Down

This mornings ride yielded a few interesting moments.

My mate christened his new bike with its first ride, and first crash.

But this photo is just of a small jump on the downhill section. Quite a lot of fun.

That is all.

Day 31 - Photo 31
(Step)UP

Windbag

The plan for today was to wake up early, pack the car, pick up a mate, and head up to Lancelin for some proper surf. However, a quick check at 4am revealed the wind was already howling onshore, absolutely destroying what little swell was floating around.

So instead, the full moon gets all the glory. Just as the sun was about to wake up, the moon (a blue one at that) gets all the glory.

Day 30 - Photo 30
Moonblown

Four fried chickens

Macro time, because I know you really don't want to see another dodgy night-landscape.

So here you go.

Day 29 - Photo 29
Up to 11!

Murky

Yup, playing with new toys again. This is either a shot of some ghosts having a great time in my back room, or I've been possessed and have managed to somehow transpose the sum of my knowledge into a picture.

Day 28 - Photo 28
Congeal

Cause and

Tonight it was a bit of a rush job, but bugger it, it's my blog, I'll shoot what I like :P

So it's an interesting shot, created from a basic photo and too much time playing with the various options in GIMP. Ok, so two options in GIMP. But hey, it's my computerised abstract photo for the week.

Day 27 - Photo 27
(D)E-fect

Middle

Today's photo is a pretty good representation of my mood (and general thoughts) at the time.

It's a pretty stable and solid seat, with a good outlook on the surroundings, and out of the harshness of the sun. Which should make it a happy place to sit.

Except it's empty. No-one wants to sit on it, or near it, or have anything to do with it.

When I look at this seat, I picture an old man sitting there, just watching the world go about it's business. Time passing slowly, until this seat is empty again, the old man a barely remembered piece of a familiar scene.

Day 26 - Photo 26
Empty Shadow

(better than a duck anyway)

Post Haste

This shot will look a bit different to the others, mostly because it's been taken with my new toy. Shiny new (to me) action camera mounted on the bike.

This was really just a test shot to see what comes out, taken on my ride to the evening's sport. It is cheating slightly though, as a shot is taken every 2 seconds, and I just pick the best one....

Day 25 - Photo 25
Bridge over Troubled Freeway

Past (the) Post

Here we are with Sunday's photo. This is how the leaderboard looked at the end of 18 hours of competition.

Important to notice two things about this shot. First, Smashed Crabs (the team I was on) are coming dead flat last with 16 laps (which doesn't change in the next 6 hours either). Second, the leading Solo rider has just completed 41 laps. This guy would go on to complete 50 laps (350km) before stopping, with an average lap time of under 30 minutes. Machine. Much respect.

Day 24 - Photo 24
Subfit

Post Post

This post is what was supposed to be posted on Saturday, however due to the highly technical nature of my surroundings for most of the day, it's being done on Monday instead.

And if any of this doesn't make sense, it's because I've not had a lot of sleep this weekend.

Anyway, this photo is of my partner in crime completing his first lap of many. Without this bloke, the whole weekend would've been that much more painful. So many thanks, and here's your closeup mate.

Day 23 - Photo 23
Race Face

Prep

What do you need to enjoy a weekend away? This weekend, this is what I need. This (and not much else) is what will be powering me through the bush, resting me up, and cruising down some waves. Let's just hope the body can keep up with the gear.

Incidentally, I won't be posting again until monday night. I'll still be taking the photo's, it's just I probably won't be able to upload them until I'm back home. So look out for a double or triple post on monday.

Day 22 - Photo 22
The Gear

Structure

I held out as long as I could, but there was bound to be a shot of a just-finished commercial building at some point in time.

This building was selected at random, because it happened to have the moon in the right place overhead, and some nice windows at the front. I know I keep doing all these night shots, but it's teaching me how to take better shots during the low-light times......and also teaching me the limitations of the camera (8 second shutter speed? seriously? cmon, I need more.....)

Still, there you have it. A building. At night. With the moon in the background.

Day 21 - Photo 21
Erection by Moonlight

Ideas

We all have them. Some are quite good. Others not so much. And some of them leave us wondering what the hell we were thinking at the time.

Good Idea: Going mountain biking on a long weekend on some tracks you've never been on before.

Bad Idea: Putting off training for this weekend ride until 2 weeks before the actual event.

What the Hell Idea: Doing a training ride 3 days before the main ride, and realising you've just done 1/4 of the work you'll need to do to complete the weekends ride. And you're knackered.

Day 20 - Photo 20
Future Pain

Stupid Beach

I was finally able to get a beach shot in. The weather this week has been set against it - too cold earlier in the week, and just recently there's been too much snow to make it worth taking a photo.

But today the still conditions meant the salt spray could melt the snow enough for me to get this picture. Now we just have to wait until summer before the big swells arrive, and then it'll be on with the wetsuits and out there for some waves!!!

Day 19 - Photo 19
Siroccan Night

Plant Matters

After the weather here recently, any number of gardens are looking a little bit worse-for wear - mine included (unless you're my agent, in which case they've never looked better). And so I was surprised to see this plant doing so well, despite the adverse climate in which it's currently living.

So here is my Macro shot for the week. In many ways it's a tribute to the great Richie Benaud, with the beige, the white, the off-white, the cream, the ivory....

....and back to the ground now, where rain has stopped play

Day 18 - Photo 18
(p)Lush

Cooler than cool

After chipping the ice off my car this afternoon, I was finally able to drive down the freshly gritted roads, and take today's shot. You probably can't see it in this photo, but the pools of snow-melt were still surrounded by slushy half-ice as the sun went down. Thankfully the sky remained clear so that this shot was possible.

Day 17 - Photo 17
Dusky

Remains of the day

This is what happens when pizza is left unattended near a computer. Some idiot takes a photo of it and tries to make it look weird.

Day 16 - Photo 16
Trivector

5 kinds of Awesome

Awesome #1: Tonight involved rock climbing. That on its own is awesome.

Awesome #2: The rock climbing mentioned in (1) took place at a quarry I'd never been to, at night (which I'd never tried), with a bunch of people I'd never met (With the exception of the organiseress). Which equals awesome.

Awesome #3: I learnt to lead climb properly. My previous Leading attempts have involved getting halfway up, quite scared, falling, and generally destroying any sort of confidence. For some reason, tonight's leading was not scary at all, maybe because I couldn't see all the way to the ground, or maybe because I had to look that much harder for the holds. Whatever it was, it felt great, and not scary. Awesome.

Awesome #4: The burger joint we went to for dinner did great food, and the atmosphere and company were both awesome.

Awesome #5: I found this shot on my camera. It was taken during the night climb (see, wasn't lying), and only turned out so great because someone walked into the shot halfway through the long exposure. Accidental shot for the day? Awesome.

Day 15 - Photo 15
Streaker

Memory works

I've ridden past this particular scene more times than I can remember, but it was only tonight that I thought it might make for an interesting picture.

The night sky was right as well, no cloud, and a nice warm night, so no problems with spending a bit of time setting up. Not that that really helped, as it was the second shot of the night that got used for this.

Anyway, I'm quite happy with this shot.

Day 14 - Photo 14
CourtNight

When the sun goes down

Strange things happen at night. Like people meeting up deliberately to get hot, sweaty and dirty together. In the middle of nowhere. To explore some unknown pleasures, and ride together until spent.

And at the end of a night on the bike through the bush, things get a little weird. Like this grass tree flower (aka blackboys, but you're not allowed to say that). Complete with spiders web and forked tree backdrop.

Day 13 - Photo 13
Kinked

A lighter shade

wow, a post before 10pm, that's got to be some sort of record.

Some might say that I'm just taking random shots of stuff I've got lying around because I'm too lazy to head out and take some interesting shots........they'd be right too.

So tonight it's a rustico-minimalist tribute to music everywhere, and the incedible impact it can have on human emotions.

Day 12 - Photo 12
Aura(l)

All a Quiver....

I've got to stop doing these so late at night.....

Anyway, on with the post. After years of riding the same old board, I finally splashed out the other day on a 'new and improved, super deluxe, limited edition, ride deeper/boost higher' model. Which got me thinking, is there really all that much difference between boards these days?

From a visual (and perhaps dimensional) perspective, apparently not. Today's photo is a shot of 5 boards (my old & new, and three from a mate), overlain to allow a quick and easy check of the dimensions.

First thing I notice is the placement of logo's hasn't changed much. And while the plug placement is very much a personal choice, there's a decent range there, even for 2 blokes choosing the location.

And even though there are 4 different board sizes there, there's not really that much difference between the lot. Which probably says a lot about the power of suggestion.

Day 11 - Photo 11
Sea Squint

Madness

Many words are overused these days. Madness is one I'd like to explore today.

Madness is not rocking up to the cricket 30 minutes late after an already full day. Madness is not sitting at the cricket and not drinking. Madness not is watching WA succesfully defend a modest 152.

No. Madness is trying to leave the carpark after the cricket. An hour after the match finished, the ute finally made its way out onto the roads.

But that did give me the opportunity to do this.

Day 10 - Photo 10
Blinded by the Lights

To sleep, perchance to dream

The intention was to head to the beach tonight and do a nice arty 'long exposure of wave breaking' type shot. However the wind speed and direction meant all those shots became incredibly blurry, to the point that the whole effect was really lost.

And so I turned my attention to the clouds and skyscape. A nearby streetlamp sheds some illumination on the night sky. The sound of waves breaking rises above the wind noise. And suddenly all the worries of the world don't matter so much, and enjoying that moment is what's important.

And so here is the best I can do for capturing that moment.

Day 9 - Photo 9
Do you see the Light?

Leading Nowhere

It's too late at night to say much about this photo. It was taken halfway between here and my mates place, at just past midnight, purely on a whim.

For those of you playing at home, this is a stencil-embossed precast concrete panel painted a lovely yellow.

Day 8 - Photo 8
Onwards & Upwards

Nothing from Something

Well, I'd have done something a little more interesting tonight, but I've since discovered that 11pm is slightly too late to learn how to manipulate images properly in Gimp. So that can be another day's attempt.

Today, it's a lovely closeup of some rust that has been growing (does rust grow? spread? accumulate?) on a bit of steel that's lying around in the backyard. I've looked at this a few times (which is actually more depressing than it sounds), and I reckon you can see either the baby jesus, a map of the earth, or the napkin used by the flying spaghetti monster.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to the symbolism evident in this photo. I just like the random pattern.

Day 7 - Photo 7
Oxidation

And then one day you find....

I took this because it's pertinent in many ways. Time played a large part in the cricket today, with there being too much of it for the tourists, and not enough of it for W and I to watch the match down the pub over lunch.

There was plenty of time available in my work today, and both sporting endeavours used an appropriate amount. I realised this afternoon that there are still a number of things I've been meaning to do but haven't, as well as a number of things I have done ahead of time, and so the seconds again become an issue.

To save time while writing this I also rang my parents, and watched the latest episode of a TV show. And more than ever, this blog is reminding me of just how fast time is moving along (whether or not time can be fast or slow is probably better discussed by Einstein, Hawking, and Ross Noble).

Incidentally, the watch in the photo was the first I purchased myself, and the scratches on it are a nice reminder that I've done some interesting things while wearing that watch. The watch itself has stopped working, 11:58 was a time I set in deference to Iron Maiden.

And lastly, this photo & blog means you've taken some time to be interested in (or at least tolerate) what I'm doing, which I thank you for (gives me a little buzz anyway). Looking at the time, I realise I've done what I didn't want to do, and invested too much time in waffling on about arty stuff. Enough said, here's the photo.

Day 6 - Photo 6
Well Spent

Less is Moore

Ok, the title isn't going to make much sense today, unless you watch a decent amount of BBC television, or at least have heard a lot of BBC radio. But that's your problem, not mine.

This shot is born of over-zealous cleaning, in stark contrast to yesterday's less-than-zealous tidying. I had intended to use some shots from the cricket for today's picture, except that I only took them on my phone, and have since discovered that I've thrown out the usb cable for this device, in a spate of enthusiastic de-cluttering.

So instead, I got all deep and meaningful, went outside where it was cooler, and just looked up. It's the bright points that matter, the rest is just background noise.

Day 5 - Photo 5
Pinpricks

Not that dirty

Today's inspiration is a combination of volleyball, feet, an aversion to cleaning, and the colour blue.

Why volleyball? It was the first game of the new year tonight. Why feet? They got me there, helped enormously during the game, and got me home. Why an aversion to cleaning? More a sense of futility, in that the cleaning will need to be done again very shortly.

And why the colour blue? Because it's calming, and if you use it right, can create the effect of a forensic investigation into the habitat of a amputatory maniac. See? Calming.

Day 4 - Photo 4
Two Foot Forensics

Serenity

The idea for day 3's photo was really quite simple - spend the afternoon at the pub, then get a shot of the city over the water once the sun had gone down.

And that's exactly what this is. A calm and soothing photo to top off a chilled out and relaxed afternoon. It's a bit of a cliche'd shot, but I personally think it is a fine way to finish the New Years long weekend.

Day 3 - Photo 3
Serenity - Southern Foreshore

Inspiration found

It's always a bit of a worry when you set out to do something, and then find that very early on, you have a mental block for ideas. That was my dilemma today.

Thankfully, I've got s few good friends who can provide suggestions when my own brain just isn't working properly. A macro shot from the garden was put forward, so out I went. And here is the result.

I went for the dead leaf, instead of the verdent greenery beyond, as it's more appropriate for this time of year, and a reminder that nothing lasts forever. Bit of a sad note, but there you go. You can see my macro skills aren't quite there, but for a manually focussed shot while lying in the dirt on my back, I think it's passable.

Day 2 - Photo 2
Summer's Dryness - Suburban Backyard

Day 1

Ok, so day 1, and I'm searching around for inspiration of cool stuff to photograph. Got to start with a good one, I think. Got to make sure it's not too rubbish. Got to put aside time to do this. Holy crap, time to head out for some climbing, just take the camera and hope for the best.

This first shot I took while waiting for my climbing buddies to turn up. I was lying on the rock with my head in a cave, just chilling out and relaxing. 5 minutes of this and I realise this is a side of the rock no-one normally sees, and that the sunlight effect is pretty cool too. The sky was perfect for it, and so out came the camera, and a few minutes later I had my first shot.

I could bang on for a bit about how the fact it's the underside of the rock means we should be looking at things from different angles, and indicates a different perspective on life. Or I could rant for a a bit about how the sun coming down into the shot is a sort of 'inverted delayed dawn', symbolising new beginnings later in life. But I think I'll just ponder how the bird-poop ended up on the ceiling instead.

Day 1 - Photo 1
Underside of Cave, Blackwall Reach.

Dawn

Well, it's another year, and time to start some kind of major project. And since I also want to improve my photography skills this year, it's time for a 365Photo project.

Basically what this means is each day I'll be taking a photo and posting it up here. Some days it will be a terrible shot just to make up the numbers, but I'm aiming to make most of the shots a carefully composed and thought out arrangment (or at least a half decent shot of something a bit ordinary).

The rules I'm imposing on myself for this are pretty simple. No more than 3 of the same type of shot (macro, landscape, abstract) in a week, and at least once a week the photo must be digitally altered (HDR, blurred, action sequenced, panorama), so that I'm improving my editing techniques at the same time.

That's about it, let the shooting commence.