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.

Blue Mountains Photographer ~ Hanging with the wildlife ~ again

This is a brown Cuckoo Dove which arrives on our water tank every so often. He waits for me to feed him (or her, I'm not sure) and hangs around long enough to be talked to and admired. So this time when he arrived, I took a little time to take his photograph.
If I had a choice I'd spend all my time hanging out taking photographs of wildlife but it's not entirely practical at the moment with a busy life and business!
I love this bird's eye - such beautiful colours and structure... as a friend commented,  'There could be a whole galaxy in that eye.'

Blue Mountains Photographer - Hangin' with the wildlife

I know there's a few American and Canadian friends who read this blog so I thought I'd just post a pic of one of our Antipodean furry friends especially for them.

This mob of kangaroos were on the beach and then later came to lie around on the grass in front of our beach house, so we lay there with them for an hour or so just watching them. They really are beautiful and unusual creatures.

They have REALLY amazing feet... (Click the images to make them bigger)

They also really like apple... 

 And a good snooze afterwards ....

(How sweet is that?}



***If you'd like to use my kanga pictures for your personal (non commercial) use, please just right click and save.  Commercial, please contact me first.  I haven't ever said no but it's just a courtesy:-)

Blue Mountains Photographer - Between a Rock...

I have long had a fascination with geology. Rocks are beautiful. This one was at the beach on the south coast. I love the colours and layers within it.
Rocks are a lot like people.

Blue Mountains Photographer ~ Catching the light

So I headed away from the mountains and down to the coast. It was late when we arrived. We drifted off to the sound of the surf on the beach.
I woke just before dawn and grabbed my camera, walking down the few steps to the beach in my pyjamas.
There were kangaroos nibbling the grass in the half light in front of me.
Down on the beach, the sea was calm and over on the horizon, the sun started to appear.
I snapped on the beach for over an hour but this is my favourite shot because of the other photographer standing there on the headland who arrived to do the same exact same thing. We never met and he's just a black figure in this shot... just another like minded individual who was up at the same time, waiting to capture the sunrise like me.

Blue Mountains Photographer - Catching a Wave

Blue Mountains Photographer ~ Weddings at the Mamre Homestead

I shot a stunning wedding over the weekend and this is one of my favourite shots out of the entire day, although there are many more competing for that position.
I was half tempted to put a unicorn horn on the horse. : )
My favourite kind of weddings are the simple ones, like this one, which took place at the Mamre homestead, NSW.  A beautiful and joyous occasion, close family, friends, thoughtful and honest.

The Mamre Homestead is a classic venue to hold a wedding. I'll blog a little more about that at a later date.

Enjoy your Sunday
~Annabel~

Blue Mountains Photorgrapher ~Shot of the day...

Such a beautiful shoot in the Megalong Valley this morning. The birds were calling, the morning mists lifting, the sun filtering through the rainforest canopy and onto the paddocks below.
The Megalong Valley is filled with such calm beauty at this time of morning, it's a joy to be there.
Enjoy your weekend.

Tall trees

These trees on the southern coast of Australia reminded me of Mel Jones' work.  I was trying to take them at the angle that she paints them.  If there'd been a setting moon behind them, it would have been perfect.  Alas, it was the wrong direction for that. 
You can see her at Journeymoon Art... Mel's currently the Artist in Residence at Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens.
Check out her beautiful work around the Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains Photographer ~Photograph of the day...

Spanning the Gap, one of a series taken at the Anzac Bridge, NSW, Australia.

Bad Weather

... Bad weather can work to your advantage.

The white light that mist and rain brings with it means no direct sun... perfect for photographing flowers, nature, portraits...
Waterproof your camera with a plastic bag and go be creative.

Sunday Laksa

Today's one of those days where the sun has shown its face early and then decided it's all too much and gone back to bed, only to be replaced by that despondent greyness which occupies much of the UK most of the time.
The only antidote to days like this is to cook.
Today, is a Laksa day and due to popular demand, (well, three friends), I decided to blog my Laksa.

This was originally a recipe by Ruth Watson, whom I adore, not just because she's won the Glenfiddich Magazine Cookery Writer of the Year Award... twice, and done other crazy things like open an 18 room inn on the Suffolk coast in England, but purely for the down-to-earth and totally straight-down-the-line sort of way she writes.  I love reading her books... She writes how she talks, which is like the sort of 'girl's night' that you have down the pub where your best plain-speaking friend says something so straight, yet so funny that you cry with laughter until you're weak.  It's probably for this reason that I return to my Laksa recipe so often... and the fact that it is the most warming, virus weakening, tasty and fabulous food in the world.

So here you go.

Sunday.  It has to be a Sunday so you have enough time.


Start with a large breakfast and then get out for a loooong walk.  There's a reason for this.  You'll work it out.
After raiding your favourite Asian store (I like the 'Saigon Sandwich' in Wentworth Falls, not just for the ingredients, but squeezing round the narrow shelving to find just how many things are made with coconut is fascinating... I now have to find out how to use coconut vinegar.... )


You will need:

The Paste Bit
2 stalks of lemon grass
4-6 Thai chillies - halved and de-seeded (I like it hot, so I'm using 6)
6 cloves of garlic - crushed and roughly chopped
2 'thumbs' of root ginger - peeled and roughly sliced
2 large shallots - peeled and roughly chopped (the tiny round brown onions you use for pickling etc, not the long green 'spring onion' that get called shallots in Australia.)
Large handful of fresh coriander -  leaves and stalks roughly chopped
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 pinches of ground turmeric
1 small 'thumb' of turmeric root - peeled and roughly chopped

The Soupy Bit

250g either egg noodles or thin vermicelli rice stick noodles (I prefer the latter because they're wheat free)

750g of raw shell-on tiger prawns - peeled and the debris reserved
1.2 litres water
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 400ml can of coconut oil
About 200g fresh bean sprouts
3 bushy sprigs fresh mint
Handful fresh coriander - leaves roughly chopped at last minute
4 lime wedges to serve
Plus, if you like, some deep fried tofu which is like little cubes of deep fried egg custard...   I like these eggy textured cubes very much, so just throw a couple on top of the soup to serve.


First, pour a large shot of gin into a long glass and add a little tonic and a slice of lime.
Put some great music on.  Stones, whatever. 

Next peel the prawns (apart from two which you're going to use as a garnish) and put the debris (heads, tails, everything) into a large pan with the outer leaves of the lemon grass leaves you kept when you peeled them.  Add the water and bring to the boil. 

Simmer for about 15-20 mins and then strain the stock through a sieve.  Throw away the debris. 











Keep the peeled prawns for cooking later.

 

Whilst that's bubbling away, blend the ingredients in a blender with 4-6 tablespoons of water until you have a thick, slightly coarse sludge.

Refrigerate for 72 hours.
Now, you're going to say you haven't got 72 hours, but don't worry because this is where it gets cunning.  The paste you've just made is double the quantity.  So put half of it in a closed container in the fridge and leave it for 72 hours or longer if you like.  Then put the other half to one side and get going on the rest.
I never remember to make this three days before... and it still tastes amazing.  Of course, you can be more organised than I am and make this before, but life generally gets in the way.
Drink your G+T and think about the possibilities for the rest of the sludge later on in the week. :)


Cook the noodles, drain and rinse under cold water to stop them cooking.  Put to one side.

Now here's the fun bit.
Put a VERY large saucepan over the heat and when it's hot, add the sesame oil. 
Scrape all the Laksa paste (the other half is in the fridge, right?) into the pan and cook it for about 1-2 mins, stirring all the time.
Now add the prawn stock, coconut milk and Thai fish sauce.

Cover pan, bring contents to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 mins. 
Add the prawns, cooking for 1 minute and then throw in the noodles and bean sprouts and simmer until everything is piping hot.  Pop the two whole unpeeled prawns in at this moment until they cook and turn pink.
Divide laksa between bowls, throw chopped mint and coriander over each bowl and perch a wedge of lime on top, and place the prawn at the edge so he looks like he's enjoying a spa bath.

Eat and enjoy... I like to eat my noodles and prawns first with chopsticks and leave the soup until after... but the choice is yours.


If you had a cold before you made this, the laksa will ease it on the way.

Repeat later on in the week with the rest of the paste.  For kids, use less chilli in the recipe and add more coconut milk.


Happy Sunday... And, cheers Ruth!

Glenbrook Markets

It's such a beautiful day here in the mountains.  Who can believe that Winter is around the corner when we're having weather like this?  I'm glad we're getting a nice Autumn now... the last few weeks have been a little too cold for me.
So we drifted down to see Glenbrook markets which are on every month.  I've never been down before but I knew that Ellen Hill from Deep Hill Fine Art Media would be there, and also Crafty Cat... so we popped down for a look and a chat.


There were some great fruit and veggie stalls there, loads of crafty home made type things and of course, a few people advertising their other creations... Check out Ellen and David Hill's book, 'People Like You'... Wow!  You can get some amazing things at the markets these days!

Ellen Hill...  Very beautiful, very talented.

I had a little wander after chatting to Ellen and took a few shots of people there.
'What's it for?' asked someone...

'Just for the sheer pleasure of it....' is the answer.

Thank you if you let me take your photograph today and if you'd like it, click on it and download or email me at solitaryphotographic@gmail.com


Have a great weekend!

Beautiful looking... must put the colour version up too... 

Free Wedding Photography

I'm giving away four free weddings in NSW over the coming months.

Why? Partially because I really need to boost my wedding portfolio after years of concentrating on lots and lots of commercial work but also because someone shot my wedding for free and so I'm paying it forward.

So if you're interested in having your special day photographed for free, please let me know.

Contact me at Solitaryphotographic@gmail.com

Or call me on 0406 933 315.

This is a genuine offer for a limited time only.

Improving

Ci, originally uploaded by Fairy Nuff - Solitary Photographic.

I found this series of shots on one of my hard drives recently. They were done when I first opened my business and one of the first small person shoots I did. He's a beautiful looking little boy and so full of interest and curiosity at the world.. .who could fail to enjoy a shoot with him?

What's changed, looking at the shots, isn't so much the way I've shot him, but my ability to edit. What I do now, is much different to how I edited back then.

It's good to see how I've changed and grown in this respect. I'll be spending part of this weekend re-editing before I send the file over to his Mum.

Photography is a learning curve on which you never stop learning.
Have a great weekend everyone.

Keep doing what you're doing...

Last night I ran into someone who told me someone I knew well was very 'critical' of my photography and my life but only behind my back.

'That's nice' I thought.

One of the worst things of living in the Blue Mountains is the small community... and yet one of the very best things about living in the Blue Mountains is the small community!

Whilst we support each other, there are others here who just don't 'get it'.  There are 4 degrees of separation in the mountains. Want to talk about people behind their backs?  Guarantee you they'll hear about it. 

Peter Brock once said 'What other people think of me is none of my business'...

And so I embrace this Brockism.

I don't care what other people think of my work or my life.
I simply don't care.  I do it because it makes me feel fantastic.  It fulfils me.

 I don't do what I do because I'm seeking your approval.  The only approval I need is my own.

Grab your passion and explore all of it.  Live.  You're a long time dead.

Stories

Stories, originally uploaded by Fairy Nuff - Solitary Photographic.

I took this photograph on a shoot earlier last year. Sometimes I keep shots for a long time before I do anything with them... sometimes it's just overkill from shooting... like my senses are overloaded by all the imagery that I need to break until I know exactly how I'm going to edit. Other times I know there's something there but I may not have the time to dedicate to it...

The lines and expressions on this lady's face tell many stories.  She has Alzheimers, something that's close to my heart after losing two grandparents to this disease.  Whilst she was struggling to express herself, she still laughed with us all and the lines around her eyes tell of a life lived with joy.  May we all be so lucky.

Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens

I was thrilled to find that Barry O'Farrell had kept his election promise of making all the botanical gardens free entry in NSW.  And there was me thinking that cynically, Mr O'Farrell was just doing the usual politician thing of promising and never delivering.  How very nice to be wrong.

Mt Tomah's one of my favourite places to go... beautiful colours of the autumnal trees at this time of years, combined with crisp blue skies, wonderful wildlife if you're patient enough to wait, plus an amazing drive there and back, past incredible escarpments that are worth pulling over to stop and have a look at.
And now it's free, there's even more reason to go, especially with your children who'll love rolling down the grassy hills, throwing the golden leaves around and following the Brush turkey who comes inquisitively to check out what you're eating for lunch.
Mt Tomah has a great cafe too.
Mt Tomah is the perfect place, I find, to find rest in a busy world and just fill your soul up with all the wonderful scents, sounds, colours and textures. 
Enjoy.  And 'Thank you, Barry.'