What I did in my Summer Holidays

Back at work now after 3 weeks of summer vacation over Christmas :-(

At the start of the break three weeks sounded like a long time. It wasn't. Fortunately though, we had great weather and I took the opportunity to get around our home and do some weeding.

The back yard before weeding.

I'm not a naturally enthusiastic gardener - there's lots more I'd rather be doing (like taking photos for instance). But once I get underway and start seeing some results, then I tend to get a bit more inspired.

This year, we even decided to grow some of our own veggies, and plant flowers to fill in some spaces that normally run wild with weeds. Hopefully this will help to cut down on time spent weeding in the future, as well as give us some fresh produce!

Just so happens that eating is something I can get enthusiastic about :-)

And the back yard after 6 hours of weeding and planting!

In the spirit of my New Year's resolution of taking more photos, I decided to document a 'before and after'. First shot was taken about 7.00am, hence the long shadows (that I've lightened considerably in Lightroom). The second image was taken about 6.00pm, after all the work was completed. Doesn't look like a full days work, but it took hours just to clear away some of the grass that was growing over top of the concrete behind the shed.

There's still a month or so of summer left, so now the attention turns to the front section of the house. We need to clear out a large area of stones and shrubs (and weeds) at the front, get rid of all the weed mat (what is weed mat all about?), and then let the soil lay fallow over the winter, ready to plant a 'cottage flower garden' there next summer. That's the grand plan anyway.

Cobden Beach Sunset. Olympus OM-D EM-5 MkII with Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/6.3 EZ

While on holiday, I also tried to make the most of the warm evenings and beautiful light to get out and take some 'serious' photos. Cobden Beach is literally five minutes away from my house - on foot. There had been a few amazing sunsets in a row that I had missed getting out to, so I was determined to get out the next night and capture a sunset.

Murphy's Law dictates that it wasn't going to be as spectacular an evening as the ones I had missed (and it wasn't), but it did also give me the opportunity to get a shot that I had been visualizing for quite a while...

Miners Memorial - Greymouth Floodwall. Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII with 12-50mm @ 12mm, 125th sec, ISO 1250

Last year a memorial statue was erected in town for all the miners who have lost their lives over the years on the west coast. It sits prominently on the Greymouth floodwall, and I have always wanted to capture a silhouette of the statue against the evening sky.

Miners Memorial, Greymouth. 2016

It was about 9.30pm when I took these images - and there was still plenty of light to be able to hand-hold the E-M5 MkII and get sharp shots (at ISO 1250).

I knew I wanted a fairly 'wide' angle of the monument with Greymouth township in the background, so chose the 12-50mm kit lens so I could use the 12mm (24mm equivalent) end to go wide. Apart form the 9mm fisheye bodycap, the 12-50mm is currently the widest lens I have in my bag, so I find myself using it a lot for landscapes.

I did also take a few images with the 9mm fisheye bodycap lens, and while I liked them, the 12-50mm at its widest end was the closest to what I had pre-visualized for the shot.

I'm glad I took these images, and I'm sure I'll go back again and take some more. I've driven past the statue so many times and thought "I must photograph that at night" - and now I have. Wasn't quite so lucky with another shot I've been meaning to take for years now though. There's an abandoned house just outside of Westport that I mean to stop and photograph every time we go there, but never have. We went to Westport after Christmas and guess what - it's gone. Been demolished. Darn.

New Years resolution - stop and take more photos.