Blue Mountains Photographer ~ Snake Hunting

It's the perfect day for snakes... so I went hunting.
Usually, it's not recommended for you to move stealthily through the bush because the snakes don't know you're coming.  In my case, the reason was to not let the snake know that I was coming... so I crept.

If you do wish to snake hunt, wear really tough boots... I wear walking boots which also have a steel toe cap... I don't know why but they do.  Hey, you never know when they'll come in handy!
Anyway, your boots should come a decent way up your leg given that most snake bites are on the foot or ankle... if you want to be extra safe, a pair of shin pads is handy and cheap.

Snakes rarely bite with venom the first time... In fact, they're quite happy to give you a warning 'punch' first, which can sometimes break the skin.  It's happened to me once and I didn't even know I'd been punched until I got home and found two marks on my shin, about the space apart that fangs are.  I do remember thinking at the time that something had hit my leg and assumed it was a stick, but sticks generally don't leave fang marks. : )
It did take a long time to heal I remember.  So shin pads... and boots, and probably good trousers no matter how hot it is.

Our snakes are quite notoriously shy, the most common being the Red belly Black where I am.  We also have Brown snakes, but they seem to be more shy or less in number as I have real difficulty locating them.
Today was no exception.
I have several spots on my morning walk where I know they hang out, one is a sewerage cover which is concrete.  A large Brown snake loves this spot in the early morning and evening and I've seen him there several times, curled up in his glossy, fat brown rings to warm up before dinner.  This morning however, he wasn't there.

In fact, whilst gently creeping through the bush, I found nothing except a pretty Bush orchid ...

and a fairly juvenile Blue Tongue lizard, who'd draped himself over a branch to get more sun.

On my equally stealthy walk back along the track, a fat fly was trying to take a bite out of me, so I leant over to grab some grass to swish him away and there was a baby Blue tongue.  He looked a little dead, so I touched him to make sure and bingo, a big mouth and blue tongue flashed at me and he shoved his head under a pile of leaves and grass.

So no snakes this morning... Try again tomorrow.

Blue Mountains Photography - goes Macro

Macro - Mollis Azalea, originally uploaded by Fairy Nuff - Solitary Photographic.

After purchasing a macro lens some time back, I found that I became too busy to use it... until the other day when I took a well deserved break one morning...
The sun had just risen and the grass was wet with dew.
I took my camera and stalked my garden for tiny things to photograph.
This Mollis Azalea is one of my favourite flowers not just because of its beauty but also because of the perfect scent. Close up I was amazed to see the pollen sitting on the stamens.
Nature is so amazing when you get close up.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Weekend Blue Mountains Photographer

There's nothing more beautiful than a Saturday when you wake with the sun streaming through the windows after days of dismal weather.

Saturdays are a lie in..

good coffee... 

And then,

a wander around the garden with a macro lens.

Stamens from a Mollis Azalea ..

with a heady scent

And

daisies...

in mono. 

Have a beautiful weekend.

I hope the sun is shining, wherever you are.

After a fashion... Blue Mountains Photographer goes 20's

I'm woefully behind on blogging. There's a lot happening in my life right now and it's just crazy!

Anyway, Katoomba held the Roaring 20's festival a few months back and I enjoyed shooting many of the events.
One of my favourite shots is this one, with models from the Charlotte Smith 'Dreaming of Chanel' /Darnell Collection. These guys aren't professional models, but girls who just 'suit' the clothing and era.


Check it out next year for awesome 20's events, dress up, pop your tux or flapper dress on and come join us.

Via Flickr:
Part of the shoot for the Roaring 20's Festival in the Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains Photographer ~ Wedding

Shooting a wedding is where I have to be bossy... 'stand like this, shoulders back, big breath, look down the lens, and a little smile, look at your wife, and look at me... look at meeee...' (Kimmy)...

I'm not naturally a bossy person.  I prefer to let the organic moments in a wedding take over so that there's space for intimacy as well.
But on the other hand, this huge responsibility is yours... to give the couple their most precious memories and so being 'bossy' or directing the moment is totally imperative because if you don't do that, you miss so much.

The real trick is finding the balance between that organic moment and being too directive.

'Just ignore me' is my best advice at a wedding... because it allows the moment to take over, the intimacy to show and the beauty of two people truly in love to shine and that, for me, is what it's all about.