Post teens

As some of you may or may not know, the Tuesday just past was my 20th birthday. This marks the end of my teenage years and perhaps the start of my growing up. Or not. I spent my birthday at the zoo, playing with my new camera (a Canon EOS 40D).

Before I turned 20, I didn’t want to leave my teens. Now I realise that I’ll probably be taken a little more seriously when people ask my age, and well, not much else will change.

Moving onto my new camera though. The 40D is on it’s way out, with the newer 50D more widely available, most shops have sold out of their 40Ds. Thankfully Camera Lane still had one left, and being new and cheaper than Ebay, was definitely a good buy. All of the batteries, memory cards and lenses from my 10D can change straight over.

The 10D has been giving me problems for a few months now, it’s most common problem being ‘crashing’ or resetting itself just after taking a photo. Besides that, it’s achingly slow and has a fairly low image quality compared with what’s available now. The 40D however, while not being the latest model (although is very similar to the 50D), is much quicker, the buttons are more efficient and the quality is higher.

I took it to Melbourne Zoo on Tuesday, along with my zoom lens (28-200mm), to give it a try. I’m very impressed with the quality, and the ISO can be taken up to 800 without crippling noise. I’m quite delighted with my purchase, and the zoo was fantastic fun.

My friend also bought me an adaptor so that I can use one of his many lenses, and I took his 50mm f/1.2 with me to the zoo for use in the butterfly house, and despite the fogging issues, it worked a treat.

Other than that, my birthday was fairly uneventful. On the Saturday before, my friends and I went for dinner at Cafe Umago on Brunswick Street, before going out for some drinks.

On the Saturday morning Kat and I had been looking at rental properties, as we’re looking to move out together to a smaller place. We saw three places, and all were reasonable so we applied them. On the Monday afternoon, I received a phonecall offering us the ‘best’ of the three, an apartment in Brunswick! This is fantastic news, as it means that we don’t have to keep dragging ourselves out of bed on a Saturday morning and look at places. Unfortunately it also means that we have to pack up everything.

I’m a pretty compulsive person, and I love organising things. The mammoth task of starting to pack is a huge hump to overcome though, and I needed an entire Saturday to make a decent dent in it. I’m easily distracted by things such as ordering my books, negatives, folding clothes neatly and looking at each and every item as I pack it, so it took a while but I managed to pack up the majority of the things I won’t need between now and Friday/Saturday! I can almost guarantee my laptop will be the last thing to get packed.

Great Ocean Road etc (Part 3)

After raining all night, Monday was a little worrying to wake to. We had decided to head up to Hopetoun Falls, but there were two routes to get it. With one being labelled a track, we were unsure whether we’d be able to get through it in a Toyota Corolla, so we headed back to the information centre to double check what sort of condition it was in. Instead, she recommended that we go back the way went the day before and along the Turtons Tourist Track. This worked just fine for us, and Turtons Track was simply beautiful.

The small of the other track down to the falls however, was a little more worrying, and the turn off for the waterfall even more so. Taking it nice and slow, and seeing virtually no tourists, helped us to arrive in one piece. Still raining, we headed down into the rainforest to the Hopetoun Falls, which were worth the walk down (and the fear of having to get back up the hill). Again, photos to come.

Next we decided to head to the Triplet Falls, but getting lost and having to do a u-turn when we realised we were heading back towards Apollo Bay, we decided to stop for an early lunch instead. Kat and Trav discovered the small area of Redwoods just near the Hopetoun falls, and we went exploring. The area is simply stunning with the towering Redwoods and beautiful stream running past.

By this time we deemed it late enough that most tourists would have left and we could go to the Otway Fly – something Kat had really been looking forward to. It was still raining, and at the bottom of the rainforest, we might have stayed slightly dry, but 27m up, there was no chance. Still, the views were something different, and the 47m tower was fun (if only to see Trav so scared!) The walk back to the visitors centre wasn’t quite so fun, but headbutting the dinosaur at the end of the walk was worth it.

After that, we decided to take the same route back to Apollo Bay, along Turton’s Track and through Skene’s Creek, wanting to stick to roads that we knew while it kept raining and was getting darker.

Again, we had to dry out all of our clothes, and decided to have another lazy night in with ice cream, nachos and the projector.

The next morning we started our way out of town. We came back along the Great Ocean Road again, wanting to have another burger and chips at the same cafe! Between Lorne and Geelong though, we headed inland and came in through Geelong and back to the city. The rest of the afternoon was a chance to dry off and catch up on washing before we all went back to work.

Great Ocean Road etc (Part 2)

Sunday (7th) dawned earlier than usual for us, so after our complimentary continental breakfast (only until 9.30am, but considering we were the only ones in our unit, I’m sure it didn’t just disappear after that time), we headed down to the tourist information building to get some better maps and details about the waterfalls and walks.

Deciding to take it easy for the day, we headed to Stevenson Falls, up near Forrest, which was considered either a 20 minute or 1 hour easy walk, depending where you took the car. As we got up to the turn-off, we ended up on a narrow, almost gravel road, which caused initial panic, but became easier as the weekend went on.

As we came up to the carpark (a campsite), we could see that the road to the second carpark was open – which would mean a shorter walk – so we took it and without getting bogged, arrived in the carpark.

The walk was easy, and very nice, just as the brochure described! The path was pretty wet, but no rain was seen (yet), and we had no problems getting up to the waterfall.

The metal platform caused some problems, with the feet of my tripod slipping through! I still managed to get some shots (to come), and the area was simply beautiful. Travis let his adventurous side come through as he climbed over the other side of the river, then up onto the massive rocks in front of the waterfall. I could see it all ending in tears, but he’s home and we’re all fine! This was also the point where I noticed all the lichens and fungi growing – obviously, being a rainforest, the damp and dark conditions are perfect for it.

As we headed back to town, it was decided that I was getting fish and chips for lunch, to keep me happy and quiet. It was delicious, and there is nothing quite like eating fish and chips, on the coast, in winter while it drizzles!

Instead of heading to another waterfall (we’d seen two, we’d seen them all), we decided to take a look at Mait’s Rest walk – which takes you past a 300 year old myrtle beech tree. Again this was a very easy walk, which unfortunately meant there were lots of children, but the forest was so dense that you turned a corner and could barely hear them. It was stunning – although I’m disappointed they didn’t point out this specific tree; we’re left assuming that one of the many huge trees is 300 years old and the rest are only 200-and-something!

The rain was coming down quite steadily by this point; Kat kept pointing out that we’re in the rainforest in winter and I kept arguing that the rainforest could do without rain for a couple of days. While we were out in that direction, we decided that our last stop of the day would be the Cape Otway lighthouse.

Although I couldn’t see it from the carpark, the lady in the shop was adamant that it was just over the hill, so we paid our preposterous $15 and went through. The rain and wind was a little disruptive, but we skipped the communications museum and went straight up to the lighthouse. Grateful that we made the climb to the top, the views were amazing and the wind from up there just exhilarating. Looking out to the rough sea, it’s obvious why the lighthouse was necessary. Travis was only a little bit scared.

Coming back through, we also managed to buy discounted tickets for the Otway Fly, which would be one of the activities the next day. All that was left was getting home to dry out before dinner.

The gas heater turned out to be a godsend, as our jeans and shoes all went in front of it, as well as ourselves. Thankfully we managed to drag ourselves out to dinner, and we went to Cafe 153, which was slightly disappointing. The food was tasty but nothing special and the service was a bit of a let down, but at least I managed to get some seafood for the second time that day!

Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay, The Otways and The Rain (Part 1)

Before we (Kat, Trav and I) had realised it was the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, we had arranged to go away for four nights to Apollo Bay and the Great Ocean Road. Of course, once we realised this, we had already booked an extra day off work and were hyped about it, so we just had to get a move on and book the accommodation quickly before it was gone!

We left on the Friday night (5th June) after we’d finished work, and headed down to Torquay. Of course, an accident on the West Gate delayed things by half an hour or so, but all in all, a relatively quick trip was had. A stop for fast food in Geelong, Kat’s first booze bus and we arrived in Torquay by 9pm. We stayed in a small cabin there just overnight before moving on in the morning.

We took a leisurely drive down the Great Ocean Road the next morning, stopping frequently at the lookouts and towns. Our first stop was Aireys Inlet, where the Split Point Lighthouse is. We had a walk down to the beach before heading over to the lighthouse (which we didn’t go up) and wandered around in the sunshine before moving on. I’ve since found out that this is the same lighthouse from the TV show ‘Round The Twist’ and would have been much more excited there had I known that!

I can’t remember the other various stops that we made, but we timed it so that we came into Lorne just before lunch time. After a quick walk around, we decided on a place called ‘Bottle of Milk’ which served large burgers accompanied by loud music. Very delicious, and we even stopped again on the way back!

Just as we were finishing, a couple of friends I know from Flickr came in, so we hung around for a quick chat before leaving them to their food. It was a bit of a shock seeing Melbourne people out of town like that!

On the way out of Lorne, we spotted Sheoak Falls and decided to stop for a quick look. The walk up wasn’t exactly easy on my ITBS, Kat’s legs or Trav’s lungs, but we got there and managed to have a look around before more people arrived. We only went to the bottom lookout, deciding that as it was, getting back to the car would be a struggle! Unfortunately, this set the tone for the weekend. If only we’d have been fitter and more prepared…

After several more stops and more beautiful weather, we came into Apollo Bay in late afternoon. On arrival, we couldn’t see anyone there to check in, so we left a message and went to grab a drink. After they had called back and directed us to another building, we checked in, paid and were then directed to our own 2 bedroom unit on another site. It was an older unit, mostly decorated 70s style (wood panelling, old gas heater and stove), but was ours for three nights so was quite convenient.

The rest of the afternoon was relaxing, and we had a look around town and just rested our legs. Although the TV had a few issues, we had brought laptops and a projector, so could cuddle up and watch a movie after dinner.

Adelaide

After it being a good year since last visiting Adelaide, the arrival of a football game between my friend’s team (Hawthorn) and my team (Adelaide) in Adelaide seemed like a good excuse to go back.

It was a difficult trip, with the Skybus to Tullamarine leaving from Southern Cross at around 5am, requiring a ridiculously early start on our part! The trip to the airport, checking in and the flight itself were all very smooth – especially considering we were flying with Jetstar!

Adelaide at 7am was fairly cold, but we managed to find the bus (which was running on a Saturday morning) and get into the centre of town. Finding the hotel was no problem, but check in wasn’t until 2pm, so we had some time to kill. Luckily we could leave our big bags in the hotel while we explored the early morning city. After walking up Rundle Mall, Rundle Street and looping back around on North Terrace, we stopped for a bite to eat (brunch?) at a small cafe called ‘Not Coffee’.

As we weren’t staying with my Grandma this time, we went to see her later on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the buses were over an hour apart so we ended up getting a taxi out into the inner suburbs. As my friend is vegan, I had baked some cookies to take with us to save my Grandma stressing over finding something vegan. As it turned out, she did have some other biscuits in her cupboard which were milk/animal-free, but little else!

Back in the city, we got off the bus and went in the Central Markets for a look around – not much has changed – and then back up through Victoria Sqaure. Many a photo was taken.

Thankfully after that we could check in and had a little nap so that we wouldn’t crash too early that night. Our hotel was the Adelaide Paringa Motel, which despite the old decor, was clean, cheap and cheerful. The receptionist was quite amusing too, making sarcastic comments about the ’sights of Adelaide’!

We went out just as the sun was going down and went down to the Torrens, opposite the Festival Centre to scope out potential night-shooting places; unfortunately we came up with very little and didn’t go back down there later.

Dinner that night was at a delicious Thai joint in Hindley Street called Mekong Thai. The prices were reasonable (especially for booze), the food delicious and service fantastic. I’m still trying to establish what was wrong with it!

That evening we headed down to Rundle Mall to take some night shots. A surgical mask on the pigs covered the hilarity of the swine flu panic, and then the balls and some other long exposures were enough to cover a night shoot in Adelaide. The idea of a warm hotel room and a good nights sleep was just too tempting, so we had an early night.

Sunday; the day of the footy. Without too much before the early afternoon game, we took a quick walk down King William Street to do some shooting before catching the bus out to the game. I’m still in awe that the public transport is so readily available and civilised.

The game itself was OK – we played well, but could have played better. Hawthorn didn’t deserve to win, but we could have fought a lot harder and won by a bigger margin. Overall though, very happy result and a great atmosphere for the game. The little bit of rain was only a little off-putting but thankfully didn’t last too long.

After catching the bus back into the city (still in awe), we headed back for a rest at the hotel and then out for an early dinner again. Again we settled on Thai, but this wasn’t as impressive (down on Rundle Street), and then a couple of (dirt cheap) pints at the Exeter to keep us warm before walking back down to our hotel.

Monday morning was free for us until around 1pm, so we took a last walk around the city for photos. A loop took us up onto North Terrace, through the museum/university area, back around down Frome Road, down towards Victoria Square and back along Rundle Mall to our hotel. By this time, we were both ready for a sit down! The journey back was uneventful other than a 20 minute delay on the flight, and we managed to get home between the light showers of rain.

Books and movies so far…

1. Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa – Alex Kershaw
2. American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis
3. The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures – Louis Theroux
4. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
5. Slumdog Millionaire – Vikas Swarup
6. The Burn-out Town Of Miracles – Roy Jacobsen
7. 1984 – George Orwell
8. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
9. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac – Gabrielle Zevin
10. The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
11. War Trash – Ha Jin
12. Siberia – Ann Halam

Also currently reading “East Of Eden” by John Steinbeck and “A Cork on the Waves” by Halina Robinson.

So although I’m halfway through the year, I’m nowhere near the halfway point of 42 books of last year! Despite this, I haven’t been watching as many movies as I promised myself either.

I have watched some though. I’ve started to watch/re-watch the Star Wars collection (I saw the first three when I was younger but can barely remember them, and never saw the new ones) – which I’m enjoying. I’ve watched the first two of the original trilogy, and am grateful for the refresher.

I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine at the cinema recently. It was quite disappointing, as I’d heard from many people. The balance of action and character development is poor. The characters and relationships went too far, and the action could have been much better. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much better than a lot of movies out there at the moment, but it could have been as good as the other X-Men movies at least!

Also recently in the cinema, I saw a movie entitled ‘Flesh Gordon’. Now, I haven’t seen the more appropriately titled ‘Flash Gordon’, nor know anything about it. But I loved this movie. The poor recording quality (it’s from the 70s), the lack of technology and budget for the action and the c/d/e/f-grade actors all come together to make a very entertaining Friday evening! It was shown at ACMI in Fed Square, which seems to have a lot of old, odd or local movies showing.

A few weeks back, I saw ‘Deliverance’ at ACMI too, which definitely better than the modern hillbilly movies. I liked that the story followed the characters at the end, and again, the lack of technology and budget just added to the charm.

Anyway, I haven’t been watching as many movies as I could have been, but I am thinking about the ones I see more – as I did with the books I read last year. I mentally review each one in my mind, even if I’m not typing it all up!

After being slack for a while, I’ll update this soon with more photography experiments, my flying trip to Adelaide, an up to date list of books read so far this year, movie highlights so far and events I have to look forward to. Fingers crossed I get to it this week!