DEVELOPING YOUR EYE – DAY 8- TREASURE.

~ creakingbones ~ 8 Comments

As time goes by, the value of some treasures increase, whilst others decrease.

For example, many years ago, prior to 0ur umpteenth house move, my parents decided to get rid of trinkets, mementos and documents they deemed to be of little or no sentimental value.

I just wish I had them now. Perhaps that is one experiences from my youth that has turned me into a bower bird. I find it extremely difficult to discard anything of a personal nature and, come to think of it, discard anything at all.

So you can imagine my dilemma when faced with making a selection of ‘Treasure’ when I’m surrounded by the things I deem to be ‘My Treasures.’

On reflection I thought that as my father has been dead for fifty years this year I’d use  ‘Treasures’ that formed a bond between the two of us.

My Dad was a chain smoker, there was always a ‘smoke’  between his lips from morning till late at night. He always kept his ‘smokes’ in his favourite cigarette case and I photographed it just a few minutes ago.

161907_0001 copy3

It bears the image of a wolf, appropriate as Dad’s nick name was’The Lone Wolf’ as, according to friends who knew him he preferred the company of books to that of people.

Religion and music also played an important part in my dad’s life. He found the Church to be a haven where his fine tenor voice and keyboard skills on both organ and piano where utilised to the full by the local clergy from quite a number of denominations.

Dad tried for years to get me to take up smoking, singing, musical instrument and the Church but failed miserably.

As a lay preacher in the Church of England, he was bitterly disappointed that I only attended church when the regular parson was absent and Dad took the service. Strangely too, when Dad was practising his sermon on me it felt like punishment, not deliverance.

So, by the time I was twenty one and left home, I was sick and tired of Latin, Greek,Hebrew, French and German( the latter two from my Mother) and religion.

I knew of course that my father was a practising Mason and one day out of curiosity when visiting, I asked him to explain to me what was the attraction of freemasonry.

By the time he had finished I was convinced that Masonry was for me.

A few years later I joined Dad at his Sydney Lodge and eventually became a fully fledged Mason.

Now most people know that Masonry has a firm basis in religion and I found its application in the Lodge satisfying.

As a fresh faced Mason I was presented with a Holy Bible and it has become one of my great treasures. It sits proudly in my book case alongside my Dad’s and my Father in Law’s. Here they are together. 161907_0003 copy 3

Dad’s bible is on the left, mine in the centre and my Father in Law’s on the right.

I get a really nice feeling when, from time to time, I look in Dad’s bible instead of mine for a reference . That’s probably why mine looks in such pristine condition.

I held onto Dad’s regalia too and it sits, together with mine, and, in a way keeping us both close over the years.

Mine’s only fifty years old and Dad’s must be well over 90 years. You can see from the following photograph that mine shows little or no sign of wear but that’s a story for another day.

161907_0006 copy 3

Dad’s.

161907_0005 copy 3

Mine.

So, there we are, three of my treasures from days gone by.

 

Hoo roo until tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE – DAY 7- BIG

~ creakingbones ~ 4 Comments

Big suits the Australian psyche. We like all manner of things that are big.

We like big sharks, big bridges, big rivers, big animals, big mines, big machinery, big lizards, big deserts, big cattle stations, big skies and of course, big footballers.

Many Australian towns like to exhibit the big things they are famous for.

Coffs Harbour is famous for its banana production, so it has the Big Banana. Adaminiby in the Snowy Mountains is famous for its trout fishing so of course, it has the Big Trout. Then there is the Big Orange.

The big orange copy 3

Then there are the big cattle stations.

The Kidman Pastoral Company holdings run to 101,000 square kilometres. That equates to a mere 38,996.31 square miles, roughly a shade more ground than twice the size of Switzerland.

Then there is Davenport Downs Station in Queensland. It only runs to 490,624 hectares or 1,212, 358.31 acres.

DSC_0052 copy 3

Now for many years, Australia prided itself as being’Home on the Sheeps Back’ and the Merino sheep was a sure prize winner. The popularity of synthetics has put a dent in wool prices but in my home town, the sheep is still a good earner. So much so that we have the Big Merino looking down on us as you enter town from the south.

Rambo's new scarf P +7_0179 copy 4

As winter approached the local Knitters Guild got together and knitted “Rambo’ as he is affectionally known a giant scarf.

Rambo's new scarf_0117 copy 3

It took a bit of effort to dress ‘Rambo’ but it was worth the wait. Even from a bit of a distance he looks impressive.

Rambo's new scarf_0191 copy 3

Now you might ask, why a Merino Ram. There are lots of other breeds in the district. The answer could possibly be found some years back when a local marino fine wool producer achieved a world record price of A$ 2,690 per kilo at auction.When you think that the average weight of a bale of wool is 204 kilos, that bale brought in a lot of money .

Now our town is not satisfied with just a Big Merino. Oh no, we have a Big Snail too. We did have two of them but a tree fell on one and rendered it the way most of us prefer garden snails. This is the survivor in its original spot.

IMG_0162 copy 3

However the powers that be decided that the snail needed another home and mysteriously one night it crawled up to the local art gallery and positioned itself on the concrete right next door. No wonder it looks miserable. Not a blade of grass to be seen.IMG_0793 copy 3

As I mentioned earlier, we like big things here in the Land Down Under. Take this ant hill for example.DSC_0029 copy 3

Termites made this little beauty  on the side of the Plenty Highway which runs from the Northern Territory in to Queensland. That’s 5 foot ten inches of She Who Must Be Obeyed giving you the idea of the hight of the mound.

Then of course there is Australia’s favourite mesa, Mt Connor in the Northern Territory, often mistaken by first time visitors for Uluru (Ayers Rock as it was once known) which is located some miles further along the highway.

DSC_0144 copy 3

Then we have our big rock collection called the Bungle Bungles located in West Australia.

Walking in the Bungle Bungles copy 3

Yes, that’s me looking inconspicuous.

Then or course, we have some big holes, take Wolf Creek Meteorite site in West Australia for example. Imagine the noise and destruction as the meteorite struck the ground. I can tell it takes a lot of energy to walk from one side of the crater to the other. Then you have to walk back, scale the crater rim and then walk back to your four wheel drive.

Wolfe Creek meteorite site copy 3

Now I mentioned our love of big rivers. That includes rivers like the Finke River in South Australia that is dry more often than it is flowing . I grabbed this shot where some wag had stuck a kids bike frame right in the middle of the crossing. Like everyone else I drove round it and left it for the amusement of others.DSC_0082 copy 3

Then of course there is my obsession with outback Australia where we can find a ‘Whole big lot of bugger all.’

DSC_0038 copy 3

However, there are plenty of living things that have adapted and thrived in our arid outback. Take this goanna or Perentie to give it its proper name.DSC_0070 copy 3

This bloke was a shade under 6 foot long and was on his way to find a decent sun baking spot when we stopped to take the ‘Whole Lot of Bugger All’ photo.

Now the goanna was fortunate that he didn’t leave his track crossing until a little later because big rigs don’t stop out in this area for anything. This big bloke rattled past in a big heap of dust with just a toot on his air horn.

DSC_0141 copy3

There are some really big dangerous critters lurking around northern Australia  including our Salt Water Crocodiles that account annually for quite a number of deaths among the unwary who venture into their territory. There are signs everywhere warning about them but fortunately, the fresh water crocks are not so dangerous. This bloke, a shade over 7 foot long was sunning himself/herself beside a creek crossing on Mt Stanford Station in the north of West Australia so I pulled up and grabbed this image as the big bloke slipped under the greenery floating on the still water.Croc near the road at Mt Stanford Station copy 3

It amused me as the crock kept an eye on me as I took the shot. With the camera of course. All of these beauties, salties included are protected.

We are fortunate or unfortunate, depending on your outlook, in Australia to have one of the worlds largest mobs of wild camels. In the Northern Territory they are in plague proportions and popup everywhere. This inquisitive beauty was fascinated by our Landrover near our camp at Chambers Pillar in South Australia.

DSC_0116 copy 3

Chambers Pillar is a magnificent, big, rocky outcrop used by early explorers as aid to navigation. What a great big shapely rock.

Scan10046 copy 3

My excuse for being so longwinded and bombarding you with eighteen images is simply because todays subject is BIG.

It was a BIG but enjoyable task selecting the images and I must confess that the only image I took today is of the snail in the courtyard. Used the iPhone too, Not my BIG Nikon.

So, hoo roo till tomorrow.

 

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE -DAY 6-SOLITUDE.

~ creakingbones ~ 12 Comments

In capturing today’s subject, solitude, it is suggested in the blurb that we consider the Rule of Thirds when composing the image.

One of the great rules of photography is that the rules were made to be broken and I follow that mantra in the majority of my compositions. That’s the reason the salient features of my images are generally in the middle of the frame.

You may also have noticed that many of my images contain what some may describe as scenes of desolation, uninhabited semi desert country and more brown than green.

That’s probably because like one of Australia’s favourite poets, Dorothea MacKellar,  ‘I Iove a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains.’

Today I’m happy to comply with the Rule of Thirds and also break away from my excessive ‘Wide Brown Land’ imagery.

bike 3

On a ride through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia I was fascinated by the wild flowers growing in profusion along the roadside and felt compelled to make to this image.

Rule of Thirds, certainly,  wide brown land, not a trace.

Solitude, absolutely. That’s one of the great benefits of riding solo.

 

Hoo roo for now

 

 

 

 

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE- DAY5-CONNECT.

~ creakingbones ~ 2 Comments

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘connect’ this way;

161607_0009 copy 3

As we are ‘developing our eyes,’ instead of scanning the Oxford’s page, I photographed it using the micro setting on my little Leica Dlux 6, set the aperture at 1.4, and made the image at 1/20th second, ISO 100. In RAW of course.

Combined with todays WordPress blurb, and the Oxford definition, ‘connect’ provides us with a multitude of options and my choices begin with bridges:

_DSC0023 copy 3

This is the highway and pedestrian bridge crossing Lake Burley Griffin from  the centre of Canberra City to the nations’s Parliament House, the roof of which can be seen in the background between the two spans.

Next we have the bridges over the Wollondilly River, just down the road from our place.

Wollondilly roadway 3_0704_0010 copy 3

This is a great example of ‘connect’ as we have road traffic and a pedestrian walkway on the bridge and overhead, power lines, connecting electricity  to both sides of the river.

Now not all bridges are created equal and this primitive version serves it’s purpose. It’s hidden away in one of our nearby National Parks.

090409_Abercrombie Nat Park with Brad_2332 copy

Then for a variation on the bridge theme, here is a cross water  bridge in the form of a ferry on Sydney Harbour connecting  the City of Sydney and Manly.

_DSC0675 copy

Of course, electrical connections can’t be neglected as they are vital to our life style and what can be more important that an extension cord:

161607_0003 copy

Then there is a further connection between our feathered friends and ourselves:

161607_0004 copy

As I was standing outside making the shot of the orange extension cord contrasted against the green grass, one of our resident Magpies popped over, just to connect with the activity.  If you look at the lower edge of the image you can see my toes. No other snacks were on offer.

Now perhaps, apart from face to face connection and ignoring emails, Facebook and the other electronic means of impersonal connection, the poor old telephone remains as our  premier person to person connection.

161607_0002 copy 3

This one of ours gets a workout and it is conveniently placed next to a vast whiteboard where we note down connections we must make as a result of the calls.

Most of our calls relate to actual human connection and my share usually relate to activities involving my motorcycling mates:

All's Boys_DSC0014 copy3 copy

Here are a few of the boys, waiting for sunrise on a chilly, windswept hill a few miles from the inland mining city of Broken Hill. Those of you who follow my blog will make the connection.

On the ride to the Hill that year there was a slight disagreement over dinner at our motel. It’s cause, who knows, but the following morning all was forgotten and the boys connected in a most unlikely ‘biker’ way.

 

090709_Broken Hill 09_0101 copy 3

The boys  weren’t aware I had camera in hand until it was too late. The spontaneous reconnection was recorded for their later amusement.

Hoo roo for now

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE-DAY 4-BLISS

~ creakingbones ~ 8 Comments

Back in the 1970’s there was a very popular add on radio and TV celebrating four of Australia’s favourite passions

FOOTBALL,

KANGAROOS,

MEAT PIES, AND

HOLDEN CARS

in a catchy ditty.

40 years on and the first three are still major part of the national psyche.  Unfortunately, GMH will soon cease production of the Holden car.

I googled the old ditty this morning and listening to it brought back a flood of memories, including a reminder that one of the lines included the words’ Meat pies and tomato sauce, same again for the second course.’

So, for lunch today  She Who Must Be Obeyed and I enjoyed nice hot ,’Meat Pies with Tomato Sauce.’

For the second course I hoed into  an apple pie with vanilla and mango ice-cream. SWEBO abstained from such gluttony.

Knowing it would be absolute bliss munching into the pies with lashings of tomato sauce followed by the apple pie and its topping, I made images of both and here they are, absolute bliss indeed.

161507_0002 copy 3

161507_0005 copy 2

Hoo roo until tomorrow.

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE-DAY 3 -WATER

~ creakingbones ~ 2 Comments

Todays challenge invites participants to make a vertical and a horizontal image of the same scene. I interpret vertical and horizontal images in my photography as portrait and landscape orientation respectively but today I’ll use the words used in todays instruction.

Both of the following images were taken from a road bridge over the Wollondilly River just a couple of hundred metres from our house.

As you can see, the first image is in the vertical, the second in the horizontal._DSC5145 copy 3

_DSC5147 copy 3

You can see from the position of the walker with the dogs that there was a short delay between the making of each image. This is because  heavy vehicles crossing the bridge create significant vibration in the bridge’s ratings.

The lighting was poor at the time I made the images and my shutter speeds of 1/40th at f11 required me to brace my arms against the railings. Accordingly I had to wait until the vibrations ceased before I could take the second shot.

I prefer the vertical image as its orientation gives a more accurate sense of scale to this section of the Wollondilly River.

Hoo roo until tomorrow.

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE – DAY 2 – STREET

~ creakingbones ~ 8 Comments

My choice of an establishing shot was easy. I just popped outside and photographed our quiet little street.161307_0020 copy 2

As suggested, I used a wide angle lens. I set my 16 to 35mm lens at 16mm, 1/20th second at f16, 64 ISO.

Now as we know, streets, roads, avenues, boulevards, highways, express ways, toll roads etc are mostly the same, no matter where we travel.

So I thought  today’s street theme would be a good opportunity to illustrate some of the streets, roads, tracks, call them what you will, that you can sample here in the Land Down Under, once you leave the city limits in any of our States or Territories.

This street fair is held every 4th Saturday in a street here in my town.

Saturday_13Sep2014_0053 copy 3

Then there are the annual parades which take up one complete side of the town’s main street through the central business district.

Anzac Day 2015 Auburn St_25Apr2015_0010 copy 3

Now going a little further afield to the town of Bathurst in New South Wales here we see a friend on his three wheeled Spyder making a turn from one of Bathurst’s wide main streets. A large group of us were standing on a pub’s verandah waiting for him, hence the overhead view.IMG_0880 copy 3

One of the good things about travelling on some of our outback country roads is that there is room to have a bit of a muck about, providing you keep a sharp lookout. Here are a few of us doing just that. Not highly recommended of course.

Scan10039 copy 3

Not all of the roads we travel are paved  so we do get used to driving and riding on dirt roads and tracks. This next image is of a great strip of good dirt road coming into Broken Hill, a mining town in outback New South Wales. The arc you can see in the image is the rim of the screen on my Harley Davidson.Scan10031 copy 3

I thought you would be amused to see that revenue raising is not forgotten in Australia’s outback as evidenced by this traffic sign, miles from anywhere on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. You have to ignore the hand written note some wag has placed on the sign, and the dents from shotgun pellets.DSC_0169 copy 3

Not every town is a bustling metropolis but every outback town is populated by very friendly, welcoming people. This little town was no exception.printed_DSC0146 copy 3

The next four shots; I know you are getting sick of the images;  only one more after these , show some of the varying road/street surfaces we encounter in our travels:

printed_DSC0276 copy. 2jpg copy 2

printed_DSC0372 copy 3

DSC_0091 copy3

DSC_0066 copy 3

The last and lucky last image for our street exercise takes us back to the bitumen, away from tin tops and back on the bike. Whacko. The image speaks for itself.

Scan10013 copy 3

Just one last comment, please don’t get the idea that Australia is totally arid and flat. I hope that before this ten day exercise is over, you will see  lots of trees, rivers and greenery, provided of course that landscapes are the subject for one or more of the days.

Hoo roo for now

 

 

DEVELOPING YOUR EYE- DAY 1 -HOME.

~ creakingbones ~ 10 Comments

We all have a different interpretation of the word,’Home.’

For some, the word may simply mean house, for others, just location and so on.

I interpret the word to mean a place where you simply feel comfortable for whatever reason, embraced by its safety, comfort, tranquility, surroundings and peace.

Of course, outside influences such as riot, civil uprisings and war can totally destroy the reasons for my interpretation.

Fortunately I’m a proud Australian and Australia is my home where everything I’ve pointed out in my third paragraph completely applies, and then some.

In the tiny bit of Australia where I live we are as free as the birds and we are surrounded here by our feathered friends.

Today it is cold and wet with flurries of sleet and very strong winds. Maximum temperature today is expected to reach 6 degrees centigrade.

Our feathered friends are feeling the cold too, trying to shelter in the trees, hanging on to their perches as tightly as they can, heads tucked securely under wings and feathers fluffed up.

However, some of our resident magpies, instead of perching out in the rain and sleet, have established themselves outside our kitchen window under the pergola.

161307_0007 copy 4

By contrast, a young Galah perched in an adjacent tree is all fluffed up in an effort to keep warm.

161307_0008 copy 54

But I mustn’t forget the human side of home. 20160712_0022 copy 3

In closing on Day 1,  how could anyone not see that my little bit of paradise is genuinely,’Home.’

Hoo roo for now.

I’M PUZZLED BY TWO SETS OF STARING EYES.

~ creakingbones ~ 5 Comments

Just by chance, the night before last, whilst I was sitting in my easy chair, feet up, watching TV and munching on Pringles and enjoying an icy cold bottle of my favourite beer, I noticed that both of my Teddy Slippers were looking sullen and staring at me.

I can’t imagine why they were suddenly so interested in me. Normally they ignore me completely except for the occasion squeak or grunt in protest when their comfy position on the foot stool is changed.

As my camera was handy, I grabbed a shot as a reminder that I must pay my Teddy Slippers more attention, smile at them more often and occasionally try to engage them in  conversation.

It doesn’t seem to matter what I say to the ignorant little buggers, they never bother to reply.

Have a look at them for yourself.

SLIPPERS 08Jul2016_0002 copy 4
MY SULLEN STARING TEDDY SLIPPERS

Hoo roo for now.

IS THERE AN OVERT CAMPAIGN RUNNIN TO PROMOTE MENS LIB?

~ creakingbones ~ 5 Comments

As part of my role as a ‘Sensitive New Age Guy’ (SNAG) here at Casa Creakingbones, one of my many household tasks is to collect, on a weekly basis from our News agency ( papershop) , The English Woman’s Weekly , subscribed to by She Who Must Be Obeyed(SWMBO).

The magazine and several others come in a sealed brown paper bag and I deliver them in their pristine condition with no  thought of peeking.

There is no need for me to peek as from time to time SWMBO will bring an article to my attention.

Imagine my surprise when just the other day, SWMBO summoned me to her boudoir and handed me the 2nd February 2016 edition of the weekly and said, ‘Read the article on Bill Nighy and Dad’s Army.’

Now I’m a long time fan of that wonderful TV series, Dads’s Army so you imagine my delight on being given the opportunity to learn a little more about it.

Another surprise awaited as I retired to my comfy office chair and examined the front page of the magazine.

It’s price tag had been placed over the first two letters of the word Woman’s on the cover’s title, thus creating a new title, THE ENGLISH MAN’S WEEKLY.

The cover also included a large image of Bill Nighy.

Had the placement of the price tag been deliberate I pondered?

Is it part of a overt campaign to restore men’s lib to a more prominent place in our politically correct society?

Under cover of the pretext of house keeping I collected a reasonably  sized sample of previous copies and began a  count of the placing of the label.

From fifteen copies, only one showed the full title,The English Woman’s Weekly, and even on that copy a part of the word ‘Woman’s’ had been partly obscured.

Even though my sample was small, I feel that the numbers are statistically significant.

I reckon the figures speak for themselves and Mens Liberation is on the cusp of a return.

Next Saturday when I return to the news agency I’ll make it my business to congratulate the male newsagent on his bravery.

Of course, I’m totally unsure as to how I’ll meaningfully stiffen my SNAG.

Of course, some of my  Aussie mates will misinterpret my previous sentence but most of my readers will know what I mean.

I though that the following two images will clearly illustrate what I’m on about.

WOMAN'S WEEKLY002 copy 2

                       NO MISTAKE ABOUT THE LABELLING.

WOMAN'S WEEKLY001 copy 2.jpg

                                ALMOST GOT IT RIGHT

 

Hoo roo for now.