On the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend, we journeyed back down to Tathra. It was the first trip away where we got to take the WORK CAR! Ie - we didn't have to pay for petrol, or watch Dan's (Dan is my faithful, albeit slightly tired these days, Subaru) temperature gauge constantly to check that his engine wasn't doing anything evil. Although Stuart constantly grumbled about how he couldn't fit enough gear in to the work car (Rav 4), it was lovely and comfortable, and warm and I got to be a passenger for once, as only Stuart is allowed to drive it! We couldn't leave Canberra until Stuart finished work, so it was a late get away at 5pm. We stopped at the Bemboka Pub for dinner. I like Bemboka (although not in summer's, it's a stinking hot and evil oven!), probably because it has a terrific Bakery/Pie Shop, and it has a horse named after it. He was a little grey horse and he won the Stradbroke Handicap in 1980, and he was called Bemboka Yacht. This was during...

National Photography Prize 2010 - The Active Network . I have entered an image in this competition. It is titled "The Boy and the Bubbler".

Last night we watched a band, Robert Owen Campbell. I had the camera in the car, so approached the lead member "Owen", to see whether he minded me photographing him. Happily he agreed. They were indoors, just at a local club, without any other lighting. I didn't want to use flash, as it is intrusive and tends to blow out, and really wanted to use the available light, which after all, is my forte. It was the first time I had really tried the higher ISO range of the D3s, as I'm very suspicious of 'noise'. These images are taken at f2.8, the maximum shutter was about 1/125 th , and the ISO range was between 6,400 and 10,000. I used all three lenses I typically work with ( ok , the 500mm had stayed at home, it is a specialist lens), which is the 300mm, 70-200mm and the 24-70mm (all are the f2.8 versions). Nikon are right. This camera makes the impossible possible. It is indeed my friend and ally. The band was terrific. We had the kids down there, for ...

The subject of this post is one that concerns me greatly. I often wonder where the future generation of horse racing lovers will come from. This post involves much scrolling down. Please humour my indulgence of the many images I have populated it with, because these images serve a point. Takeover Target. Pictured in his breakthrough G1 win. My point? How does Racing attract the Horse Mad Girl ("HMG")? Or boy?! I admit, probably due to my own experiences, that there is a little bit of sexism in assuming the Girl!! Apache Cat. 2009 Moir Stakes How does the Racing Industry ensure that a Racehorse will become the HMG's favourite horse ' out there ', instead of say a dressage, three day eventer, or showjumper? What steps is the Racing Industry doing to make sure that the HMG's favourite horse become a Sunline, Takeover Target, Makybe Diva, etc, instead of a Regardez Moi, Donnerhall, Rubenstein, Sandro Hit (who some Racing folk may not know are a champi...

After many years of sticking my head in the sand, which has involved starting, stopping, starting again, then forgetting my username, AND my password, getting frustrated and giving up, I have FINALLY managed to create my Blog. This has all come about because of a realisation that, if I am to be a success full time as a photographer, I need to get more serious about many things! Which, alas, also means keeping up with forms of communication I've previously put in my 'too hard' tray, or my 'I refuse to participate' tray (ie - Twitter). So here goes... I have previously only read other blogs, primarily that of my sister, and am under no illusions that this will be an instant success, or that I will be able to emulate her effortless writing, which is funny, poignant, and just good value. I also have absolutely no idea how to use everything, so will probably be gnashing my teeth, feeling unhappy with the finished product, but I guess I will improve with time. For thos...