17 posts tagged “photography”

Well I have taken the next BIG step and increased one of my MP medications, the one which only gets increased every 3 months or so.  I would have taken it 10 days ago only I was too busy to deal with any adverse reactions I may get.

At the moment my muscles are very weak, but I think that has more to do with too much physical and mental activity over the past couple of weeks.

So now I wait and see how bad the adverse effects will be.

I am still hiding from the sun and I still have to wear dark glasses despite what my profile pic may indicate.  I was naughty for that pic, I not only took my sunglasses off, but I also had the blinds open so that I could get a better photo using natural light.  The photos (yes there were a lot of "takes") were taken with the camera set to a 10 second timer.  By the time I had finished taking all of the photos, tripping over the doona many times as I quickly tried to scramble onto the bed and look half decent for the shot, I was sweating like pig under my denim clothes and was about ready to flake it.

Today I have tried to rest as much as possible, read articles while lying down and posted the ones I thought were interesting.  I think I am now due for a couple of episodes of Eureka.

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Has the country gone crazy? 

No I don't think so, it is just Australia.

In case you have missed nature's latest happenings in Australia here is a quick recap.

It started with a drought.

Then with floods in Northern Queensland.  Whole towns have been underwater, other communities have been cut off from the rest of the country.  Some areas will be underwater for a few months.  There have been huge animal stock losses.  Supplies have had to be flown into isolated communities.  A few towns have reportedly ran out of beer - yes it is that serious!

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Another unfortunate problem that has come with the flood waters in Queensland is the presence of salt water crocodiles in urban areas.  A five year old boy was taken by a crocodile on the 8th of February. The crocodile has now been captured and at the request of the boy's parents the crocodile will not be destroyed, but will instead be housed in a crocodile farm.  It will not be put on public display.  I have to give full credit to the boy's parents for not desiring the reptile to be killed.
 
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Today there was another incident with a crocodile this time in Mount Isa's CBD.  A freshwater crocodile was accidently ran over by a taxi and sadly it did not survive its injuries.  Freshwater crocodiles are not as dangerous as salties as the freshwater variety are smaller and mainly feed on small animals.
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So far the Queensland floods have affected 9, 700 people.

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While floods were occuring in Queensland, the southern states of Australia experienced their worst ever heatwaves.  A record number of days above 40C was set.  The top temperature of about 48C (118F) occurred on Saturday 7th February, the day which will now be known as Black Saturday; the fateful day when the killer bushfires began across Victoria. So far 200 people have been confirmed dead in the fires, 1800 homes destroyed and 15, 000 people have been affected by the fires.  There are still fires burning in Victoria, but at this stage none are near homes or townships. 

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Sadly a volunteer firefighter died yesterday when a tree fell on him while he was on duty in the Marysville fire area.  He is the first firefighter to have lost his life during these fires.  Our full praises go out to these brave men and women who make up the Victorian Country Fire Association and the other state country fire units - these men and women are all volunteers, they do not get paid for their life saving services.

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When the bushfires were threatening Victoria, the state of New South Wales was dealing with a number of shark attacks. In Sydney two men were attacked by a shark in separate incidents two days apart. Today it was announced that the first victim, a navy diver who was attacked in Sydney Harbour while engaging in navy exercises will have to have his leg amputated, he had already lost a hand in the attack.  The second victim was a surfer who was surfing off Bondi Beach and suffered severe injuries to his arm. 

Most experts agree the cluster of attacks is a freak coincidence and say there is no evidence of an increase in the country's shark population. Nevertheless, some have argued that cleaner, nutrient-rich waters have boosted the animals' reproduction and drawn them into shallow waters.

Although sharks are often spotted off Australia's beaches, fatal attacks are rare. On average, just one person is killed by a shark in Australia each year, according to the Australian Shark Attack File database.

New South Wales now also has floods to contend with and some communities have been isolated due to the floods.  I also believe Western Australia is also experiencing some flooding.  The state of South Australia is hoping for a positive from the NSW and Queensland floods. It is hoping that some of the flood water will flow down into South Australia and help replenish some of the drought affected areas and increase water supplies.

In 1908 Dorothea Mackellar at the age of 22 published a poem about Australia.  She wrote it during a stay in England when she was homesick for her country Australia.   This poem is a fitting tribute to Australia in light of the events Australia has experienced over the past month or so.

"My Country"

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
I know but I cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding plains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold rush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back three-fold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze ...

A opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

 

  

    

I woke up this morning thinking maybe I was a bit harsh yesterday suggesting that the arsonists should experience what it is like to be incinerated in one of their own fires.  However, once I checked the situation at the fires this morning that rethink quickly got turfed!

Arsonists struck in north-east Victoria overnight, diverting crews from blazes that have already contributed to the worst bushfire disaster in the state's history.

Two fires were lit at Stanley near Beechworth, but crews managed to extinguish them before they could cause any major damage or exacerbate the threat to local communities. It is understood police have a description of a car seen in the vicinity of the fires and are searching for two people. (ABC News)

My parents and brother live just out of Beechworth on the family farm. My brother works at an apple orchard near Stanley.  The last thing I want is a couple of fire bugs roaming the countryside near Beechworth and its surrounding areas lighting fires.  It is bad enough being worried about lightening strikes and other unavoidable causes of fires without having to worry about these idiots creating more havoc.  How much more devastation do these "people" wish to see!

As PM Rudd said these people should rot in hell.

 

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We have already had one fire rip through the farm in 1985, we don't need another one.

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For those that don't know I am currently under going medical treatment where I have to avoid sunlight, this is just me having a bit of fun with some of the clothing.  The black clothes are undergarments and they are quite often used for extreme weather outdoor activities such as hiking.  The hat is called a Frillneck Urban Turban.  The glasses are special sunglasses I have to wear inside and outside due to an increase in sensitivity to sunlight.  The mask is called a Buff and they are also used by outdoors people to protect them from the elements - I intend to wear it more as a scarf than use it to completely cover my face.  Due to the configuration of the hat it can cover my face if needed.

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I took a few photos of the lunar eclipse last night.  I am a bit disappointed with how blurry some are, however serves myself right.  It pays to brush up on night photography when you haven't done it for a while well before it is time to start shooting, it isn't much fun trying to read camera instruction booklets by torch light while the moon just keeps going about its business.  I had a bit of trouble initially with cloud cover as well, but luckily the cloud dissipated enough to at least get some shots.  The cloud cover also caused a few interesting effects.

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This photo was taken at Lorne, Victoria, Australia.

One of those photos where I snapped the camera at just the right time.  This photo was taken about 5 years ago.  It is one of my favourite photos.

I was sent this slide presentation a while ago in an email and I thought that it might be appropriate for displaying around the time of Mothers Day. It is a slideshow of babies and children doing what they do best, getting themselves into amusing situations.

Babies and Children - a slide show for Mothers Day

It’s download size is 1.6MB

My photos help remind me of how far I have progressed in my return to good health - Chezza

These photos were taken at the Beechworth Cascades January 2007.  The cascades are above the back of my family farm.  We also found that they make for some great swimming holes on a hot January day.