I've been very slack blogging lately. I much prefer FaceBook these days. I find it quicker and a bit more personal. I've always been negligent in commenting on other blogs my apologies for that.
As you've probably seen on Diane's blog, there are moves afoot in the Bohlen camp. For weeks we had debated should we or shouldn't we. Moving, that is. Daughter Carol came up from Sydney and together we compared the pros and cons. Eventually the pros won hands down.
So we're leaving this:
For this:
We have sold number 45 and we are buying number 36, a brand new 3-bedroom unit at Elements Living right next to the Daisy Hill Koala Park. When we have moved in, I'll blog about the unit.
This will happen late March. IN the meantime I am very busy selling stuff on Gumtree. What we can't sell, we'll sell at a Garage Sale on the 18 March and what doesn't get sold ends up in a skip.
I am getting to know Luminar by MacPhun. I am very impressed, It has some fantastic functions and is much easier to use than Lightroom but just as powerful. When you purchase the program, you get a couple of folders with replacement skies, so if your sky is a little dull, you can replace it.
Here are some more images I have played with the last couple of days. On the left, the raw photograph on the right, processed with Luminar.
The first was taken at Cleveland during a sunset. The foliage of the trees and the rest of the foreground was clearly not visible. Moving a couple of sliders in Luminar and everything can be seen.
The image below was taken in Tenterfield. It is just a little boring. By changing the sky, increasing the green colour and enlarging the tree, the image looks much better.
Early morning on the golf club produced a fairly flat image. Just a few adjustment in Luminar and the picture looks much better.
In the image below I just replaced the boring sky to improve the shot.
I had a wrong setting in the shot below and it was grossly underexposed. These things are easily fixed in Luminar.
Diane posing with a runner in the Blue Mountains, offered the perfect image to tweak. I cleaned up the tree trunk a little and generally boosted the image.
And finally the lighthouse at Cleveland Point. I didn't do much to this image, except removed the street light, cars and other objects. Removing objects in images is much easier to do in Luminar than in Lightroom. The clone and stamp function actually works. You have a job, removing stuff in Lightroom.
Just as I was thinking I had mastered most functions I would ever use in Lightroom, Diane pointed out the latest Trey Ratcliff editing software LUMINAR, distributed by McPhun.
First I was skeptical, but hey, it was the festive days, shops closed and TV programs, repeats after repeats, so I downloaded it and gave it a try. It was actually on special, from A$400 down to A$69. An addition to Aurora HDR by the same people made it very attractive to me.
For the average photo amateur like myself, it is an alternative to Lightroom which I sometimes find difficult to master.
Luminar which presently only operates on Mac OS10+ is the first photo editor that adapts to an individual's style and skill level. It is the supercharged photo software that makes complex editing easy and enjoyable.
Unless you use Lightroom to organise your photos, which I personally don't, then Luminar is a perfect tool to enhance your photographs.
State-of-the art digital darkroom you design yourself.
The workspaces in Luminar reveal only the most essential photo filters for the specific type of photo. Enjoy default workspaces for landscape, portrait, street and B&W images. Or create your own, based on your preferences. Even import workspaces from other artists, who use Luminar.
Here are a couple of examples of photos I had taken in RAW format, in the Blue Mountains during my last visit, edited in Luminar. On the left are the originals and on the right are the Luminar modified images.
We were in Melbourne recently and took the opportunity to take the boys to the Dandenong Region where we jumped on the Puffing Billy Steam Train from Emerald to Lakeside. We all had a load of fun.
Here is a short film of our experience.
10 June 2016
With two of my mates, (photographers), we travelled to northern New South Wales in search of some images. We started off on the Lions Road from Rathdowney to Lismore.
Border Loop Lokout on the Lions Road
A little further along, we found some interesting derelict structures by the roadside.
The U3A Videographers' Workshop had organised a private visit to the Brisbane Tramway Museum at Ferny Grove last Tuesday. To get a private visit, it has to be booked months ahead. Lots of groups request private visits, including weddings. it is enormous popular, so much so that the organisers told me that they cannot take anymore bookings in the fordable future. So we were incredibly lucky.
The U3A Videographer's at the Tramway Museum
The Museum Volunteers provided morning tea in the workshop
Then they rolled out the trams
That brings out memories
I used to go to work on one of these
Volunteers run the trams
This is the oldest tram in operation at the museum
Here is a little video I made:
CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO
Here is a photo I found on the internet of the tram I used to pick up at the Treasury Building, every morning, in the 60s. It used to take me to Mater Hill.
The tram at the old Treasury Building that used to take me to work in the 60s
We went to see the Beenleigh Theatre Group's production of a flop last night, Well, Michael Frayn, the playwright wrote the play of a so-called flop.
The pinnacle of a play within a play: Noises Off presents a manic cast of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing On. Doors slamming, on and off stage intrigue, and errant sardines all figure in the plot of this hilarious and clever comedy farce.
Add to this the ingenious device of watching this play from BOTH sides by a rotating two story set and you have a giant theatrical jigsaw puzzle which is hilarious to piece together and to watch.
Noises Off is very physical and demanding on the actors, with split second timing and physical strength required to run up and down the stairs, fall in and out of the set and wrestling segments in Act II. The BTG managed it to perfection.
I had seen Noises Off twice before a long long time ago, performed by commercial companies with big name actors. The production last night by the Beenleigh Theatre Group was equally well staged, acted and choreographed and just as funny, for a fraction of the ticket prices we paid before. I was impressed.
We just spent a very nice weekend in the Blue Mountains. On Friday we flew to Sydney, where Carol and David picked us up at the airport. Together we drove up to Leura where we had rented a holiday house for the weekend. We expected it to be fairly cold and packed accordingly but were pleasantly surprise how nice the weather was on Saturday.
We started off after breakfast at the Toy and Train Museum.
The museum belongs to the Evatt family (former Federal Opposition Leader)
There are lots of Railway buildings and trains on the property
Note to self: Must take up Smoking
Fountain in the garden
Then we went to Sublime Point for some stunning views over the mountains.
The Blogger at work
Finally we visited the Everglades for morning tea including a delicious French Pudding. Followed by a stroll through the autumn-leaves.
These two were getting ready for a sprint.
On Sunday, we went to Blackheath and Govett's Leap lookout.
We've been to New Zealand a couple of times before, but never to the Otago region in the south-east. It was time to correct that.
We flew to Christchurch, exactly five years to the day, after the devastating earthquake ruined this beautiful city. Slowly the place is being restored to what it once was. But there are still a lot of damaged buildings everywhere.
Still lots of damaged buildings in Christchurch
But interesting renovations
On the second day, we hopped on the new TranzAlpine Express that goes daily from Christchurch to Greymouth. The brand new panoramic carriages offer great views over Arthurs Pass. We left the train at Moana as we had been to Greymouth on a previous trip. We took the opportunity to re-visit the town's only cafe for lunch.
The Station Cafe at Moana overlooking Lake Brunner
After lunch we boarded the returning TransAlpine Express, back to Christchurch
The TranzAlpine Express has new carriages with bigger windows providing great views
The following morning, Diane's blogging friend Marja and her husband William. picked us up at the hotel and took us to the airport where we picked up a hire car. We had ordered a little Mazda and were pleasantly surprised when they upgraded us and gave us a near new Holden Malibu at no extra cost.
With our new friends we drove to Akaroa for the day. Akaroa is a wonderful tourist area with lots of bays. Akaroa has a French connection. It was settled by French colonialists in time gone past.
Overlooking Akaroa and one of the many bays.
A pebble beach outside Christchurch
We left Marja and William and headed south towards our final destination. But we did stop at the
Moeraki Boulders at Koekohe Beach on the way. These boulders are an attraction to photographers all around the world. Unfortunately it was very overcast and the lighting conditions were not very good.
I refrained from the cliche shots everyone takes, making the sea look milky and unnatural, that's not my cup of tea. I prefer the natural realistic look.
Moeraki Boulders at Koekohe Bach
After a night in a B&B in Timaru, we drove to Dunedin where we had booked into a B&B on the Otago Peninsula. To get there we had to drive on the dangerous Portobello Road following the Bay. It is a very narrow and unprotected road and local told us that at least one car a week drives off into the bay. What I couldn't understand is the authorities marked it as 70km/hr when it should have been 50km/hr. No wonder people lose control and end up in the drink.
The view from our bedroom at the B&B
On Friday we were booked on the Taieri Gorge Scenic Railway from Dunedin to Pukerangi.
This is one of the best rail journeys in the world. See a one minute video below.
The famous Taieri Gorge Railway
The historic Dunedin Railway Station
While on the Otago Peninsula, we also visited New Zealand's only castle, Larnach Castle and Gardens. The castle was built by William Larnach, a Scottish merchant baron and politician, for his first wife Eliza. The castle is still privately owned by the Barker family.
Larnach castle on the Otago Peninsula.
On the last day, we drove to the end of the peninsula, with the road getting even more dangerous the further we went. At the end is the Royal Albatross Colony and Centre. It was getting on dusk, and i was able to capture an albatross returning from a day's work out at sea, to feed it's chick.
