Easter Goody...googy Egg!

He is rather edible! This is my 10 month old nephew Eli and he was super excited about Easter!

An Evil Plan

Not really evil, but a plan none the less and it sounded exciting writing it down like that.  I am going to be a photographer on the weekend from now on and maybe one day even more.  Far into the future its....20??...envision a red carpet, blazing lights, a bedazzled and bewitched audience, a black tied announcer, "...and the winner is....Lisa Luyten...Photographer extrordinaire,...Lisa Luyten...."Photographer on the Weekend".  Sigh.

My plans to become a photographer will definitely not eventuate easily, its a long term goal, with a long term vision, and as a great many persons have said before, but even the longest journey begins with the smallest step.  I am but a planner, super organiser and this is how I do things.

My small steps, given that you're only as good as your last photo (and believe me its not a great one) will have to entail me getting the camera out and taken at least 5 photos a day, now that I am not travelling the need to get the camera out (the urge is there, the subject material is not...yet anyway) has slightly deminished.

Right having just written that down, how to make sure I do it and get started with that small goal, and continue properly so I don't feel so lost?  In fact I have other goals that I need to undertake also in regards to the "Photography", but again, how to monitor, what are the goals, how do I start? Oh all the questions... head ...but ...is spinning....

Firstly, lets think of the goals. Goals so far....

1. Take 5 photos a day, but not just anything I need to be testing things, like different lighting, affects of changing the aperture, flash effects, still life, movement, etc

2.  Record the shots and what I was trying to achieve

3.  Read something about photography everyday, one of my magazines maybe, they seem to be gathering dust at the moment, as are my many photography books.

4.  Once a week check out the DVDs that have come with said magazines, to learn about Photoshop - so that is one new Photoshop skill per week, just one tiny thing at a time.

5. Update the filing of my photos and back it all up properly

6. Utilise Lightroom, I have heard good things but fail to use it

7. Understand in my head that my hobbies cannot be paper tole, French, Spanish, reading, writing, and gardening, cake making, following the Amazing Race, as well as Photography (my first love...aside from Mark) - there are not enough hours in the day for even just Photography, so some of those will just have to fade away (for now)

8. Go through and finish up editing my photos from France, Ireland and Egypt - the last holidays whilst living in London.

9. Review photos for those to be printed from the 4 years we spent overseas. Unfortunately this will be a rather massive personal project for which I really will have to go into baby steps mode. Its far to daunting to even think about...might go eat some Fruchocs...oh sorry where was I...

10. Put paid to my promises of family and friends childrens portraits and actually do them - I think Sundays will be portrait days

11. Save up the pennies for a Canon EOS 5D, or even a 7D, as its clear that the move is back away from full format with the much anticipated release of the Canon EOS 1D IV, having reverted to being non-full format (ie not like a 35mm SLR camera), there is no need for me to aim so high.

12. Update photos on both Flickr (for your viewing pleasure) and RedBubble (for your purchasing pleasure)

13. Set up my own photography website (to cover both above eventually).

14. Join Model Mayhem and start doing professional model shoots, but still this will be on Sundays

15. Undertake further training in Photography - Photoshop course or even join just join a group of enthusiasts (who, I am sure will make me feel inadequate, but as I am so competitive, it will give me more drive to be better).

Whew, well its all out there now, I just got it down as fast as I could think of it all, so its a lot and some are long term goals and some are short term, i.e. "can do today" goals. 

Next step, organising these goals into long and short term and getting the long term ones into manageable chunks.  

I feel better that its all out now, and hopefully one day you will here of Lisa "David Bailey" Luyten, but as I progress I will update on here...so add a new goal and that will be to update on here how the former "Tourist on the Weekend" is progressing into becoming "Photographer on the Weekend!"

And oh how well the Cosmos will go down - Sex in the City 2

Me and the girls will celebrate when we go to a private GOLD class screening on its released in late May!

Amazing BB

And what she made me, check out the link.  I love my Lavender bags! Thanks BB

http://www.makemeonebernieb.com/2010/04/for-the-smell-of-it/

Never tell a 3 year old he is not... A Single Lady

Quote me...

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

as spoken by, Louisa May Alcott

Toying with changes...

A new name is in order, thus the wheezing, sighs, hurumps, that float wordlessly in this blog, are me struggling to release my creative inner demon to allow it to effortlessly guide me into nameing this blog something...well creative. Sigh....

Bahh.....

Sunworshipers of the South - sounds religous!
Drivel
Documentations of a desperado
Muse for Amusement
Doddlebug
Pictures don't date
My Subtle Story
Verbal Essence
Nothings stranger than the truth
Strange truths of Home

And well you can see what I decided....

Australia's finest

I have been been enjoying all things Australian over the past week or so and thought to jot a few of them down for your entertainment....

1. Loving no queues, or at least small ones at the Post Office and in Government offices, less than 5 minutes on two occasions, amazing!

2. Toobs, Smiths Thins, Burger Rings....YUM

3. Fruchocs...YUMMIER

4. Cold Rock ice cream

5. Bickfords Lime cordial with soda water

6. Molenburg and Tip Top multigrain bread

7. Crumpets...they may have come from England, but the Aussies perfected them

8. Sunshine....

9. Hot water pressure, I nearly blasted myself through the shower screen when I took my first shower back home

10. Butchers - I hugged the meat cabinet at the butchers I wanted to get closer to the deliciousness that comes from a tasty moo cow born and butchered in SA. I could never be a vegetarian, and before you ask, yes if I were starving I would kill my own cow.

11. Veal Schnitzel at the local footy club - classy stuff!

12. Sunshine...yes...

13. Trees, shrubs and an abundance of flowers, and parks everywhere (don't get me wrong, Hampstead Heath is still pretty special)

14. Birds singing in the mornings

15. Comfy air conditioned buses, yes I do occasionally use such a mode of transportation

16. Airconditioning!

17. Getting to wear party shoes without London cobblestones ruining them

18. Did I mention the sunshine....

19. Traffic jams only take 10 minutes to get through...maybe 15 if you are super unlucky

20. Julie's home cooking

21. Peace and quiet, now my ears aren't the greatest, but its odd without the London hum that never stops

22. Seeing the stars at night...

23. Sunshine...just in case I did forget to mention it.

I shall add to this later...........there has to be more, I have only been back 7 whole days so I have more to find out about as yet.

Getting back into the swing of things...

So we are officially back on land that "is girt by sea", as goes the national anthem, that's right Australia, and to be more precise Adelaide, Australia.

It's day 6 and I am ready to curse the person who invented cardboard boxes. I have paper cuts galore, my hands are a ruddy black colour, my nails ruined and I am permanently dusty. Ok am a bit overboard there, but I just want you to understand that I am up to my armpits in boxes and I get excited when its NOT a cardboard box that I am unpacking or i get to tidy something or better yet do washing.

Then to make matters worse, we haven't even received the shipping stuff yet, so although I am now about 90% done with existing boxes (we had an entire furnished house) and there are about 33 on their way via customs. Customs just charged us $88 for alcohol - damn that WET tax, why do they tax wine so heavily in this country - so any day now.

Fortunately of the 33 boxes, about 80% of that will be bubble wrap. That of which we may have to donate to a multinational glass exporting company for re-use after, which could potentially save them $1,000's on shipping costs. Mark made wrapping the shipping into a high security military operation for which I did not have the correct authorisation codes or biometrics, thus was relegated to a desk job, aka spreadsheet data entry clerk. What fun.

So anyways...enough about me, ok no...you want more. Glad to hear it. More there is. Well I have been to an agency already on Monday and they had 3 suitable roles, varying in my preference for them of course. They told me to give them 72 hours and let them work their magic, well success, I am lined up for 2 interviews already. Wish me luck. Mark fortunately is already working, though I say fortunately because it means he doesn't have to un-pack stuff with me.

Now this is nearly the end of Tourists on the Weekend, as we are definitely no longer such, more like Sunshine Devourers of the South, hmm, nice ring. Oh and my photo of the day project has clearly gone tits up. However, because I don't like things to remain unfinished I am going to probably change it to a Photo of the Week....maybe month....or a photo of the year....project just to complete it. Don't worry though, there will be more blogs to come, we did get up to quite a lot in our last couple of weeks in the UK, including a trip to Oxford and various parties. Photos of Egypt will follow too, just a few as most will go up on Flickr of course.

Ok well the boxes are calling me, they have a high pitched whine, its rather unsettling, so I shall get back to them and bid you adieu for now, whilst you contemplate if I should do a new blog and what it should be called... your thoughts please.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye...

It's been said before, but its now really true.
That time, to go, that time has come.
My, oh my, wow how the time did fly,
Life has certainly swished on by.

It's been a blast, we've travelled far, and travelled wide,
so long as it was on the European side.
We worked hard in London, then spent our days and much of our nights,
booking plenty of dates, exhibitions, so many shows and cheap flights!

We've made amazing new friends, some mates for life,
which made it more special, more fun and more homely.
Though it makes it harder to leave,
and we'll certainly grieve!

It's been four years, four crazy odd years,
so much has happened, including some tears.
We've broken up, saw all that through, then later started fresh together anew,
but, sadly some tears were because, I lost my beautiful Mum too.

God rest her soul, she always said, "Do what makes you happy..."
So I always will, we're soldiering on, oh Mum and this ones for you.
The travels continued, as did the fun time,
oh and the dining, the food's been sublime.

We've travelled light, then heavier with arms fit to drop,
as heaven knows, you know, I really do like to shop.
We've seen London, Greece, Gent, Dublin, Paris, Edinburgh, Croatia, Turkey
Bratislava, Delft, Madrid, Sevilla, Salzburg, Vienna ..... are you bored yet.

The travel list it was long, and it was never wrong.
Our world its too wonderful, there is too much to see.
We only live once, and three lifetimes I'd need,
to squeeze it all in, so enough done, home bounds we speed.

This chapter is closing, such amazing moments been had,
especially in August with time spent with my Dad.
I will always be glad that I have had this opportunity,
a thank you to my husband, and to British immigration consent.

When all is said and done, my word Qantas never got it wrong,
and just like that famous song,
We still call Australia home,
so in sunshine, with family, that's really where we have to be!