Having moved to a part of the country where the deep, deciduous greenery of foreign trees isn’t very common, more than ever I am captivated by old trees like this walnut, which entirely embowered our room in the old boarding house we stayed at in Hepburn Springs. From my perch at this window, I gazed out, enchanted, into the walnut’s glorious canopy.
Panasonic Lumix DMC GX7 with 14-140mm II lens; edited with Snapseed app.
I love the intriguing glimpse of a beautiful home; lucky me, I got to venture beyond the archway and explored the grounds of this old guesthouse in Hepburn Springs, which would delight any child or childlike adult who loves a rambling garden, with overgrown terraces leading down to a dilapidated tennis court below.
Panasonic Lumix DMC GX7 with 14-140mm II lens; edited with Snapseed app.
I spotted this little face in a window along the main street, and managed to get one shot before it disappeared.
Fujifilm X30, converted to monochrome and edited in Snapseed app.
Well folks, I hope Santa thought you’d been nice this year. I like to sort out my own gift from so-called Santa, and this year that was a new secondhand lens: a Panasonic 14-140 (28-280 ff equivalent) superzoom for my GX7. I gave it a whirl at Christmas lunch, knowing it’s a compromise lens, but despite it not being very fast, I’m not feeling too compromised in reasonably good light with unmoving subjects, like this Christmas table decoration. As expected, it was more of a compromise with moving people, especially during a flurry of gift unwrapping, but I’m hoping it will be my go-to general lens when light isn’t a problem.
To anyone who found something of interest in my work over the past year, thank you for your support. Taking and making photos is one of my greatest joys, and sharing that with others is so important to me.
Wishing you all a safe and happy festive season, from my home to yours,
Melanie Y’lang
Trundling around a Western District, Victoria, town, a gappy timber garage beckoned a closer look. What could be in there?
Fujifilm X30, processed in Snapseed app.
It’s quite a wondrous thing, to be living in a region which had been under the spell of drought for most of the past couple of decades, but which is much refreshed after a good year. I stopped at the edge of this lake, east of the Grampians, to photograph the black swan bobbing peacefully along.
Fujifilm X30.
As much as I love the genre, like many would-be street photographers I struggle with aiming my camera lens directly at people; my mother taught me that it’s rude to point, rude to stare, and taking photos of people out and about feels like committing both these rudenesses!
At the last Natimuk Farmers Market I had my Fujifilm X30 at the ready, viewfinder tilted for shooting from the waist, so I galvanised myself into taking the shot when I saw this interesting-looking character stooped at a secondhand book stall.
Fujifilm X30, converted to monochrome and edited in Snapseed app.
I don’t know why this shot makes me think of television…maybe it’s the aerial reflected on the rooftop, or the boxed-in image of it and the pigeons.
precious ruthless captures 