Happy Christmas!!

Happy Christmas!!


Often at this time of year we think of "Peace".  I came across this Ancient Chinese proverb that you might like to ponder ...


If there is to be peace in the world, 
There must be peace in the nations. 
If there is to be peace in the nations, 
There must be peace in the cities. 
If there is to be peace in the cities, 
There must be peace between neighbors. 
If there is to be peace between neighbors, 
There must be peace in the home. 
If there is to be peace in the home, 
There must be peace in the heart.
Lao Tzu


Question now is, from where does that peace in your heart come?  Perhaps by thinking of the true meaning of Christmas the answer may become a little clearer?


Happy Christmas ... stay safe, and all the best for 2012!!

Out in the garden ...

Time to have a bit of fun with camera and my new tripod.  I went out in the back yard with my son.  I've only got my shots in this post ... I did ask for some of the closeup shots my son did with his Nikon P500, but nothing has been forthcoming yet!!

First shot is of a "Hen and Chickens" fern.  I like the idea of isolating the fern from its background especially as there was so much colour in the background that contrasted with the green of the fern.

Second shot is a weed!  I was quite taken with shape of the flower ... and again, isolating the bloom from its background.


The last three shots are of the agapanthus that are just coming into bloom along my driveway.  We'll get about two months of blooms out of these plants then its the boring green foliage.  Right now they're rather pretty.  Perhaps let me know what you think.

Yellow flowers!

Yellow flowers!

Just got back from work and really keen to start the holidays I took my tripod and headed into the garden to try some shots.  These bright yellow flowers caught my eye, but the image seemed just too saturated.  A bit of a play in Lightroom ... desaturating, reducing contrast and adding a bit of a vignette resulted in the shot you see above.  I quite like it.  Certainly give a better impression of the texture and form of the flower which I believe was lost in the colour version of the shot.  It also has a somewhat "dreamy" look to the shot that I quite like.  Anyway, what do you think?

A bit of music ... for Christmas

Rosa.

Carols, a few other songs and a reminder of what Christmas is all about.  We had a great time.  Quite a few folks came along to help the music team sing the carols and then we had a few songs by some of my music friends.

I think everyone had a good time.  A chance to meet old friends and make new ones.  Best of all, a chance to relax and have some fun. It really was a good night.

The light wasn't the best so ISOs were quite high and there were some interesting shadows.  Most shots have been converted to monochrome to hide issues with noise.

First shot is of Rosa, out talented drummer.  next we have the band that played at the end of the concert.  I liked the somewhat 'retro' look to the shot.  the remaining shots are of  the individual band members.  Each is hugely talented!

Anyway, have a look and let me know what you think.  Perhaps next year you might like to come along as well :-)

L to R: Ross Devereux, Malcolm Lakatani, Demetrius Savai'inaea, Grace Ikenasio, Semi Leo.

Demetrius Savai'inaea

Grace Ikenasio

Malcolm Lakatani

Ross Devereux

Semi Leo