My Life In Frames

Getting Ready for Christmas!

2011-12-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got my Christmas tree up. I had to wait to get a mini fence to protect it from our pup jagger. He loves to chew on anything and I didn't want to share my tree. Asher was a great help decorating, but wasnt a fan of getting his photo taken. I did get a couple snaps though. So here are some photos of Asher, Mark, Myself and the dogs!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Look What We Got!

2011-11-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition

This is Jagger! He is a 9 week old French bulldog/Boston terrier cross. He is super friendly and loveable.

The First Signs of Autumn

2011-10-01T19:38:00.000-06:00

I noticed on my drive home today that the leaves were begining to turn. I decided to take advantage of that and head of for a walk with my camera. I went to a familiar spot below the train bridge where I have taken photogaphs before. I love this bridge.

Here are my captures of the day. I processed them all very differently you will notice, but I think they turned out okay.

Cowboy In Training

2011-09-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago we met my Dad, Step Mom, and their girls at a highschool Rodeo one of my little sisters was competing in. Near the end Asher was getting too restless to watch so we went outside where he was roped by my dad and a friend, and tried riding a dummy. He said to me while we were there as he put on the gloves "Now I'm A Cowboy!"

My Sister Lacey

2011-09-10T16:43:00.000-06:00

My Older Sister Lacey lives about 10 hours away from me and so we do not get to see eachother very often. I was lucky enopugh to have her and her kids spend a night and a coupld of Days with Asher and I. We kept busy going bowling, and to the Calgary Zoo. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from tehir visit.

Lacey and Jessica

Asher and macky. Two Rotten Boys!

Camping In Saskatchewan

2011-09-10T16:37:00.002-06:00

For my birthday I asked Mark if he would go camping with Asher and I. Thank goodness we had him because we didnt really have any camping essentials besides a tent, which wasnt big enough for the three of us and Diesel(Mark's dog). We decided to go camping in Cabri Park, near where Asher's Dad lives, as Ash had been visiting there for a while, and we were going to pick him up, and go camp for a three day weekend. Besides camping next to the toilets which has both good and bad points the trip was a great one. We took Asher and Diesel swimming, had a fire and smores, birthday cake decorated by the boys, and lots of laughs. It was a very nice weekend. Here is a picture that I took of Mark, Asher and Diesel after swimming. I really like it, accept for Asher scratiching his bum. :) But Candid is what is is, and I can't not share this photo. I am slowly expanding what I can do with my camera.

Prairie Life

2011-09-10T16:29:00.001-06:00

Long ago the prairies were roamed by wild Buffalo. These cattle like creatures are native to North America. These days you are more likely to see them inside the fences of a breeders field then roaming free through the prairies. I passed this herd on my way back from Saskatchewan in the middle of August. I have always thought they were an interesting animal. You can learn more about them here if you are interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

Photographing Friends

2011-07-07T21:59:00.000-06:00

I asked a couple of friends whom I work with if we could do a photo shoot some time. They are both awesome people and make a wonderful couple. Spending time with either of them together or apart you are sure to have a great time and a few good laughs. I have been very lucky to work closely with both of these two, and was even more lucky when they allowed me to do a little photoshoot with them.

We went down to Indian Battle Park in Lethbridge, and wandered around the trees and walking areas. We found a few good spots and got a few good shots in. I recently got a new camera and used it for this occasion. I absolutely love it, but messed up a bit, fogetting the different settings ect. Even so though we got enough good shots to be happy with. Well I did anyway. Hope they like them too, if not all they lost out on is their time.

Here are a couple picutres from the shoot. Btw this is my first couple shoot, and the third time I have taken portraits of people outside of my family.

This one i love because of the Great eye contact from Sarah. It would have been lovely to get both of them looking, as well as not have it over exposed, but I like the look of it.

I think this photo is great because it really shows them for the caring couple they are.

And there you have it.....

Fun in the Sun

2011-07-02T14:58:00.000-06:00

Today I took Ash for a hair cut. He didn't really want to go, but when we got there and he was able to choose his cut from a book, he was much happier. After the hair cut, we went to a near by park to take some photos to send back to his Nana.

After that we headed over to the Gyro Spray Park. Asher had so much fun running through the water. It was a nice hot day, but the water was sure cold. This shot was taken when he ran over to me to warm up with his towel. Doesn't he look cold?

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

2011-07-01T19:52:00.000-06:00

Today is the first of July, known in Canada as Canada Day. When I was younger I used to spend every first of July celebrating in the small town of Raymond, where my Dad's family is from. Raymond iS home of the first stampede (rodeo) in Canada and they are very proud of that. As a kid we would get up and watch the Parade, gathering tons of Candy that the floats would give out. Later we would have a family Lunch at my Aunts, and then go off to the rodeo. I wanted to share this with Asher, so I brought him out today. we were joined by my Mom, and all my Raymond family. Ash and his cousin had a blast catching and gathering candy from the floats. Then we had lunch and the boys played in my cousins yard, which used to be my Aunts, a place I played as a girl. It was lovely to spend the day with extended family, some of whom I havent seen in at least ten years. Great day. Happy Canada Day to all. Hope you had as good of a day as I did.

Here is a photo of Ash and I taken by my cousin for me. I'll also add in a pic of the boys at the parade.

Riding With Mom

2011-06-25T11:06:00.001-06:00

In late May, I drove out to my Mom's house, about an hour and a half from where I live, to go riding with her. It had been about a year since I had last gone, and it was long overdue. It seems strange that at one point in my life, riding was a given in my day, now I am lucky if I go once a year. I miss it.

We saddled up, loaded the horse tralier, and drove to an open pasture out near the feedlot I used to work at. The weather was strange that day, storms threatening from every direction but we were lucky, we made the whole ride without a drop of rain or any harsh winds.

We rode through the pasture, up and over little but steep hills, and over a small creek. It was a great ride, reminded me of days gone by.

Here are a couple photos I took with my cell phone on the ride. One overlooking where we had already ridden, and another from the saddle looking down at Copenhagen (the horse) drinking from the little creek.

Shantel's Birthday

2011-06-25T08:45:00.001-06:00

My cousin Shantel is 3 months older than I am. It seemed like a lot when we were kids. Now we have two little boys who are six weeks apart in age, and it's nice to have someone close that I can have a nice chat to, and when we get together, Ash has a friend to play with too.

For my cousin's birthday we drove out to Waterton a family favorite, and wandered around the town site with her family. I haven't been to the town since I was a kid and it was so nice to be back. We had a look at all the sights, and spent some time at Cameron Falls where i got a few good portraits of her and her son. It was a great day and I was so glad to get some photos of her and her son, as they don't have any recent ones, and haven't ever had photos done for them.

I was really happy with how they turned out, as was she, which is even better. Here is my favorite of the two of them as well as a snap of the lovely Cameron Falls.

I didn't want to post these until I had shown them to my cousin. It reminds me how much I really need to get out and take more photos. I love doing it, and miss it when I don't.

Beaver Boardwalk Hinton Alberta

2011-06-25T08:27:00.000-06:00

When I was visitng my sister up in Hinton one evening before I left, my sister watched asher while I wandered around The Beaver Boardwalk taking photos of around 10 different beavers. Not sure why I never got around to posting any of the images when i did edit them at the time. I took hundreds of images that evening. I was amazed at how close I was aboe to get, and how many beavers I saw. Here is my favorite image of the night.

On The Road

2011-04-26T13:13:00.001-06:00

For Easter Asher and I drove north to Hinton Alberta where my sister and her family live. We decided to take the scenic route though the mountains. I took many photos along the way of the mountain views, but it wasn't until we left the national park that we saw a herd of Elk and Big Horned Sheep.

Baby Jessica

2011-04-26T12:05:00.003-06:00

For months I waited for my sister to have her baby. I had planned to get up to her place right after the birth to attempt newborn photography for the first time. Unfortunately with all the complications that arose, it was only this weekend, two and half months later that I was able to make the trip. This is my first attempt at anything like this. I think that they turned out alright.

Sledding!

2011-04-17T18:49:00.003-06:00

My Dad bought Asher a sled for Christmas. It was Asher's first Canadian winter, and he had never been sledding before. I kept meaning to take him, but never actually ended up going. Lucky for me it snowed heavily the last couple of days, and a good friend of mine reminded me that it would be a good day for sledding. This afternoon Asher and I ventured out to The Sugar Bowl, the Lethbridge tobogganing hill. I was sure Ash would want me to go with him a couple of times, cause it looked pretty scary to me, but to my surprise, all he wanted me to do was push him down the hill. We had a great time, he wore himself out so well that he slept in the car on the way home. Asher absolutely loved riding his new sled down the big hill.

High Level Bridge

2011-04-09T17:36:00.004-06:00

This bridge has always fascinated me. As a child we would drive past it on the way to my Grandmother's house every holiday. Funnily enough it wasn't until just a few days ago that I saw a train crossing it, I had previously thought it was out of use.

Spring has finally seems to be greeting us with fine weather this weekend, so today Asher and I went for a wander on some trails below the High Level Bridge. We didn't go too far before we found a flock of Canadian Geese, which of course had to be photographed. New Subjects! Unfortunately you can only get so close with a four year old boy on the loose. I would have liked to have gotten in closer, but am happy that I had my 75-300mm lens on me.

Here are some photographs from today's adventure.

I also wanted to include a link to more information about this incredible bridge, the largest railway structure in all of Canada!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethbridge_Viaduct

I Need A New Subject...

2011-03-20T16:39:00.002-06:00

Well I haven't been getting many photos snapped for months, and when I do, they are pretty much always of Asher, which is good and bad. I find it hard when everything is so brown and dead, it will be nice when things start to green up a bit around here.

Today I took Asher to the playground. He climbed, slid, and swung around and had a lovely time. We also brought his new tee ball bat, and he hit it twice with me pitching to him, which says a lot :) Here he is on the teeter-totter.

When we came home I decided to try something different. Ash was sitting next to our window, so I took a silhouette shot of him, then played around with it on the computer.

Flash Photography

2011-02-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to buy a flash for months. They are pretty expensive though if you want one worth buying. I had made a decision that by the time my sister had her baby I would buy one because I want to go up and take some portraits of her new daughter Jessica. I bought the flash about 2 weeks ago, and haven't even tried it out yet. So today I decided to get some practice with it using Asher as my model. He wanted to take photos, or so he said until I actually started shooting. I did get a few good ones though in between the silly faces. I bought a 430 ex II not the top of the line but it was what I could afford, and it was the best they had at the two different shops that I went to. I am happy with the results though so I guess that is all that matters. Oh and for my photography friends, I know my DOF was not optimal, but I was too focused on the flash at the time. I'll work on it for next time.

This is Me!

2011-02-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted a self protrait. Here is one from today as well as a snap of my big guy and I.

Lethbridge Alberta

2011-02-12T09:19:00.001-07:00

In December Asher and I moved to a small town called Raymond just outside of Lethbridge in Southern Alberta. Raymond is the town that I was born in as was my older sister. Raymond is where my Dad grew up, and my Grandma lived out here life. Raymond has always been a place of comfort for me. As a child I spent school holidays here with my extended family. As an adult I see how lucky we were to be able to share Christmas's with first and second cousins, with Great Aunts and Uncles. We used to have grand Christmas's full of loved ones, good food, and presents. I have so many good memories here. It seems only fitting when I was in need of family that I come here.

Raymond as I said before is also just outside of Lethbridge, which is where I have been accepted into the college nursing program to become a Licenced Practical Nurse. I start in September. I can't wait. I have also started a job working in Lethbridge as Community Disability Support Worker, working with children with developmental disabilities. It is a wonderful job, and I really enjoy what I do.

When we first got here, moving to Raymond was exactly what I needed. I needed my family, and the cheap rent was a bonus. Unfortunately or fortunately the place I rented was for sale and we are moving again, this time to Lethbridge which I am now ready for. No more commute, though it is only 20-30 minutes, it is still nice to eliminate it. We move to Lethbridge at the end of the month.

I wanted to share a couple photographs of a well known and viewed bridge in Lethbridge. I always thought it was where the City got it's name, but in researching before I wrote this I found out that was not the case. It was named after a man with the last name of Lethbridge.

Here are a couple of shots:

Skating

2010-11-06T19:16:00.002-06:00

I was chatting to a friend today who told me they had been reading my blog today, which reminded me I have photographs to post. They aren't exceptional, but they are mine, and they are from my life in this past week.

I spent the last week at my sister's in Hinton AB. We went and bought Asher his first pair of hockey skates and took him on the ice. His cousin Ivoree helped him get around with a skate aid, and although he wasn't thrilled with having slipped and fallen a few times he had fun.

Here is ome photos of Asher and his cousins at the rink.

Finally...

2010-10-10T19:38:00.000-06:00

It has been a busy six weeks or so, and I have failed to keep up with my photography. Often I am driving and think, wow that would make a nice shot, but I have been forgetting to bring my camera bag with me.

Finally today as I noticed the golden color approaching as the sun was falling, I drove out to a farm house that I have been wanting to photograph. Here is an image from today.

Happy 30Th Birthday.

2010-09-01T10:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my husbands 30th birthday. It was all a bit of last minute rush to throw a party because it is harvest season and we had no idea if everyone would be going hard in the Fields getting crops off not. So Monday afternoon due to constant drizzle and rain for 2 days we decided to go ahead with party planning. Thanks to two wonderful ladies here that care a lot about Chook, we got everything done without a hitch. Yesterday I drove into town looking for an ice cream cake for the party, and found what I think to have been the perfect cake for Chook. W e had a nice group of about 14 friends show up, and we had a lovely evening of nibbles, drinks, and cake.

For those of you that know Chook, how perfect is that cake?? :)

Brown Brothers

2010-08-27T21:25:00.001-06:00

After my Sister In-laws Wedding 2 years ago, I have fallen in love with Brown Brothers Moscato. It is a fruity low alcohol white wine. I am not big on tasting alcohol, so it suits me well. I used to keep a bottle in my fridge while i live in Australia, but after moving back to Canada my fridge was empty. I tried some different Moscato brands made in the USA, but they just were not the same. A few months ago I spoke to the local liquor store owner about seeing if she could get some Brown Brothers in. Well after a long 3.5 months, it finally arrived. Here is a photo of the first glasses of Brown Brother's Moscato all the way from Australia.

Asher James.

2010-08-27T13:51:00.001-06:00

Here are some portraits I took today of Asher. If you ask him his name he always tells you it is Asher James Burton. If you Ask him his age he says "I'm Tree and a half!" Yes I wrote tree instead of three because that is how he pronounces it. Asher's favorite question besides why, and why not, is "What's Your name?"

Anyway here is my handsome little Man.

Highschool Friends

2010-08-16T18:52:00.001-06:00

I had a lovely catch up with some of my highschool friends ont he weekend. It was a time to remember that is for sure. You know you have true friends when you can be apart for 2 or more years and see one another and still be able to carry on like you have never been apart.

Anyway this lovely meet up was brought on by one of my friends asking me to take some photos for her. I struggled a bit in the shade of the bushes, and cloudy day, but int he end we did still manage to geet a fair few keepers. Here is my Favorite.

My Sister's Trio

2010-08-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

I have had my sister's 3 visiting me this past week. I'm sure I probably bored them to tears but we had a couple of fun days. 1 we went swiming and another, we went to the park, played around and took some photos. Here is one from the park.

Truely Summer

2010-08-02T12:18:00.000-06:00

For me growing up summer meant going to Grandma's house, and heading out to a lake with my cousins for a bit of camping and boat riding. Today Asher and I went out for a boat ride on Lake Defenbaker with a good friend. Asher had a great time, adn even got to drive the boat.

Peaceful Morning

2010-07-23T07:53:00.000-06:00

Another shot from the other day. It's one of my favorites from the last couple of days. This is my little sister and her 2 year old that she is training.

Through the Window.

2010-07-21T17:18:00.000-06:00

Ash and I drove out to my Dad's farm yesterday. This morning I was wandering around looking at the old buildings. I came into this one a couple of times, and this time got lucky enough to have the cows in the background to photograph. What do you think?

In The Garden

2010-07-11T12:07:00.000-06:00

My neighbor has a lovely little graden filled with a pond, beautiful flowers, and many little statues. This morning I asked if she minded me taking some photos. This is my favorite from today.

I love little angel statues and this one was nestled in behind some little flowers.

Happy Canada Day.

2010-07-07T14:55:00.002-06:00

Okay Okay I know that I am a week late, but hey they say better late then never. Canada day we went to celebrate in Swift current for their Frontier Days. Andrew played games, Ash and I rode rides, and we all watched the rodeo. It was a nice day out though very busy, and I still enjoyed it even though I was sick and we had to leave a bit earlier then we wanted. Here is a photo just after lunch on Canada Day 2010

Oh I forgot to mention, when we pulled out Asher's hat for him to wear, he got all excited and told me he wanted to go ride some Cowboys. HAHA! I thought it was funny. By the end of the day we had him singing "Save a Horse ride a Cowboy"

High Key

2010-06-30T19:05:00.000-06:00

High Key: In photography, lighting that produces tones that fall mostly between white and gray, with very few dark-gray or black tones.

I have been interested in learning the technique of taking high key photographs for a while but just assumed because I do not own any flashes or lighting equipment that I couldn't do it. I finally decided to read more into it, and in doing that decided to give it a try in my living room with just the sunlight from the window as my light. It seems to have worked. I think that I have the right idea anyway. I even asked some more experienced photographers, and while it is not the best image ever, or the best example, it is still high key.

Dusk Elevator

2010-06-28T22:30:00.000-06:00

Here is a photo of another elevator here in town. The sun was just setting when Ash and I hopped int eh car to get some shots. I have had fun this last week taking so many photos. it's been a while since I posted so many days in a row.

Anyway, hope that you like it.

Old and faded

2010-06-28T07:42:00.000-06:00

There are many old neglected wooden buildings all around on the prairies. I often drive by them wanting to explore and photograph them, but because I don't know any of the owners I don't want to tresspass or offend anyone. Anyway, I have driven past this old hose about 6 times int he last week, and everytime I thought about stopping. It wasn't until I had Andrew with me that I felt comfortable checking it out. A friend of ours who has grown up around here also said that ppl most likely wouldn't mind. Anyway heres my photo. not long before sunset.

Beautiful Day

2010-06-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

It's a beautiful and sunny Saturday here in Saskatchewan. Asher, Lily, and I went down to the lake today to visit with friends and burn some excess energy. On the way home I stopped a few times to take photos. This one is my favorite.

Country sites

2010-06-25T19:58:00.000-06:00

I drove around playing with my new lens tha arrived today, a Tamron 90mm Macro. I also used it for the photos in my last post. I love it! Funnily enough thoguh my favorite photo from the drive was taken with my nifty fifty.

Lily - 12 weeks

2010-06-25T17:25:00.002-06:00

e have had lily for four weeks now, and its amazing how well she has fit in with us. It was love at first sight when we each met our little beagle. Even my husband who had said many times before " I am not having No Dog inside my car" or "We are Not having a DOG inside our house!" came around the instant he saw her big floppy ears. They have even been known to nap together from time to time.

Here are some photos of our Little Lily who is growing fast and is 12 weeks old today.

Not quite

2010-06-16T21:39:00.000-06:00

Well I took this the other day, it was not as interesting as I was hoping, I really need to work on getting my photos interesting, because it was an interesting building, but it was misting rain and we were on our way somewhere, but anyway. I played with some effects to add some drama, it's a bit over the top, but oh well.

Customs

2010-06-16T10:31:00.000-06:00

Monday instead of resting up from the fishing derby and all the driving, i got a call to say I needed to head over to Regina to Canada Customs to get our container of belongings from Aus released so it could be trucked to our house.

In true rushed style I threw Ash and lily into the car and off we went. By the time we got to Moose jaw we needed a little break, so we stopped at the visitor center, and had a look around. After a couple of photos we drove on to Regina.

Once there after showing a bit of paperwork, and less then 5 minutes of time, all was clear. 3 hours of driving all for less then 5 minutes, then another 3 hours back. Our things all arrive Thursday so that will be great.

Once again these are off my phone, cause I forgot my camera in the rush. Here is some photos of the Moose Jaw visitor center.

Fishin Derby 2010

2010-06-13T21:28:00.004-06:00

his weekend Ash and I joined my sister and her children at the annual fishing derby held near where I grew up. It was a very fun weekend. The organizers did such a wonderful job. They even set up a water tank stocked with fish for the little kids to make sure that every kid caught a fish. It was pretty entertaining to watch these first time fisher's grab hold of their slimy catch. Unfortunately I was busy helping Ash at that point and didn't get to take any photos of that part, but I did get some of Ash's cousins.

Been a while.

2010-06-05T16:52:00.000-06:00

I haven't really been gfetting out with my camera lately. Even when we go on walks my hands are all full of puppy, and helping Asher when he gets stuck on his new two wheeler.

Today we were driving to cabri park, a camping area near by, and the sky was just so beautiful. I did not have my camera so my phones not so good quality had to do. It has been a while since we had sunny skys, but it did not last long within an hour a storm came over. More rain... Planting is taking forever!

Our New Addition

2010-05-26T19:08:00.000-06:00

Today Asher and I went to Swift current to meet a lady who had some beagle puppies for sale. This is our little female that we brought home. We are waiting for Andrew to come home to give her a name for sure.

Last Week

2010-05-26T18:07:00.000-06:00

I took these last week, but just got the time to process and post them. They aren't anything spectacular but they are apart of the local scenery.

Little Boys

2010-05-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

Here are 2 more from the weekend

Searching for moose

Super Car

Family Time.

2010-05-23T21:07:00.000-06:00

I have been spending some time with family, catching up for the first time in 2 years. It has been great. My Little boy and one of his cousins have been running all over playing together, and getting into all kinds of trouble. Heres a few shots from my weekend.

Kick It!

2010-05-08T12:34:00.000-06:00

When my Dad was here he bought Ash a soccer ball so today being dry for a change, we jumped at the chace to go kick it around at the school. They have some big nets set out, and Asher ran back and forth scoring in both goals. After a few runs he started to tire out, which is always a plus. I'm still playing around with m aperture, so that's what todays shots were about.

Portraits

2010-05-06T16:37:00.003-06:00

took a couple portraits in our lounge room of my boys. We have some nice big windows that let in a lot of light during the day, and I wanted to play with my aperture. I have realised I really need to get better at working my camera, so that is what today is about.

Wet Wet and Wetter

2010-05-04T13:44:00.000-06:00

We have had some crazy weather since we arrived. It has only been the rare day here that is has not rained or snowed. All this wet is well needed in the ground, but the timing isn't exactly prime. It's planting time, and all the farmers, and my husband are supposed to be out planting, instead they are all home driving their wives crazy. Well mine is anyway.

Yesterday it was hail and rain today it is light fluffy snow.

Planting Season

2010-04-28T11:11:00.001-06:00

We planned our move from Australia to Canada to coincide with Canada's planting season so that my husband would have work straight away after we got settled. We arrived Wednesday the 14th and he started work the following Wednesday. It's been a bit of a rocky start to planting due to changing weather, in the past week we have had sunshine and warmth, snow and icy winds, and today came the rain. Not the easiest planting weather but they are slowly getting the fields planted in between the craziness.

Yesterday my dad and my sister were out from B.C. to visit, and we went out to see Andrew out in the tractor. Our timing was perfect, he had just pulled up for a moment, and it was long enough for my sister and son Asher to jump in for a ride. I don't think Ash wanted to get out, he loves tractors just like Daddy.

I only had my phone on me at the time, but I wanted to share a photo of my husband in the tractor seeding. It's not the best quality, but oh well.

So Slack

2010-04-26T10:07:00.002-06:00

Okay I admit it I have become very slack when it comes to updating my blog. I did actually come in and write a big long post, but the photos I was trying to add would not upload, so I gave up.

So anyway let's catch up....

We arrived in Calgary on the 14th of April tot he aftermath of a big snow storm. My mother's house where we were to be staying had no power or water because of the storm. She gave us the option of staying in a hotel, but we opted to rough it ( lol) and stay with her anyway, in hopes it would all be restored in the morning.

The following day I got to catch up a bit with my older sister, and meet her boyfriend. We had a nice dinner, and Asher had a great time with his cousins, going to the park, and playing with my nephew's toys.

The 16th was spent cleaning the car, and riding horses with my mother. Then in the evening we went to a Lobster feed hosted by my mom's boss. It was great to be able to catch up with many that we would not have seen otherwise.

On Sunday the 18th Andrew, Asher, and I made way to our house in Saskatchewan. We spent the evening bringing up beds and things we needed for the night out of the basement where it had all been stored. I can tell you it is nice to finally be in our own house.

There have been a few things that need some maintenance, but we'll get there, it's been years since anyone lived in this house that actually cared about it, because even before we bought it the people who bought it previously never really lived here.

We have been spoiled by our lovely new community with much needed furniture that they no longer required. Our house is starting to look more like a home. It will be good once our container of things come from Australia, so we can put up our photos and really home the place up.

Andrew started working on the farm last week. He has only been able to work 4 days thus far due to us settling in or the weather. I think he is enjoying being out of the truck and on the farm.

Anyway here are some images from our first 12 days in Canada.

Our first morning

Sunset Saturday night at my Mom's

Sunrise Sunday Morning

Now entering Saskatchewan

Our first now. Though it melted by the afternoon.

The Jondaryan Woolshed

2010-04-07T03:09:00.000-06:00

Our travels today brought us to the Jondaryan Woolshed, a place we have been often, but today I decided just to roam around and take photos. Had my husband not rang me half way through my wander begging me to hurry home to help him out with something or other, I may have got a few more photos in, but here is one I really like, and another that I thought might add a little to it. It is a photo of the Woodview School house demonstrating what school houses/classrooms were like once.

Let me know what you think.

Knock Knock!! Anyone Here??

2010-04-07T03:05:00.000-06:00

For my less tech Savvy Viewers, please feel free to comment on my posts annonomously. All you have to do is click comments below the post, type in your message and add your name if you want me to know who you are, and then click annonomous as you id, and then post comment. :) You may then have to type in a captcha (SP) to verify you are not a computer. :) I'd love to hear from you.

Angels

2010-04-05T02:16:00.000-06:00

I went wandering through the local cemetary today and there were some beautiful angel statues above a few of the graves. It so sad to read some of the inscriptions, like of of a 3 year old boy, or a 9 month old baby girl.

And my favorite for last..

Box Ridge

2010-04-02T03:28:00.000-06:00

On the way home from visiting some family at their farm, we found some koala bears in the gum trees lining the road. Only one was in a spot where we could see it's face, but I got photos of both anyway. I thought that it was cute with the one koala seemingly hiding.

I Got A Feeling.... (lol)

2010-03-29T21:42:00.000-06:00

It feels so great to be out taking photos every day again. I'm not quite ready to commit to project 365 again, but I am enjoying myself.

Today Ash and I took a trip out to a farm owned by family of ours. Not only do they farm the land, but also train horses and give riding lessons as well. I caught up with my Husbands cousin and had the pleasure of watching him train his horses at cutting. We also had a stroll around the farm and captured a few random snaps.

Have a look.....

Family Farewell

2010-03-29T00:19:00.000-06:00

This is a sad and exciting time in my life right now. On one hand I am excited to be moving back to Canada, back to my family and my friends, and they can see how much my little boy has grown, and many of them who have not yet my husband can finally get that chance too. One the other hand it is sad to be leaving the loving family that we have here. My husbands family have always been a big help and support for us, and we have lots of get togethers. we have actually lived with my husbands parents for over a year, and so it will be hard to say good bye. Of course we will keep in touch through email and skype, but it is not the same.

Anyway, yesterday my in laws took our family up to the Bunya Mountains from a day out. We were joined by extended family, and close family friends. It was a lovely time. It was so nice to see some many loving faces around. We had morning tea, then went on a bush walk, and came back for a lovely picnic lunch. Here are some photos from our day at the Bunyas. Thanks Mum for planning this day out, and for putting so much time and effort into it. I think we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

The Burton's & Brewer's

Our bush Walk

Ash and poppy

March Catch up

2010-03-26T15:11:00.000-06:00

March has been a busy busy month in our household. We are moving over seas and so this month we had to move into my husbands parents so that we could ship our things to Canada. A shipping container came last week and loaded all of our belongings, so for the next few weeks we are living out of our suitcases. WE have 3 weeks left before we leave for Canada, and now that things have slowed down I can get back into my photography if at least until we move.

Yesterday I took Asher out and took some photos of him in daddy's Acubra. I was pretty happy with how they turned out, but his clothing didn't suit the look I was going for, so we later reshot and I am very happy eith what we got.

Here is a look:

A bit of a change.............

2010-03-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make a few changes in here. Project 365 is being postponed until life settles down a bit, and once we are moved I will either start again, or start a 52 week photo project instead to make it a little easier to keep up. In the mean time though I will still be posting photos and blogging about the things that are going on around here.
I am currently waiting for our ADSL to be hooked up so that I can post some photos of the mini flood we got around here. Som parts of queensland had their houses ruined by floods, but around here it just filled the feilds, blocked roads and bridges, and filled the dams a bit. It was a nice change to see water everywhere, unfortunately with all this water has come hoards of Mossies. So glad we aren't living in the really flooded areas, they much be getting eaten alive.
Hopefully I can update with some images tomorrow. Until then....Thanks for coming back\.....

February 28/ Day 59 - Project 365

2010-02-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

2 months complete 10 to go.

My photograph today is of what I consider a torture device. The Twin Tub Washing Machine! Previous to moving to Australia I had never seen nor heard of a washer like this, and I am thankful for that. For my Canadian/American friends this is how it works. You fill the main tub up with water and add detergent, Drop a load of clothes in, and turn on the agitator for a set amount of time. After the clothes are finished agitating, you haul them out of the wash compartment and squish them into the spinner and turn it on. Once the spin cycle is complete you pull out the clothes, and place them in a pre-filled sink with water and fabric softener to rinse. You squish, swish and slosh them around until they are fully rinsed, and then wring them out and place back in the spinner, then into the basket and out to the hanging line. I can't wait to get back to my automatic washer!

February 27 - Project 365

2010-02-27T19:30:00.002-07:00

Today's photo is a family snapshot. My boys cooking lunch, of battered fish and chips.

February 25 - 26 - Project 365

2010-02-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

These are the two days that I missed taking images, my first missed days of 2010.

I decided to add a couple more from our Brisbane City Cat ride to the CBD.

February 23 - 24 - Project 365

2010-02-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

February 24:

On my way to pick up my husbands mother for our overnight trip I saw a huge flock of cockatoos taking over a field. There were so many it was unbelievable. Definitely a highlight for a Canadian in Aus. I was in a hurry and just snapped away, I am wishing now I took a bit more time and thought out what I wanted to capture. I guess the main point was to show how many there were, and there were much more then this shot shows, but I was conflicted with wanting a close up shot of a few, and ended up with all my photos being somewhere in the middle. At least I learned something, decide what you want the focus to be, and execute, don't try two things at once, and don't snap away until you've decided what you wan tout o the shot.

February 23:

In the process of packing, I decided to sell off a lot of my scrapbook supplies because I haven't used it in over a year, and well shipping things overseas is expensive so anything unnecessary is being given away or sold. Here are some of my embellishments. I didn't really take any great or even good photos today so I played around with it to make it more interesting.

So far behind....

2010-02-27T18:34:00.001-07:00

It's been an unusually crazy week for me. Tuesday night my mother in law told me she was heading to Brisbane for the night, I needed to go as well so we made some last minute plans and left in the morning. Wednesday was a very long and busy day driving to Brisbane, DFO shopping, checking into the hotel, catching a ride on the city cat, and getting some business done in the CBD. The next day was equally busy and crazy, and I forgot to take any photos. Friday my husband had the day off so we could start moving bits and pieces to his parents house because we are moving there this weekend for our final 5 weeks in Australia before we head over to Canada. So between the chaos of moving,having to get my vehicle inspected, washed and polished for viewing of potential buyers on Saturday, I again never remembered to get my camera out. So I have now missed my first 2 days of project 365, but 2 days in two months isn't so bad. :)

Now to get to posting my images.

February 22 - Project 365

2010-02-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

I found this guy hanging off my power line. I was worried Ash running around would scare him off but he must have been in a deep sleep or something, because I even got a ladder out to get up closer to get a better photo and he never moved.

I know the editing is over done, but I really wanted to be able to see his face, thus creating the glow around his body. This was taken right around noon so the sun was harsh and so were the shadows.

February 21 - Project 365

2010-02-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

Today's photo is a bit different. Not sure if everyone will see it as I do, but for me it almost looks like the photo is not rectangular, but flares at one edge.

It's my screen door by the way, turned sideways, with the outside door closed.

February 19 & 20 - Project 365

2010-02-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

February 20:

Last week we had some wonderful rain which left us with larger puddles then most rains do. I sent a few pictures into the local paper for fun to see what would come of it. I received a message on Facebook yesterday morning telling me someone saw my little Asher in the paper. Here he is with a couple of my other pictures.

February 19

We were on our way to a friends place for a birthday party, and I told hubby that I had not yet taken my photo for the day so he pulled up on the side of the road trying to get me to take photos of the crops. It was after sundown, so you can guess how well those turned out. At the same time I happened to snap my little man, and so he is my pic of the day.

February 18 - Project 365

2010-02-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

Ash and I went to town today to visit his Granny. She had some lovely little flowers so I snapped a few, here's one.

February 17 - Project 365

2010-02-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to take a photo yesterday, so at about 11pm, I grabbed a bag of skittles out for a subject, Not the greatest, well not great at all, but at least I did not miss a day.

February 11 - Project 365

2010-02-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today I was wandering around taking images of textures that I found around my yard.... not overly exciting but here is is anyway.......

February 16 - Project 365

2010-02-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

After a lovely rain last night, and some puddle splashing, I was washing Asher's legs off in the sink. He started drinking from the tap (a new trick taught by Daddy) so I asked him to keep doing ti so I could get a photo. I think he drank about a liter while I took photos. :)

February 15 - Project 365

2010-02-15T01:09:00.000-07:00

Driving down a gravel road on my way home, I pulled up to grab a snap.

February 14 - project 365

2010-02-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

My Image of today should be titled Too Cool To Care.

My Big 3 year old in his pajamas, hat, and sunny's along With Daddy's shoes

February 12 & 13 - Project 365

2010-02-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

Ugh it seems like my images are getting worse by the day..... I'm just really low on time at the moment with studying and organizing things for moving.

February 13

Another "oh crap I forgot to take a photo" day. I rushed in and caught Daddy doing the finishing touches after shaving. I got some ideas though and will try again but next time I'll try and get him at teh start.

February 12

Took this as a snap to give ppl ideas for a challenge that I was doing on another website. The theme was faces, and I was trying to get ppl to think out of the typical image of your child So i quickly snapped this. I later realized it was the only image I took all day, so it has to be used here as well though i am not proud of it in any way. :(

February 10 - Project 365

2010-02-11T02:29:00.003-07:00

Today I was wandering around taking images of textures that I found around my yard.... not overly exciting but here is is anyway.......

February 9 & 10 - Project 365

2010-02-09T20:10:00.002-07:00

Well I have been working hard on my course the last few days, and so I did not get around to processing my images yesterday, and in fact I barely got in any photos at all. Last night we had Fish for dinner. To put it lightly you could say I do not like fish, but Dh and Ash love it, so when the local fish man comes around we always get something. Realizing I was out of eggs and could not crumb the fish as we usually do I Googled a recipe, and found a lovely lemon sauce to bake it in. I really liked it, and actually had some fish for dinner, which was a shocker to all in my house. Too bad for my Dh has a very sensitive stomach I can't make it again because it has basil in it, and it makes him sick. GRRR!... It was soooo Good. So here is my image of my fish baking in the oven.

Needing a break from studying, Asher and I went out to play in the yard. I turned on the sprinkler and sat down to get some shots of him running through. Soon started taking photos from the ground without looking through the viewfinder. Here is one of our entry way.

February 8 - Project 365

2010-02-08T03:06:00.000-07:00

I looked out my window this morning and saw this Massive butterfly. I ran out to snap some pictures of it, and there were actually two of them. Never seen them before, but they have to be the biggest ones I have ever seen.

I seem to really be liking the sepia and Black and white this week.

February 7 - Project 365

2010-02-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

It was a friends Birthday today, so we went out for lunch to celebrate. I caught a picture after Asher had been cramming cake into his face leaving behind and Daddy-like goatee.

February 6 - Project 365

2010-02-06T04:03:00.000-07:00

I'm really disappointed with today's shots. I have been looking forward to going to a a local Rodeo all week, after really enjoying the one last weekend. Annoyingly it was held in the evening mostly inthe dark with a few lights, making photographing the acting incredibly difficult, I had to bump my ISO to 1600 so everything in noisy, but it was just so dark. I guess the storm clouds surrounding us did not help either. Anyway here is the best of what I got.

Febuary 5 - Project 365

2010-02-05T03:24:00.000-07:00

Well today calls for a bit of celebration, I dropped off and received payment for 16 photographs that I took at a rodeo last weekend. I'm so pleased. I know I have a LONG road ahead to become even close to the photographer I would like to be, but this was a huge acheivement for me, and a nice boost. At this point I am not even sure I would ever try to get into photography as we profession, but I still want to work hard to take the best images I can.

Back to Project 365 - I have wanted to get some photographs of Father and son, sort of Big and Little Images. Today was Hands. Next time I will try to get Ash to use the same hand as Dad, and maybe it wont look so awkward (not so evident in the crop as the original.)

February 4 - Project 365

2010-02-04T00:28:00.002-07:00

For Sale.... We have to sell our 07 Lancer before we move overseas, so I washed it up all nice, and got a few snaps of it so I start trying to sell it. Just in case you are wondering the ads I'm placing will have it in color, but I like the photo in mono for here. I wish I had of Rolled up my window first, but oh well.

February 3 - Project 365

2010-02-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

I caught a glimpse of orange in the sky as the sun was setting so I hurried to finish getting dinner started so i could catch it. I missed most of the color and none of the catches were what I had hoped. Walking back I decided to take some different angles of the windmill.

February 2 - Project 365

2010-02-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

Shutter Speed..... That is what today's picture or rather pictures are focused on. We have a leak in the pipe that brings the water up from the bore to the tank, and the strong wind we are experiencing, the spray from the leak made a good and new subject. It was fun to play with the different effects you get by changing shutter speed.

February 1 - Project 365

2010-02-01T03:56:00.001-07:00

For 3 hours today our power was out due to incredible strong winds. I really notice how much I depend on my computer and the television for entertainment when we have no power for that long. To pass the time Ash got out his playdoh and we had a good time making shapes, and squishing it through molds.

31 Photos of January 2010

2010-01-31T01:03:00.000-07:00

Day 31 - Project 365

2010-01-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

WOOHOO! I completed my first month! I am very happy with that, as I didn't miss a single day. There were days when i just did not feel like it, but I always got at least one image in. I really need a program that burns photos onto DVD's now though because I have about 4 cd's full of images, and that's after I cut down, and shrunk a lot of them.

As of tomorrow I will be changing how I do my titles, I will be using the dates instead of Day... so that I can go back and see what happens which month which day ect without being confused.

Later today I will be making a collage of 31 my images from the month. Check back later to see.

For now here is Day 31 - Asher's first unassisted painting.

Day 30 - Project 365

2010-01-30T04:53:00.002-07:00

The Bowenville Rodeo and Ute Muster was on today. Dh wanted to go chat with some mates that were planning on entering the ute show, so I convinced him to take us to the rodeo as well. I got a fair few shots that I am proud of, but you would hope for that when I took over 500 Images :) Gotta love Digital! I think I might head a local Rodeo that will be on next weekend, and see what I can capture because I really enjoyed this.

This was more of a fluke shot then anything, it was mixed in a set of completely out of focus images before I sped up my shutter speed. I think it has a neat effect though:

And additional images that I liked.

Update

2010-01-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Taking in Mat's recommendations I sharpened up Day 28 and 29. I couldn't even see the need myself until I actually went to do it, and wow, it helps a lot. I also wanted to add one more image from yesterday.

Day 29 - Project 365

2010-01-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and I went to town today and took Asher to the park. There were many ducks, and birds there, that are not scared of people and hang around looking for food. Asher thought it was great fun to chase them. My favorite photo of the day is of him running towards me, looking for another group of birds to chase. Too bad I cut the top of his head off...

Day 28 - Project 365

2010-01-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

My image today is very different to my usual. I needed to capture something black and white for a themed photography challenge I am participating in. I didn't want to do the typical mono photo, instead I wanted a subject that was black and white in color. I went searching through Ash's room in search of something that matched my theme, and came out with this:

Day 27 - Project 365

2010-01-27T04:23:00.005-07:00

It was a friends Birthday today so we made plans to go out for lunch. Since we were already planning to be in town we decided to drop by playgroup held by a member of my mums forum in the morning. There I took one photograph I was happy with which I will show later. After lunch we got our groceries and headed home. By the time we got the food put away, and went to park the car, the sun was setting and the sky was beautiful. I decided to go for a bit of a drive away from the house to get a new perspective. The sunset was nice, however the storm clouds coming in from the east were even better. Have a look:

The image from play group. A fellow forum members handsome boy.

Day 26 - Project 365

2010-01-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

In the search for new subject matter, Ash and I ventured to the Bowenville reserve. It's a tiny little camping area along a creek. On the opposite side of the Highway from the reserve were some 4x4 tracks, so we drove in to see why people have been going over there. Turns out there is what must have been the old creek crossing, but it has water flowing over it now and the concrete is also crumbling. The old crossing has now created a mini waterfall as the creek trickles over it. It was not too easy getting nice angles as I had to balance on broken a way bits of concrete and rocks but here is my capture of the day.

To add some interest to our day, Asher was playing around near the water while I was taking pictures. I told him to stay out of the water, but of course being 3 that was an impossible ask. The poor little guy walked of the edge of the concrete into some very stinky sticky deep mud. I pulled him out, and being the terrible mother that I am, had to take some photos before I could comfort him. hehe. It's not in focus because of the situation and I was rushing, but it's still funny.

Day 24 & 25 - Project 365

2010-01-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

Well photobucket, the program I use to upload my images to the internet to post here was not working again last night, so here I am playing catch up. Yesterday was mostly a study day. In the evening our neighbor came over and played some "batball" with Asher so I did get a few photos in. This little man has about as much fashion sense as his Daddy!

This morning for some unknown reason I woke up at 4:44am, and was unable to go back to sleep. I decided to try out my first sunrise photographs so here is one of the best ones, I like how the grass is lit up from the stretching sun rays.

Fresh New Look

2010-01-23T18:06:00.001-07:00

How do you like the new look? I added an image I took myself to the background, to give it a bit more of a personal touch. It took me way more time then it should have, but I think that it was worth it.

Day 23 - Project 365

2010-01-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Okay I was a bit slack yesterday. I spent more time playing around learning new editing techniques then taking photos. I almost ended up with nothing new worth posting, but in then end decided I better pull through and get a new photo. Ash and I had been watching a movie together, so I grabbed my camera and took a few snaps.

I also tried making my first HDR Image. I wasn't happy with the exposure of my sunset, and decided to see if I could make it better. What do you think?

Lovely Sunset.

2010-01-22T05:58:00.002-07:00

Day 22 - Project 365

2010-01-22T00:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterdays activities have certainly caught up with me today. I am completely worn out. Serves me right for not only letting myself get so out of shape but for deciding to take a 3 year old on a 4 km trail. Lesson Learned. :) Needless to say I did not bother looking far for my subject. I mostly just had fun with some editing.

"These boots are made for walking......."

Day 21 - Project 365

2010-01-21T01:17:00.002-07:00

I am Absolutely Exhausted! A last minute decision led Asher and I to the Bunya Mountains. It is about 1.5 from out place. While there Asher and I did a 4km hikes or bush walk, whatever you want to call it. Asher did really well, being only 3 he was still able to hike over 2.5 km. At about the 2 km mark he was asking to be carried and then would jump down to walk again. The last Km he wanted to be carried again, and fell asleep. I can tell you that made things easy. NOT! Carrying a limp 15 KG boy while dodging trees, climbing rock stairs and walking on very uneven ground is not the easiest thing I ever did. It was a good time though.

Image of the day for Project 365

A few extras from our journey.

Day 20 - Project 365

2010-01-20T03:06:00.000-07:00

I ran out of time today. I tried taking some photos early in the day but nothing came of it. I planned on going out in the early evening to catch the golden light, but instead we went grocery shopping. It was dark out, so I used my flash, and captured my over photographed flowered tree. I think this is my third post of this type of flower, but this one is different. It has been edited differently, and obviously taken under different circumstances.

I am not sure if the bud on the top right works to balance the photo or is a distraction. What do you think?