Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This is my first week back at Scavenger Hunt Sunday and to be completely honest I hadn't planned on participating this week, due to lack of time to get my camera out. But once again, I was inspired by those that have posted their enteries and wondered if I could pull out some photos from my archives. While we're encouraged to take new photos each week, I figure that I've edited them this week and that's gotta count for something :)

1. Family

This photo is nothing special, except that it really is. This is my wonderful family (Lexi, Morgan, Dad, Mum, Lee and Me.) We took this yesterday morning before all the extended family arrived for lunch and present openings. The reason it's so special is because it's very rare that we are all in the same place at the same time and that everyone agrees to particpate in photo taking. It's all the more special for a couple of reasons. 1. Mum and Dad seperated three years ago, but thankfully for us kiddies they are still friends and we can have wonderful christmas' together. 2. While Morgan is not technically family yet, he will be in 2 months when he and Lee marry. To me, he's already my brother. 3. Bunker's in the photo, I just wish Sixteen had been around too. And 4. My wee niece or nephew is in the photo too, you just won't meet him/her until next year when he/she will be 6 months old :)
(Are you wondering why we're outside in summer clothes on Christmas Day? Well, I live in New Zealand and it's summer here, so Christmas is always warm and beautiful. We've had a sunny December, but a very windy and rainy week. Fingers were crossed for sun on Christmas Day and true to form the sun shone and the wind died down allowing us a beautiful day for a BBQ.)

2. Motion Blur

I'm really not a fan of motion blur generally, and I definetly didn't like this photo at first. But, after discovering the prompt and looking at this photo in a new light I realised it's uniqueness. This is my sister and her fiancee, taken last year some time. They are a fun couple and were acting the fool this night. Now that I've played with it a bit I love that the only thing in focus is Lee's face.

3. Pretty Package

Normally I like to use handmade name tags, but this year I found these really cute tags at the supermarket and I just couldn't resist. I've been trying to use up all the ends of christmas paper, but every year I find I have more than the year before. How does that happen?! It does make for very colourful photos tho.

4. Glow

So, I can't really take credit for this one because my Dad took it, but I edited it slightly, so I'm ok with it. It's me, on Waikanae Beach, at sunset. We didn't pose it on purpose, but it's the family photo that's now dubbed "Proof that the sun really does shine out of Heather's butt". 

5. Sparkle

This one really was taken this week. It's a macro of one of my sequined heart decorations on my tree. I don't like tinsel or the traditional snowmen etc type decorations (mainly because christmas to me is about summer and fun, not snow!). I like to have sparkley and different decorations. And I love my macro lens, so what better way to celebrate the season than to put the two together?! I love the abstract-ness of the photo.

Merry Christmas everyone

Wow, it's been almost a week since I made a blog post. It must be December. I'm looking forward to Christmas Day, but mostly I'm looking forward to the 10 days break. Work has been absolutely crazy - it's definetly a wind up to the end of the year and not a wind down. Today was so quiet though, I'm thinking about taking a book tomorrow. Maybe I'll have time to make a longer blog with a catch up on December. .

If not, I'll be back on board after Christmas. I have a list of things to do over the summer, one of which is get back in to my blogging. Stay tuned :)

Macro Friday

This is one of my beautiful christmas tree ornaments. I've loved having my macro lens this year to capture all the christmas beauty.

My Christmas Tree Angels

Made by my Mum

I don't know where I got this one from, but I love how naked she is :)

Bought from Trade Aid

An inherited angel from a friends collection

An angel that I made years ago and can't bare to throw away

Bought from Trade Aid

A gift from a friend years ago

Bought as a window ornament that I now hang on the tree

Bought from Trade Aid

Made by Mum

Bought from Trade Aid - almost the same as the one above, but this one was a gift from my sister-in-law in the same year that I bought the first one

One of six that I bought from The Warehouse. They are the smallest and they all hold different things. I like the dove the best.

Bought from the Kirks Chritmas store one year. It sits funny, but I love all the feathers.

Bought from The Warehouse. I call it my Lu Angel, because it looks uncannily like my friends daughter Lu.

Bought from Trade Aid - I love that store!!

Bought by a friend for another friend, but it was going to get thrown away so I rescued it.

Beautiful glass angel that I bought from The Warehouse

Another Trade Aid angel

A special little gift that Dad bought me from the Kirks Christmas store

The newest angel this year - Bought from a children's bookstore in Auckland.

Pohutakawa angel from the Kirks Christmas store

Facebook Status updates

Most of you will have a Facebook page and most of you will regularly update your status with funny comments, questions and your moods. There's an application that allows you to make a 2010 Status collage. Here's mine:

Christmas Wish List

Just in case you're stuck for present ideas for me this year, here's my CHRISTMAS WISH LIST (in no particular order):

I-Pod (Ideally an ipod nano, but a shuffle is all I really need)

Heavy duty hair dryer (one that will dry my hair in 20 secs instead of 2 hours)

Gorilla Tri-Pod

Display case for my shot glass collection
Camera Bag (to hold all my lenses and camera while out and about) 

Lessons on how to use Photoshop

Animal beads for pandoro bracelet

Laptop fixed (It's driving me crazy!)

New car (a bit farfetched I know, but I need a new one, the one I have is costing me waaaay to much money to maintain and fix all the time)

Board Games

Necklaces and/or Rings

Books 

Whitcoull vouchers

Bendon vouchers 

Christmas decorations

Bubble apparatus

A holiday! (Anywhere, Anytime, Anyway) 

 $1,000,000.00 (too much?, can't blame a girl for trying, hehe) 

HAPPY SHOPPING :)

Happy John's Day

I know I haven't bloged for awhile, and it's not because I have nothing to say, but rather I'm so busy and have so much to say, but I'm afraid I might just spill the secrets that can't yet be shared. Those of you that know what they are will understand, and those of you that don't will totally understand once you do. Bare with me!

In the meantime here's a little song for ya. Happy John's Day everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOHN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUU

Wood Pigeons

Outside my window tonight there were two wood pigeons sitting on the telephone wire over the road. I managed to get my camera out and not startle them too much while walked underneath them to take photos. One took off and chased a third one around the neighbourhood for a while before the first one took off two.

Summer & Diaries

First of all let me just say: Happy FIRST day of summer! I love that it's summer now :) With the weather that we've been having in Spring I think it's going to be a scorcher of a summer and it's about time.

I've been warbling on about how busy I am leading up to Christmas and I was starting to get very stressed about the lead up to Christmas. So, I got my hands on a 2010 diary that no one was using and put down all the events and notes for the next month. And all of sudden I realised that I don't have nearly as much going on as I thought I did. Immediately I feel less stressed. I guess I'm getting a 2011 diary!

Mellow Yellow Monday

Yep, it's Monday again. I played around with a photo of one of the dandilions growing in my garden. I had Mellow Yellow Monday in mind, so made sure to really enhance the 'yellowness' of the image.

Photo Edits

I've bought photoshop and I'm yet to learn how to use it. I've always been a fan of natural photos and SOOC shots, but recently I've been inspired to start learning how to use editing tools to enhance my photography. So, I've started playing with the very basic tools for 'fixing' photos on my built in computer software. If this is what I can do with the basics, just imagine what I'll be able to do when I finally learn how to use photoshop!

I've edited the same photo in several ways. Let me know how what you think ok!

This is the original photo (it's the food market in Port Villa, Vanuatu, that Mum and I visited in 2008):

And these are my edits:

Photo Challenge Help

Ok folks, I need some inspiration from you all. Next week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday photo items are:

1. Black & White

2. I ate this. . .

3. Historic

4. Off-Centre

5. The End

Black & White, I ate this. . . and Off-Centre shouldn't be too hard, but it's Historic and The End that I'm having trouble coming up with ideas for. Do you have any suggestions?! AH from work suggested walking to the end of a peir or a beach and looking back to take a photo from "The End". I love that idea, so will give it a try.

My other problem is that I don't have much time in which to complete them this week as I'm away Fri & Sat in the Hawkes Bay for conference. As much as I would love to take my camera and go on a walk or somewhere while I'm up there, past conference experience means I'm not even going to pretend like I'll have time to do that. I do get home about 10.30am on Sunday, so that leaves the afternoon to snap away, but one suspects one may be exhausted. Oh well, the things you do for love aye.

Mellow Yellow Monday

Yep, it's Monday again. That means it's time for YELLOW MELLOW MONDAY. I've been keeping an eye out for yellow items to photograph and it occured to me that I have yellow right in front of me everyday. My work PC sits on top of two Wellington Yellow Pages phone books.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Yes, I'm early! I've been playing around with different photo edits of old photos for this weeks selection. So here we are:

1. The View Above

Each year the Cuba Street Carnival is a very festive and exotic carnival, and it's so very colourful! I just love, love, love the bright, colouful flags that are strung between buildings all down the street.

2. Something Hot

A hot chocolate that was molded to look like it's recipient, one wintery afternoon.

3. Something Cold

This is one of my faveourite photos ever, for a couple of reasons. 1. It's a self-potrait which I'm not too fond of taking generally but I love this one. 2. It shows me in the snow - probably the first and last time I'll every go to the snow and 3. It's just a good photo :)

4. Electronic

The sandwich press is kept extremely clean (can anyone say 'paranoid'?!) and shiny apparently. So shiny that it's a mirror. I love finding art in everyday objects :)

5. Sparkle

I have a gorgeous crystal that hangs in my window most days, but one day I had it hanging by the wall. When the sunlight hit it in the afternoon it created the most beautiful patterns and 'sparkles'  on the wall.