chairs, gas heating, great lighting and carpeting. A fine outcome all round.

So , hoo roo for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARTING COMPANY WITH OLD T SHIRTSH

~ creakingbones ~ 4 Comments

_DSC4595   I know it’s normal for a bloke to accumulate T-shirts and I certainly fall into that category.

However, should one become a motorcyclist and over time become the proud owner of say, a Triumph, a BMW or a Harley Davidson, each of which are associated with specific owner T-shirts , then things soon change on the T-shirt collection front.

I speak from experience having owned a selection of those particular bikes over the years, including one Suzuki and one Honda.

Owning the first three mentioned bikes in particular creates the inevitability of joining the riding club associated with the marque.

There is for example the Triumph Riders for Trumpy owners, the Ulysses Club for any marque, the BMW Club, the BMW Safarys, both obviously for Beemers and of course, the Harley Owners Club, known as HOG

I’ve been a member of the Harley Owners Group for 24 years now, with the associated exponential increase in my Harley T-shirt collection.

The same goes for the Ulysses Club although their T-shirts remain basically static in colour with the copyright ‘Grow Old Disgracefully ‘ logo . These two factors effectively create a much smaller desire to purchase. Of course a number of the Ulysses shirts are,or were, in my collection.

During our BMW ownership days, we attended every BMW Safari and received the specific T-shirt as part of our participation fee.

We joined the BMW Touring Club as well and added their T-shirts to our collection.

However, our HOG membership is a totally different story.

We are both Life Members of HOG International and belong to two Australian HOG Chapters, with off course the relevant distinctive Chapter T shirts.  Naturally those T-shirts change from time to time and are rapidly acquired in order as they say in the military, to remain Regimentally Dressed.

Every year, each Australian State is the venue for a State HOG Rally with its signature T-shirt included in the attendance fee.

Then there is the annual National HOG Rally with its own signature T-shirt, also included in the attendance fee.

But that’s not the end of the HOG T-shirt experience. Every Harley dealership world wide has its own specific range of T-shirts featuring imagery and wording relating to that dealership and its surrounding countryside.

Of course they are irresistible and fall into the ‘Must Have’ category.

Every T-shirt becomes a prized collectors item and more importantly, secures bragging rights wherever HOG members gather, particularly if the wearer’s T-shirt is unique.

Now all that guff is important, but, there comes a time in every motorcyclist’s life when his ‘Significant Other’ alerts him to the fact that there is no more drawer, cupboard, cardboard box or plastic garbage bag space available in the house, garage or shed.

Accordingly, as a sensitive news age guy(SNAG), when this dreadful state of affairs was recently and dramatically(no need for further description) brought to my attention I took the decision that the local Opp Shop would be the recipient of any T-shirt I could bear to part with.

Now as is the custom in this modern technological age, I took to Google for guidance.

There I learned the correct process to follow in the disposal of valuable artefacts and it has worked perfectly for me. I’m sure it will for you too when and if the need arises.

Firstly, you designate proposed Heaps according to the following formula:

1   MUST KEEP.

2   SHOULD DEFINITELY GO.

3    COULD GO.

Completing Heap number 1 is relatively simple to achieve. Even your ‘Significant Other’ recognises the continued importance of the T-shirts in Heap number 1.

Heap number 2 is slightly more difficult however. Significant fading, shrinkage, minor damage or no longer possessing the bike to which the T-shirt refers greatly assist in this phase of decision making.

I should point out at this juncture that Heap number 2 is where input from your ‘Significant Other’ really locks in place and that advice should, no, must be taken into account at your peril.

At this juncture I must point out that decisions relating to Heaps 1 and 2 are irreversible and binding on all involved parties.

Heap number 3 is where the major problems arise and again it is where Google provides sage advice.

When no further T-shirts can be discovered or found anywhere in the vicinity and all tidying up and Heap allocation has been completed, all work on the Heaps must cease for a minimum of 24 hours.

This in non negotiable.

Then, when the 24 hour truce has passed, Heap number 3 again becomes the centre of attention.

Significant T-shirts that have found their way into Heap number 3 are permitted, without rancour, to be removed and placed into Heap number 1.

When that process has been completed, should anything remain in Heap number 3, the  remainder must be combined with Heap number 2, be bagged up securely and removed forthwith to a place of safety, prior to prompt delivery to the designated Opp Shop.

It’s always difficult to say goodbye. It’s simply amazing how inanimate objects can attain such intrinsic emotional value in the human psyche.

However, I did manage to sneak photographic images of the final content of Heaps 2 and 3 and those images follow.

So there we are. No captions on the images required.

Hoo for now.

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