Gold Coast Golfer

Random Photos - The Flame

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000+10:00

This photo is one of the very first photos I ever took with my new Nikon D7000 SLR.

I captured this at a birthday party that my middle son was attending and shows a slightly different perspective of a fire twirler. I had arrived a bit later than planned and missed a lot of the actual twirling, but I think this captures the strength and skill involved in his art.

You can find a few of my other Random Photos at my Moments From a Life Facebook page.

Silhouettes In A Window - Reflection

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000+10:00

In case you didn't realise, the model in Silhouettes In A Window is actually my wife of 12 years and mother of three children ranging in ages from 6 to 16 years. I bring this up because (and most married men can probably relate to this) that she never previously let me take boudoir types of photos before. Come to think of it, generally speaking she's camera shy.

She is obviously though, very beautiful and photogenic. Up until I created this photo set, I don't think she really realised just how beautiful she is, or really understood how I see her. Now, we have one of these photos in canvas hung on our bedroom wall.

She's a lot more relaxed about boudoir photos, partly because she has more confidence after the first shoot, and partly because she trusts that how I see her does actually portray someone who is beautiful. Mind you, she is beautiful so portraying her in that light isn't very difficult.

Reflection is the second photo in this series. It was one of those unexpected moments when I saw what I can only describe as an eerie reflection in the window and thought it was interesting enough to capture. It's certainly something that I think is different and adds to the mysteriousness of this photo set as a whole.

More about the series in the next photo when I post it next week. You can see the reset of the Silhouettes In A Window series at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

The Surf - Re-Entry

2012-01-30T05:13:00.002+10:00

The re-entry is one of the more impressive moves while surfing and involves hitting the top of the wave just as it breaks before "re-entering" the face of the wave. As you can see in this photo, it often involves becoming almost inverted as your ride the lip of the wave. This particular photo was taken in front of the Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club.

You can find more of my surfing photos in The Surf album at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Family Portraits - Bright Sadness

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000+10:00

Bright Sadness

This is a photo of Jasmine I took in early December last year using my newly acquired 50mm prime lens. It was a photo that was the subject of a bit of debate in the photo forums.

Some people didn't like it. They thought the focus on Jasmine's face was too soft and the headband distracted you from her too much.

Other people loved the contrast between Jasmine's expression of sadness and the bright colours of the headband. It left them with the message of "Why so sad when you look like you should be bright and happy.

For me, it's just one of those moments that embodies how beautiful Jazz is, no matter how she's feeling.

You'll find more of my Family Portraits at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Scenes From The Gold Coast - The Rock

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000+10:00

One of the moderators on Cambridge in Colour, the main photography forum I frequent, happened to mention how he really enjoys photos of people surfing with cityscapes int the background. As a result I took a few last weekend to show the old Scotsman what Australia's Gold Coast is like.

The Rock

I took this photo from the Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club, looking back at what I believe is known as "The Alley Rock". To be honest, given I spent my teen years surfing in this precise area, you'd think I would know what it was really called!

More of these photos and other Scenes From The Gold Coast area at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Birds - A Duck's Reflection

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000+10:00

Confession time - in the photos that I take I think luck seems to play an extraordinary part in catching interesting photos.

I took a few photos of some birds at the Gold Coast's Botanical Gardens, which is incidentally a beautiful place to get some great photos. Somehow, I managed to catch this duck just as the light darkened in the exact spot for a mirror image to be created.

My other photos of Birds can be found on my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Family Portraits - Disappointment

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000+10:00

This was one of the very first photos I took after I purchased my D7000. I was still very much learning the art of photography and how to use my camera. This was also taken with an 11 year old, third party lens - not the ideal tool for great photos in this day and age.

At the time, my son, Alex, was playing a tennis match and not doing as well as he wanted to. Sometimes, it's not just the smiles that you want to capture a portrait.

Personally, this solemn expression that Alex has in this photo to me is an intrinsic part of his personality. Emotions in him run so strong that at times he struggles to control them and maintain focus on the things that he needs to do.

For me, this is exactly what this photo captures.

My other Family Portraits can be found at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Silhouettes In A Window - The View

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000+10:00

I realise that I've posted about the Silhouettes In A Window previously but I wanted to post each photo from the series and just talk about them a bit more just to do them justice.

I say this because in the first instance, I had a vision of what I wanted to do and was actually able to achieve it. As an engineer, I never really understood how difficult that actually was on the artistic front.

To actually see something and turn it into reality - well, it's something that I think is somewhat understated amongst artists - both the great and the unknown. And it applies to anything, not just the arts.

The Silhouettes In A Window series, even though they only comprise four photos, is one of my proudest achievements to date because I was able to take something from my imagination and turn it into reality.

This first photo is probably my favourite. It embodies exactly what I was trying to achieve - the beauty of the female form highlighted in soft light with enough detail to draw you into the photo and leave you wondering.

I'll speak more about the series in the next photo when I post it next week. You can see the reset of the Silhouettes In A Window series at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Scenes From The Gold Coast - The Rock Fisherman

2012-01-23T06:18:00.000+10:00

I've been trying for a few weeks now to catch a sunrise. One of those ones that displays the majestic colours you often see in the photos of others. Each time I get down to the beach in the dark hours of the morning though, I find that there's a layer of clouds that drowns out any chance of a golden sunrise.

On this particular occasion, I decided that if I couldn't get a colourful sunrise, I'd capture something of the opposite. I think this fisherman was determined as I was to work his craft, irrespective of his conditions - just like I was.

You can see more Scenes From The Gold Coast along with my other photos at my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

The Surf - 8 Jan 2012

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000+10:00

I didn't have much luck catching photos of people surfing last weekend. I just happened to be at the wrong place and there wasn't much swell in any case. However I did forget to post the surfing photos from last week so here they are.

The rest of the surfing photos can be found at The Surf album on the Moments From A Life Facebook Page.

Family Portraits - She's Had Enough

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000+10:00

During the Brother and Sister photo shoot I did with Alex and Jasmine I happened to catch Jasmine walk through a rather sombre scene with a very tired expression on her face. It was late in the afternoon and we had shifted locations a number of times to get the photos that we wanted of her and Alex. She was obviously getting tired of it and I thought this moment capture the essence of her mood. Sometimes a great photo doesn't need to have someone smiling in it.

My other Family Portraits can be found at the Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Places of Interest - Shibui

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000+10:00

Just before Christmas we found a newly opened Japanese restaurant in Southport on the Gold Coast which had some very interesting food on the menu. It's not your traditional Japanese restaurant. Instead, it's one that attempts to blend modern cuisine with a very distinct Japanese style of cooking. And they have a reasonably large range of sake that I'll have to go back and sample at some stage!

You can check out the rest of the Places of Interest Photos at the Moments From A Life Facebook Page.

Windows To The Soul - Consoled

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000+10:00

As parents, we're often running into times when our children are very upset about something. Comforting and consoling them is something I've only gotten better at as I've become older. Thankfully, Kerry has been an expert at it all along.

The rest of this series can be found in my Windows To The Soul Album at the Moments From A Life Facebook Page.

Golf Facts

2012-01-18T05:46:00.001+10:00

My mother was kind enough to send me this wonderful list of golf facts. I say facts because I'm pretty sure most golfers can relate to just about everything here!

Enjoy!

A two-foot putt counts the same as a two-foot drive.

Never wash your ball on the tee of a water hole.

There is no such thing as a friendly wager.

The stages of golf are Sudden Collapse, Radical Change, Complete Frustration, Slow Improvement, Brief Mastery, and Sudden Collapse.

The only sure way to get a par is to leave a four-foot birdie putt two inches short of the hole.

Don't play with anyone who would question a 7.

It's as easy to lower your handicap as it is to reduce your hat size.

If you really want to be better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

If your driver is hot, your putter will be ice cold; if you can hit your irons, you will top your woods; if you are keeping your right elbow tucked in, your head will come up.

Progress in golf consists of two steps forward and ten miles backward.

One good shank deserves another.

It takes 17 holes to really get warmed up.

No golfer ever swung too slowly.

No golfer ever played too fast.

One birdie is a hot streak.

No matter how badly you are playing, it's always possible to play worse.

Whatever you think you're doing wrong is the one thing you're doing right.

Any change works for three holes.

The odds of hitting a duffed shot increase by the square of the number of people watching.

Never teach golf to your wife.

Never play your son for money.

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.

It's surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt when you lie 10.

The statute of limitations on forgotten strokes is two holes.

Bets lengthen putts and shorten drives.

Confidence evaporates in the presence of fairway water.

It takes considerable pressure to make a penalty stroke adhere to a scorecard.

It's not a gimme if you're still away.

The more your opponent quotes the rules, the greater the certainty that he cheats.

Always limp with the same leg for the whole round.

The rake is always in the other trap.

The wind is in your face on 16 of the 18 holes.

Nothing straightens out a nasty slice quicker than a sharp dogleg to the right.

The rough will be mowed tomorrow.

The ball always lands where the pin was yesterday.

It always takes at least five holes to notice that a club is missing.

The nearest sprinkler head will be blank.

Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

You can hit a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.

Out of bounds is always on the right, for right-handed golfers.

The practice green is either half as fast or twice as fast as all the other greens.

No one with funny head covers ever broke par (except for Tiger Woods).

The lowest numbered iron in your bag will always be impossible to hit.

Your straightest iron shot of the day will be exactly one club short.

No matter how far its shaft extends, a ball retriever is always a foot too short to reach the ball.

If you seem to be hitting your shots straight on the driving range, it's probably because you're not aiming at anything.

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

The only thing you can learn from golf books is that you can't learn anything from golf books, but you have to read an awful lot of golf books to learn it.

Family Portraits - Weight of the World

2012-01-18T05:37:00.000+10:00

My wife I find has the most stunning eyes. Despite having been together for almost 15 years I still find her as beautiful as the first day we met, although she would argue otherwise. There are times when I find myself just having to stop to take a photo of her. In this case, I it seems like she has a lot on her mind - but what woman doesn't?

My other family photos can be found on my Personal Family Portraits Album on my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

A Bug's Life - At The Gold Coast Botanical Gardens

2012-01-16T13:55:00.001+10:00

We took a visit to the Gold Coast's Botanical Gardens on Sunday. It's a lot bigger than I can remember with a lot of interesting things to photography. Even though I wasn't looking for them, I had the opportunity to add a few more insects to my "A Bug's Life" collection.

This first dragonfly was one I was chasing all over the place. That also included attached three different lenses onto my camera depending on where he landed. I've never actually seen a dragonfly that folds its wings back...

I'm not sure what sort of spider this one is, other than a big one! We happened to walk underneath him. If you zoom in on him you'll be able to see how big his fangs are. (I'm assuming it's a he) looks rather intimidating all in all.

This last dragon fly was a poser. He stood still as I took a number of shots while I edged closer and closer to finally take this last one. As I got closer I noticed his head swivelling towards me a number of times - quite freaky given I didn't even realise they could move their heads!

You can see the full album on my "Moments From A Life" Facebook Page in the "A Bug's Life" album.

Birds

2012-01-15T05:43:00.002+10:00

Begging For Lunch

A few birds have started making their way in front of my lens. I figured it was probably time to start their own album. I'll post a few more photos of them in the coming days.

The main event however, will be when I get a chance to wander around The Colonial Golf Course. With 17 holes of water teeming with wild life I'm hoping to get a few interesting shots of birds that have a tendency to pose on the course.

I'll be collecting the bird photos in my Birds Album on Facebook.

Update on The Colonial and Robina Woods

2012-01-10T04:50:00.000+10:00

If you're a golfer on the Gold Coast you've probably heard by now that The Colonial and Robina Woods golf courses are no longer in receivership. They have both been purchased by Clive Palmer, a wealthy businessman who resides on the Gold Coast and has interests that include mining.

If you're wondering whether this is a good or bad thing, indications from my personal perspective are that it's a resounding "Yes!" I've been observing work to improve the golf courses start once again. However, even more impressive is that having a full membership at one course entitles you to the same benefits as the other course. Having a membership to two of Australia's top 100 golf courses - well, it's not something I'm complaining about!

It's a great thing that both courses were saved and remain sister courses, while saving 90 jobs in the process. You can read the official press release here.

The photo is part of the series from the album "Scenes From The Gold Coast".

Jacob

2012-01-07T18:14:00.002+10:00

My sister asked me to take some photos of my nephew Jacob so they had a set similar to the ones they had done for his brother Oliver. We didn't quite manage to organise a formal shoot so i followed Jacob around with the camera a few times when was visiting at my mother's place. You can see my favourite photos of Jacob at my Moments From A Life Facebook site.

Happy New Year - Life Is Short

2012-01-05T05:30:00.001+10:00

Happy new year everyone, and apologies for disappearing for a few days. The silly season got, well, a bit silly! I hope you've all had an enjoyable holidays season, wherever you are in the world.

I thought it would be nice to start my first post this year with a message or a theme. 2011 for me resulted in a lot of soul searching and I really wanted to launch into 2012 with a bit more direction instead of feeling so lost.

And then oddly enough I stumbled across this. It's from the blog of Jeanine Thurston, the owner of Fototails Photography, and it's a timely reminder that life is short.

I'll let you read the letter - you'll get the gist of it. Just remember - life is short. Don't waste time and money on things that aren't necessary. You just never know about things....

Wishing you all a fantastic 2012, and yes, I do plan on getting back into some golf writings as well as my photography musings!

July 2nd, 2011

Jeanine -

Today I am writing for a couple of reasons. I have some quiet time at the moment and need to get a couple of things off my mind. I will leave this for my husband to deliver to you when he is ready.

You photographed my wedding, you photographed my first pregnancy and my first baby. I contacted you awhile back to photograph my 2nd child and family. After getting prices and realizing I would want all of the pictures as we love your work – I decided against spending $500+ – which is what I normally spend for portraits and prints with you.. Please know it is not because I don’t value your amazing eye, or how much we love the experience.

That week that I decided to NOT do a session with you, this is how I spent some money.

On Sunday I called and cancelled our session. Monday I went out and got my hair cut ($39+tip), and colored ($65), Thursday I had my nails done ($24), my family went out to dinner at a somewhat expensive restaurant for no particular reason costing us $79 + tip. This was just 4 days since canceling our session, already totaling over $200 for un necessary things. My nails only lasted about 2 weeks, my hair is gone, and seven weeks passed when I got the phone call from our doctor. It was not something I expected and the cancer has spread very quickly. I will be leaving my husband, my 6 year old girl and my now 2 year old – not by choice. It is very hard for me to talk about it which is why I need to write you.

I watch your Facebook page and your posts about the value of a photo and if I could give back all of those things that I purchased this few weeks after I cancelled my session with you, knowing what I know now, and have that session, well… I would do it in a heartbeat.

Now my time is done and there are no more chances for me. The next time someone cancels a session – my wish is that you forward this letter to them. Time is fragile, it is gone before you know you had it. If you charged $200 for one print it wouldn’t be enough for what it is actually worth. I cringe to think that my priorities were a manicure over a memory to pass onto my babies and husband.

My love and thanks for what you have given us from past photos. I am so sorry that I did not see it as more than paper until now.

Karen L.

Random Portraits - The Singstar

2011-12-31T11:01:00.001+10:00

I captured this photo of a friend. We routinely have "Singstar" competitions where we sing off on our favourite songs on the Playstation against each other. My friend did was actually a member of a band in his youth and is still a pretty good guitar player.

Carving at Burleigh Point

2011-12-29T05:24:00.001+10:00

I managed to catch this shot a few days after Christmas while the large surf was still hitting the Gold Coast. It's typical of the awesome waves that you get at Burleigh point.

This was actually one of the smaller waves but I did manage to catch a few photos of the bigger ones. If you're interested in seeing them just leave a comment and I'll post them up on my Facebook albums.

Scenes From The Gold Coast - Tower 18

2011-12-21T05:46:00.001+10:00

I've decided to start a new photographic project... one that captures scenes and sites from my beloved Gold Coast. I've started with a photo of one of the surf life saving towers that can now be found along most of the Gold Coast's beaches. This one in particular guards over the waters of South Burleigh Heads.

The rest of the Scenes From The Gold Coast Series can be found at my Moments From A Life Facebook Page.

Windows To The Soul - Anticipation and Caution

2011-12-19T17:47:00.002+10:00

Anticipation

I love the way the eyes of a child light up when they are expecting something. The hope and excitement just seems to leap right out from their eyes

Caution

Next door there lives a beautiful little girl who runs away or buries her head into her mother if she so much as catches me glancing in her direction. Ironically, the only time I've ever been able to get her to look at me is when I've taken photos of her. She was still cautious, but also curious!

You can see the other photos in my Windows To The Soul project on my Moments From A Life Facebook page.

Brother and Sister

2011-12-18T05:51:00.002+10:00

Kerry and I decided to try and capture the special and fantastic relationship that our kids Alex and Jasmine share. The moments that we managed to capture here often come and go in the blink of an eye. They pass so quickly that sometimes you don't realise how truly special the bond between them really is. Sometimes you have to freeze the moment in time for it to dawn on you how lucky we really are to have them, and for them to have each other.

This shot was from my first shoot in the morning when I thought it was going to rain all day. I thought I'd make use of the rain to bring the two of them closer together.

This next photo was part of the second shoot later in the day after Kerry got back home. It had stopped raining by this time so we thought we'd head up to the top of the hill and into the bush for some photos. The kids brought their scooters along and I took the opportunity to capture an impromptu moment between the two of them as we went from one location to the next.

After a few photos for the second time in one day the kids started getting a bit restless. I asked them to do the "Puss in Boots" look to try and keep them going for a bit longer. It didn't quite have the cuteness effect I was looking for.... Instead, this shot made us roll onto the floor in uncontrollable fits of laughter when we first saw it.

One of the final shots - a standard 'in-between the tree shot' which you see in a lot of portraits. At least they look like they were having fun here!

You can find the full photo shoot on my Moments From A Life Facebook Page - the Brother and Sister album.