The Windmill Paddock: February 2015

The 52 Project 8/52

20:20:00

A portrait of my children once a week, every week in 2015.

Oliver: Everyone was very impressed with your squishy rolls on the weekend. Here you are getting some cuddles from Aunty Cec.

Edith: Your brother was off the ball, and you got to play with the cars all by yourself.

Hugh: Not the best pic I have to say, but Im sticking to the project and what can I say? Your obsession with dinosaurs continues, this time with paint.

I am joining in on The 52 Project with Jodi at Practicing Simplicity

camera

To date, I have attended three Camera Club meetings and now my very first afternoon of actual photography. Nothing formal, but nonetheless a good opportunity to get out there and snap away with lots of like-minded, skilled, and very nice people to boot.

I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet some club members last Sunday afternoon at the annual meet and greet BBQ to kick off the year with Camera Club.

Alan, who was our host for the evening had just moved to this particular property which was littered with old buildings, sheds and remnants of a very busy, traditional 'Aussie' farm gone by.

It was a great afternoon to ask questions about my camera in particular, about lighting, settings and just to watch and see what others were doing, observing and what they were capturing on their cameras.

I just love old farms and buildings. The colours, the rust, and textures of the ageing tin and wood. Not to mention all the stories that they have become part of over the life of the farm. It really does captivate me and it was interesting to listen to Alan talk of bits and bobs of his new farm and what he knows about its past.

I thought Id share with you some of my favourite and id say better of the photos of the day. Some aren't really that exciting but they are better put up here then just sitting on the computer hard drive. As you would imagine I took myriads of pics and many were either very under or very over exposed. Nonetheless, I played around a fair bit with the manual settings and even learnt about the pop up flash on my camera. Talking with a few fellow club members, it seemed that the AV mode was the way to go and most of the photos were taken in that setting. I'm a tad obsessed with blurring out backgrounds at the moment. ha ha!!

As always with any social gathering, it was lovely to meet some other members and hear about about their stories and why they too have joined the club. Hopefully ill be able to attend a few more sessions like this throughout the year as it was great fun just getting out there and taking photos.

I have also noted the new series that Kylie has started on her personal blog A Study of Contradictions about photography, so ill be tuning into that to learn from the best. She will be sharing her own personal tips as well as sharing some of the stuff she is learning from a course she is currently undertaking at TAFE. Definitely with a look if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Which pic do you like the best? I like the ramp on the shearing shed with the yellow door. I just like how the yellow stands out. Its all in the eye of the beholder as they say.

Im also wondering how my photos will go in the monthly comp for February.

What club are you part of where you live? If you are thinking about joining one, just DO IT!! Its good fun.

Thanks for visiting today

Elisha

52 project

The 52 Project;7/52

17:14:00

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2015.

Hugh: Boys and their toys. Just checking out the new car.

Edith: Harvest time is very close at the farm. New fresh bunches to test, brought back from the vineyard from Grandpa always seem to delight.

Oliver: My camera club buddy only just yesterday. Of course I had to use him as a subject amongst some of the beautiful old buildings on the property.

I am joining in The 52 Project with Jodi from Practicing Simplicity.

52 project

The 52 Project; 6/52

20:00:00

The 52 Project; 6/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2015.

Oliver: Your new seat in the backyard whilst I put the clothes on the line. You really love it, especially when your sister gives you a little push.

Edith: Fluffing around and avoiding the camera as usual. Smile already, I need a photo!

Hugh: Your first day of pre-kinder. We are all very excited about this new venture taking place once a week now.

Joining in the 52 Project with Jodi over at Practicing Simplicity.

apples

Espaliering Apples and Pears {summer 2015}

08:10:00

I have come in with the goods today and present to you the latest pics from our espaliering venture out at the farm.

If you have been following along for a while you may remember when we started, but in case you want to have a look at some previous posts, you can have a look here and here.

Pauline alerted us to the fact that the orchard was growing a tad bit crazy after we returned from our holiday a few week back and we thought it was time to do some taming and tidying up out there last weekend.

As you can see in the first few pics she wasn't wrong and along with the surrounding shrubs and weeds, it was all becoming rather overgrown.

Cam loves any excuse to get the chainsaw out, so he sorted out the Banksia and Grevillia in the background quick smart as well as the Callistimons to the left of the orchard. It made a huge difference to the aesthetics of the orchard which is always a bonus and that makes me happy in the garden.

We couldn't believe how much the fruit trees had grown in a month. So much so, we may have missed the boat on training a few of the branches onto the third wire. Cam accidentally snapped one of the pears when he was trying to wrap it on the wire because it was so thick. Woopsie!

Lesson learned though and we will be sure to do this much earlier and more frequently next summer. As for all the growth and shoots? We aren't too worried about all the crazy growth as it'll all be pruned back hard when they go dormant over winter.
They obviously loved the feed of manure and the covering of mulch we did did before we went away and they also received a couple of good soaks of rain earlier in the month.

Here's a before and after shot of the chainsaw massacre. Subtle but much nicer.

I think Cam was also in his element kitting up with all the fencing tools so he could put up the third wire and tighten the old ones.

New growth and a single pear.

In my weekend best attire which lately consists of very loose fitting clothing and a staple in that headband. I was posing and pretending to wrap the branches on the wire for the purposes of this post but they were shit photos so I decided to put a silly 'shit' one here instead..ha ha!! …and yes I am silly a lot of the time...

Have you any tips for espaliering?
Are you espaliering any plants in your garden?
Do you want more silly or posing pics of yours truly?

Thanks for visiting today
Elisha xx

52 project

The 52 Project; 5/52

13:07:00

'A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2015'

Oliver: Ohh those rolls.

Edith: Watching your new favourite movie 'Harry and the Hendersons', with your thongs on of course.

Hugh: Captured on the I Phone here testing the sugar levels in the grapes.

We are getting close to harvest.

Not my best work ill admit this week and getting the lighting right on the manual settings is rather tricky in my dark lounge room. How do you stop the grainy look? I also had to laugh as our wine rack seems to be featuring a lot in pics lately so I will be thinking about the backgrounds a bit more in the future too.

Joining in with The 52 Project over at Practicing Simplicity.

Jodi's photograph this week is brilliant.