Queenstown

Im currently in NZ- Queenstown to be exact. We are having lovely weather here. So far we have travelled out to Milford Sound and walked around Queenstown town itself. Very touristy area- but pretty nonetheless.

Here are a couple of quick pics....

View from our apartment in Queenstown- seriously the apartment is larger than my house!

Travelling to Milford Sound- an 8 hour driving journey

Friordland National Park 

 

Looking towards the Remarkables from Queenstown Gardens 

 

My travel companions!


More to come at a later date! xx

Miss Figgy

I realised that in my last post i mentioned Miss Figgy, but i have yet to introduce her! I became a single mother to a little kitten in December. I rescued her from the Animal Welfare League and now she runs my house! Her full name is Figaro (after the cat in Pinocchio- even though she isnt black and white), but Miss Figgy or Fig are her more common names!

She has become my best friend, loves to play and LOVES to snuggle. She has a thing for tissues as well. She is an inside kitty, but i do now and then take her outside on a harness. When i have my bedroom window open, she often sits on the sill, watching the world go by- and this is where i shot these images

HDR trialling

I haven't posted in ages and i feel rather guilty about that- I haven't even had the time for new sewing projects due to being so busy! (very guilty about that to be honest) but nevermind i will try and make up for that!

Life has been seriously busy with the house and Christmas. New Years brings plenty of challenges and fun times ahead!

As i am typing this, a nice cool change is coming into the mountains. Its been SO hot for the past week, and for a house that does not have air con its been very unbearable (especially for Miss Figgy the cat). Anyway i have been back taking photos- which makes me happy to be back in the groove again so to speak. Here is a quick picture of the backyard. Over Christmas the bf and i did a lot of clearing and all the bamboo got chopped down- as you can see i don't have a fence there! Anyway this shot is a practice run of a photography technique called HDR - High dynamic range. In a nutshell a normal photographic image does not display a complete range of luminance that the normal human eye can see. Through a number of exposures at different shutter speeds, the combination of these images provides a more accurate image (ok this is a less than technical description- see wikipedia if your further interested)

Here is the image that is (according to the camera- is exact on exposure)

Because of the darker forground and bright background, its difficult to get everything spot on... then in HDR....

So much nicer, richer in colour and tone, depth- everything, just as your eye would see it!!!

Movember portraits

Movember finished up today and as customary at work, we had a morning tea to celebrate the men of movember.
In case you have never heard of Movember....

Each year Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

Men sporting Movember moustaches, known as Mo Bros, become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo growing efforts. The rules are simple; register online at Movember.com and start the month of Movember clean shaven, before growing a Mo.  

Money raised in Australia is shared equally between programs targeting prostate cancer and male depression. Funds are committed to our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue – the national depression initiative and the Movember Foundation. Together, the three channels work to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world class programs in the fields of research, education, support, and awareness.


I had the huge pleasure of taking some portraits of the 'bros' that were to be displayed at our morning tea. I dont often get to take portraits, so i really enjoyed the process. Getting a portrait taken is a daunting experience for some and the guys did really well.
I was happy to test out my new flash, ring flash adapter and really test my new lens. Im still getting used to the flash etc, but the lens blew me away- the shallow depth of field is amazing and the detail is insane- im stoked, i am glad i went with my instinct and bought the lens, my old one just wasnt up to scratch!

Here are some of the portraits!

So congrats to all the Mo Bro- they raised a few $$$ and gave this photographer some great experience!
Let me know what you think! Which is the best mo?!

COFA Annual 2010 exhibition

I am exhibiting my graduate series of work titled "Google    sewing patterns" at the COFA Annual Exhibition at the Carriageworks in Sydney this week. The exhibition consists of artworks from over 350 students graduating in 2010 from COFA. 

If anyone visits (assuming someone in Sydney Australia reads my blog!!!) my work is located in Track 12 of the Carriageworks- as you could understand with 350 people exhibiting, there are artworks EVERYWHERE!!!

The series is based on my experiences of community and the internet- its a very simple work, but lends itself to much further artistic investigation- which i hope to do in the near future (and am very excited about). This series observes information sharing, personality and community between interest groups on the web.

For those who cant attend- here are a few pics of the work- special mention to the BF for his help with installing the works (and dealing with my frustrations with the process)

 This was shot right off the wall (with the available light)- "I am a fabric junkie"

Flower garden explosion dress!

I made this dress a couple of months ago. I had this sateen lying around waiting for the right project to jump out. I saw the 'Cherry Pop' dress made by sewer Grosgrain on BurdaStyle and knew this was the perfect project!

I took the bodice of my 'derby day' dress and the skirt of my wedding cocktail dress and combined i have the two for my 'explosion dress'!

For the photoshoot- i also wore a vintage pillbox hat, which i found on the internet for a song, which i haven't found an occasion to wear yet- but trust me i will!

I must apologise for the images, im testing new camera equipment and its hard to shoot yourself on an SLR with a tripod that cant keep your camera straight!

Burdastyle party dress competition!

I received an email the other day off Burdastyle about a competition they are running to design and create a party outfit from an era. Knowing full well i should be spending my time painting my house, doing my landscaping, sewing Christmas presents and preparing myself for the impending art exhibition i am going to have a shot and enter.

I am fully aware i am so not going to have a chance to win i am more interested in trying to create something simple and elegant!
So to choose an era.. yes most people know i love the 50's and 60's and the ladylike fashion of those eras, but no, my inspiration is not going to come from there!

OK so i like my tie blouses- so what era you say? Yes the 70's!!!

But what to make thats a party outfit? No not the kaftan, im not terribly into those.

I am liking the return to the 70's in fashion at the moment with the wide leg trousers, but trousers on their own are no good- but with a top in a jumpsuit form? well that sounds great!!!

Jumpsuits have been quite popular recently, and i would like to have a slinky suit that i could wear out to parties or weddings etc.
Here are examples of jumpsuits from Stella McCartney, Versace and Bianca Spenda.

I am very realistic- within the time frame i have, and the skillz i have (read beginner), there is no way i will be able to design anything complicated or super sophisticated. Nice and simple. As i really dont have time to make a pattern (or more importantly the skill level) i am going to try and use pattern pieces i already have-

Pants: Very Easy Vogue V8512 (pictured)
Top: Vogue Designer Original Valentino 2171 (its from the 1970's)

I will put a picture up of the top later. Hopefully i can create a muslin of these up the weekend and see how i go!!!

I promise to keep you all posted of my progress