NEW BEGINNINGS

Having received renewed inspiration from one or two of the photographers I follow on a recently joined photographic site, I decided that it was time to experiment with a new technique or two - not only with the use of the camera and certain lenses, but with how some of the effects could be played with in Lightroom - and suddenly I find myself living in a whole new world of possibilities. Now I know some of you will have done all this before and think its old hat - but for me its a whole new trip and I'm really loving it. Fortunate to have the magic of spring all about me in Pat’s amazing garden I have been able to play with the Bougainvillas, the Cosmos, the Airplants, and of course Bathurst’s primary spring show, the flowering Coral trees, with their crazy abundance of petals - and their equally crazy mess on the ground. It is early days yet, but I feel quite reborn - totally inspired by this whole new genre of digital painting that Nikon and Lightroom are affording me - so I thought I'd share a few here to gauge feedback

Playing with high key distortion

The young pink/white Bougainvilla

Another interpretation of the Bougainvilla

The flowering Quince 

Coral ~Tree petals - in the tree (above) & on the grass (below)

Wind in the trees 

Bougainvilla close-up

Added to this, having my daughter Chavane and and Granddaughter Leila with us here for 10 days also helped add a bit of youthfulness  into the stodginess of a long and somewhat dull lockdown. Just having the voice of youth around one for a little while really lifts the spirits and helps put a bit of spring back in an otherwise ever increasingly slow step. Our dog Jesse too - who is moving on a bit - seemed to instantly shed a whole bunch of years when she saw her two favorite people appear at the front door on the day of their arrival, and spent a good few minutes sprinting through the house and around the garden in a show of absolute joy after not having seen them since last Christmas.

Leila and Chavane chatting to Big Ears (Hee Haw) up at the McCreath's farm

Covid Level 2 has meant the re-opening of the pubs and restaurants here in Bathurst, and while there may be considerably less money around to spend, the general populace is clearly over the moon at the opportunity to mingle again and share a pint or two with friends and acquaintances not seen for a while. We must just hold thumbs that it doesn’t cause a spike in the Covid cases and hope that positivity will instead rule and chase away this horrible little bug. All we need here at the Centre of the Universe now is some serious rain to combat this horrible and seemingly never-ending drought ……….. so, please, all those of you reading this be sure to take the time to do a little raindance on our behalf before you go to bed each night............Thank you.

Proud nanny goat and her day-old kid