The bucket list you didn’t know you had.

I ticked something off my non-existent bucket list yesterday. It was quite the achievement. Something I had not really considered to be a thing I would ever do. Something that I hadn’t even thought was an item to mark off as ‘completed’ in my list of things to say I had done in my life.

However there I stood, in the magnificent waters of  a secluded beach at Torquay, on a truly perfect summers day, without a shred of clothing proudly proclaiming to my equally naked friend that I could tick ‘that’ off my bucket list.

I don’t have a bucket list!

What’s with this bucket list? Do we have Morgan Freeman and Robert De Niro (Oooops!!!! It’s actually Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) and the American film industry to thank for the requirement of a bucket list? It was a lovely movie gentlemen, but now people find themselves having to think of things they need to achieve before they die and tick them off a list.

Imagine the horror as you take your final breath, knowing that you didn’t do the things on your list. OMG!! Especially if you had that list written down and it was stuck on the fridge door with a Mickey Mouse magnet. Family members would see your list and KNOW that you did nothing with your life. Let’s ignore the fact that you lived and had a life……..but you didn’t complete your list!!!!

How about just living your life to the full and experiencing the opportunities that are presented to you? That’s what I am doing.

You don’t need a list.

I’m sure the starving in Africa don’t have a list. I can’t imagine the farmer in the rice paddy of Vietnam has a list nor the Amish woman in North America or the bloke living under the bridge in Melbourne.

Life is not about lists. Life is about living and yesterday I felt incredibly alive.

I have no idea how many of you have done it, and I am definitely not telling anyone that you should or shouldn’t do it, but I cannot even touch on the emotions I felt as I took the last item of clothing off and bared my imperfect self to the elements.

Yesterday was a sterling summer beach day. Low 20’s, clear skies, gentle breeze and clear blue waters. The stretch of beach that has been the designated nude beach for decades is magnificent. The sands were not crowded and the vibe I sensed was wonderfully calm. Many people had brought their dogs which only added to the sense of normality. The only difference on this beach was that the people swimming, throwing balls for their dogs to chase, walking or laying on their towels on the glorious sunshine was the absence of fabric.

Also absent was the self-consciousness. This was a space where men and women accepted themselves and their perfect imperfections.  Hallelujah!

So I took all my clothes off and walked alone to the water and I laughed and cried at the wonder of it all.

 

2018: The year in review.

December 31, 2018. At midnight tonight we begin a new year on the Gregorian Calendar. Watch as we struggle for weeks to remember what year it is. There will be errors aplenty as the unthinking end their written or typed dates with an eight instead of a nine.

I can hear the cursing now. (I will be one of the cursing)

Humans get all excited at this time of the year. Suddenly people are filled with an almost demonic fervour as they plan their year ahead. Pledges and promises abound. Sales of Nicorette patches increase in preparation for the annual quit-athons. Gyms employ extra staff to cater for the influx of the overweight and obese who have promised themselves a healthier life beginning January 1. Holidays are planned. Budgets are drafted. Relationships are evaluated.

Good intentions are thrown around like confetti at a wedding. But like confetti at a wedding, very few of these good intentions land where they are expected. So many of them end up stuck in a tree, drowning in a pool of water or being caught by the wind to drift off into the ether, never to be seen again.

I stopped making promises and resolutions years ago. Such nonsense only adds extra pressure on an already pressured mind. Not to mention the sense of failure and disappointment when you find yourself unable to live up to your high ambitions. Fuck that.

I now let things happen. And things are happening.

2018 has been another amazing year for me. The amazement began in 2017 and has continued unabated. I have discovered so much about who I am as a person and who are the people who are important to me. I know what I want from the world around me, and more importantly, what I don’t want.

My life is a whirl-pooling mosaic of people and experiences that has opened my eyes to the wonders of living the life I want to live rather than the one that is ‘expected’ of me. Not saying that I’m going to suddenly go all vegan and stop shaving my legs, rather I am going to do the things that make ME happy.

At the end of the day you are only responsible for ensuring your own happiness. You can, and will, only make yourself unhappy trying to make other people happy.

2018 has been a social year, a working year, a new website year, a discovery year, a year when I didn’t give a shit about Xmas. It was also a year that raced by me and where I struggled to find a balance with all the activities I had on.

Not that I am making any promises, but I am going to try to be very careful with how I fill my calendar in 2019. I have to find time for working, friends and family, photography work, photography excursions, socialising and relaxing. (And let’s not forget the BIG holiday planned for later in the year)

Yet another thing I learned over the last twelve months……….. I can’t do it all.

True friends will understand if you have to say “No” sometimes. (Saying no is when you learn who your true friends are.)

This New Year’s Eve is going to be one hell of a lot quieter that the last since my dance-partner in crime is holidaying in Italy with his boyfriend. A BBQ in my clean and tidy pergola, underneath the fairy lights, on my new chairs is just what the season has ordered. Though, truly, I don’t think there will ever be a New Year’s to top last year. Can’t be repeated, can’t be replicated.

I’m not excited or enthused enough to shout it with glee, but I wish myself and my loved ones a very happy 2019.

Stay safe, stay happy, stay smiling.

 

A casualty

I don’t know how I’m going to be able to break the news to Nanna Judy, but my apricot tree is going to have to go.

On Saturday in my marvellous Melbourne it was hot. Really hot. 42 degrees celcius hot, which is 107.6 Fahrenheit for those of you in the USA.

And not only was it hot, it was windy. Gale force windy.

These are the kinds of weather conditions that make our firefighters nervous. One stray spark, one stupid pyromaniac and lives and homes can be lost.

I took the opportunity to spend the day lazing in my parent’s pool.

But when I got home and went out the back…………. my heart dropped. The apricot tree!! A massive limb had split and was on the ground. This was the death call. Half the tree had mysteriously died off last year and now this.

The tree is going to have to go. Forever.

Which means that I am really going to have to think about what I’m going to do with the garden out there. Bugger poop.

It began with 516

“Pride comes in all ages.”

I made myself a promise that I was going to be more discerning. It was going to be a big day and I wanted to be more selective about what I shot. No shooting for the sake of shooting.

It was always going to be a tough call. I ended the day with one almost full SD card.

516 images.

After one quick and ruthless cull I reduced the total to 338 and this became 288 after the second pass. It still seems like a massive number of photos but this was Midsumma Pride March. I am talking colour and costume everywhere you turn.

First there is the time spent up in the marshalling area where all the participants gather in their teams/groups before the march begins. Costumes are being finalised, make-up is being touched up and everyone is raring to go. Lots of candid photos here.

Of course, the Pride March itself is next, down Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. The action shots, the smiles, the flags, the music, the spectacle. More photos!!

Then the after-party in Catani Gardens at the bottom of Fitzroy Street. It’s party time. Music, laughter, dancing, everyone relaxed and having a great time. Even more photos!!!

And one can’t forget the photos that simply happen. The person who just happens to be walking by. The cute dog that smiles for the camera. Random strangers in the crowd.

I was in St Kilda for seven hours. I actually think that I was rather restrained at a total of 516.

The biggest thing for me tonight was deciding on THE image that I felt encapsulated Pride for me this year. Last year it was Stephen and his partner linked in an embrace as they watched the march. This year it’s the old girls who were having a great ol’ laugh as they were being told to hurry up by their equally old friend in the wheelchair.

Good on ya, girls!! Keep living your lives to the full.

The ocean and me

What is the magical power that a surf beach has over me?

The moment I am in its presence I feel the worries and stresses evaporate and I want to walk for miles along her sandy beaches.

Time no longer exists. Responsibilities…….what are they?

But it must be a surf beach. A quiet bay does not have the same effect on my soul. In actual fact, I feel stressed at places like Dromana where there are no rolling waves. It’s like I am being cheated of what I truly desire and I spend my mental energy imagining real surf.

And it’s not that I want to surf or even swim at the surf beaches. I just want to walk on the sand and hear the sounds of the crashing waves.

I am lucky. I live but an hour and a half from some of the most beautiful surf beaches in Victoria and yesterday I threw the dogs in the car and drove down to Anglesea for the day to catch up with a friend and enjoy some beach time.

I couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for the beach if I tried.

Fourth time’s a charm.

I am pretty certain that the saying is “Third time’s a charm”, but surely I’m allowed a little bit of artistic license? Anyway…………..I’m starting to think that if I turn up for another Wednesday night’s Summer Night Market at the wonderful Victoria Market they are going to name one of the sheds after me.

Tonight was my fourth visit to this Summer series. I did go there with a purpose. I was on a mission to purchase a ‘Flying Monkey’. I should have just bought one last week, but the feeling wasn’t quite right about getting one. But after last nights dream where I was running an enormous, outdoor pre-school story-time session, I realised that my subconscious was telling me to go shopping. So it was back to the night market again for me.

I put the word out to the Facebook photography people that I was heading in, but I was not at all concerned if I was on my own. If no-one else said that they were coming then I only intended to stay for a little while. Buy my monkey, grab a little something to eat, get the feel for some street photography and go home.

Early night.

No. No early night.

Two fellow togs joined me as well as a dear friend and we left only when they started to turn out the lights around us. (Which explains why I am blogging at 12:21am Thursday morning)

I got some wonderful photos, which will have to wait until the weekend before I really get a chance to work on them, and my flying monkey. The kids are going to go ape-shit over the flying monkey!!! I can hear the screams of delight already. (And I can visualise my boss shaking her head in resignation. Lol!!)

Oh………..and I also had my second ever Shiatsu massage. First one ever was the first time I hit the Summer Night market. Shiatsu massage might become another new habit. 🙂

Now this is a real Aussie summer image

Australia, and in particular my marvellous Melbourne, has a wonderful mix of people who reside in it. People from all over the world have chosen to make this country their own. Most of them have done so through their own free will, whereas there are thousands who have chosen to take refuge in my wonderful country as they flee from atrocities happening in their native homeland.

In the sweltering heat of last Tuesday, I joined a friend at Williamstown beach where we took our own refuge from the temperatures in the cool, calm waters of the bay. I took my little ‘point & shoot’ with me because I couldn’t bear the thought of missing some possible photographic opportunity and I also couldn’t bear the thought of my Nikon D750 pride and joy being damaged by sand and/or water.

What a good thing I had my camera with me! I didn’t come close to capturing all the wonderful sights that afternoon, but I did have my eyes and mind tuned to the possibilities. (One of the weekly challenges was “summertime”)

I lost count of the different nationalities represented. There were Australians, Japanese, Italians, Greeks, Maori, Indian…………. you name the country, there was probably someone from there cooling off in the water. And the best thing was………..everyone walked and swam in the same space and got along. There was no angst, no racism, no bad energy. It was really ‘chilled’, for want of a better term.

That’s what I love about my marvellous Melbourne. We have learned over time to get along and accept one another.

Ok…..I don’t know how the blog took the path it did, but that is normal. I never know what words are going to come out through my fingers onto the keyboard. I was going to write about how I spotted the wonderful couple in the photo and thought that they would potentially be my challenge photo.  I waded over to them with my ‘point & shoot’ in hand and had a bit of a chat with them. Gorgeous Greek husband and wife enjoying the cool water. Brought back so many memories of my trip to Greece four years ago and how the Greeks would spend hours simply standing in little groups in the magnificent waters talking amongst themselves.

The colours, the relaxed mood and the magnificent blue skies were a dream image for me.

 

(Apologies if this blog is a bit all over the place. It’s late and my brain is tired.)

 

 

 

Winners are grinners!!!

The winning photo. Theme: Summer in the city.

I won!!!!  I won!!!!! I won!!!!!!

What did I win? I won the January competition in the Facebook photography excursion group that I am a part of.

Me!

Me……….. who has been taking photos for only a relatively short time.

Me……….who until late 2014 still could not work out her F stops.

Me……….who only has a 50mm prime lens to put on her camera.

I am so excited.

I woke the dogs up with my screams of shock. I mean…..there are some really brilliant photographers in this Facebook group. I do not consider that I am anywhere NEAR their level.

But this is a big step towards my 2016 goal. Entering competitions. I’m entering. And I will keep on entering. And I hope I can win a few more, too.   🙂

 

PS: Thank you Rod for supplying the title for today’s blog.

 

Were there fireworks?

Were there fireworks?

You bet your bottom dollar there were. And I would even go so far as to say that these fireworks were better than the ones on New Years Eve.

It is 1:11am. I am tired. My feet are sore. I am hungry. But I still had to upload the photos I took tonight of the Australia Day fireworks, at Docklands, in my marvellous Melbourne.

Oh my….so excited. They are very different. But I love them.

We were too close to the fireworks. (Probably should have been down the Etihad Stadium end. Will do that next year.) I only had my 50mm prime lens which severely limited what I could capture. I probably experimented too much with shutter speed……….

But who cares!!!!??????? Not me. 🙂

“Summer’s here and time is right for dancing in the street”

My blog title today is shamelessly stealing a line from the David Bowie/Mick Jagger hit ‘Dancing in the Streets’, which was originally a hit for Martha & the Vandellas and was written by another legend Marvin Gaye.

Why am I singing this song? Because in my marvellous Melbourne on Saturday there was dancing in the streets. Well, Federation Square to be exact. If you want to be really pedantic about locations I can probably get you the longitude and latitude coordinates as well.

Latin dancing. 🙂

I didn’t know whether to take photos or join in!! If I didn’t have a train to catch I would have been up there with them.

May you rest in peace David Bowie with the knowledge that there will always be dancing in the streets.

 

Okay
Tokyo, South America, AUSTRALIA, France, Germany, UK, Africa

Calling out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
Summer’s here and the time is right
For dancing in the street

They’re dancing in Chicago (dancing in the street)
Down in New Orleans (dancing in the street)
In New York City (dancing in the street)

All we need is music, sweet music
There’ll be music everywhere
They’ll be swinging, swaying, records playing
Dancing in the street, oh

It doesn’t matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy, grab a girl
Everywhere, around the world

They’ll be dancing, dancing in the street
(Dancing in the street)
It’s an invitation across the nation, a chance for folks to meet
They’ll be laughing and singing and music swinging
Dancing in the street

Philadelphia, PA (dancing in the street)
Baltimore in DC now (dancing in the street)
Don’t forget the motor city (dancing in the street)
On the streets of Brazil (dancing in the street)
Back in the USSR (dancing in the street)
Don’t matter where you are (dancing in the street)

All we need is music, sweet music
There’ll be music everywhere
They’ll be swinging, swaying, records playing
Dancing in the street, oh

It doesn’t matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
So come on every guy, grab a girl
Everywhere, around the world

They’ll be dancing, dancing in the street
(Dancing in the street)
Way down in L.A., everyday
Dancing in the street (dancing in the street)
Cross in China too, me and you
Dancing in the street (dancing in the street)

Don’t you know they’ll be dancing
Dancing in the street (dancing in the street)
Don’t you know they’ll be d-d-d-d-dancing
Dancing in the street (dancing in the street)