Australia: From the Personal Archive – Part III of III

01.02.12 personal

Not to bore you too much, but I thought it might be fun to see a few of the images we photographers take of ourselves when we’re not shooting opera house rooftops and harbor bridges. :-)

And incase you missed the brief on this Australia trip, I went alone for the first half and then met up with my sweet boyfriend for the second half and watched him receive his master’s degree.

Lastly, I must put a disclaimer on this post:  many of the images you see below were taken with the sweet iPhone 4s.  So don’t judge. :-*

G’day,
René

After some fun on Bondi Beach, I headed into the city.  Loved the wild life center with Australia-native animals.

This image was a big victory.  I have a real bird phobia.  This was not on the zoom!

If I was any animal, I’d probably be one of these Roos.  They’re always in a yoga pose.
Why would you want to be anything else? :-)

Loved the Australian favorites at Starbucks.  I had a Aussie meat pie and a long black.  What’s a long black you ask?  Let me just tell you.  You should know by now my drink of choice is an Americano – I talk about it all the time.  And it really drives me crazy when us Americans prepare Americanos all wrong.  The espresso is supposed to go in last – on top.  The Aussie’s do it right.  They call the drink a long black and add the water on top.   Heaven.

Caught me some sweet sunrise on the harbor and took some crazy self-portraits.
I obviously hadn’t met up with John yet. :-)

After a morning at the Opera House, I headed to Manly Beach.  I picked up a book from a used bookstore in Manly and sat right on that beach, directly in front of this amazing cheese and wine restaurant.  This was also heavenly.

That evening after my wine, cheese, beach day (and bikini shopping at Rip Curl) at Manly, I got to know my hostel roommates better.  This is Jeanine.  She’s a physical therapist from Canada and was just taking two months to enjoy Australia by herself.  Love that.

And this is Antonia. She’s from Germany and is my inspiration.  After a several-year-long relationship ended, she decided to pursue a lifelong dream: tour the world for a year.  She started saving – 2,000 € for each month she’d be abroad – and quit her job and took off.  She left Germany, headed to the UK, then on to California, then New Zealand, then Australia.  I think when I left her she still had a month or two in Australia.  Her next stop was Thailand I think?

Antonia insisted on photographing me, though I was too intrigued with the couples having a date at the opera.

Two days later I met up with John in Canberra – the nation’s capital.  We were due to meet at 10pm but both of us had the craziest travel days and ended up not meeting until 7am the next morning.  His graduation was two hours later.  Needless to say, we’re exhausted in these images. But how swanky and handsome does my boy look in his regalia?!

Thank you, strangers, for these amazing photos. :-)

Ah, this was a self-portrait taken at the Australian World War II memorial.  So awesome.

The following days John and I explored Canberra and Sydney and had the time of our lives.  We discovered a mutual love for electric bikes and chicken sandwiches.

The Parliament House.

The most amazing chicken sandwich fast food chain: Aporto.
This place gives Chik-fil-a a run for its money!

John surprised me with a tour at the Australia Center for Photography.
Also… he insisted we capture my love for birds by this awesome sign.

Another insider tip: electric bikes are the way. to. go.  15km/hour baby and virtually no effort exuded
while going up hills.  Quite an amazing little invention.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge.

“What do you want to do tomorrow, baby girl?” he asked.
“All I want is a day at the beach… sandy and warm,” I quickly responded.  And that’s exactly what we did.

We ended the evening and our last night in Australia, with a bottle of wine (which we drank out of these ridiculous little cups) and enjoyed the sunset. Oh and laughed till our stomached ached.  It was the best night.

Actually, that’s not quite how we ended our trip.  After the sun had set,
we made one last stop to Aporto and shared a Coke with our Mate. ;-)

Oh, how I miss the Land Down Under.  I could go on and on about the culture, the people, what to see and do.  We definitely couldn’t afford the time away to stay an entire month, which is so necessary if you want to see all Australia has to offer.
I’m already planning my return trip.

Australia: Sydney Sunrise to Sunset – Part II

30.01.12 personal

Good morning!  Happy Monday.  I’ve got a treat for you.

Day three of Australia began with waking up in the heart of Sydney.  I spent my first half-day getting acquainted with the city… going to the zoo and seeing a few sights. On my first full day, I woke up to catch sunrise again.  (Photographers have this thing with sunrises… :-)

I was staying right on the harbor so the Opera House and Bridge were just short walks.

Insider tip: If you want to see the Opera House when it isn’t crowded, sunrise is the way to go.  I had it all to myself.

Enjoy.

Missing Australia,
René

The harbor was just beautiful.  While the sun was out.  I’m afraid it went behind a cloud shortly after this photo was taken at 6am and stayed put behind a cloud for the next several, chilly days.

Serenity.

After exhausting my feet and the morning, I caught a ferry and headed to Manly Beach where I chilled with a good book.  A couple hours before sunset I made my way back to the harbor and grabbed the gorgeous night life.

Up next: Part III – A few excerpts from the personal photo archive.  Stay tuned.

Australia: Sunrise on Bondi – Part I of III

29.01.12 personal

So last month, I Tweeted something obscure: “I am going to a far, far away land.”

I didn’t say too much about it because it was a personal vacation, and quite honestly, very last minute.  I left on about a week’s notice.  (Believe or not.)

Long story short, I had the opportunity to accompany my sweet boy to Australia and watch him receive his master’s degree.  I headed down there a few days early to explore on my own.  I made a commitment to myself to take a solo-trip every other year.  They’re so good for the soul.  Halfway into the trip I met up with John and we went straight into his graduation and exploring together.

The majority of the first half of the trip it was just me and my Nikon.  We walked miles and miles together and saw some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

A few pieces of eye candy to follow over the next three posts.  And yes, John is eye candy. haha So is Australia.

Enjoy.

xoxo and G’Day,
René

I arrived in Sydney around 8am on a Saturday morning.  I headed straight to Bondi Beach, checked in to the hostel, and fought jet-lag while reading a novel on the beach.  I may or may not have fallen asleep and received the worst sunburn of my life.

The next morning, I awoke with the mission of catching sunrise and watching busy Bondi Beach wake up. These are the images that unfolded.

Pre-combing.

Post-combing.

Loved this man and his quirky outfit.

Water-combed.

Ran into these mates about 6am – they were just coming from the bars.  It was right about now when they fell off the 10′ ledge onto the beach.

I managed to take a few lovely, out-of-focus self-portraits.  Don’t mind the drunkards in the background.

Walking on Water.  Almost.

Next up: Part II – a day in Sydney from Sunrise to Sunset.  Stay tuned.

The Holiday Blues

06.01.12 personal, portraits

They say that one of the worst feelings in the world is waking up on Christmas morning and not being a child.

I can relate.

John and I were sitting on my couch.  Christmas Eve.  In front of us was a flickering fireplace, a mound of gifts, and all the ambiance you would want on Christmas Eve with your man, to include classic Christmas tunes, dim lighting, you know the drill.  We were all set for a special gift exchange, though I’ll be honest: I had this heaviness in my heart.

You see, it was a heaviness in knowing that Christmas would never be the same again.  That I would never have a Christmas Eve slumber party with my big brother and wake up at 4am to open our stockings.  I would never have to wait those excruciating hours till Nana and Papa came over at 8am to open the rest of our gifts.  And Christmas parties at school?  You can forget that.  The anticipation of Christmas morning with all my family near, isn’t what it used to be.  It’s different now.  Siblings are married, at the in-laws, working, or out of state.  My grandparents are gone.  Even our fireplace mantle has been removed in a recent remodel leaving us with no place to hang our stockings.

I smiled wide, holding back tears, as he handed me a stocking that was about to burst at the seams.  ”Baby girl, open your stocking,” he said through his grin.

I pulled out the small box on top.  As I unwrapped the perfect cube, faded memories of opening stockings with my brother flipped through my mind. Pulling the paper off, I slide out a giant Hershey’s Kiss.  And I don’t know what did it, but I lost it.  I started crying.  Right there, present number one, with oversized Hershey’s Kiss in my hand.  He pulled me close and asked what was the matter.  ”You like chocolate, right?” he reminded me, as if he did something wrong. I shook my head and explained my holiday blues.

He kissed my forehead and reminded me, “But baby girl, look at all the traditions we have now: Christmas Eve service, delivering gifts to those working on Christmas Eve, our gift exchange, the way you always say ‘But wait, there’s more,’ and you give me something really cool at the end.”

He made me giggle with his charm.  Nodding at his sweet reminders, I smiled and got up to dry my tears.  ”Hopefully we can get past the Hershey’s Kiss this time, ” I heard him mumble and chuckle as I rounded the corner.

He’s right.  The traditions we have now are sweeter and memorable in their own ways. They’re not the same as those childhood traditions, but that’s what makes Christmas so rich.  Knowing all you’ve experienced, and all you have yet to experience.  Like opening gifts with my own children someday.

December 26th, I had the pleasure of photographing a friend’s family of eight adults and seven children. We had a blast.  When I heard the kiddos were going to open gifts, I stuck around to catch just a glimmer of what it was like to be a kid again.  Check it out…