Ballarat Railway Station: two sparrows

I recently read a quote from a respected photographer, who recommended not having film negatives processed for print until a year had passed, to give the photographer distance from the emotion connected to the moment the photo was taken. It’s a notion I like very much, and would like to try to practice. 

This one has been sitting in the archives for a few months, and was taken with my then every-day-carry camera, a Fujifilm X30 that I sold a little while ago. I had decided to try carrying my Panasonic Lumix DMC GX7 all the time, which is a bit bigger – particularly with the 14-140mm zoom lens that I usually use – and while that’s working out well, I do notice the extra weight and bulk when it’s hanging from my shoulder in my already-heavy bag! So I have been thinking about another, smaller, lighter option, of course. 

Hills Garage, Merino: vintage colour or black and white?

Which version do you prefer? 

Australian Native Plants: swirly stars

I don’t rightly know what this plant, growing in a public garden in Ararat, is called. 

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

Church As Island: St Thomas’ Anglican Church, Condah

This appealing stone church is set back off the Henty Highway at the locality of Condah, between Branxholm and Heywood, on the way to Portland. It is entirely surrounded by a ‘sea’ of pasture, bringing new meaning to the term ‘pastoral care’. It appears to have been decommissioned, and naturally I have daydreamed about living in it! 

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

The Greenest Greens: leaves and shadows

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

In My Garden: white mulberry

It’s usually the first of the summer fruits to ripen, but this season had disruptions and the fruit didn’t ripen on the first or second setting. At least it still had lovely green foliage to soothe the eye in the heat. 

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

Landscape With Clouds: summer pasture near Willaura

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

Umpherston Sink-hole: watching people explore

Fujifilm X30, edited with Snapseed app. 

Happy Australia Day: silo art at Sheep Hills

Along with many others, I’ve been musing on the notion of celebrating our love for Australia on a day that the first Australians think of as commemorating the invasion leading to European settlement and irreparable damage to an ancient culture. 

I don’t want to get all political about it, but I wanted to show you how we decided to celebrate this day. This is the new mural at Sheep Hills, between Minyip and Warracknabeal, featuring Wimmera Elders Ron Marks and Regina Hood, along with a young boy and a young girl, to acknowledge indigenous culture and knowledge. 

I’m so grateful to have been born in Australia, I love my country.