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Balingup Medieval Carnivale

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:29:12 +0000

Balingup is the first town / village north of Bridgetown on the South West Highway, about 25km closer to Perth and Bunbury. The town is known (imho) for two things , the best provincial French restaurant in WA Fre-Jac and the Balingup Medieval Carnivale held on the fourth weekend of August each year.

This year, I managed to attend the carnivale but was unable to secure a restaurant booking and had so be content with some Yahava coffee and a duck pie from the Fre-Jac coffee shop.

A few pics from my day at the carnivale ….

Fire-eater at the Balingup Medieval Carnivale

Maid at the Balingup Medieaval Carnivale

Knight at Balingup Medieval Carnivale

Dragon at the Balingup Medieval Carnivale

Man at the Balingup Medieaval Carnivale

Black and white

Admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:39:08 +0000

As a presentation media, I find that black and white is particularly suited to portraits of people. Without the distractions of colour, we can feel closer to the people photographed and we are less distracted by their clothing and surroundings.

Pazza and Nicky

Bill Rogers / Zydecats

I find that black and white can more easily portray a wider range of emotions than what can be conveyed in colour images. It allows us to better understand the emotion of the sitters and it can allow us to have a greater range of emotional responses when we view images.

Beached as bro

About to go under

Rollcall

Landscapes as abstract art.

Admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:52:06 +0000

For me, the landscape is not so much a scene made up of lots of smaller details all added together to present some kind of panorama. I’ve never been one to take in a big scene. Sometimes I ignore the “big picture” and focus just on some tiny details. Other times I will squint my eyes and let things go out of focus, loose all the detail and just be left with the scent and the colours.

In the forest #3

Even now when I look at this image, I can still recall the dryness of the air, the smell of burnt wood and I can feel the heat of the late afternoon autumn sun. The 2009 bushfires around Bridgetown caused lots of damage to both the the cultivated and natural environments. But the fires are part of a natural cycle, after the destruction comes regrowth …

In the forest #2

After the first rains the regrowth comes quickly. I love the colours of this image, the ochre coloured earth, the blackened trees, the green new growth and the gold of the sun. These are the colours of *my* Australia. These are the colours that ground me, these are the colours that fill me with joy.

A bit further south from Bridgetown are the forests around Pemberton. There it is cooler and wetter; the forests around here are so magnificent, but again it’s not the details of the scenery that captivate me it’s the colours, the shapes and the scent.

Pemberton before dark

Even after dark the colours of the forests remain. To be alone meditating in the forests makes me feel at peace with the world and myself. No sound, sight or smell of human activity – just the cool moist darkness while the forest comes alive with nightlife. Beautiful.

Pemberton after dark

Bushfires and regrowth

Admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:56:26 +0000

Bushfires are a fact of life in much Australia. They can cause massive harm, destruction, and death. But they are part of the life cycle for Aussie bush, some seeds need the heat of a fire to germinate, others need nutrients from the ash, others plants thrive after the undergrowth of competing plants is removed.

Late afternoon sun streams through fire damaged trees.

They can also be beautiful, especially after the fire is long gone. These images were taken near the Highlands estate just a few km’s outside the Bridgetown township.

View from the ground

And so once again …

Admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:24:26 +0000

Here I am.

Again !!

The start of yet another new blog. The old one? Well, sadly it died of atrophy and neglect; being read only by the spambots. Will this one be different? As always, time will be the judge.