Fun Pictures

Jenee's boss took us out for a thank you lunch a few weeks back at Satchels and we had a few portraits taken.

Woo Hoo for Tolkien Fans

Today we have some great news that has nothing to do with Jenee or I. Finally we have a director for the movie version of "The Hobbit" and another movie that bridges the gap between the Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. Only 3-4 years to wait now...

News here

Naming Competition!

Ok, this is a first on our blog so the results should be interesting. Let me explain, one thing about Florida is you have to deal with cockroaches whether you like it or not. And they aren't little guys either, they are big shinny, disgusting things that freak Jenee out and make me want to wipe everything down with disinfectant just to appease my level of disgust. Naturally, I am the cockroach killer in our home and I was thinking I need a suitable name for the job. I'm thinking along the lines of Conan the Barbarian type name. So, the competition is who has the best/funniest name for me and my cockroaching duties? If you have a name either send me an email or leave you comment in the comments section :-)

Once we have enough entries I'll set up a vote here so we can all choose the best one.

20,000 Photos and Counting

Its a nice, no, beautiful Sunday afternoon. The temperature and humidity is very pleasant, there is a gentle breeze moving the curtains in and out of the sliding door and my home is peaceful. Praise the name of Jesus! Jenee is studying (quite hard I might add), Sable and Marble are napping as they seem to 90% of their lives, and I have been cleaning and tidying in short stints between my editing of last weekend's wedding photos. If you have every wondered why wedding photography is so expensive, I think I can give you some insight. Apart from paying for the photographers patience, experience, sharp mental focus for an entire day and so on, you are paying for the huge amount of time invested (that you don't see) editing photos. Now, all things considered, I am an amateur, my computer isn't "lightning fast" and I am learning much as I go, I have invested no less than 5 hours today working on these pictures and will probably spend another 4 yet. Anyway, I noticed that the counter on my D70s clocked over again. Thats 20,000 photos and counting.

So, I lack the energy to write a long update, that may come in the next week or so, but som fun things have happened of late. We got a new vacuum cleaner for starters! I think I was more excited to get it than Jenee was. We bought it from the same place that I bought Jenee's sewing machine. I love it! It can withstand the weight of a 250lb / 125kg person standing on it, you can bash it around and it wont break, dry clean and more too! We were going to buy a Dyson since they are so popular but this one was just awesome.

What else can I type in a few sentences? Oh, we discovered this morning that our Vet actually attends our church - small world! He is such a nice guy, he is the liaison for the "Family Life" married couple seminar that Jenee and I are going to attend. Also, this morning our cat Marble decided that she was feeling a little brave this morning and jumped onto the guard rail on our balcony this morning. I snapped a picture and will post it later, but the expression on her face was "Oh, crap". Speaking of cats, we nearly got another one yesterday. While following a Saturday morning tradition of attending our favorite shops, we came across a beautiful male Tabby who took a shining to me. Aparently 3 cats pushes us over to the "crazy cat people" line.

So how is every one doing out there?

An Engineers Guide to Cats

Kudos to my mate Rob H. for sending me this link. I laughed rather hard at this one...



I hope this helped clarify some things up. No, I am not torturing my cat when I pick her up, its called "corporal cuddling" for leaving a nasty hairball on the couch.
Credit: klausmanp on YouTube.

Buck and Holly's Southern/Disney Weddin'

The wedding was for the daughter of a friend from work and I was flattered that I was asked to do it. The wedding was this last Saturday at a beautiful Florida State Park called O'Leno. The wedding was something of a one of a kind because the theme for the wedding was Disney. The Bride and Groom were dressed as beauty and the beast, the minister was Snow White, Cleopatra, Davy Jones, the three little pigs, Jack Sparrow, a Samurai and Captain Hook were there too. And that was just the wedding party.




I learned a lot from that one day about what it's like to be a photographer. I realized that you really need to be bold, confident, fast, sneaky, always thinking, calculating, composing and so on. As I was taking pictures I found myself thinking in advance and also thinking about the limitations of what I have and how I could push the limits. Now all I have to do is shoot a few more events and I could probably afford a real tripod so that Jenee doesnt have to stand still while I balance the camera on hear head. Shes really bad at standing still...

Two "Professional Jobs" in Two Weekends

Well, I have taken my first few steps into the world of being a part-time, amateur, free lance photographer. A few weeks ago I was asked to photograph the Powwow you see just below. And then I was asked to photograph a wedding!

Well, what could I do but say yes! A while ago, Jenee and I came up with an idea that any money I could make with the camera would go back into the camera, for example buying lenses, filters, tripods and so the list goes on.

Well, I haven't recieved any payment as yet but I dont really care because I have had so much fun. I hope I get to have some more oportunities to create memories for other people too, all in all, its more practice for making memories when we have a family...




(no we're not pregnant)

Not Enough Posts?

Apparently I don't post enough. Early this morning I woke up nice and early (5am - that story is coming soon) and went over to Brandon and Krista's to give them a lift to the airport. It was nice this morning, cool with a soft drizzle. On the way to the airport, I was informed that apparently, I have not been as committed to publishing posts as they (Brandon) has.

Now, in the spirit of our brotherly competitiveness, I am going to sit here on the couch with my wife cuddled up next to me and publish the crap out of this blog. (Sorry Mum, I had to say it). So what happened to make me wake up at 5 this morning and lay in bed for another hour sweating things?

Well, I woke up to visit the bathroom and noticed that there was a little more ambient light than what should be emanating from our night light. I walked into light and froze in disbelief. The front door was w-i-d-e-o-p-e-n. My first thoughts where - Are the girls ok? (Cort and Megan were visiting) and where are the cats? I looked to my left and saw the shapes of the two girls safely asleep and at my feet were the cats. I was thanking the Lord for everyones safety. Next thoughts - is there anyone or anything in the house? A quick scan and I realized that all was good on those fronts. I went back to bed.

Thinking and chewing over my scare I couldn't let it go. Now I was worried that there was perhaps something under the couches or some other cranny, and what about the cars, camera, computers and so on. As most of you reading this know, I have a small amount of OCD in me so I got back up and searched some more. Finally I was satisfied and lay back down. 5 minutes later my alarm went off to go pick up the Wilsons at 6...

Fun and games...

Powwow Photo's (Finally)

A Rainy Start and a Rainy End

This weekend, Jenee and I were invited to attend a real deal, Indian Powwow. Yep, you read that right, a powwow with singing and dancing and drums and hollering and trading and wolves. We were invited by our "Gainesville Mom", Donna. This lady has been there for me and for Jenee since before I even left Adelaide, she asked me to take some photo's for the event and it was the lest I could do as a way of showing our appreciation for all that she has done for me.

It was our first time at a powwow so we didnt know what to expect so we showed up at 2pm. We were treated as special guests, escorted around the powwow, being introduced to a number of different people and getting a taste for the abundance of life and friendship these people have. One thing I picked up on early and through the whole evening was respect and honor to your neighbor, somewhat Biblical. Right before the Grand Entry - the final dance for the day with all the dancers in full costume - an elder of the clan gave a little talk and prayed in their native language. He commemorated the prayer in English, "in the name of your son, Jesus Christ". I was floored!

Sadly we didn't get to see the dancers dance because right as the opening ceremony finished the sky opened up and down came the rain. Since it was requested to not take photo's during the opening ceremony I dont have any photos of the dancers, well, dancing. I am really sad about that because Jenee and I had waited 6 hours to see them, however, we needed the rain so Praise the Lord for the rain! I did get some photo's, hope you enjoy them. You will be able to see more at http://www.chambersfarms.com/. I'll link to it whenever the photo's are up.

(ed - photo's are coming soon)