Lombok

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

Went to Lombok, Indonesia with Jacinta in April. I reckon that Lombok was what Bali would have been like 20 or 30 years ago. While there are tourists there and decent facilities, it isn’t over run by tourism and the locals haven’t been spoilt by tourism because we found them to be extremely friendly.

It was such a beautiful place. The water on the Gili Islands was beautiful with lots of fish life and turtles. Kuta, Lombok which is on the south end of Lombok is a renowned surfing destination and really beautiful as well. Overall, a great place to explore but also a great place to relax and do nothing if that is what you want to do.

: On Gili Air we stayed at a place called Omah Gili in a traditional hut called a Lumbung. www.omahgili.com

: We had a lovely room and Dita who owns the place was incredibly friendly and helpful

: The local Lombok food was awesome. We both loved everything especially the local Lombok sambal (chilli sauce)

: Every afternoon, we sat on Gili Air and watched it rain on the Lombok mainland

: Gili Air has a local village in the middle and it was interesting to walk through and observe the local village life

: All the Gili islands have banned motorised transport which makes them really nice and peaceful. Fantastic local initiative

: Sunset looking across to Gili Trawangan

: Jacinta relaxing with a drink whilst I take photos

: Dinner at Scallywags which has fantastic western food. I normally don’t eat western food while travelling but it was really good!

: Lobster for 2, salad bar and drinks for A$35

: Heading out for a dive. Water visibility was very good

: The local boats in Indo are very similar to the ones in the Philippines

: Jacinta got one of the local women to teach her to cook the Lombok sambal

: We had Jacinta’s sambal on a grilled fish

: Setting sun on Gili Air

: Local girl having an afternoon nap

: Local girl having an afternoon nap

: Sunset at Gili Air

: Jacinta reluctantly being my model

: Sunrise on Gili Air

: Jacinta trying to avoid me taking photos of her

: View of Kuta from the top of the hill where there is a hippy restaurant with amazing vegetarian food

: Sunset in Kuta, Lombok, just outside the Novotel where we stayed

: Sunset at Kuta, Lombok

: Sunset at Kuta, Lombok

: Stars at night at the Novotel bay

: Local hut at sunrise

: The big surf break which Kuta is famous for

: Jacinta trying out a local handmade stringed instrument

: Sitting around listening to the locals playing music

: Happy couple

Arapilies Sunrise

Posted on March 1, 2012 by admin

Last year, a few of us went down to Arapilies, in Victoria which is one of Australia most famous climbing areas. One of the things Marco Morsch and I wanted to do was to do a climb at night and top out for sunrise. So we picked Eurydices, a 3 star classic and started at about 3am in the morning.

As a result, we were treated to one of the most spectacular sunrises either of us had ever seen. There was a mist lying low on the farmland around Arapilies and as the sun came up, it just set the mist on fire.

Credit for all the photos in this post must be shared between Marco and myself as we weren’t crazy enough to lug more than one camera up the climb. We obviously can’t remember who took which shot.

: Starting the climb in total darkness

: Pre-dawn and it’s so peaceful

: Climbing by the light of the headtorch is an interesting experience because your whole world shrinks to what you can see

: The land around Arapilies is just so stark and beautiful

: Even before sunrise the is already a lot of colour in the sky

: The mist of the ground just looks so surreal in the soft light

: The sun just peeking out over the horizon at about 5:30am

: The colour changes so rapidly at this time of the morning, literally every minute

: The ground is one fire

: Amazing the detail you can see from up here

: The colours keep changing, it is just magical

: I love the shadows that are cast by the trees through the mist

: Even the simplest things just look so amazing in this light

: Why does Marco look so much cooler than me?

: I’m the one looking like the Michelin man. Did I mention that it’s cold?

: Me texting Dani to tell her we are safe, just before I drop my phone over 100m down the cliff face

Joanna Zhao Dance Photos

Posted on February 9, 2012 by admin

Joanna Zhao, is the daughter of a good friend of mine and is really passionate about dancing. I went to see her end of year dance performance and to take some photos, so here are some of the results.

It was a interesting shoot because the theater at which the performance was being held had a no photo/video policy. I suspect mainly because they were videoing the performance and wanted to sell the DVD to the parents. Anyway, they tried to give me a hard time about it and kept shining their light at me but I just ignored them and got the shots! Who would have thought it would be such a big deal for parents to take photos of their own kids???

But it was great to see Joanna dance and to see the improvement from last year. It is also great to see the passion and enthusiasm that she has for dancing. Being a passionate person myself, I can really appreciated the dedication and commitment that she shows.

Battling Ropes Photoshoot

Posted on January 6, 2012 by admin

Did a shoot before Christmas for the Australian Institute of Kettlebells for their new Battling Ropes training course and manaul that they are setting up.

I have never heard of Battling Ropes before so it was certainly interesting to see Darius Alligan and Tarek Chouja in action. We went to the Fox Studios carpark for the shoot to get that industrial vibe. I have to say that I’m glad I was the photographer and not a participant, it looks freakin hard! I think I’ll stick to climbing, my body is more suited to that I think. lol

Tried to come up with some interesting angles for the shoot to express the dynamic nature of the exercise. Ended up standing in between the ropes as Tarek did the exercises, trying not to get hit in the head by the rope. But all in all it was a fun shoot of a very interesting exercise technique. Be sure to check out the course when it becomes available.

St Johns Maroubra Christmas Carols

Posted on December 19, 2011 by admin

Here are the photos from the Christmas Carols at St Johns Maroubra. It was an awesome night, Jim did such a fantastic job as did all the participants. And as Bec Crosweller said, there was a lot of cuteness going on. As the night went on, it got harder and harder to shoot in the failing light. Jim, next time turn some lights on, it is pretty tough taking photos by the glow of christmas lights!

I don’t know everyone in the photos so those of you who do, please let them know. Anyone who wants a copy please email me.

Don’t forget the competition I’m running for free prizes.