Photography

[utegirl70]

Here's a couple of pics I took at the ASP Tarmac Rally, which hubby is involved in...

[utegirl70]

And here's a couple of random photos....

[utegirl70]

Hmmmm...doesn't seem to want to let me add anymore.... I keep on getting this message.. "The upload folder is full. Please try a smaller file and/or contact an administrator. " 

[Ray]

Soooo,... you have been playing with your new toy. I guessed that you'd have some good shots, as I seem to remember you being very artistically inclined.

My pick is the horsie, I really like the sepia tone, Does your camera have that facility, or was it dome with software?

Macro photography is something I would like to do more of, and when I saw your spider I remembered that I took a picture of a Huntsman that I disturbed whilst helping pull down an old shed next door.

It has been cropped quite a bit as I couldn't get this close with the lens I had on the camera at the time. I might have got it a little sharper had I used a proper macro lens.

I'm afraid I cant help you much with the upload problem, as I always use a Third Party like PhotoBucket for displaying my photos.

[utegirl70]

Yeah, I have been playing. But really haven't done as much as I'd like to. What with one thing or another....but there is plenty of time. 

I thought you'd like that one. And yes, I love using sepia and B+W. Not an on-camera thing..I used iPhoto on my mac. Not as good as Photoshop, but still allows me to fiddle about a bit.

I LOVE macro. And my next filter purchase will be towards that!

OMG! Take a look at the size of that dude!!! Ew.... 

My spidey was a water/garden spider..... if you look closely, you can see that she's carrying her egg sac. Can you see the beads of water? I got quite close to her, but not being like a huntsman, and all fast moving, I wasn't as scared!!!

Well I may have to start using photobucket then, if I can only upload one or two photos at a time...

[Ray]

I only recently worked out that my 70-300mm lens on it's Macro setting is far better than my normal 28-55. You get further back and zoom in which overcomes the problems of your own shadow when getting really close with smaller lenses. Never the less, I would like to have a better lens just for Macro work.

Mac certainly make great graphics software. I have Adobe Photoshop 7, but hate using it. It is without a doubt the clumsiest and least intuitive piece of software that I have ever used. I think that there are plenty of programs that give as good or better results without all of the farting about.

I saw that your "spidey" was either carrying or eating something. Now that you've pointed it out, it is clearly an egg sac. I don't mind Huntsmen, as they are very docile and I have never heard of anyone being bitten by one. Even TLW will pick them up gently, and take them out of harms way if need be.

[utegirl70]

I don't mind Huntsmen, as they are very docile and I have never heard of anyone being bitten by one. Even TLW will pick them up gently, and take them out of harms way if need be.

Oh, they DO bite! That's why I hate 'em. I was bitten by one as a kid when living in Laura.
Went to go pick up a jacket that I'd left at a friends house, which was sitting in their carport/shed. Went to put it on, and... *BITE*.
Great big huntsman!
I guess that I had inadvertantly squished her...so her biting me was only defence.

[Ray]

Watta meanie! Squishing the poor little spidey,....

I asked a lady at the SA museum about them nearly 30 years ago, and she said that although they are not allowed to say that they are virtually harmless, because they might get sued if someone got bitten and had a reaction and died, their poison is no more potent than a bee sting in normal circumstances.  She also told me that when some group were doing research and trying to milk them for their venom, they were found to be very reluctant to bite.

So, I have no fear of them and have picked them up on many occasions to take them where they will not get hurt.

[Ray]

Over the last day or two, I have been printing photos for the Jamestown Local History Group, and among them was a photo taken many years ago of a couple of young men, a child and a dog up at the area known by all kids in my time and before as "The Cups", a well known spot of the day. I believe that it was one of the first spots used as a swimming hole in the Belalie Creek and it was also a very desireable place for family picnics.

As a youngster I know that I spent many hours up there with my mates, climbing around the hills, playing war games, making sleds to slide down the steeper hills and buildiing dams to divert the flow of water, Dykey being one of those who participated.

I had not been there for at least 10 - 15 years, and I distinctly remember at that time, I was amazed at how much it had changed since my early recollections of 30 years earlier, this piqued my curiosity, so I decided to go back and take both my camera and a print of the old photo.



It looked nothing like this as I remembered, the hole at the front had filled up with mud and gravel and the water ran only am inch or two deep where it was, other than that, it was fairly similar. In the 1990s the most noticeable thing was that the whole area in the creek bottom had overgrown with weeds and spear grass, so I was quite eager to go and see what it looked like today. I drove out to the hill above the creek, some 300 yards or so distant and walked across the paddock to The Cups. As with most things, it was much smaller than I remember, and even more overgrown, now with several Acacias, Box thorns and believe it or not, a small apple tree, no doubt seeded from an apple core disposed of by a visitor some years ago.



I took a little time to try to duplicate the shot, but have had to crop it a little as I was looking a little to high and slightly to the right. I found that it is suprisingly difficult to get it exactly right, but in the end got a shot that I was reasonably happy with.

[Ray]

Heres a few other shots of the area.



This one is taken looking in the same direction from 20 metres or so further back.  Although it is not all that easy to discern, the new photo was taken from on top of the large bluish tinted rock in the centre which was the obvious place from where the original photo was taken, this is about 3 metres high and an ideal vantage point.  It is a pity I never had someone to stand in both photos, as even though I know the place well, I find it hard to get a sense of scale from the photos I took.




This photo is taken looking back at the position where my earlier shots were taken, you can see the large rock outcrop in the centre.

[utegirl70]

Wow, it's sure changed from the first photo.

We used to go along there quite frequently with the horse and the dog. We could only go so far with the horse mind you. But when it was just us and the dog, we often ended up right up near the rifle/gun club.

[Ray]

Wow, it's sure changed from the first photo.

We used to go along there quite frequently with the horse and the dog. We could only go so far with the horse mind you. But when it was just us and the dog, we often ended up right up near the rifle/gun club.

The cups are actually about 260 metres past the Pistol range, in one of Crawford's paddocks. I suppose I really should have rang up and asked permission to go there, but y'know me, I just took off without thinking.  The Google earth image below shows the Pistol Club area and fences in purple, and where I parked and walked over the hill. According to GE it is about 400 metres.



Given some cleaning up, it could be a great picnic spot, but of course I could understand the owners not wanting too easy access as it would just end up being a place for the idiots to graffitti and make a mess.

Did you ever get any photos of you on your horsie?...  I seem to remember him as a big grey, with a strong aversion to worming paste  

Back in the days of film cameras I hardly ever took any photos, and now I'm kicking myself, they really only became affordable after I had finished doing all of the things that I now want piccies of.

[utegirl70]

I'm totally confused with that photo.... we used to go down to "The cups"...the dip down Jones Street, which led on to Creek street...went on to the air strip. We would walk up basically the opposite side of Creek street... is that where you're talking about? We'd come out over the other side near the pistol club thingy.

Heh, are you talking about "Billy", or your boy, "Snooky"?!    Billy wasn't very big..only 14.2hh. Snooky was the big fella.... compared to Bill anyway.
It's funny, I've just been reminiscing on Facebook with memories of "Bella". Do you remember her? The lovely Chestnut Arab that was my friends I brought back from Adelaide?
She passed away recently so I found out... she wasn't that old either...about 23.

I do have some photos of your lovely old boy if you'd like me to send you some. He was special to me...he gave me back so much confidence. 

[Ray]

Here's a bit better map, showing the track up as far as the pistol Club.



I must be losing my marbles, I thought that you had a grey.... Although I do remember a chestnut.

I must admit that STWH (Snookie The Wonder Horse) was a great horse, nothing ever spooked him, and he would go anywhere you pointed his nose. Safe enough for kids, but with enough get up and go to go out mustering cattle on.

I always remember the afternoon we were out at Les Messenger's in the cattle yards. Les's daughter Patrice was about 5 years old, and while we were castrating and ear marking the yearlings, she just encouraged him over to the fence and climbed up on his back, no saddle, no reins, just a lead rope, she then just sat on his back while he wandered around the yard picking up odd straws off the ground among the cattle, not a care in the world.

The only time she looked like falling off, was when one of the yearlings rolled right over the top of me, pushing my face into about  3 inches of mud and cow poo.

[utegirl70]

Ahhhhh! No wonder I was confoooooooosed! We'd always thought where you've marked "The Ford" as the cups! That's where we started out from, and worked our way up to "The Cups"! 

Yes, Billy was the grey. Bella was the chestnut. And I rode Elspeths lovely cream/palomino Chet too. She was in our paddock (Dr Shepherds) near our place with Snooky for a while.

Yep. Good old Snooky. I used to ride him bareback once I realised he was safe to ride that way. And with the head collar and lead rope...would take him out saddled up, then walk/ride him back to his paddock in just the head collar.
Had to watch him though...if he ever got away, he'd take off back to the parklands where his mates were!