Experience

Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday party.  At a pool close by to us. Goodness we love living in Melbourne!  We are gradually getting to be part of the community.  It's a slow process but I like the way the other parents are making my children and I welcome.  The party rules me out of Flemington tomorrow.  That's a bit of a bummer with Belle Couture running. I have been industrious this evening.  Not only have I been Baking Queen and made the birthday cake (I'm beginning to think that I actually only know how to cook one sort of cake, it's a pretty ace one though) and we've made up all of the lolly bags.  On the subject of icing cakes the kids and I have been watching some of my Bewitched DVDs.  I laughed when Samantha frowned at her very wonky hand made icing before fixing it with that fantastic little wiggle she used to do with her nose. 

I thought about Guy Walter a bit more today.  I read that Wendy is going to take over training the horses and that Racing NSW were today approving her trainer's licence.  She must be in shock.  Of course I am only assuming, but they looked close to me.  How do you cope with losing your best friend?  The person you had so much in common with?  It must be very hard for her.  Death is so very sudden, and so very permanent. 

And on the subject of Guy, and on photographers I guess, because this topic is often on my mind, it makes me think of the value of experience.  There are always new, young guns out there.  They are a good thing.  Competition makes all of us work harder.  I think about a trainer like Guy, with all that wise knowledge and experience behind him, and all those photographers I have worked alongside at racecourses in Melbourne.  Many of my photographer friends and colleagues have either already been made redundant or are about to face the same fate in the current axe that Fairfax is wielding.  And I wonder who will they turn to, to get these great images?  Journalists with iPhones??  Will they tell you the images are the same?  Will the journalist have the foresight to get in the right place at exactly the right time?  Will they be able to anticipate the moment before it happens?  Or be able to react swiftly enough?  Will they have a clue about the composition or exposure? 

To finish off I thought you might enjoy a few of the 'old' images from my negative archive which I've been trawling through recently.  The funny thing is we thought our film cameras were the bees knees back then.  I look at the images then and now.  Who'd have thought they would ever get as good as they are now.  Is it As Good As It Gets?  Not yet I hope..  Not yet...

Kenbelle.  Boban's dam.  Who knew!
 


Dane Ripper
Thorn Park.  No longer with us.  Do you remember Ocean Park who won the Cox Plate in 2012?  It's his sire.

A little filly called Fatoon.  She's a broodmare with her breeder Emirates Park.  She's the dam of Fat Al.

The Warrior...  Grand Armee demolishes the field in the 2003 Doncaster Handicap.  From memory Lonhro ran unplaced?  Gloomy, wet and miserable day.  Cool lens though..  The 400mm f2.8 from my dear friend Julie.
Northerly.  2002 Caulfield Cup.  Incredible horse.
 

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