Saturday, March 28, 2009

So you want more photos

I admit, I'm not particularly web savvy.  I pretty much do what I need to do and don't think about it more than that.  So I felt pretty stupid when I scrolled to the bottom of my Photobucket album and noticed that they have a quick link there so you can simply click on it and hey presto it's added to your chosen feed.

That means that any time I upload new photos, you get notified and can take a look-see.  I often upload more photos to an album than those that make blog posts and sometimes I upload stuff that I never get around to blogging about.

Here are the albums that I upload to most often - you can add them individually or click the "Feed for all content" option so it doesn't matter which album I upload to (and if I create a new album, you'll get notice of that, too).  Pretty groovy, really.
My Life 2009 Part I - a whole range of random stuff, including the pets
My Big Trip 2009 - seriously, I will be adding more photos soon and there are photos there that aren't in the blogs, I promise!
Ningaloo Reef 2009 Part I - this is where the underwater stuff ends up

Some of you are probably wondering why I've ended up back with Photobucket so here are my reasons in no particular order and as of right now:
- I resize my images before upload so I don't see a difference in quality between my PB images and those I put onto Flickr
- uploading single or multiple images is FAST and easy
- Photobucket's coding system makes blogging so much easier and faster for two reasons 1) all the information I need is on a single page, no having to click the image, then click All Sizes and then copy the code and 2) the code makes sense! I can copy the code right from the thumbnail and then all I have to do is change the very end bit for the next image. In Flickr I have to do every single flippin image individually (click, click, click, copy, paste...repeat repeat repeat)
- Flickr's free limit is irritating and I can't justify $25 a year just to pop images up somewhere really
- Photobucket's free limit is very generous

Anyhoo, just thought it was past time to let you all in to my galleries - enjoy & leave some love if you are so inclined!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Enjoying some beach time

Dave and I have been making an effort to get out as a family with the Girls to the beach this week.  The dive shop is busy, but we've been able to get out more or less on time most days so we zip home, toss the Girls in the back of the car and zoom down for a romp.  The other night we were both a little too tired to make an expedition out of it, so we just ducked down behind the golf club and strolled along the sand bars.

Tilly ran amok while the three of us tried to enjoy a little peace and quiet







Both dogs are getting better at coming when Dave calls them. When we first got to the beach there was no one around but then we heard the distinct whine of dirt bikes approaching. If they get going, there's no way to recall either dog so Dave gets them to come sit down and wait patiently...more or less

There aren't more photos of Dora from this outing as she was pretty content to just stroll next to us or hunt fish in the shallows - always with her butt towards the camera, so I chose to forgo the photo opportunities! But for those who doubt her athletic abilities, she can still haul it up when she wants to

Last night I had a meeting with one of my April brides and Dave got everything ready for us to head out. We planned to head down to the Bay of Rest which is about 50kms or so out of town. On the way out we saw a pair of bustards and then a single one on the track. Unfortunately, they are extremely camera shy so you'll have to take my word for it! There was also a cute little wallaby who watched us with extreme distrust as we slowly bounced along the rutted track.

I have lived here for ten years and never been out to the Bay of Rest. Dave comes out quite often and always has a good time, even if he does complain about the zillions of sand flies that are always here. We had a huge can of Bushman's with us this time. It's a beautiful mangrove area and the tide was very low so we were able to walk along and hunt for mud-crabs. Tilly adores the mud


This is a lot cuter/funnier to you because you all don't have to smell wet dog covered in stinking mangrove mud all the way home LOL

I have discovered that flip flops are not the ideal shoe choice for this type of outing. They kept sucking into the mud which slowed me down a little and they are extremely slickery when one tries to walk up slopes. They also flick an enormous amount of mud up the back of your legs!

No matter, I amused myself watching the ospreys and other birds searching for dinner while the dogs and Dave went off in search of small water creatures to torment





All little creatures are actually pretty safe when you've got two big Ridgebacks helping.


It's not like they have long attention spans



While Til was out being a loon, Dave and Dora had a few minutes of peace together


We left around 8pm and the very last light of the day was disappearing fast. There were tons of kangaroos out along the track including a Big Red, but none of them were interested in hanging out to pose for me


I would have loved to get closer to this Big Red

We had a lot of fun and are already planning our next trip out. I want to take a nice wide lens and try to capture some of the neat scenes along the coast...and I want to take a longer lens for the kangas, wallabies, ospreys and bustards! I need a sherpa, I think...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Busy March!

It's been some long days this month as we prepare for whale shark season.  They got even longer when the sharks turned up early!  But we're getting some good numbers through the door, the sharks have been playing the game and the diving conditions haven't been too bad so it's worth it.  We've also added three new crew members to our roster so we've been spending a lot of time training and bringing them up to speed.

Our new Exmouth Dive blog is building a following already and we are working hard to keep it up-to-date with what's happening throughout the week. I hope to get some "meet the team" posts up before the end of the month, but that's coming crazy fast so it might be a first week in April project instead!

I'm also getting ready for my first wedding of the year, meeting with clients, organizing print orders and a whole bunch of other photography business so I'm really happy about that.  I love to be busy!!

I went down to the beach with next Monday's couple for a very short photo session

you can see more on Kristin Anderson Photography blog. I can't wait to shoot this wedding - it's going to be gorgeous!

Dave and I have been getting home pretty late most days, but we managed to get away around 6pm the other evening and went to another fishing spot.  I took advantage of the fading light to run my new camera body through a bit of a workout while the dogs ran around like maniacs.



Yes, even Dora runs!

Though she often prefers to just come back to her mom

and watch the world from a more relaxed position

MatildaLily had a few moments of calm with Dave heading to "the spot"

but once there she was like "OK, now what?"

Dave created a little treasure map clue with his empty beer bottle, telling me to follow it to something that should have been part of my birthday present


It was nice to get out and do nothing for a while, away from the phones! Just before we left, the Girls had one last gallop


When I have been home lately, mostly I've been chained to my desk answering emails and sending confirmations (we LOVE those!). I try to take mini-breaks every little while so have been doing the photo thing with the birds in our backyard again



I think this sums up how Dave and I feel right now

Monday, March 23, 2009

Ten years later - Tropical Cyclone Vance 22 March, 1999

Yesterday was the Ten Year Anniversary of when Exmouth got clobbered by Tropical Cyclone Vance, one of the strongest storms to ever hit the Australian mainland.

Dave and I had just moved up to Exmouth from Coral Bay. In fact, Dave and the boys were still living in Coral Bay and I was living in a room out at the base as our house hadn't settled yet. Turned out to be a very good thing as I literally watched pieces of the house we were buying fly off into the distance during the cyclone! I stayed in town at a friend's house with Diva as the hotel owner would not let her stay with us at the base, despite authorisation from the Base Commander for the exception (no dogs are allowed on base normally) while Dave and the kids stayed in the hotel there.

It was a wild event, for sure. I don't think either Dave or I will stay in town for another Category 5. No one was hurt or killed in this storm but there was tons of property damage, the utilities were down, there was no water and many people were evacuated. We finally rebuilt and reopened the dive shop, but it took months. During the process, I moved to Coral Bay to run our operation there while Dave stayed in Exmouth to oversee the rebuilding of Exmouth Diving Centre. It was a tough, long haul. Had I been more organized this year, I would have some photos to share LOL

Yesterday Exmouth held a commemorative event to dedicate a plaque and to celebrate our recovery. The Shire Hall had exhibits of photographs, art work and personal testimonies from those who were here. They also showed a compilation of the news coverage.

There was a pretty good turnout, including quite a few who hadn't been here for Vance.


Doreen Blum gave a nice speech to kick off the event

Local media turned up

Mrs Mac, a beloved long-time Exmouth resident, took a moment to reflect

Ned was the official unveiler

And many residents took the time to stop and read the dedication & share their stories

I never did get a t-shirt...



We're still in cyclone season for a while yet, but so far - fingers crossed - it's been a pretty uneventful year for us. And we hope it stays that way!