SnapShots

Wallaroo Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:55:00 +0000

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You really do need to click on the thumbnail or link provided to see the sunset at its best.

This snapshot was taken at Wallaroo in South Australia during my stay over the weekend. I have to admit I was surprised that the image did not have more camera shake because I did not use a tripod, although leaning against a tree was very helpful for taking photos when so much of the daylight had gone.

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Macro shot

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:51:00 +0000

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Just a very quick post today to share another Macro shot from my new Sigma 150mm F2,8 APO MACRO lens. I have no idea what this insect is called but do know it is very small at around 6-7mm long.

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Cheers for now.

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White Crab Spider or Flower Spider

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:40:00 +0000

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Well nothing like researching creepy images so that I can nail the species for this white spider which is Diaea. The common name is White Crab Spider or if you prefer Flower Spider. Man am I going to be having nightmares tonight after viewing so many different species of spiders!

I managed this snap yesterday with my new Sigma 150mm F2,8 APO MACRO lens that turned up in the mail and just had to try the lens out straight away. I was amused to see the spider sitting back on the same flower mid afternoon today waiting for his prey once more.

It is going to take time to learn how to get the best shots with the bulk of the subject in focus but hey it is going to be fun learning and have to admit my new toy has put a spring in my step. Tell you what though, taking macro shots of bugs waving in the breeze on foliage is a good way to get motion sickness . I kid you not! Think in future I will take snaps on calm days.

I would be interested if anyone else has this motion sickness dilemma when getting close and personal with their subjects waving in the breeze? Also I found any small movement with the camera is also exaggerated when looking through the viewfinder. A tripod is one way to overcome this but not always ideal for chasing bugs.

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Red Pelargonium Flower

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:53:00 +0000

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In my garden I do find Pelargoniums and Geraniums grow well, although the recent hail and flooding has knocked them about quite badly.

This snapshot shows a red Pelargonium flower that is catching the late rays of sun with the dark shadows of a cement rainwater tank as a backdrop. I am quite taken with the drama of light against the dark background.

For the artist that may like to try an exercise in lost and found edges, this image would be ideal to try.

Until next time, take care!

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Gorgeous little Dog - Papillon

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:21:00 +0000

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For two weeks I have had the pleasure of looking after this little dog, which is a Papillon breed. Her name is Ella and she is a little over twelve months old and belongs to my son and his new wife, who arrived home yesterday from their honeymoon.

Ella has a wonderful personality and a quick learner when it comes to tricks. Some tricks that she will do by command are sneeze, roll over, sit, and high five. She has very good manners. Simple things like not taking her food until she is told she can and also sits and waits to be told she can pass through an exterior door to come indoors. Gives you time to wipe any muddy paws if need be.

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This closeup will give you a good look of her sweet face. Her markings for a papillon are not perfect but that makes no difference to those that love her and even though she only lives a hop step and jump away, I will miss the day to day company of this gorgeous little girl.

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Colour and Texture

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:04:00 +0000

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My last post was about a recent flood that I had experienced here on the family farm. I thought I would share a couple of images that I had taken after the floods had subsided enough for me to have a wonder around.

As you can see when the litter is wet there is plenty of colour along with texture. The extra bright added colour came from the trees stripped by the hail.

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The hail by this time was much smaller than the jagged golf ball size that was experienced with the passing storm. Not something that I am in a hurry to experience again but hey it makes an interesting snapshot.

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Our Flood

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:50:00 +0000

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Excuse the mess but we were having a flood .

I am not going to bombard SnapShots with flood photos but thought I would share these two with you. The filthy water under my veranda ended up one centimetre below my door threshold before it started to recede away so that was a lucky escape. My sons home did have two rooms with water damage that came through the roof with repairs having to be made to wiring and removal of floor covering. This photo was taken looking towards my sons home. There is still a lot of cleaning up to do although the urgent items have been done.

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This snapshot is of a creek that run past the farmyard. We have never seen the water so high in this creek although have heard that there was a similar flood in the early forties before the farm was purchased by the Borgas family.

The water has receded a 'lot' in this photo and it was at this point I took my camera and snapped away. I just loved the colours in this shot and wanted to share it with you.

I am a new grandmother as of yesterday morning. Not bad.... A flood, son married and a grand-daughter over a period of eight days.

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Hot off the Press, Thunderstorm

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:09:00 +0000

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I am quickly going to post this before I lose my power here. Thanks goodness I do have backup batteries for my PC for occasions like this to give me time to shut the computer down.

Anyway this photo I have just taken West of my home. My husband has just came inside saying there has been large pieces of hail falling on top of his workshop shed. He is a busy man making up some frames for me for recent sales so hope he didn't slip off the mat with the cutter. Gosh I can now hear hail on the roof of the house... gee they are making a lot of noise. Gee it sounds like someone is throwing stones on our roof. Gee once more, is is now very scary!!!

I will be back with an update with this. I took a quick look and some of the hail is approximately one inch across and coming right in under the veranda hitting the wall. I don't hold any hope for our crops.

Update: Well that is life, we ended up with a flood and yes we had crop damage as well as fences washed away. Water was lapping the threshold of our back door and can be thankful that the water receded before it forced its way past the door. I will post photos as soon as possible.

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Here is looking at you!

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:34:00 +0000

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Hello everyone!

I am back from my three week holiday in Central Australia with photos to share with you. As you can imagine I have a lot to do over the next week to make up for the time I was away. In a weeks time I will be heading to Wilpena Pound for three weeks demonstrating painting at a major art exhibition that I am involved with.

I hope you like this photo of the emu that I managed to get while away up North.

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Look at the close up of the eye and you can see yours truly taking the photo.

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Burra Creek

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:08:00 +0000

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This photo was taken at the Burra Creek and as you can see there is a massive Eucalyptus Gum Tree reaching for the sky. This tree is one of many in the area and worth visiting for a picnic with family and friends.

For those that are more adventurous and do live further away from Burra Creek and can't manage a day trip, it is a great camping area as well with two long drop toilets provided. There are no shower facilities. Adding money to the donation box helps keep the camping area in the great condition that it is in.

Take a closer look at this image and you will see my brother's caravan tucked away in the shady area. Tomorrow my husband and I along with my brother and his wife plus another couple who are dear friends to us all are leaving for a holiday traveling North with our caravans, which will last a little over three weeks. My brother has made up a itinerary of our trip and weather permitting we will be sticking to the plan as laid out and you can view it by clicking here.

During this period I doubt that I will get a chance to update any of my blogs as the trip is full on. I will make up for the lack of post though with images that I am told will want me painting and I hope at the same time, images that will stimulate you as well.

If you are a regular visitor to this blog or even a new reader and like what you see it would be ideal to subscribe to my blog by email updates or RSS feed alerts so that you know when I am posting again. Don't know how? I have written a post here that will help you out.

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Emu with Seven Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:05:00 +0000

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True, there are seven chicks in this image! Can you find the seventh little guy?

Emus are birds I have a great deal of respect for, when trying to photograph them. This group were up against a wire fence which slowed them down enough to get a photo but also aware that dad would have felt trapped if I tried to get closer and no way was I going to have him taking after me when he felt the need to protect his little family.

I am disappointed with the quality of the photo, as I am with the remainder that I have on file. I hope to remedy this in September when I will be sharing the company of emus. Well not literally, but sometimes they do walk past the shearing shed during the art exhibition in the Central Flinders Ranges.

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Shingleback or "Stumpy-tailed Lizard"

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:23:00 +0000

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These Shingleback lizards are widespread throughout the Flinders Ranges. This image was taken in the Central Flinders at 2.38pm September 2006.

These skinks are common here on the family farm as well and love to raid my garden for flowers, the Gazania one of their favourites. When my husband was growing strawberries the plants had to be fenced off with netting or these guys would pinch them for their own supper.

I have always referred to them by the name of 'Sleepy Lizard' and you can read more about these reptiles by clicking on this PDF file.

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Sunflower

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:34:00 +0000

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For those that participated in the last post, here is the full version of that image. Probably if the seeds were more developed it would have given you more information and the plot away.

I do hope you enjoy this image and perhaps for the flower painter it might be worth considering.

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What is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:27:00 +0000

How good are you at identifying a portion of a photo?

Do you know what this image is?

I know what it is and will post the full image tomorrow but lets see how good you are.

Tells us what you think it is by leaving a comment. Your friends are welcome to have a go as well.

Hint: It grows

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Wilpena Pound

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 05:24:00 +0000

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Wilpena Pound is one of my favourite haunts for bush walking. In this image is the Wilpena Pound wall in the background with some of the outer rolling land formations that are much easier to climb. There are many walking trails which climb Wilpena Pound and some are so hard that I don't think I will ever attempt them. Don't think I would have when I was young either because I am not all that partial to heights.

The walking trail that my husband and I had taken is the one from the Wilpena Resort and Caravan Park to St Mary's Peak. We knew we would not make it all the way to St Mary's Peak due to time constraint because I was rostered on to work later that same day.

If you are ever walking in this area make sure you stay on the marked trails because it would be very easy to become disorientated with directions back to the Caravan Park. Also make sure you are well prepare for these walks with plenty of water and also take notice of the warnings that the staff provide at Wilpena Pound as they are there for your own safety.

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Adult Bearded Dragon's

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:28:00 +0000

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You may have seen this photo on my Arts & Stuff blog. I decided to clean the image up and cut out the unnecessary outer area allowing more information with the size snapshots that I do post on this blog.

The original post can be found here.

These guys were actually doing a courtship dance at the time the photo was taken.

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Does my bum look big

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:33:00 +0000

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This pose instantly had me thinking of a title 'Does my bum look big'. I think what was happening though that this young fella was spying his lunch with so many bugs on the move on that particular day. If you look close enough there is already a moth sticking out of the Bearded Dragons mouth.

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I have posted this Dragon Lizard with a different pose here on SnapShots before and mentioned that I was afraid the little guy would be trodden on while my husband was cooking our Barbecue lunch. Even though the photo isn't the best shot of the Dragon Lizard I thought I would share this one with you to show the actual size of this little fella who would still have a lot of growing to do.

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Two Kangaroos

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:20:00 +0000

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No this is not a trick image, there are two kangaroos in this snapshot. Mum is the one in the foreground with bubs hiding towards the back.

It was while walking in the bush at the base of Wilpena Pound that my husband and I disturbed these two roos from a nap in the shade. Mum was not impressed and I knew it was time to back off when she started to snort at me. Obviously she woke up on the wrong side of the bed (or should that be grass patch) and didn't want her photo taken!

If you have never visited my Arts & Stuff blog you just might be interested in this post especially if you enjoyed the photo of Tess on SnapShots. You will see a lovely drawing of Tess by artist Wendy Prior.

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Three Emus

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 04:54:00 +0000

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Wanting to add more wildlife to this blog had me scanning my computer with thousands of photos to browse.

This image isn't clear because the emus were off in the distance but the three grouped together did catch my attention when viewing the photo. Cropping and playing around with the image has improved it although lacking some detail.

From an artist perspective if I was drawing or painting these birds I would want as many images as possible to come up with a good composition that shows off the emus personality. For this reason I considered it worth while posting the image on SnapShots so that eventually a collection of emu images are available to artists who visit this blog.

There is some information about these ground birds at this website. The snapshot that you do see in this post was taken at Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia at a time I was artist in residence. This residency position takes place each year and more information can be found here.

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A Web Woven

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:03:00 +0000

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Looking through my kitchen window while preparing breakfast I notice the sunlight striking droplets of water enhancing the silk of this spider web.

Dewy mornings so often can be a beautiful time of the day with light showing through transparent leaves and water droplets creating a truly magical wonderland.

This poor specimen for a web has me wondering if the spider did indeed catch his meal to sustain him for the rest of the day. The broken web, could that be evidence of a struggle with a big fat juicy moth? Probably the answer would be that the spider did indeed have a full stomach!

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Tess, the Working Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 01:02:00 +0000

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This photo was taken of Tess when she was sitting in her box near our back door under the veranda.

Tess is a working Coolie kelpie cross dog on our family farm with more energy than two dogs put together. When she has her injections, the vet tells us that she has a very strong heart and I can say she has a powerful tail as well that whips you around the legs that one wonders if she is belting us up with happiness.

It isn't always easy to get a photo of Tess as she is always withering with excitement, so the command "in your box" has her sitting quietly for a couple of minutes while I grabbed some photos. I particularly liked this snapshot because she wasn't looking directly at me but staring at something else that caught her attention. Once she was told she could leave her box all that could be seen was a blur.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part fifteen"

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 04:29:00 +0000

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To finish this trip off I thought a panorama view of our last stop would be the way to go, which was Ranges View Rest Area, 62 kilometres NW of Port Augusta in South Australia. For those on dial-up please be aware this is a large file.

I do hope this image gives you an idea of the expanse of the landscape because so often a single photo will not do this. I did not use any automatic panorama software when stitching three photos together for this image because I just could not get the desired results that I was after. Instead time was spent with layers using Photoshop to get the best results.

I had mention in past posts of this trip that my brother and his wife also participated. In fact the original idea to make this trip was my brothers who also has a photo blog with photos of this same trip here. He kindly offered to be chauffeur with his own vehicle although I think I had him scratching his head where he was going to put our camping gear in the 4WD when he saw the pile of stuff that Malcolm and I were taking. I could have left the red wine home but I don't think anyone thought that was an option.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part fourteen"

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:26:00 +0000

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Lake Hart is located approximately two hundred kilometres North West of Port Augusta, South Australia. I believe this would be a spectacular spot to take photos early in the morning or as the sun goes down.

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Island Lagoon is 153 kilometres North West of Port Augusta, South Australia. The island jutting out from the salt lake was without a doubt the focal point when lining up me camera.

There will be one more post from this journey so please join me for that entry, as I close what was for me a very memorable trip down memory lane.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part thirteen"

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:56:00 +0000

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If you have been following this Gawler Ranges trip you will then realise that this is our second camp for the two nights that this little traveling party made.

After a long day on the road, an area was spotted to make camp not all that far off the main Kingoonya to Glendambo road. By the time we had our tents up and a fire going to cook our meal the night air was quickly cooling down.

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The landscape is truly beautiful in this area as the sun goes down with warm light streaking across the flat plains.

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The next morning as the sky awakens I can hear birds going about their business and cheering with chatter and song; a celebration of a new day for all living things.

Yes a new day where this traveling party must break camp and move on and head down the road towards home but first there is more to see before this journey is completed. I do hope you come back to see what this day had on offer.

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South Australias floral emblem; the Sturt's Desert Pea

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Borgas) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:47:00 +0000

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part twelve"

I have titled this post differently from my past Gawler Ranges Trip entry because I really did want to bring attention to this Sturt's Desert Pea flower, Swainsona formosa.

The first image gives an indication of how these plants grow. At the time this photo was taken these specimens were very healthy in the early stages of flowering. I would have loved to had been there a week later as I can image a carpet of red would have covered this area. As it was I was nearly breaking my neck to get out of the 4WD before it stopped to investigate these little beauties.

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The Sturt's Desert Pea plant is not prickly but there were certainly plenty of vegetation that sank their thorns into my skin when down on hands and knees trying to get that perfect shot.

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There is more that you can read about these plants by clicking here and here.

I do hope you enjoy viewing this native plant of Australia. It is a favourite of mine; one that I have wanted to paint for a very long time. Now that I have images to work from this will happen in the very near future and will be posted on my Arts and Stuff blog, as a Work in Progress that you can follow along with me.

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