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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

how to summarise a fabulous month in NZ

a quiet day for the last day of my holiday and some time to play in PSE to create some summaries

I entered the names of all the people I saw, places I went and things I did into wordle then copied into PSE to create an image I can print like a photo.  (and yes I spotted mis spellings as soon as I deleted the text document!!).

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Then I listed some numbers – I like to count things.  I used the colour picker in PSE to make the font the same colours as in the wordle.

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These will go into my Project Life pockets (when they are available in the UK) along with lots of photos of collected ephemera.

Friday, January 27, 2012

time for play

I have been taking some photos of strong plant shapes with the thought they would be good for photoart and textures.  When I read Bonnie’s suggestion for Friday PhotoArt of an abstract piece containing 3 photos and one of her textures I decided to spend an hour playing – I have PSE on the notebook that I take on my travels.

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The textures I used were Yesteryear on darken and Life is Good on Pin light.  I enjoyed the mix of curves and strong shapes.  I still find the idea of making abstract art from photos a stretch but am enjoying the process and look forward to seeing what others have done.

While I was playing with textures in PSE I also worked on a photo I took at the Farmer’s Market because the composition grabbed me as a strong still life.  I used the backlit texture on vivid light

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

In the frame

Enjoying my holiday with plenty of sunshine and beach walks and catching up with friends.

As I’ve visited several of the regional parks in Auckland I’ve been reminded of the huge frames that are erected in each park to encourage photos.

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and used my timer on one to get a photo of me and Sandra – not as sharp as could be but focus with the timer is tricky.

 

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They really seem to encourage group photos and camera fun.  Has anyone seen these anywhere else around the world?

Sunday, January 8, 2012

a day at the races

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Journaling reads

When asked if I want to go to a spectator event, my default response is ‘yes’. So on Sunday I watched harness races – when the jockey is in a little two wheel cart behind the horse and the horses trot.

Each race lasts 2-3 minutes and there is one every half an hour. The time in between is for the all important assessment of the horses in the next race and the placing of the bet.

First we looked at how well the horses had done in previous races – with no success. Then I took to waiting until the horses paraded and trying to assess which looked focused and lively. I won $26 on one race when I picked a horse who looked interested and energetic. Overall my winnings covered my costs.

The rest of the time we people watched. Kids running around and waiting for the girl with the baskets of free gifts (juice, jelly beans, nachos). Committed betters who recorded the results on each race and had the book with lots of detail on the horses. The locals who were clearly there to catch up with people and share a good gossip. I also loved the bright colours and geometric designs on the jockeys’ jackets.

All together a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and another spectator event ticked.

The bright patterns worn by the jockeys inspired me to add some pattern paper to the layout!

Have you been to a harness race?

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Beach walks

I’ve had some lovely beach walks this week

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Yes, your right these are not my usual beach.  I’m in New Zealand (where I used to live) enjoying a southern hemisphere summer and seeing old friends. 

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I hope to bring you some glimpses of NZ over the next few weeks – scenery and kiwi life

Sunday, January 1, 2012