The 12 Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks, just off the coast of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria. The rock formations were created as a result of erosion, and they continue to erode at a rate of about 2cm/year at their base. There were only ever nine stacks (despite their name) and one of them toppled over in 2005.
Tim and I visited a few weeks ago with my brother and his girlfriend. The sunset was beautiful (although not nearly as good as our last visit!) and we spent a couple of hours there watching as the sun dipped below the horizon. The changing light makes the rocks and cliff faces look different every few minutes, so it’s a pretty great place to bring your camera.
I would love to come back to photograph sunrise one day. Something tells me that the direction of the rising sun would make this scene even more spectacular.
Can you see Venus in the sky up there?
It took about an hour and a half to get back to our place in Apollo Bay, and most of that was winding roads through the pitch dark national park. When we arrived at home we were greeted by the smell of Tim’s Famous Chilli* simmering away in the slow cooker and a seriously excited little dog. It was such a good way to warm up after our adventure to the Apostles.
We had to leave for Melbourne the next morning, but not before meeting the resident alpacas on the property! More on those in my next post…
*Tim’s Famous Chilli has a block of dark chocolate in it. It’s basically the best thing you’ve ever heard of.
Yesterday was the first time I’ve missed a Feel good Friday since I began them a couple of months ago. The post was all written up and ready to go, but when I arrived at work yesterday I discovered some sickening news and spent the rest of the day in a fog, talking things through with my colleagues.
I wasn’t affected directly by the news, but people I care about are grieving. Shattered.
And I guess this is the part where I apologise for writing about all this in such vague terms. Stories about my job don’t belong here, and that’s frustrating sometimes. Perhaps if my blog wasn’t quite so googleable?
Hope your weekend is a happy one. I’m determined to make the most of mine.
When I decided that I was going to take a self-portrait once per month for 1001 days I thought it would be a breeze. After all, how hard could it be to put myself on the other side of a camera every 4 weeks?
It should be easy, but I came really close to forgetting this month. I had all of the time in the world over the weekend to take my self-portrait but it never once crossed my mind to do so. Not until I was driving home from work tonight, with a splitting headache behind my eye, did I remember that today was the last day of April.
Bugger.
So here is the very best I could manage. It’s the face of a girl who was on her feet for most of the day, but was clever enough to wear a wedge instead of skyscraper heels. It’s a photo of somebody who eventually had to kick off her shoes completely to move furniture when the other guy didn’t show up, and made sure everyone else met a deadline. She’s the girl whose laptop crashed and destroyed an hour’s work (but she didn’t lose her temper), and who made time to help somebody that nobody else wanted to deal with.
A girl who finally microwaved her lunch at 3.15pm, and ate it cold at 4pm; desperately in need of two Panadol, but too busy to walk the 50m to go and get it.
More importantly, the girl in the photo managed to get so much done at work today that she wasn’t about to drop the ball on her own little project. It may not be beautifully lit, and the circles under her eyes may be darker than usual, but it’s done.
If you’ve ever driven the Great Ocean Road you already know how beautiful it is. The beaches are rocky and rugged, the wildlife is abundant, and the waves kick up enough salt and mist to make the sunsets even more spectacular. It’s truly one of the best stretches of coastline that I’ve ever experienced and the journey is always worth the slight motion sickness that I get towards the end!
A couple of months ago my big brother told me that he was going to be in town for his friend’s wedding, and he mentioned that he’d never seen The Great Ocean Road or the Twelve Apostles. Obviously we had to make it happen, so we packed the car (and the puppy) for a long weekend and made a road trip out of it!
We’re lucky to have friends in Apollo Bay who run a bed & breakfast, so planning our trip was a breeze. The accommodation is incredible and I’m going to have to devote an entire post to it!
Our trip down the coast was just spectacular. It was clear and sunny, but not hot. Harry was calm the entire way, and approached each stop with enthusiasm and a waggy tail. It was a really happy day.
How’s that for a sunset?
By this stage of the journey we were almost at our destination. We were having our friends up to the house for dinner so we knew we had to get there and unpack quickly or they’d be starving! However, we couldn’t resist one last stop when we noticed a bunch of cars pulled over on the side of the windy road. It could only mean one thing…
Koalas, in the wild! It was about this time that I realised what a city kid I have become, as the only koalas I’ve seen in the past decade have been in zoos.
(Don’t believe what you see on TV, Americanos. Well, except for the kangaroos. We all have one of those to commute to work.)
So that was Day 1 of our wonderful long weekend. More photos to come!
Last night Tim & I attended a launch party in St Kilda at a beautiful venue right on the water. We pulled into the car park early, and we were amazed at our good luck to have found such a spectacular view of the sun as it set over the water. We were ten minutes early so we decided to stand at the water’s edge and check out the view.
The only other person around was a woman in her 50s or 60s, dressed beautifully in “resort wear” and a straw hat and looking out to sea. When she heard us approaching she turned and gave me a radiant smile. She said something, but I was too far away to hear her. I smiled back as I walked towards where she was standing.
I said hello.
“Isn’t it just wonderful”, she replied warmly, shaking her head with a smile, “the way that pedophiles are allowed to just walk amongst the rest of us?”
She looked me dead in the eye, still smiling with her entire face, just like Quentin Bryce. I thought for sure I had misheard her. I’m sorry, what did you say?
“Isn’t it terrific that pedophiles are just walking around, free to go wherever they please? And how do you feel about the fact that this man… that you’re with… is having sex with children?”
Now, just a minute…
I was caught completely off guard. Barely 20 seconds had passed since we got out of the car, and at this point we were still walking in the direction of the water and had yet to reach where she was standing. The woman’s words were clear, deliberate and delivered without faltering. And although she was referring to Tim, she never looked at him – she just held my gaze and her broad, warm smile.
I admit, I was speechless. In fact, I was pretty sure that she was half-way through a joke or a story that wasn’t going to be very funny. And besides, she was a beautiful and normal looking woman – like somebody’s mum, or a teacher or maybe a doctor. She was certainly not homeless or unloved or uncultured. Why was this person – this smiling, civilised person – saying these words?
She spoke again, still smiling, but with just a touch of sing-song hatred in her tone.
“What’s the matter? Can’t your stupid female brain make your mouth work?”
Without waiting for a response she turned on her heels, and slowly – with perfect posture – walked away. She never looked back, and for an entire minute I stood there, watching her, my mouth gaping.
Tim basically missed the entire exchange, because of the wind and the distractions on his phone.
Now, I don’t know about you but I don’t live my life as though I might encounter an unpleasant person at any moment, and I don’t prepare myself for spontaneous confrontations. I certainly didn’t expect one from somebody who seemed so normal in every sense – in her physical appearance, her clothing, her facial expressions and body language. Her anger at Tim, at me was illogical and so misplaced and it shocked me.
And when the shock wore off? I was angry. Angry at the woman for accusing somebody that I cared about of something so horrendous. Angry that she was blaming me and telling me that I was stupid.
Mostly? I was angry that I was silent. For the rest of the night my brain ran through all of the responses that I could have given her – logic that would discredit all of her accusations. Cutting remarks that would have pressed her buttons the way she pressed mine. I was seething with fury at my inability to respond in the moment and the disempowerment I felt.
Of course, it didn’t take me long to realise that this woman – this attractive, well-spoken and clearly educated woman – was suffering from some sort of mental illness. A healthy person couldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that she did, not in a matter of seconds. They wouldn’t have delivered those words to me with such a pleasant expression, or even at all.
And as soon as I understood that, I was deeply ashamed of myself. Not for my actions, but for the assumptions I made about a person just because she looked so normal. What did I think that an irrational and confrontational person should look like? Why should her grooming and expensive clothes spare her from a mental disease? And why did I allow myself to feel so much anger towards her, when she’s so obviously suffering from a condition beyond her control?
Because here’s the thing: if this woman had been dressed in dirty jeans, if she’d smelled bad or if she was missing some teeth, I’d have felt more comfortable in that situation. I’d have shrugged off her rant without giving her words any space in my thoughts. Yesterday’s experience taught me a lot about my own prejudices, and I suppose it’s re-wired my brain a little to better understand the world.
The fact is, this woman – this attractive, educated, well-spoken woman – she is somebody’s mum. Maybe once a teacher or a doctor or a concert pianist. Everything about her confidence and body language told me that she has people who care about her, and they’re probably trying their very best to protect her (and the strangers she meets) from situations like the one she found herself in yesterday.
I remembered:
Three years ago I was grocery shopping, and there was a woman ahead of me pushing a cart. Her son was sitting in the cart eating from a box of cereal that hadn’t been paid for yet, and he was at least ten years old. ”What a horrible kid”, I thought to myself. ”What’s wrong with HER, pushing around a ten year old kid? Why is he being such a lazy brat? What sort of mother would just push him around like that?”
And of course, those thoughts were followed by that classic declaration of the young and childless. ”I will never be THAT mother.”
I overtook the boy and his mum, and as I passed I noticed how handsome the little boy was. He had incredible deep brown eyes and perfect freckles on his nose.”That kid will break so many hearts someday”, I thought. And as I reached the end of the aisle I heard a tremendous crash behind me.
I turned to see the boy convulsing wildly, thrashing his arms and hurling all of their groceries from the cart and onto the ground. He screamed and began to yell and cry, ”Muuuuum… Muuuuum!” and I swear that woman almost crawled into that cart herself in order to comfort him. He was distressed and terrified, hitting his head on the side of the shopping cart and shaking, and his mother… she looked as though she was doing this for the third time that day. In less than 20 seconds she’d talked him down from the ledge and was holding her weeping boy in her arms.
All she needed was some groceries for dinner. She had probably hoped that a ride in the cart and the cereal in his hands would buy her enough time to get what she needed.
That was the day that I thought I learned my lesson about judging people based on their appearance. About what is “normal”, and what battles are being faced by the stranger right next to you.
I’ve set myself a challenge to complete 101 Things in 1001 Days, from 1 January 2012 to 28 September 2014. You can read more about this project here, and follow my progress as I go!
It’s been a while since my birthday has fallen on a weekend, so this year I really wanted to make the most of my freedom. I told Tim to take me somewhere, anywhere! and so he hit up my 101 list for inspiration. We couldn’t take a day trip away from Melbourne because we needed to cook for our friends that night (and besides, we were overdue for a sleep-in) so he looked for some ideas close to home.
This cute little market is an indoor/outdoor setup, just off the best part of Brunswick St. Each Saturday and Sunday there are up to 70 stalls full of everything handmade – jewellery, traditional art & photography, clothing, journals, cards and other bits and pieces. It was really humming when we arrived (without being annoyingly crowded) and although the space was relatively small, we were able to amuse ourselves for ages by looking at all the pretty things.
I went home with two treasures.
This ring by Craig Swindells (aka Affinitive Designs) called my name the moment I saw it. Firstly, I’ve always wanted a coin ring and preferably not one of those expensive, shiny replicas that I keep seeing in gift shops lately. Secondly, it was my birthday and one of the items on my wishlist was a bunny rabbit and – no really, I’ll just wait until you’ve stopped laughing at me shall I?
Thirdly, here was an Irish coin, on St Patrick’s Day, featuring a bunny rabbit, on my birthday!
You can see why I had to take it home with me, right?
There’s no great story to accompany this little silver wire ring from Biancabean Jewellery, other than I really liked it and I’ve been looking for a thumb ring for ages. It was only $30, and the owner of the shop gave it to me with Buddha’s blessing.
Good to see that he’s tackling the big issues!
In any case, the Rose St Artist Market is absolutely worth a visit next time you’re in Fitzroy. And promise me that you’ll grab a “living stack” from Vegie Bar across the road when you’re done!
Last Saturday was my birthday, and I turned thirty-two. Tim made me breakfast in bed, and after a few phonecalls from my family (and a lovely little pile of presents) we headed to Fitzroy to see the Rose St Artists’ Market. I bought two beautiful rings.
We had lunch at Vegie Bar, and I ate a magnificent creation called a “Living Stack”. We came home, set a pretty table in the dining room, lit some candles and waited for our lovely friends to arrive. There were giant balloons, and presents. Some for me, and some for them. Lots to celebrate.
Tim cooked san choi bou and penang chicken for dinner (amazing) and then we ate the decadent choc ripple cake that our friends brought over. I only made it halfway through my piece, but I savoured every bite.
I filmed the first little video for my newest project: 365 seconds of footage to represent my next 365 days. Just like Madeline did. I have another 363 days to come up with a catchy name for mine.
I’ve set myself a challenge to complete 101 Things in 1001 Days, from 1 January 2012 to 28 September 2014. You can read more about this project here, and follow my progress as I go!
A page from an old journal of mine. Any excuse to start thinking about autumn!
One of the best parts of having a list of 101 Things is that it gives you permission to do things you wouldn’t normally do on the spot. We’re all constantly being reminded of the things we should do – sensible, responsible uses for our time and money that qualifies us as grown-ups. There’s no escaping those.
But what if you wrote a list that was partly made up of Very Silly Things (VSTs)? What if you set yourself a timeline that was every bit as real as the bright red due date on your energy bill? What if your success was measured not just by the completion of your responsibilities, but by your VST progress?
My 101 Things projects have been conceived with that exact philosophy in mind. I know that I have grown-up goals to conquer, and that they’re really important. I have goals on my list that cover skills I want to develop, fitness milestones, study and money. I know that when I’ve achieved each one I’m going to feel amazing.
But my list is also peppered with little VSTs, like #54 – Fly a kite! These little items are really special to me, because they tend to be about experiences and memories and reconnecting with the fun times. Some of them are downright irresponsible, when you consider the money that could be saved for a financial goal.
But personally, I hope to never become the sort of person who says no to a brightly-coloured kite.
Source unknown. Does anybody know who made this cute little guy?
We were shopping for a few things this weekend, and I wandered into a games shop for inspiration for another of the items on my list – a new jigsaw puzzle. While I was there I spotted a rack of little kites, and was surprised to discover that they were all between $20-$50! I chose one with two strings that could do tricks and assured the helpful gentleman behind the counter that the operator would be over the age of 12. Well over the age of 12, as it turned out.
Tim and I took it for a spin after dinner last night, and that’s when we discovered that we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. Everything we tried would send it plummetting to the ground, and after a while a highly-amused audience began to gather. Eventually some kind soul came over and gave us some tips (add a tail, and let the line out completely) and we were able to get it up in the air.
It was the BEST feeling to watch our little kite soar through the sky when the wind picked up! The crashes were still violent, but after a while they became less frequent. And our little makeshift shopping bag kite tail flapped happily away in the sky.
The video captures a little bit of the excitement, and it’s worth watching for the crash montage. I only wish that I had remembered to record it in landscape!
Music credits: “Kite Fight” by Sweet Thing / “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” – Mary Poppins (Original Soundtrack)
My advice: put a VST on your to-do list this week. Your smiley muscles will thank you!
One of my favourite parts of New Years Eve is filling out this meme. It’s such a great way to reflect on the past year – good and bad – and make plans to make the next year even better. I’d love to read your answers too so please leave yours in the comments if you’d like to play along!
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Threw myself into art in a big, big way! I’ve always been interested, but I’ve never been very good at drawing and painting. My classes at Melbourne Studio of Art have been really exciting.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t think I had any new years resolutions for this year. Tomorrow I will begin a brand new 101 Things in 1001 Days list, so I think that takes care of resolutions for the next few years!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? We welcomed two tiny babies into the family this year – Archie and Harrison. My cousins are very good at growing cute babies!
5. What countries did you visit? I didn’t travel at all this year, unless quick trips to Brisbane count. We’re planning to visit the US next September and spend some time with Tim’s family. Can’t wait!
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? Fitness. This will be a major theme of my 2012.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The birth dates of my cousins’ two new bubbies. Their arrivals came at a time when our family needed a great big smile!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 2011 was a year for supporting other people. Big things were happening to the people around me this year, and it was my job to help them through it as much as I could. I’m proud of myself for taking a back seat, and not letting it all get me down.
9. What was your biggest failure? I was much fitter at the beginning of the year than I am right now!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I have an ankle injury which thwarted my latest attempt at Couch to 5K. I should probably see somebody about that, since it’s been bugging me for about 10 weeks now.
11. What was the best thing you bought? My MacBook Air is basically the greatest thing I own.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? When I am Prime Minister there will be a national day of celebration dedicated to Tim. He was dealt a really crappy hand at the beginning of this year when he lost his job, and finding a new one wasn’t easy. I’m extremely proud of him for persevering and not taking the first crappy job that he was offered. He ended up being hired by an excellent company who seem to value him, and he works with a great group of people. Blessing in disguise!
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? There have been some terrible things said and done by conservative Republicans in the USA this year. It’s like a terrible movie that you can’t turn off.
14. Where did most of your money go? Rent, bills, food. And art supplies – my new addiction for which I hope there is no cure.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Painting! Before I started art classes I thought I wanted to learn how to draw, and I’m getting there. But drawing with paint is my new favourite thing.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
This incredible songwriter, this incredible voice. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? a) Despite the upheavals, happier.
b) I think we covered this already!
c) Richer, in every sense.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I’d spent more time on creative endeavours. 2011 was a very creative year for me, but I’m not very disciplined at practising in my own time.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I wish I’d had fewer late nights, and fewer braindead days at work.
20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas Day was spent with my Mum & Dad, who are staying with us for a couple of weeks. I shared some photos of our little Christmas a couple of days ago.
21. Did you fall in love in 2011? Yeah. He’s tall and funny looking and he has the biggest brown eyes <3
22. What was your favourite TV program? We discovered (and obsessed over) a few great shows this year. Community and Breaking Bad were my favourites.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I don’t think I hate anybody.
24. What was the best book you read? Most of the books I read this year were related to the study I’m doing. And I don’t recommend them, they’re pretty dry!
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The Civil Wars, First Aid Kit, Emma Louise, The Tallest Man on Earth, Husky
26. What did you want and get? A laptop. New couches! I am using both of them right now.
(… no, I’m not using both couches. You know what I mean!)
27. What did you want and not get? Time travel? I don’t know, I’m pretty lucky to have what I’ve got.
28. What was your favourite film of this year? I loved The King’s Speech and Thor.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I had a strange birthday this year. I turned 31, and Tim was on the other side of the world. My friends and family spoiled me to make up for his absence and Tim had a beautiful bunch of roses delivered to me at work. It was good to see him again the following week!
Also, because my birthday falls on St Patrick’s Day there was green beer. Obviously.
30. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Tim and Harry, my partners in crime. I love coming home to our house and my boys.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? I suppose I was a little more interested in colour this year, but I still wore the black Melbourne uniform most of the time! I nurtured my girly side a little more and took more interest in makeup and nailpolish.
32. What kept you sane? My nearest and dearest. They know who they are, and I’d have been lost without them this year!
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Nobody famous rocked my world this year. Gillard dropped a few rungs on the ladder, but Abbott fell off the ladder completely. I’d appreciate it if Tony Abbott would give up ladders entirely, figuratively speaking.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Australia’s appalling policies and track record with regard to asylum seekers. Equally, the actions of human traffickers and bogan Australians who think that refugees who arrive by boat are terrorists and/or queue-jumpers. If you believe this rhetoric, you’re wrong.
Australia signed an agreement to grant asylum to refugees and we are not meeting our obligations. Our government should be developing policies which will save the lives of desperate people, not pander to the racist and ignorant opinions of voters.
I’ll stop now.
35. Who did you miss? I’ve been missing Gran & Grandpa. And wishing I’d asked them more questions while they were still here.
36. Who was the best new person you met? I made a couple of new friends at work this year, and they’ve become really good mates. My friend Kentucky (who has a real name that I never use) is pretty rad too!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
2011 was a really difficult year in many ways. Gran passed away, my Mum’s health deteriorated suddenly and Tim lost his job when they decided to cut his whole department. It should have been a terrible year, but I’m proud of the way that we were able to turn it around. Mum is on the mend, Tim found a new (better!) job before we ran out of cash, and I think our whole family is closer as a result of the upheavals we’ve had.
I suppose the lesson I take away from this is that which does not kill us makes us stronger.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
You can keep me grounded Keep me on my toes I’ll always be chasing you Wherever you may go And if you slip ahead And break away from us Don’t run out of sight I just might not catch up
But I won’t let that happen Not while we’re having fun You can be the runner I can be the gun
Our little Christmas was perfect, but just a few days later it’s hard to believe that it’s all over! This month has been full of preparations – not only for Christmas Day itself, but for the enormous party that we threw for our extended Melbourne family on December 23. Plans for our outdoor candlelit dinner party were thrown into disarray at the last minute when the forecast mentioned thunderstorms and a heatwave, so we quickly sourced some trestle tables and turned our living room into a Christmas wonderland instead.
But, in true Melbourne style the forecast wasn’t correct. There were no thunderstorms that night, although they would have been very welcome to break the sticky humidity! It didn’t really matter though, we still had a lovely meal in front of the airconditioner and it was a really happy night. My cousin broke some exciting news too, so there was an extra reason to celebrate (although she had to toast with a glass of water!)
Once the happy chaos of the big family dinner was behind us things were a lot more relaxed. We celebrated Christmas Day with my parents, who are staying with us for 2 weeks, and it was such a perfect day. We all had a great sleep-in, I made breakfast, and while we opened our presents we had phone calls from my brother in London, my grandmother in Brisbane, and Tim’s family in the States. The presents were thoughtful and it was great to have our little group together.
I had hoped to be writing here more while my parents are in town, but I’m finding that I’m enjoying having them around too much to spend time on my computer! We’ve been doing lots of shopping, day tripping, eating and catching up on each others’ lives. Dad has been doing odd jobs around the house that we have ignored (hooray!) and the furmonster has been desperately trying to track the movements of the extra two members of the household.
It’s all very exhausting, but it’s lovely.
Aside from all of the festivities I’ve also been thinking a lot about next year, and making some plans. One of my big projects will be another round of 101 Things in 1001 Days and I am working very hard to complete my list before January 1! I’m going to have a section of my site devoted to my new list, but it might be a few weeks before I will find time to build it. My 1001 Days begins next week though, eek!
Anyway, it feels good to have checked in here and to share some news. My parents are here for another 8 days, and then my little cousin arrives with her tiny baby for a week-long visit! So excited about meeting baby Archie and kissing those chubby cheeks of his. Also? Look out Chapel St, my cousin is on a mission and that girl intends to SHOP.
I hope your Christmas has been as wonderful as ours!
I didn’t actually mean to drop off the radar. It’s been really strange to have a few days away from the blog, since I’ve been posting almost daily for a couple of months now. Strange, but (dare I say it?) good to take a little breather.
It all began on Tuesday, which was a really frantic day at work. My little car drove me home (it always seems to know the way!) and after saying hello to the dog I basically faceplanted the bed and fell asleep. In my work clothes.
I stayed that way until my alarm went off, twelve hours later.
So I’m trying to be a little bit kinder to myself this week. I’m giving myself some space to enjoy wrapping the Christmas presents and figuring out the menu for the massive Christmas feast we’re hosting for our extended family. I’m getting the house ready for 3 weeks of guests, so that I don’t end up leaving everything until the last minute. I’m making donation piles of “stuff” that we don’t need (where does it all come from?) and trying to simplify.
I’m making lists, and I’m even crossing stuff off them!
The final week of photos for the 30 Day Photo Challenge would have been little more than throwaway snapshots if I had kept going this week, and I’m enjoying the challenge too much to waste it on uninspired shots. So I’ll be returning to it as soon as I have some of the things on my to-do list under control, when I am able to give it my full attention again.
How are you coping with the Christmas/end-of-year madness?
Today’s drive to work was a little bit unusual, thanks to my my big, heavy camera sitting beside me on the passenger seat. The theme of Day 18 in the 30 Day Photo Challenge was journey to work, and I really wasn’t sure how I was going to safely operate my manual transmission car and a DSLR at the same time. Obviously, I only took photos when the car was completely still (and the handbrake was on) but I was still a bit worried that I’d see flashing lights in my rear view mirror!
Fortunately it was a beautifully gloomy, wet drive to work today which made for some lovely moody photos. I was even lucky enough to spot my last Movember tram for 2011 on the last day of the month! I will miss that big moustache, and the smiles that it put on the faces of my fellow commuters. Such a great idea.
All of my photos turned out pretty well, but my favourite is below.
