Busy as...

December was an amazing month: married, Christmas and our honeymoon combined with New Years...phew!

Back in Brisbane and armed with an archive of new material from a couple of weeks of furious snapping amidst the chaos and celebration, I'm looking forward to sharing more photos of the week with you over the coming months.

Thanks for your support and consideration during this special time. 

Not cute for long

Aren' they adorable?  Lying there, sunning themselves on a South Georgian beach under an overcast sky.

They've never seen a human before and they know no fear.  Affectionate and curious, they are more than prepared to travel the short distance to me to figure out what I am.  In fact, one rests its head on my lap as I sit there and decides to fall asleep.

I swear, I'm not in breach of the Antarctic treaty which requires me to stay 30 metres away.  It came to me.  Now what am I supposed to do? It's started to snore.

As I look around for guidance, the marine biologist in our group is laughing at me.  That's not much help.  Staring down at this gorgeous pup, it's hard to imagine it will grow exponentially in size.  After all, it is an Elephant Seal.

Silverback

The intelligence behind these eyes requires no explanation.  Watching.  Contemplating.  Speculating.

I don’t know how long he has been resident here, but between cold winter sun and institutionalisation, his posture reflects a defeated man.  Pride is what keeps this alpha male alert.

Defying his depressing circumstances, he feeds his intellectual hunger through observation.  He eyes our interactions.  He silently critiques our behaviour.  He is an unsuspected voyeur.

But in the end, it doesn’t change much.  He is still thousands of kilometres away from a home he may no longer remember.  How we would cope if the situation was reversed?

Magpie

Finally, it’s safe to walk the streets again. No longer do I have to grow eyes in the back of my head and be wary of ambush. The nestlings are finally old enough to quell their parents protectiveness.

In Brisbane, the pattern is familiar. As soon as Spring hints that it may be shrugging off winter’s dry, adult magpies begin to warble. Within a couple of weeks their song quietens and walkers begin to get nervous. They perch silently, waiting for strangers to pass close enough to be suspected of being a threat. And then they swoop. Low, fast and menacing, they strike from behind and tear at hair, ears or anything else they can injure with their beaks until you have passed out of their territory.

Walking backward past them is one sure way not to be struck: they prefer surprise. But the two at the end of my street are particularly cunning. They execute their guardianship with a craftiness I have rarely seen in birds. One sits in the open to distract while the other attacks from a blind spot. The first time it happened to me, I was as impressed as I was injured that they had outwitted me. Their tactic worked. I did what I could to avoid walking past them for the remainder of their nesting season.

Tah-dah!

Last week I declared that I would soon launch a website that will help correct, restore and enhance photos you’ve taken or inherited.  Today, that site goes live.

At www.perfectmypictures.com.au, I offer image processing services for those of us who prefer just to “point-and-shoot” with our cameras.  The process is ridiculously easy:

1. Upload your images and instructions via the link on our Contact page. 
2. We’ll process them and send you an email with details to your private gallery.
3. If you’re happy with them, pay our invoice and we’ll remove the watermarks so you can download the final version to your computer.

For basic image correction, prices start from as little as $1.50 per photo.  There is a detailed price list available on the FAQs page and samples of my work for you to review.

With Christmas just around the corner, here are a few cheap alternatives for personalised gifts in these tough economic times:

• Restored versions of tatty and/or damaged photographs
• Colour and exposure corrected photos to include in a calendar
• Framed pictures of the kids tearing open their presents on Christmas morning
• An album of your best photos from different holidays/events over the year

There is very little I can't do.  I hope you feel as excited about these new services as I do and recommend them to your friends and colleagues.

Busy busy busy

It’s been nearly seven years (within a couple of weeks in fact) that I last set foot here, in Antarctica.  Time certainly does fly.  I’ve been writing this blog for about 18 months now and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the following it has grown.  For my lack of reliability over the last couple of months, I extend a heartfelt apology to my readers.

The truth is:  I’ve been a little distracted.  Since August alone, my first eBook on Small Business has been published, I‘ve released an updated website and have been thoroughly monopolised by some of my customer’s projects.  From a photography perspective, I did my first wedding (I never thought I’d do one of them) and made my first movie (with animation and all).  And very soon, I’ll be launching a new website that will help correct, restore and enhance the photos you’ve taken (or inherited) so that you can look like a professional photographer too.

The most important of my distractions has been my wedding.  Less than 5 weeks away now, there has been a flurry of activity coordinating both the event itself and the travel arrangements of our international contingent.

Thank you for your loyalty and patience.  We’ll be back to regular weekly updates soon.

Water Monitor

Diminutive he might be but his stoicism is that of a giant.  Examine his countenance and you will find the steel and determination of countless generations before him.

His is a volatile world.  At his size, predators still threaten on a regular basis.  Competition is rife for food.  And then there is the stress brought by the clumsy trampling of ignorant humans.

As he stares back through the lens at men, I understand that he is more curious than cautious.  He knows, from me, he has nothing to fear.