Twilight blues.....

Taken from the south side of the Swan River as the evening sun slides down over Perth City. I had a bit of fun with the help of the new and improved Picasa.  I used a touch of focal zoom, saturation and lomo'ed around the edges for that surreal feel. The original untouched version is below, whichever one you prefer, there's no denying, Perth sure looks pretty in the twilight oui? p.s. it RAINED last night in Perth, the smell after such a long dry spell was divine! Have a wonderful Friday.....

Bankers and business men.....

The National Hotel, one of Fremantle's historic Federation style buildings was almost destroyed by fire in March 2007, the interior was gutted, fortunately the facade was saved and the hotel has now been completely restored to it's former glory, AND it's up for sale! So if you're in the market to buy a 'heritage listed' hotel in a prime position, it sits on the corner of South Terrace, known as the 'cappuccino strip',  and High Street so it couldn't possibly be in a more customer friendly spot, this could be the one for you! Hopefully you'll have a little more luck than Mr Butler who thought it was a dead cert until the bank stepped in, the banner is still up, are you interested.....? p.s please read this link to help with the theme day for April http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/.....

Early morning puzzler.....

When it's possible, especially if it's going to be a scorcher, I like to set my equilibrium straight by starting the day off really early with a big mug of coffee and a crossword puzzle outside in the fresh air before it gets unbearably hot. If it's through the week, it's usually a ten minute crossword from any magazines that might be hanging about, if it's the weekend and there's more time it's the cryptic crossword from the paper. If you're not at work at the crack of dawn, how do you like to start your day?

This is what rain looks like in Perth.....!!

According to the weather bureau (pfffft!) it would be raining in Perth on Sunday and Monday hallelujah! This was yesterday, Sunday ditto!! So it looks like it's time to pull out the big guns! A big group of us are gathering tonight on the beach where we will engage in a traditional Red Indian rain dance to invoke the rain spirits into spilling some of their precious drops our way. No seriously, that's not going to happen, it will just be me, alone out in my back garden having a 'hissy fit' haha! When we were having our walk around the marina, I spotted this bicycle parked right ON the beach, with it's owner, wearing a bright yellow fishnet tee shirt and a very dark tan, a short way away, I so wanted to ask him if I could take his photo, but instead walked all the way around, over the bridge above, and zoomed in from about where the yellow umbrellas in the right hand corner are and got an excellent shot of his hands and feet. So tell me, how do you go about approaching a person and asking if you can take their picture? Hope your week has started off well.....

Laughing Dove.....

It always fascinates me where birds seem happy to build their nests, last year I showed you a family of Swallows that were nesting happily atop a security box at the local shopping centre quite unconcerned about the traffic flow beneath them. This Laughing Dove has built her nest and hatched her eggs in a Ficus tree, planted in a pot outside my sister's back door. She has two highly excitable and yappy (very cute) little dogs that no doubt would have them for breakfast if they got half the chance, yet there they are, happily ensconced, and it's not the first time, they do it every year. Maybe the Dove's gentle demeanor hides a 'live on the edge' streak.....! Another Monday, another week, let's hope it's a good one.....p.s. there's something pretty on Billsdiving today....

Ecstasy and agony....!

This was without doubt the most delicious chocolate croissant I've EVER eaten (well outside of  Paris anyway!), and believe me I have had a few.  You can see the choccy oozing from the middle of the warm pastry, well worth the time I'll have to spend on the cross trainer to ensure that it doesn't settle permanently on my nether regions haha!!  On Thursday we went to Fremantle, there was a particular shot that I wanted to get, which I didn't, but I did get a few others that I 'm pretty pleased with (like yesterday's post). This luscious croissant was from The Fremantle Bakehouse one of the many cafes along the Cappuccino Strip on South Terrace, it was worth the trip for this alone! I do hope you experience something delicious in your day today.....!!

Not a Bansky, a ROA.....!

Spotted on the wall of a furniture store as we were leaving Fremantle on Thursday, an extremely  large very cool mural of a Numbat, a Western Australian marsupial that exists mainly on a diet of termites. This 25m mural read the story, it's amazing, was commissioned by the City of Fremantle who paid $15,000 to a Belgian born graffiti artist known only as ROA who, although not as well known as British street artist Bansky, has murals in cities like New York and Berlin. He painted the mural almost overnight and picked the Numbat as it's an endangered species, his point being that people who live in cities tend to forget about their environment! The technique that he uses for these massive murals is described in the above link, fascinating! Has anyone spotted a ROA in their city?  I'm really missing the CDP forum, feel a little out of touch, am I the only one? Hope you have a fab weekend.....!

Feeling blue.....!

I'm not sure what it is about this image that I really liked, it might be because usually when I post a 'blue' picture it's all about the Indian Ocean, the beach and this time there's not a tanned bod in sight! The structure in the background is actually one of the biggest container ships I've seen in dock at Fremantle Harbour, honestly it was enormous, and the deep blue is the rail crossing over the Swan River, and the train, well what can I say, it appeared at just the right moment!! Even though I'm feeling blue,  I hope your Friday is filled with colour.....

City of Perth - Get To Know Me (HD)

This is the latest video put out by the City of Perth to show Perth to the world, I really like it and hopefully you'll recognize some of the sights that I've shown on the blog. It's only a minute long, short but succinct, I think you might be impressed with what you see, if you click on the 'Watch on YouTube' it should play for you. I'm sure like most of you, I do most of my blogging at night, and sometimes it can get a wee bit late, last night my eyes refused to stay open after 8pm, I'll have to catch up today and see what I missed. Wonder what's up with the CDP site, has anyone heard?  Have a fab Thursday.....

Spotted in Leederville.....!!

I'm not really what you'd call a 'car' person, all I want from my vehicle is for it to get me from A to B without any mishaps, doesn't mean I can't appreciate a beauty like this powder blue Cadillac (I only know that because it's there on the side) For a moment I had images of cruising, blond hair flying out behind me, or maybe a scarf Princess Grace style hahaha!..when in reality the damn thing has the steering wheel on the wrong side and it would be more a case of trying desperately to avoid oncoming traffic! Below is a picture of what I really look like cruising with the top down in my friend's car, not quite so glam huh! This one's for you M la Vache, I know you enjoy an elegant old classic. Here we are midway through another week, unbelievable.....!

Rescued, twice..just to be sure.....!!

It's such a pleasure to watch the Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club during a training session.  They're  so dedicated and enthusiastic, you can't help get caught up in the positive vibes! So here's how it works..they take their 'target' a little off shore and throw him overboard with great gusto, turn the boat and scream towards the shore, whirl it around and head back out to where he's convincingly playing 'in trouble'..They haul him on board and would normally get him back to shore pronto and start with whatever procedures are necessary to revive him... however as this is a training session..

they head back to shore, but before they get there they dump him overboard again and zoom off leaving him to raise his hand in the distress signal and wait for rescue No. 2 by surf board.....

Cue the lifesaver who heads out on her board through the waves to perform the rescue..reaching her target, she proceeds to haul him onto the board, which didn't look that easy, as, let's put it this way, he wasn't a lightweight!

Once she had him safely 'on board' she climbed up behind him and started kicking for shore.. success. Of course it's all so much easier when the weather conditions are good and the 'casualty' is probably cracking jokes all the way back to shore.....They do an award winning job in sometimes horrendous conditions, so in my books all praise to them. Happy Tuesday.....btw is anyone else having problems with the CDP forum page, I haven't been able to get it up for two days now?

Aussie beach bums.....!!

Yesterday was a warm day in Perth, 35C with a light sea breeze, the ocean really was this aquamarine blue! We had a stroll along the beach to see what was going on!! Got some great shots of the surf lifesavers practicing their rescue techniques, which I'll show you tomorrow. I got a bit side tracked by so many people still lying baking in the hot sun to top up their 'perfect' tans! From now on I've decided to embrace the 'pale and interesting' look, I just don't have the stamina for the heat anymore..

Like all beach side cities Perth has it's nudist beach, Swanbourne Beach is ours, I love the advice the site gives prospective visitors to this beach.. 'bring sunscreen, the Australian sun can burn your bum'!! I do hope these ladies have taken this advice and not just turned the other cheek.....!! I hope your new week begins well.....

So where is YOUR blog 'spot'.....?

A little while ago I mentioned I was looking for a new chair to go with the desk P had made for me. I didn't want a modern chair, I was after something old with a bit of character. On Thursday I went to check out the antique shops along Beaufort Street, I hadn't been along there for ages and was surprised to see that most of the antique shops had disappeared (most people buying IKEA these days I was told). I did however come across exactly what I was looking for in Central Antiques (if you look you'll see my chair in there). It's a Victorian balloon backed chair, made in oak, that just needed a little bit of tightening up (hmmm, there's line there I'm sure!) to make it as good as new. Anyway this is where I sit, in front of the window looking onto the front garden and prepare my blog,  I was wondering where you do yours....!

This is another old chair that I found a while back, it needed much more work, and totally recovering, I think P did a great job.....Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday, see you next week.....!!,

A walk around Hyde Park.....

Have you ever noticed that when you're trying to get a decent shot of birds, it's almost as if they know it and start preening, I was trying to get a full frontal of these two Mallard ducks but they had their heads stuck in all the wrong places! Still I liked the colours and reflections. I'm not terribly fond of the Ibis, they seem a little macabre to me, but he was there so .....snap!!

On the other hand these colourful little Rainbow Lorikeets are a delight to see. They were squabbling over some of the figs that had fallen into the fork of the Morten Bay Fig tree.....

Couldn't resist a shot of the said Morten Bay Fig tree roots which grow to a huge size over the years.

 

The last two are my favourites, firstly the park is such a great spot for school outings, so many different birds to see..on the day I was there, there were a group of  young school children enjoying the park, sitting under the trees enjoying their lunch. Lastly, even though he was quite a way off, there was no way I could resist this handsome face peering at me from behind one of the big Plane trees, he was gorgeous! Hope you've enjoyed this walk and that wherever you are the weather allows you to have a good walk yourself this weekend. p.s. I did laugh last night when I realized I'd used a word that might have duel meaning..believe me if the bride had hiked her dress up to reveal a thong 'American' 'style, everyone in the park would have fallen over the edge into the lake hahahahaha! Have a great weekend.....

Wedding dress and thongs.....!

Yesterday the search continued for the 'perfect' chair for my new desk, and yes..success!! On the way home I stopped at Hyde Park, mainly to see if I could get a few shots of the Black Swans, but not a one to be found! I did however on the way back to the car see a fantastic opportunity to 'shoot the shooter'.  I don't think this was a real wedding, I got the feeling it was some sort of promo shoot. You'll see in this sequence of shots that he was so busy snapping that he didn't realize he was right on the edge of the drop into the lake. I was ready for THAT shot! As I passed, I was just in time to see the 'bride' hike up her beautiful dress and reveal that she was wearing....thongs! Comfy, but definitely not bridal!

I looked back after I'd passed to see the 'couple' relaxing and the photographer scouting around for another location..It doesn't matter when you stop by Hyde Park, it's such good value, you'll always find something going on. Happy Friday.....

Chen Man for MAC at Myers.....

Last night Aimee and I were invited to preview an exhibition of  '12 of the most exhilarating i-D magazine covers' by Beijing born fashion photographer Chen Man (check them out) who's style is described as 'bold and experimental'. Chen Man lived up to her reputation with these images inspired by 'love and water, yin and yang, pink and blue' created using MAC cosmetics. Man uses 'progressive digital post production techniques' to create her original and inspiring images...a perfect opportunity for moi to go crazy in  'picnik' before it disappears in April.....!

While we were there Aimee tried out the new range of colours inspired by Man's images, applied by the very gorgeous and extremely talented make-up artist Crystal. I decided not to use effects with these two shots because, well, they're two gorgeous young women wearing hot pink lipstick and they shine without any added enhancement oui! Hope you have a terrific Thursday, it's going to be a beautiful 29C in Perth today, perfect!   I haven't said that for a while.....