Aussie Critter

Dear Bloggers,

We have some unusual creatures here and that includes our bounty of reptiles. I did a bit of a bush walk today and luckily I had my camera with me when I saw two lizards sitting on a log fence. I decided to get as close as I could and one of them ran off almost immediately but the bigger of the two just sat there as I approached and watched me with one eye on me and one eye on the nearby scrub for an escape dash.

I am familiar with a few types of lizards, the little brown back yard lizards and Blue Tongues and Goannas but I had not seen these fellows before with their fabulous dinosaur spines. A google search makes me think he may be a Jacky Dragon

He was about a metre long. Just after I took this he ran off into the bush. Maybe he stalled so that his partner could make her escape? I like to think so.

Have a happy weekend,

Val.

Purple Reflections

Hi Everyone,

My homework for my photo group has been to photograph a purple flower and I have experimented with photographing everything from petunias to thistles and in my quest to get a unique photo of this little purple daisy I ended up with a reflection of the mosaic table on my balcony.

I know the photo features the glass vase more than the flower and this exercise has taught me to look at flowers from more angles than you could imagine but how do you get something that is truly different?

I know I am not the first person to zoom in, and certainly not the first to be fascinated by light as it shines through, in or behind the petals... so my quest continues.

On the subject of purple, I was in the city yesterday to get a dose of art and current exhibitions and while I was exploring the 'arty' end of town I saw this great mural.

I don't know if she is about to start dancing or fighting but it sure brightened her end of the street.

Have a good weekend,

Val.

Reflections of the past

Hello bloggers,

I am slipping this in under Weekend Reflections  link under the guise of there being reflections in the upper windows, but in reality I wanted to share this shot -- on less than ideal settings as I was photographing something else entirely - of this vintage car (Rolls Royce maybe?) that was going down the other side of the street.

It's so lovely in it's design, something grand, something to be seen in, rather than the weapon of speed and destruction that is the modern car.

I hope you enjoy the glimpse of the past as much as I did. Taken in the hipster suburb of Newtown, Sydney.

Have a good weekend,

Val.

Peaceful Reflection

Dear photo bloggers,

The camera sees things differently to how we do. Some things look fabulous in real life but not much on camera. Some things look ordinary at first but amazing when you see the detail.

Some people  are loved by the camera but you would pass by them in the street and not notice anything out of the ordinary. And you know what, even landscapes follow this rule. This is a dam in a local regional park with a little viewing platform on one edge next to some picnic areas. I took a photo from the platform and wow! it looks bigger and much more impressive than it really is and pretty enough for a weekend reflection ... link

Happy weekend,

Val.