Photo Challenge - Part 2

Today was so sunny and beautiful that I spent most of the day with my camera around my neck taking pics of anything I could see. I was actually waiting to go visit a friend but due to family issues it never happened. I don't mind though, there are other days and I got to potter about instead.

A Family Crest

So it's not for a family and I'm not entirely sure what a crest is defined as but I figured this was close enough for a country that doesn't display family crests.

A Castle Turret

This was another tough one because as far as I'm aware there aren't any true castles in New Zealand. This Castle restaurant though is close enough to fit the bill.

Free Shot

I went for a little wander this morning and this sign just stood out for me. I'm not sure why

Clouds

This is how clear it was today. The pattern of weather lately seems to be all clouds or no clouds so this seemed about the best shot I was going to get.

In The Garden

Since it's the middle of winter there isn't much in our garden except dead looking things so here's my photo. We decided to have a little fun on our saturday night so burnt as much of the dry greenwaste as we could while enjoying a cider.

A Pond With A Fountain

A large pond, more of a lake perhaps, ok definitely a lake and a very large fountain. It still counts!



I still have quite a few pics on my list so I think I will have to make a special trip out and about to tick some more off.

Photo challenge Part One

So I have been half arse doing this photo challenge. I was meant to be taking a photo of something every day of July but I didn't actually start it until about the 10th and most of these pics were taken on the same days so it's not quite the right idea... No matter it's still good to practice with ,y camera.

Flower In A Window

Ok so it's not really a flower but it's a plant. It's a succulent that I put into a tea cup because I thought it'd be cute and because I wanted some plants in my room that hardly need to be watered. These little things actually die if you water them regularly so they are perfect for my casual/forgetful approach to looking after things.

Free Shot

 I just really like this pic and it shows how cold it's been lately.

A Pet Outside

This is a bit of a cheat perhaps since sheep are always outside but they are also my only pets. Perhaps I should have brought one in to make it a contrast XD

An Item You Recently Acquired

I made a special trip to Typo while I was in Wellington as I always like their notebooks. This is one of the three that I bought.

Something Green

Me and Mum had a pretty serious day of work last week and we had two truck and trailer loads of green waste to take away.

Free Shot

 For some reason I have never noticed this house before but I really like the shape of it.

In The Sun

Winter sun at the beach.

A Statue Of A Dog Or A Horse

This is in Feilding and the dog has a man with him but I figured most statues of horses would have a human on their back anyway.

So theres my first 8 pictures. If you like the sound of this photo challenge head on over to the original post on my sisters blog.
http://tomorrowsheretoday.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/photo-day-challenge-july.html

Photography Fun

Today was unusual for me, a theme this weekend that I feel I've really needed. Today I went to my first bloggers brunch club and I was pretty nervous before I left but everyone made me feel really welcome. I was very impressed, the other girls seem so much more accomplished than me, working with suppliers and businesses while I'm just over here writing to myself. It was nice to hear their views though and to hear that blogging doesn't have to take over your life and small is nothing to be ashamed of. We all start just for the love of it and I don't need mine to pay the bills so I'm happy to let it roll along quietly. I got so wrapped up in listening and talking that I forgot to ask for their blog details and instagram names! Duh! Oh well I guess I will just have to go to the next brunch and ask then.

 After brunch club I decided to take the long way home as the sun was shining and I wanted to take photos. I had seen a road sign on the way down pointing to a town that I couldn't remember visiting so I decided to travel back via that way. As it turns out the town wasn't really a town at all but about 6 building around a round about which I guess is why I can't remember visiting it before.

Next stop was Marton where I found a cute park that I've never seen before. It didn't look it's best really but you can just tell that it would be beautiful in the spring and summer so I plan to go back when the leaves return.

There were loads of ducks on the pond but there was a trio that really caught my eye because they had funky hair do's like this guy! They started off on the pond as they were a bit nervous but once I crouched down to take photo's of other things they got a bit cheeky and came up on the bank to see if I had any bread hiding in my pockets. Unfortunately I didn't but I will try to remember to take some when I go back.

On my way out of town I saw this nice church and played about with the sun behind the cross. It didn't come out quite how I planned but I still like it.

I headed home and picked up Mum and convinced her to come out to Kai Iwi beach with me as neither of us had been out there since the floods. We knew the bridge was broken but it was still a bit of a shock to actually see it first hand. I of course had to test it out and walked over the broken bits to stand on the end.

There was a lot of rain last night so the rivers where all running dirty and have made the sea a strangely appealing muddy colour. You wouldn't catch me swimming in it but it was interesting to watch.
I'll leave you with one final photo of a shell that was on the beach. It caught my eye because of the strange worm like patterns on it.

My Life May Be Odd Because I'm Odd

This morning was another cold one and I couldn't resist taking pictures of the frost. At the moment I find it hard to resist taking pictures of anything. During the work day I got a pretty good snap of a heron and also a kingfisher, both of which were hanging around areas which are normally dry but are currently under water.

After work we picked up Rush again and brought him home and I took him for a walk along one of the lanes just so that he had a little exercise before we slobbed in the house. At the end of the lane we saw some cows with covers on which was totally cute but so strange as most farmers would just let them deal with the cold. They may have only been old grain sacks cut in half but the thought counts.

Just outside our house I found a baby hedgehog which is definitely odd for this time of year as they should all be hibernating. Its a real small one though and oddly tame so I picked it up and brought it in. I can pick it up without it curling into a ball and it has a kind of weird cough/sneeze going on so I think it's underweight and ill. I've popped it into my old rat cage on the porch with some hay and an egg to eat. We are planning to buy some cat meat tomorrow and we will fatten it up over the winter and release it in spring which we have done before with another hedgehog a few years ago. Hopefully the little cutie lives.

Rush had a bit of a hissy fit this morning and refused to eat his breakfast. Mum is determined that he doesn't like his dog food because the biscuits are burnt. They aren't but the fact remains that he wasn't keen so since he had to stay with us again tonight I decided to bake his dinner for him and he got tonight's serving still warm from the oven.

I have changed the original recipe so many times that now only the oats, eggs and flour remain from the ingredient list. Tonight I wanted it to be a meat and veg dinner so I added beef stock, garlic, carrots, parsley and silverbeet. I mixed it all up, rolled it out and baked for 30 mins. Don't ask me what nutritional value it has as I have no idea but Rush loves it and ate 2 biscuits in a matter of seconds! I reckon tomorrow he might decide breakfast is worth eating after all.

Photography Lessons - Day 1

It's day one in my self training for how to use my new Canon SX530 and things are going pretty well considering I have no idea what I'm doing! Jack was keen to help this morning, he's not a very good model though as he was too busy trying to press all the buttons with his teeth.

He did round up two of the girls for a group shot though. Dusky, on the left, takes these things very seriously and made sure her pose was just right before I took the picture!

I had a bit of a play with the settings too and had a go at depth. I think it turned out rather well but I'm not sure what setting I was on when I took it so I guess I'll be doing some more practice.

I never realised that shutter speed could make such a difference. These three pics have no filter on them and they were all taken within minutes of each other. The only thing that I changed was shutter speed!

Also while playing around I found out that I can remotely control my camera while in a wifi area . This one was taken while my camera was sitting on my desk and me and Mum were warming up by the fire. It's a cool little trick but only works in wifi zones I think so I'm yet to determine how useful it will be.

I just had to stop in and visit Rush of course and he is such a good poser when I ask him. He was a bit confused about the size of my new beast though I think, it's rather larger than the phone he is used to.

Last one for now and I really like this one. I actually took this at the gas station. I was being lazy and didn't even bother to get out the ute to take it which is perhaps why I like it so much.
It's quite hard to find subject matter at this time of year with the weather so bleak but if today was anything to go by then I guess I'll find enough to practice on before my holiday.
Do you have tips or tricks for taking great pics that I should know? Let me know in the comments.

What a Weird Weekend!

I'm finally back!  My comp has been away for awhile now as it's on the go slow and went away for servicing. It's better than it was but still not brilliant tbh but then I have been told "What can you expect from something you only paid $200 for over 2 years ago...' I guess tech these days doesn't last as long as I think it should. Although I think the actual problem is that I really HATE the windows 8 system on my current model so just want to upgrade at all costs to anything that doesn't run a shitty block system. Unfortunately I have been spending up large on other things lately so it will just have to be added to the wish list along with the S6 Edge that I'd like to replace my poor cracked S4 mini with!

In better news say hello to my new camera! It's still sitting on my desk though waiting for it's battery to charge. I'm dead keen to get playing with it but I guess I'll have to wait (please hurry up battery!) I actually don't have any idea how to use it and since I currently take all my photos on my phone it will be something of a learning curve! Expect some better pictures in the near future (if I can work it) although 'better' is perhaps a matter of opinion as the subjects will still be much the same.

Also on the subject of 'new' and 'tech' I have acquired two second hand phones to play with. I am hoping to teach mum how to use one for music and checking her fitbit etc. They are windows phones though so I have no idea how to use them myself yet... They have the same stupid block system as windows 8 which is the most user UNfriendly system ever invented and my patience is rather thin already. They are most likely to be returned where they came from before tomorrow as, after a quick play, I haven't worked out how to even turn them on or off which should be a 3 second discovery.. I think the new windows can make even the most tech savvy person angry to their core but maybe I'm just having a real hate on windows. I can't be the only one?
Do you have a tech wish list like me? If so let me know what you are dreaming of in the comments.