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The fun of moving

Moving is a tedious job, fraught with dangers at every turn. Hubby’s study, in particular, is a mine of disasters waiting to happen.

So here is our weekend, me sick and in pain trying my best to be helpful …. while hubby decides to “tidy” his study. This monumental effort usually involves throwing out copious amounts of paper, magazines and computer bits (that he will suddenly need 2 days after he throws them out).

It also means he will return the various bits that others have leant to him. So he happily removes a piece of hardware from his machine, in preparation to return it to a friend. Hey presto …. Windows barfs itself … and he appears to have lost huge volumes of photos, including the pictures from the latest wedding. It’s hard to feel sorry for him …. especially when he will drum it into less computer literate friends about the need to back up.

I won’t say I told you so babe ….. but it was a substantial lesson. 😉

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Big News!

Ok well things that have been on simmer for a while have come to the boil.

I have been offered and accepted a new role and promotion down in Canberra. This means that in the next 2 – 4 weeks I am going to have to pack up the whole family and move them.

So if I am a little slack on the web site, photos, email, phone calls and the like please understand.

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Goofy parent moment

Australia has an interesting tradition. Just before easter children are encouraged to convince their parents to make them easter hats, which they will duly claim as their own wonderful creation. Among the more competitive mums, this (keep up with little Paige/Brittany/Apple’s) hat race can develop into a stoush that could rival big brother. The following creation is a combination of big sis’s painting, my cutting (tough card) and weilding of the glue …. with the little munchkin doing the sticking part.

Easter bonnet

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Frustrated

Ok now this is not about my relationship with my wife (that’s actually going very well, thank you very much), I am getting frustrated with the lack of response from parts of the company I work for.

I can’t go into details (don’t want to have to write one of those “I’ve been fired” posts), but it is enough to say I have been waiting for a decision from one management group for over 3 weeks now. This isn’t a little decision this is one that will shape the future of my career and the future plans for my whole family.

I will let you know more when I can say more.

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Pentax *ist Ds Review

Ok a little while back I told you all that I had got a new camera. A very nice new digital SLR from Pentax. Now for all you out there that don’t know what SLR means I found this great definition:

An SLR or single-lens reflex is really designed for the enthusiast photographer or the person who can put up with a larger camera in return for increased accuracy and greater versatility. This type of camera has through the lens viewing with a mirror behind the lens and a pentaprism to direct the light passing through the lens to the optical finder. The mirror lifts up out of the way as a photograph is taken. As you look through the lens that takes the picture the composition can be more accurate and the lens often removes giving you a wider scope of options. The metering and focusing systems are usually more accurate too. Despite all this creativity it’s still possible to stick most SLRs on a full auto point & shoot mode so anyone could use one with ease, but don’t expect to fit one in a pocket! They are much bigger. Ephotozine

So you got it, this is not a compact camera, it won’t fit in your pocket, but it will allow you to be much more creative then a compact point and shoot camera.

Ok so this is my new Camera Pentax *ist Ds Front small (for a SLR), light and solid. This thing feels much sturdier than the Canon 300D that it competes with, but is smaller and lighter. It has a steel frame with a plastic body.

The main reason I looked at this camera was twofold.
Firstly it was cheaper than the rest, being a good $200AU cheaper than the Canon and $400 cheaper than the Nikon D70.
Secondly my three existing lenses would just work with it. Unfortunatly my old flash however is another story.

Features include:

  • 6.1 Megapixel sensor
  • 2 inch display screen
  • 11 point autofocus
  • Multi mode metering
  • SD Memory card for storage (faster and smaller than a Compact flash)
  • Multiple auto-exposure modes, including Macro, Portrait and landscape
  • Apeture and speed priority settings
  • Full manual (good for my older manual lenses) and bulb settings
  • ISO settings from 200 – 3200 with very low noise up to 800
  • Shutter speeds from 30 seconds up to 1/4000 of second

Overall it has the features required by a beginner and the flexibility for more professional work.

If you want to read a comprehensive review that I agree with hop over too Steve’s Digicams.

Here are a few shots from the Camera to show you what it can do. Remember to look at the Exif data to see the settings.

Grevilla
Black Mountain Tower
Sun, Cloud and Lake
Hibiscus
Light, Water and Ducks
Commonwealth Bridge
Motor Bike Clothing?

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Busy, really busy.

Well it seems I have not had time to scratch myself over the last 4 weeks. Travelling for work, for my wifes family reunion, and having family stay for 2 weeks.

I promise I will start again soon.

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Australia Day

Well another year has passed and here in Australia we are just about to celebrate our great country.

Now before you get the wrong idea, I am not a raving patriot, I don’t believe we have the greatest country in the world, I don’t think we can’t improve and I don’t think we have nothing to learn from the world.

Australia day is a great holiday and as Australians we are encouraged to celebrate by doing whatever we want. That’s right anything we want, of course there are some parades, concerts and fireworks arranged by various levels of government, but most Australians will head to the Beach, Bush or BBQ.

So tomorrow I am planning to have a short bush walk and then have a BBQ in the evening. If I really want to torture myself I might go the the free concert by the lake, depends on what my friends have planned.

Enjoy your day whatever you decide to do!

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Away from home again

Ok so I am back in Canberra for a week. Getting to grips with some more work I have to do down here and as usual it looks like there is enough work to last months. After this week I should have an ongoing plan for the next 3 months at least and from that be able to schedule my time and additional trips if nessessary.

Now this morning was a little bit of a shock, it has been 35-36 degrees in Brisbane with humidity in the high 80’s and low 90’s, here it will be 23 degrees top and drizzling cold rain.

I have brought my camera with me, so expect some photos.

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New Camera

Ok so as I said before I have a new camera. I have been eyeing off this model since I saw the first review back in September last year. My old camera is a Pentax K1000, a fully manual SLR, that has served me faithfully for nearly 20 years. So this Digital camera that promised to accept all (total of 3) my existing lenses, provide me with the convienence of digital and allow me to be as creative as I want.

Well I have used this for about a week now and I must say I am VERY HAPPY. The photos look great on screen and on prints, the colour and the contrast is great and the images are not too sharp. Over the next couple of weeks you can expect many photos taken with this camera. Check out my flickr gallery!

Images

Pentax *ist Ds Back

Pentax *ist Ds Front

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New Camera

Ok it’s offical I am SPOILT!

Today I bought a new camera, one I have been eyeing for a while. So I am the proud new owner of a Pentax *ist Ds Digital SLR. This is a wonderful camera and I will soon figure out how to take a photo so you can all see 🙂

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New Year

This year we got away from home for a few days. We went out to see Dani’s mum and stay a few days, so leaving the father in law to go and see the mother in law, sounds crazy but we needed the change.

So we towed my brothers trailer out with some furniture for my mother in law. This was the first time we have done a long trip (600km each way) towing a trailer with the 307. I was really pleased with the performance and the economy ( about 7.4 l/100kms – 50 miles per gallon).

Heading out to western Queensland gave me a chance to catch up with my boss and workplace, Romavilla Winery. I have some photos of the place being processed so I will post them up later.

I enjoy getting out of the city once in a while, however being away from an Internet connection is very trying. I miss reading the news, blogs, new photos and comics that make up my daily routine. I have been taking more photos, arty shots mostly and I will post them up once I have them processed.

Although the temperature was higher out there it is more pleasent due to the lack of humidity, a nice change from the hot and humid weather here. I am heading back to work tomorrow and I can honestly say I am not in the least bit motivated.

Well enough rambling, my family and I wish you all the best this year and hope the year provides happiness and opportunities.

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Family

Family re-unions are always fraught with the fear of disappointment. Families fracture and move apart, and when they come back together ….. the pieces have grown and moved on …. so they never quite fit again. Sort of an ancestoral jigsaw. Children have grown up, but older members forget that, they only see the child. So the domineering and overly paternal attitude grates, and threatens to fracture the family again. And heaven help you if you are labelled “a disappointment”. The ties are no longer as binding, and todays generation don’t feel the same driving need to maintain relationships like previous generations. A stressful and fastpaced life means I don’t feel the pressure to maintain anything outside my direct line.

I met up with a long lost cousin. Like me he never really fitted with the family dynamic….. I ran away, he probably did too. I didn’t have many memories…. A tall gangly teenager, with wild surfer curly hair, and a slightly bemused patient smile when he had to deal with the attentions of two preteen girls. An older big brother cousin, who didn’t tease or torment me, didn’t call me fat like my other cousins.

And now …… in ways he’s very different, and much the same. That same bemused smile when I start rabbiting on. A smile that reaches to his eyes, and reminds me so much of a favourite uncle (and godfather). But like me he has changed, like me he proabably hasn’t liked all of the changes. The curly hair is gone, and not quite so gangly. As I have grown, he doesn’t seem quite so tall. But still change is good. It remains to see how this new jigsaw will fit together though.