1. Jacaranda mimosifolia, 2. Jacaranda Vineyard, 3. Jacaranda, 4. Jacaranda, 5. The Jacaranda Tree, 6. Jacaranda Carpet, 7. Jacaranda, University of Queensland, 8. Jacaranda Carpet, Adelaide _1015_2_2, 9. Jacarandas original, 10. jacarandas, 11. jacarandas in full bloom, downtown Los Angeles, California, 12. Jacaranda mimosifolia -flor- (II)
Discovering manual focus...and a random lemon that turned up in the classroom.
Rule of thirds.
Rule of thirds/Depth of field.
Leading lines.
Leading lines.
Leading lines.
Warm image.
Cool image.
Movement/Cool image.
Movement.
Movement.
Texture/Depth of field.
Texture.
Repetition.
Repetition/Depth of field
Repetition/Warm image.
Learning about indoor portraiture...in possibly the worst lighting EVER.
Yay!!
It's funny cos it's true. I have a mountain of paperwork and can't find my co-ordinating supervisor. On the plus side, there's only five more sleeps until the institute Christmas party. I will be unavailable for the 48 hours immediately following.
There's nothing better than great weather, great food and great company. These three things basically summed-up my weekend. What joy.
Garlic prawns straight from the grill. We marinated them overnight in a mix that was equal parts sesame oil and lemon juice, laced with fresh crushed garlic. Dee-licious.
This was a creation I made up on the spur of the moment. It worked brilliantly (thank goodness) so I named it Perfect Picnic Punch: combine 1 bottle of sparkling rose with 1 bottle of lemonade, stir in 2-3 shots of Frangelico, the juice of one lime and 1 cup of frozen raspberries. Chill and serve. Dee-lectable.
Oh my beloved Magnum - how do I love thee, let me count the ways...
The Boy brought out the Uno cards which in turn brought out our competitive spirits. It's a good thing there weren't any children nearby as our language got, how does one put this... a little 'fruity'.
SF made a super creamy and delicious mango cheesecake. Please ignore the smushed side, there was a slight altercation with the esky lid. Of course, it didn't effect the taste at all. Scrumptious!
The weather was sunny and warm, but not hot. The sky was a beautiful blue and the trees gave us some wonderful shade. It was the perfect opportunity to kick back and relax with friends.
It was a perfect day.
The rose window and organ pipes in Winthrop Hall
Seven years ago I met a fellow student of anatomy and human biology who was completing an honours research project looking at the effects of insulin-like growth factor on dystrophic muscle, in an attempt to possibly help children with muscular dystrophy. He was friendly, sociable and just down-right nice. Eighteen months later we were an item. I am living proof that there is nothing more wonderful than falling in love with your best friend.
University big wigs
This boy, my boy, had tried to get in to medical school straight out of high school and while he aced UMAT and the entrance interview his Tertiary Entrance Rank fell a few points short. He didn’t give up. He enrolled in a science degree and tried to transfer over, but the competition to do so was extremely high. Again, he didn’t give up.
Just after the formal Class of 2009 portrait
He aced his honours year, improved his GPA, started a Masters degree and studied for months to sit the GAMSAT and the UMAT again (this time scoring in the 99th percentile). Yesterday, 12 years after his first attempt to get in to medical school he stood with 196 other graduands and took the Hippocratic Oath. I am in awe.
Champagne and canapes by the Reflection Pond
It’s been such a long road. Medical School has been such a significant part of our life together. It was 10 months into our relationship that The Boy finally got in to med school. Next year he starts his first ever full time job – as a doctor! It will be such a change for us. Not having to anticipate assignments and exams, not having to worry about accumulating HECS debt, actually having a second income. It’ll be like winning the lottery!
Conversations and congratulations
So here’s to my beloved, a man who didn't give up when others would have. Here's to tenacity, determination and strength of character and here's to all those who are living proof that some dreams are worth fighting for.
Spreading out on to the Great Court Lawn
There's nothing overly special about these photos - except they are the first pictures I've ever taken in a fully manual mode. I selected the f-value, I selected the ISO, then I metered for exposure time. They were taken at various places in the building where I'm doing my photography course.
Attending classes has been a blessing as I just don't have the time to read and discover these things for myself. Having an instructor at the front of the class explaining things, showing us what to do, and then correcting us when we need help is exactly how I like to learn.
I just need to play around a lot more outside of class. I'm just so busy there isn't any time pick up my camera at the moment. And with the explosion of Jacarandas around the place at the moment it's a real shame.
I'm also ready to move beyond my current lens which was great for a beginner but is quite restrictive now that there are certain things I want to do and simply can't. Often the aperture just isn't big enough and the quality of glass is good but not great. Also my camera body isn't full frame and only goes to ISO 1600 which isn't ideal for low light situations, especially when paired with a large f-stop value lens.
Basically I need a camera body with a high ISO and lenses with low f-stops. And I'm starting to lean towards prime lenses. They're just dreamy for portraiture. One day I'll have a Canon 5D Mark II and a bag of L series lenses, but for now I'm rewarding myself one milestone at a time. Now I can take manual pictures I'm going to purchase a high quality prime lens. Yay!
On a separate but still photography related issue, I've been receiving requests for quotes for wedding photography! Mainly friends of friends who have seen my pictures through Facebook. Of course I've declined, but it was still a huge boost to my self-esteem to know that their are people out there who think my photography skills are good enough to document their special day. Now if I could only fit some serious practice in, upgrade my equipment and figure out how the hell to use Photoshop!
I caught up with girlfriends for cocktails. These are the banana-split martinis and they were lethal. Mainly because I was in charge of the blender and my understanding of fractions has never been that good. I'm a decimal girl, you see. And who says 'one part' can't be one cup? It's all proportional.
Things were fine on the food front until SF went all Martha Stewart on our arses. I peeled the foil off the dip and opened the crackers. She put out a display of smoked salmon blinis and pieces of rockmelon wrapped in proscuitto. As revenge I ate it all.
I’ve still been making The Boy stop the car so I can photograph things I find aesthetically pleasing, like this beautiful wall in the backstreets of Claremont.
It was draped with the most amazing wisteria I've ever seen. It was in full bloom and extended out over the wall where I spent a good ten minutes snapping away. I'm sure the neighbours thought I was casing the joint.
There were also beautiful roses all along the street. Seriously, hundreds of them in multiple gardens. Between the roses and the wisteria I was in heaven. If there had been a Jacaranda and some citrus trees I wouldn't have left. Ever. In fact The Boy expressed a desire to one day live in this magnificant street, which made my heart skip a beat. Until I found out that the median house price was $4.6 million. That made my heart atrophy and attempt to exit my body through my pelvic floor.
I tried some new healthy recipes from a recipe book a dear friend sent me (thank you SK). This one required gai larn which I could not find for the life of me so I substituted bok choy. Two weeks later I located a legitimate source for gai larn. I'm looking forward to a repeat performance.
I also tried to invent a recipe of my own. Mainly because I had an insatiable craving for hash browns and avocado. Followed a day later by cravings for smoked salmon and blue cheese. I figured why not put them all together in an avocado, smoked salmon and mixed greens sandwich. With hash browns instead of bread. And blue cheese mixed with natural yoghurt as a dressing. It was AWESOME.
I also made my first attempt at some mini desserts (which were subsequently delivered to the parentals). I was especially proud of the caramel and chocolate slice because I decided to try and marble the chocolate...and it worked! That NEVER happens. Usually when I try to do something off the top of my head in the kitchen it's followed by 30 minutes of crying and several broken dishes. I also made white chocolate tartlets with fresh blueberries and golden syrup. I bought the tartlet cases from the store. Which is fine, 'cause I made marbled chocolate all on my lonesome and it worked - so there!
I started my photography course at TAFE. I go for three hours on a Thursday evening. It's a beginners class so there are moments when I get bored with the repetition but I think that it is the best class for me as I haven't been lost once yet - and I've learnt something new each week. For example, TAFE security guards lock the vending machines at 7:00pm.
I ventured to the local primary school to check out what was happening at their Spring Fair. Then I got concerned that someone would think I was a paedophile as I snapped away at all the kids participating in the kiddie-oriented activities. I felt like I needed to have a kid with me to legitimise my presence but neither I nor any of my friends have kids. So then I felt like a failure as a woman and went home.
I had a little trim. My hair is still quite long, I’m just no longer able to tuck the end of my pony tail into the back of my jeans. Not that I ever did that, because that would be extremely uncool. I'm just saying, if I wanted to tuck my pony tail in to my jeans I could have. I chose not to.
And on the academic front I’ve interviewed Burmese, Afghan, Chinese and Vietnamese mothers and several midwives. I’m about half way through my qualitative data collection. I’ve also been marking for what feels like the past month non-stop, mainly human biology (university and TEE). And The Boy had his final medical school exam this week. Apparently it was just awful and not at all what he and his fellow students were expecting, so now we have our fingers crossed for good results next week. It’s a barrier exam which means he MUST pass it in order to graduate, so I’d appreciate it if you kept your fingers crossed too!
Don't quit when the tide is lowest,
For it's just about to turn;
Don't quit over doubts and questions,
For there is something you may learn.
Don't quit when the night is darkest,
For it's just a while 'til dawn;
Don't quit when you've run the farthest,
For the race is almost won.
Don't quit when the hill is steepest'
For your goal is almost nigh;
Don't quit, for you're never a failure,
Until you fail to try.
Last week was not a good week for me. In fact it was a turning point. It was the culmination of...wait for it... even more problems with my PhD. I know, shocking. But last week I reached the end of my tether. My primary supervisor is leaving my university to take a professorship at another university. This means I have to find another supervisor to take her place. This wouldn’t have been so bad two years ago but over the past 18 months there's been a bit of an exodus of people in the department potentially related to the area of my thesis topic. As a result there is NO ONE left in the department in my discipline. Either I find a supervisor within the department who is nothing more than a signature on my paperwork, or I move departments. Actually I’ll have to move faculties. That’ll go down a treat.
I’ve had to give up teaching to focus on resolving all the issues associated with my PhD. This has saddened me for three reasons - 1.) I like teaching, I’m good at it and I didn’t want to give it up, 2.) I feel that pulling out mid-semester has put extra pressure on my colleagues. They’ve been brilliant about it all but I don’t like not finishing something I signed up to do, and 3.) I’m giving up a whole lot of money (well, to a student anyway). I’ll be fine, savings will just have to get me through, but the way things are going I’m not even sure that I’ll be able to take up teaching again next year. I’m disappointed.
The other ongoing issues with my PhD are too many to mention and they’d bore you stupid anyway, but I’m feeling seriously let down. But I’ve finally had to accept a horrible truth. In much of life I’m not too bothered how other people go about getting things done but where I am concerned, I am a perfectionist. I do my best every day to try and make sure that my research, my writing, my teaching is of a very high standard. I truly believe that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. I’m an all or nothing gal. My PhD is simply not going to be of the standard I intended it to be. Circumstance and other people have prevented that from occurring. At this point I just have to do whatever is necessary to submit a thesis and hope for the best outcome possible.
Last week, having to finally accept that I just have to let go of my standards was killing me. There was the bitter disappointment, the inevitable ‘why me?’, the anger that I was having to compromise because of other people’s incompetency, and then finally the acceptance that it is what it is, all of this sprinkled with bouts of uncontrollable crying and intermittent insomnia. Yes, it sucks. No, it’s not fair. But in just over a year I will submit my thesis for examination and walk away from this whole ordeal. I will not be defeated.
So I did what I always do when I need to be back in control – I cleaned. In this case I Spring Cleaned. I threw out clothing, shoes, jewellery, make-up, utensils, appliances, books, magazines etc. and sent them on to better homes. I de-cluttered my environment so I could de-clutter my mind. I washed, I wiped, I scrubbed, I swept, I vacuumed, I cried. At the end of it all (it took the whole week) I felt so much better. And perhaps even a little rejuvenated.
Depression and anxiety is rife amongst graduate students and suicide has visited among my associates. I completely understand why - in my darkest moments my mind has wandered there too: “I’m fat, I’m ugly, I can’t even cope with this stupid PhD, nothing is going right, this is not where I wanted to be, I’m just worthless”. But I keep thinking of life on the other side. This is not forever; it will come to an end. Some days it’s the only thing that keeps me going. That and my camera, and surprise bouquets and bottles of wine and lots of cuddles from The Boy. And knowing that one day when the pain has finally subsided, I’ll look back on this and say “remember when...”
I just had to share my dinner from last night. I was so impressed by what was presented to me by my gastronomically talented other half that I took a photo. Yes, I am that sad. But I also enjoyed a fabulous meal so na-na-na-na-na! I partook of herb-crusted pan fried Tasmanian salmon, served on a bed of cheese risotto with a tomato and avocado salsa. Oh, and a glass of Stella Bella pink muscat to boot! Yummo.
My colleague Kat had a stall for clothing and artwork called 'Scarlet and the Sea'.
Last weekend a couple of girlfriends and I met up for a birthday breakfast (congrats AL!) before heading to the Perth Town Hall for the September instalment of Perth Upmarket. I’ve known about this market for WA-designed/made products for a while but this was the first time I’ve visited. IT WAS INSANE!
The Cake of Soap stall.
One of the stores I was craving to visit (lemon macarons – HELLO!) had completely sold out of their products and disappeared by the time we got there at 11:20am. The market went from 10:00am to 4:00pm. That should tell you just how many people were there. It actually detracted from the experience. There were queues 5 people deep just to see what the stores had on display, and trying to move was at times impossible. If the market is going to attract numbers like this it really needs to be held in a larger area where there can be spaces between retailers and easier movement for customers. Frankly, I was happy to get out of there!
Strawberry and cream cupcakes. Just kidding! They're soap cakes.
I did want to share these photos gorgeous. They were taken at the Cake of Soap stall before one of the women running the stall said “No photos please.” At first I was a bit taken aback. If you didn’t want people to take photos of your products why would you display them at a public market? Then I thought she suspected me of commercial espionage, but that didn’t make sense as I can see exactly what they make via the website. Then I found out there was an ‘official’ photographer for the market so I wonder if they were trying to reserve photo ops for her. Either way I stopped taking photos as soon as she asked me too and didn’t get my camera out again. But these were too good to not share.
Yummy.
Once we’d had a quick look around the markets (with several hundred of our closest friends) we made our way window shopping through town. AL was lucky enough to find her perfect engagement ring – a princess cut, platinum set solitaire at the bargain price of $17,500. It was simply stunning! Not a bad Sunday morning really.
The real thing. What's a birthday without cake? These delightful treats were from the Subi Cupcake Co. With thanks to my good friend SF for chanelling her inner hand model.
Sometimes when I just have to get out of the house The Boy and I grab a bottle of water and a couple of CDs and take to the car for a random drive. It's easy, cheap and surprisingly entertaining. I've become better at remembering to bring my camera along for the ride too.
This past weekend we ended up in Mundaring in the foothills of Perth. We were there just before twilight when all of the animals came out to clean up the picnic areas littered with the remnants of lunching families.
I guess it must be spring as there were so many kangaroos with little joeys popping out of their pouches. This little guy came to inspect my camera. I think he was quite taken by the sound the shutter made. Perhaps he thought there could be romance on the horizon, it being spring and all.
And to top it all off there was a huge apricot tree (or similar) in full bloom!
Isn't the light just lovely?
Sometimes it's good to just jump in the car and drive.
