52 Pick Up: Peace

52 Pick Up – Peace: Finding Satisfaction

Suddenly I want to  show peace:

Finding Satisfaction.

Yesterday and today were really depressing days.

A lot of things happened that drove me to tears.

It is 4:30pm and I made a fresh cup of tea.

I saw the shadow of my best friend

THE KERERU  or

Wood pigeon.

Took some photos and found satisfaction in taking them.

This is just to show how near he was sitting to me.

I zoomed in

New Zealand’s native pigeon, also known as kererū, kūkū and kūkupa and wood pigeon, is the only disperser of large fruits, such as those of karaka and taraire, we have. The disappearance of the kererū would be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.

The kererū is a large bird with irridescent green and bronze feathers on its head and a smart white vest. The noisy beat of its wings is a distinctive sound in our forests. The pigeon is found in most lowland native forests of the North, South and Stewart/Rakiura islands and many of their neighbouring islands.http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/nz-pigeon-kereru/

I also took some photos of my first flowers

And last but not the least

A photo of Trompie.

52 Pick Up: Week 34 Water

 

While I am “working” with water photos I may as well pull it through to my other posts as well for this week.

The theme for 52 Pick Up week 34 is                                WATER

The following photos were taken in Zimbabwe 2010

Water bath for birds.

Swimming pool for human beings.

And then the mighty Victoria Waterfall

This is a mighty stream of water!

Should you wish to join me in this challenge, here are the rules:

1. The theme begins on Sunday and at least one image on the theme must be posted by the following Saturday.
2. Images can be captured on my Digital SLR, point-and-shoot or even the phone on my camera.
3. Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!
4. Images are allowed to be post processed. I shoot in RAW and use Photoshop Elements 9.0 for post processing. My favourite actions come from Pure Photoshop Actions, Paint the Moon and MCP Actions. If you haven’t checked them out yet you should. They both offer freebies to give you a taste of how their products work.

Each week I will post the challenge.  If you are participating, add a link to the photo you have taken in the comment section of that post.

This Week’s Challenge

Week 33: Water

So join me each week as I continue in my photographic journey. Share a comment, your own images, or perhaps just be inspired to develop your own art of photography.

http://printsensephotography.com/52-pick-up/

 

52 Pick Up : SUNFLARE

 

1. The theme begins on Sunday and at least one image on the theme must be posted by the following Saturday.
2. Images can be captured on my Digital SLR, point-and-shoot or even the phone on my camera.
3. Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!
4. Images are allowed to be post processed. I shoot in RAW and use Photoshop Elements 9.0 for post processing. My favourite actions come from Pure Photoshop Actions, Paint the Moon and MCP Actions. If you haven’t checked them out yet you should. They both offer freebies to give you a taste of how their products work.

Each week I will post the challenge.  If you are participating, add a link to the photo you have taken in the comment section of that post.

http://printsensephotography.com/52-pick-up/

WEEK 32: Sunflare

Photo taken in Pretoria, South Africa. Sunrise.

 

It’s write easy

 

It’s Write Easy

July 27, 2012

Words: rain, difficulty, special day, building, theatre

Special Day

There are  hand full’s of special days in my life.

One special day I remember is when my son was born.

We did not expect to have children because we got married at a mature age. One thing we discussed ,before we got married ,was the possibility of never having children. It was not in our hands. I am so glad it just happened.

My son was born on a Sunday evening   9.30pm. This happened on August 9, 1981. I was so proud to be a mother. My husband called my parents to tell them it was a boy. My mother, who picked up the phone, could not believe that it was a boy. She asked my husband if it was a twin because it was supposed to be a girl!.

Let me quickly explain: my side of the family are all female. My father was the last male in the family. That is why my mother could not believe it is a boy .

The birth of my son is a very special day and I will always remember it.

Then there is also something special connected to the August  9. After the democratic elections in South Africa  some special days were instated. I have to thank Nelson Mandela for taking the 9^th of August as a special day for women. Every year on my sons’ birthday everybody could stay home because it was Women’s Day. My son enjoyed the idea of not going to school on his birthday.

Words for quick writing: flowers, embarrassment, summer, place, happiness

FLOWERS

I love to take photos of flowers. The last two months I have been taking photos of my Cymbidium(orchid) I took photos from where the first spike started to come out. Then I kept an eye on it and took photos once a week on a Thursday. Every week I could see how it was growing. Then one evening the first flower opened and I took a photo again. Now all eight flowers are fully open.

I am so glad they all opened because orchids easily throw off their flowers or buds.

There is also a smaller second spike with only three flowers. They are also fully open now. I took a photo again this morning because the sun was shining and the flowers were in the sun inside my room. I usually like to take photos without a flash that is why it was great to have the sunlight shining on them.

 

 

http://printsensephotography.com/2012/07/26/52-pick-up-flowers/

 This is no 2 of my  52 Pick up – flowers

 

 

52 Pick Up: Week 31 Family

http://printsensephotography.com/2012/07/24/52-pick-up-week-28-29-review/

FAMILY

I came to New Zealand in March 2009.

All the family good byes.

My birthday is in February And here is my last birthday with my 2 sisters in South Africa 2009

We had a good time, I received an ice-cream with one candle from the staff.

Then it was goodbye to my older  sister  and her daughter and her grand children

I hang onto both of them!

At the airport my in-laws also came to say good-bye.

In New Zealand with my son!

(My sister came with me and visited for a month)

Then I had to go back in 2010

My sisters daughter and husband took me back again to the airport.

Here is my real last good-bye to the youngest daughter.

It is such a lovely photo I had to share it.

Good- bye South Africa

Some days I wish I could just hop over and visit my family again.

52 Pick up: Week 30 Flowers

Week 30: Flowers

http://printsensephotography.com/2012/07/24/52-pick-up-week-28-29-review/

Flowers is such a beautiful topic.  It is still winter in New Zealand and I am going to put some flowers on from last spring!

RHODODENDRON

Species of the genus Rhododendron occur throughout most areas of the Northern Hemisphere and into the Southern Hemisphere in southeasternAsia and northern Australasia. No species are native to South America and Africa.^[9]

The highest species diversity is found in the Himalayas from Uttarakhand, Nepal and Sikkim to Yunnan and Sichuan, with other significant areas of diversity in the mountains of Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Tropical rhododendron species range from southeast Asia to northern Australia, with 55 known species in Borneo and 164 in New Guinea. Interestingly, the species in New Guinea are native to subalpine moist grasslands at around 3000 metres above sea level in the Central Highlands.^[10] Relatively fewer species occur in North America and Europe

Rhododendron (from Ancient Greek ῥόδον rhódon “rose” and δένδρον déndron “tree”)^[2][3] is a genus of over 1000 species of woody plants in the heath family, either evergreen or deciduous. Most species have showy flowers.

Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron. The flowers of some hydrangeas can appear similar to those of some rhododendrons, but Hydrangea is in a different order.

The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron

Tell a story – last chapter : Beauty of Cymbidium

This is the last Chapter of my story! The story started with http://printsensephotography.com/52-pick-up/  telling a story. I started with the buds coming out, then they grew bigger and the flowers started to swell, the first flower opened

Now there is only one bud that is not open yet. I posted on July, 2 the opening of the flowers. Today 8 days later it looks like this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Most Beautiful Flower
by Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn — not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,
“It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too.
That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”

The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it midair without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
“You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that’s mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

http://www.neonhusky.com/NH_NET//Disable/flower.txt.html

52 Pick Up: Week 27: Take a drive

52 Pick Up

This originally started out as a personal challenge, but now it is open to anyone who wishes to join in.  The name 52 Pick Up is relevant because through the challenge I hope to “pick up” my photography style and further advance my craft

Should you wish to join me in this challenge, here are the rules:

1. The theme begins on Sunday and at least one image on the theme must be posted by the following Saturday.
2. Images can be captured on my Digital SLR, point-and-shoot or even the phone on my camera.
3. Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!
4. Images are allowed to be post processed. I shoot in RAW and use Photoshop Elements 9.0 for post processing. My favourite actions come from Pure Photoshop Actions, Paint the Moon and MCP Actions. If you haven’t checked them out yet you should. They both offer freebies to give you a taste of how their products work.

Each week I will post the challenge.  If you are participating, add a link to the photo you have taken in the comment section of that post.

This Week’s Challenge

Week 27: Take a Drive

So join me each week as I continue in my photographic journey. Share a comment, your own images, or perhaps just be inspired to develop your own art of photography.

http://printsensephotography.com/52-pick-up/

This weeks Challenge TAKE A DRIVE 

I am taking a drive down MEMORY LANE.

This is going to be a flash back to the place I grew up. After coming back from Zimbabwe in 2010 my sister and I decided that while we are near where we grew up, we might as well go and have a look at the old place.

We started our journey from Rustenburg to Hartbeespoort.

We stopped at Tan Ralie se Winkel.

We crossed the dam wall and went through the tunnel

Hartbeespoort is a real holiday town.

Then off we went to Hennops River.

This is where I was a teacher my first 4 years

It is still a 4 teacher  school and still looks the same.

Still dirt road as always. We lived here from 1960 to 1980

Our old drive in gate has changed> We could not go in.

We only had a glimpse of the roof from the side.

The next is very interesting. Old and new street name boards.

The old one

And the new one

The best was that our old water wind pump was still there as well as the small pump shed.

Windpomp en pomphuis.

While we were still living there it was all wide open spaces. No walls only fences around the pieces of farm land.

This was a very sentimental journey we had down memory lane.

52 Pick Up:Celebrating Fathers

After a hard day of cooking his “potjie” Dad has to sit down and relax and wait for the judges  to come and inspect his “potjiekos“.

Here Dad is getting ready for the big cooking!

Here is the end result. Delicious don’t you think!

(These photos were taken during the South African Festival in Napier, New Zealand 2005. They used gas to cook on)

In South Africa, potjiekos ( /ˈpɔɪkiːkɒs/), literally translated “small pot food”, is a stew prepared outdoors. It is traditionally cooked in a round, cast iron, three-legged pot, the potjie, brought from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th century and found in the homes and villages of people throughout southern Africa.^[1] The pot is heated using small amounts of wood or charcoal or, if fuel is scarce, twisted grass or even dried animal dung.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potjiekos

52 Pick Up

 

This originally started out as a personal challenge, but now it is open to anyone who wishes to join in.  The name 52 Pick Up is relevant because through the challenge I hope to “pick up” my photography style and further advance my craft.

Should you wish to join me in this challenge, here are the rules:

1. The theme begins on Sunday and at least one image on the theme must be posted by the following Saturday.
2. Images can be captured on my Digital SLR, point-and-shoot or even the phone on my camera.
3. Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!
4. Images are allowed to be post processed. I shoot in RAW and use Photoshop Elements 9.0 for post processing. My favourite actions come from Paint the Moon and MCP Actions. If you haven’t checked them out yet you should. They both offer freebies to give you a taste of how their products work.

Each week I will post the challenge.  If you are participating, add a link to the photo you have taken in the comment section of that post.

This Week’s Challenge

Week 25: Celebrating Fathers

So join me each week as I continue in my photographic journey. Share a comment, your own images, or perhaps just be inspired to develop your own art of photography.

http://printsensephotography.com/52-pick-up/

52 Pick up – Tell a story

Tell a story means you have to use a series of photos and then tell what is happening!

Well, my story is about watching my orchid’s  flowers develop into beautiful flowers.

CHAPTER ONE

I saw the flowers developing the first time and took photos on May, 10, 2012

This is the one which is going to have 8 flowers

This one is smaller and came out later than no 1.

CHAPTER TWO

Then I took photos again on May, 17.

 Week later, the flowers were showing their heads.

Big spike with flowers.

Smaller spike.

CHAPTER THREE

I took photos again  June, 07

The warmer weather did the flowers well. The are still developing!

Smaller one is going slowly.

CHAPTER FOUR

The newest photos, taken  yesterday, June 12, 2012 at 5:30pm. The plant is in my one bedroom because it is too cold outside. Snow is expected to fall  tonight. There was snowfall already during the day on the hills.

I really hope the flowers will survive in this weather!

The smaller spike has got only 3 flowers.

This is the end of the second last chapter.

CHAPTER FIVE

The last chapter is going to be when the spikes are in bloom!!!

http://printsensephotography.com/2012/06/10/52-pick-up-week-23-review/