all in, all out

my mobile camera (sony ericsson cybershot 3.2MP) takes fairly decent photos, and has some funky inbuilt effects settings. one of them is solarize - which overexposes the image, causing the colours to bleed into one another - resulting in blocks of colour and blurred line definition. this image is taken on that setting from the first floor landing overlooking an infamous 'clappers' poker night. i was taking the photo after i did a spectacular fail on an 'all in' bluff with a really crap hand. this is not an unusual occurence on these evenings :)

art comes in a spray can

i am a total fan of graffiti when it is not offensive, not watant vandalism. in fact i wouldn't even call it graffiti at all, i would call it street art. banksy does street art. stupid bored teenagers do tagging which is graffiti. one of the many reasons i love melbourne is that it has loads of awesome street art. i can't help but take photos of it every time i'm down there. this particular one was in a little alley off flinders street which i took while waiting for friends to go to a tapas bar. the character looks a little 'where the wild things are' max-like.

the australian dream

is owning your own home. my sister gina and her partner just got the keys to their new place in taroona yesterday - lots of work to do (including replacing this rusty letterbox!) but it's a labour of love when it's yours, and the end result carries with it a real sense of satisfaction. i love older places like the one they bought, they have so much more character than the new mass produced concrete boxes. it was lots of fun helping them pulling up ancient carpet and lino, and ripping down wallpaper today.

there's a mouthful of wine left there

this is a bit of an abstract one which is about my personal associations with the image. it's the end of a delicious christmas day lunch with a scrunched up and admitted un-christmassy-looking napkin, the end of a good glass of wine, and the start of a good (ie tasmanian) beer. you're full and content and sharing some good times with three generations of your family. you're making memories. it's been a good day and you're happy with your lot in life. or rather, i was :) 

art, um, autumn

part of loving trees is that i really love autumn! this is an image showcasing the natural beauty of berlin - the stunning tiergarten in full autumn glory. this massive city park stretches for kilometres through the old west berlin right up to the brandenburg gate and the reichstag. mands and i were staying in a hotel near the fringe of the park so many a time we walked through it on our wanders to various sights in our week in berlin. nature is art.

jess and her dad

dad is the bigger, more unstable looking one on the left. i am the more carefully composed and sturdier one on the right. we built our traveller's cairns by the water at the bay of fires when we were there a few weekends ago. i wonder if they (we!) are still standing there. how long will we stand the test of time, nature, or more destructive-minded folk passing by?

up to date with the tetanus shot, no worries mate

a more positive (well to me) shot of barb wire. this image is very australian to me, a segment of a rusty old leaning fence with long dry grass in the background. i took this the other week walking along the bay of fires with mands and my parents. we were all a bit scared there might be some snakes in the grass. i even jumped at a tiny lizard scurrying off the path at one point.

barb(aric) wire

this is the remains of a wall at sachsenhausen, a concentration camp north of berlin. i don't really want to say anything more other than the grey clouds in the background are appropriate. i only took a handful of photos when i visited this site. it still makes me feel sad to think about it. actually the one other thing i will say no country or race is without a chequered history or a mistake.

grand slam thank you ma'am

serena williams won the 2009 australian open women's singles final last night in melbourne. i took the above photo while watching her convincingly win her round 3 match in the rod laver arena last saturday morning. she really is a power player - no wonder, she is built of 100% muscle!

the hills were alive

one morning we walked up the hill to the castle overlooking salzburg to take some photos, and as we returned we noticed an unmarked path leading off through the trees and decided to have a little look. for the next few hours we wandered the trails meandering through autumn coloured forested hills and it was lovely.