MARCH 1 - UP

These trees are in our back yard. When I took the photos looking up the trees I noticed all these dead Cicadas. When they were alive they made quite an orchestra with their noise. I have found out that they rub their legs together to make that sound.

Mama Africa - Music: AQ Bix

FRANCE POSTER

In 2008 my sister and I spent a month in France. We spent a week in Lille a week in Lyon a week in Strasbourg and a week in Paris. This is my first attempt at making a poster.

MY OLD CAMERA COLLECTION

There is something unique about old cameras. I love how ornate they are and when I look at old photos I am amazed at how they have been created. Those were the days where you didn't have Photoshop and other digital alteration programs.

This is a photo of my father with his four girls. I am the youngest (beside dad). I love the way when photos were taken in those days the men were dressed in suits or suit jackets. Its sad that today people can be too casual but I guess that's what makes these old photos special. Maybe it was because in that era there was not a lot of cameras around so to have a photo taken it was more of a special occasion.

This photo is of my parents on their wedding day. Doesn't my mother look beautiful. Her father was half chinese and I think it shows in her high cheekbones. Dad looks great in his army uniform. He looks so young when you think he was probably heading off overseas to fight for his country.

The camera on the front right hand side is from Vietnam. It would have been left behind when the Americans fled Vietnam after the war. It makes you wonder what things that camera has seen. I wanted to bring a camera back when we were in Vietnam but they are quite scarce now as it is over twenty years before the war ended so was fortunate to get this one. It is very heavy as well.

FEBRUARY 26 - SOMETHING I ATE

Weekends are a great time to have a relaxing breakfast. The weather is great here at the moment so we had our breakfast outside listening to the cicadas.

FEBRUARY 25 - NIGHT

My partner and I are fortunate enough to own a little campervan. A few weeks ago we went to a beach called Tapu Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula about two hours from Auckland. This is interesting as Tapu means bad luck in Maori. As you can see we are only about twenty metres to the water so was a magical spot.

As the night wore on we had the beach all to ourselves apart from nature and it was very magical.

The perfect setting to sit and have a glass of wine and talk about anything and everything.

As it got darker the sky took on these beautiful colors.

From a golden color it started to turn red. Sitting there and looking up was this great expanse of sky.

Aren't the colors here amazing.

We spent two nights here. The people in the camping ground were very laid back and friendly. He headed back to the city very refreshed. And all of this was in our own country.

MISTY

Let me introduce you to my beautiful birman cat Misty. She is a real diva at times. Her fur is so soft and she likes me giving her cuddles. But she talks a lot  (by that I mean meow's a lot) and it can get weary at times as it is hard to know what she wants. But we love her and we think she is pretty special.

AN INSPIRING AFTERNOON

Well what an interesting afternoon I had. My partner was  pottering away doing his thing. So I got inspired to start taking some photos and playing around with my camera's settings.

I got out of my usual mode of aperture, portrait, landscape and macro and decided to try switching to manual mainly and some aperture. My way of taking photos is adjusting the settings and see what looks like through the lens. I get a little confused when they talk about ISO and aperture settings in the camera world.

So I pulled out some lovely clothing I have and put them on an old vintage coathanger and displayed them in my bedroom window. I have a soft curtain with writing on which gives a lovely backdropl.

Meanwhile one hour later I am still shooting away and adding silk roses and pearls to my subjects. 

I have always been a visual person and I worked for many years in  Jewellery stores. The thing I loved the most was merchandising and displaying jewellery to the best advantage.

This was a beautiful silk flower which I like to wear on my clothing or  my sunhats to give a vintage look.

This is my beautiful model/granddaughter wearing this pretty dress which I got for a few dollars at a recycle shop, another passion of mine, wandering around op shops looking for items that I can display in my home.

This beautiful negligee was brought at David Jones in Brisbane, Australia (I worked in their Sydney branch for a year while I was living there) The designer is Maggie Tabberer a well known woman who I have admired. She is a larger lady who in her days was a model. She is always dressed beautifully and elegantly for her size and her clothing line is for plus size ladies.

I love the beautiful ruffles at the bottom of the negligee.

One of favorite pieces of jewellery, Pearls. They are timeless and can be worn by young and old. Love how they shine and seem to suit everybody.

This is another beautiful piece of lingerei  of mine. I have to admit I don't always wear them, but I love having them and admiring them.

This beautiful blouse does not fit me but I brought it for  aesetic  value.

FEBRUARY 25 - GREEN

I am fortunate to live in a country where the color green abounds everywhere. Our fields are green with millions of sheep and we have lots of mountains with the most beautiful scenery. The beetroot was growing in a small plot at the back of our townhouse. It's nice to grow things without sprays and chemicals. At the moment I am growing fancy lettuces and tomatoes and herbs such as mint and parsley, so whenever I want a salad I go outside and pick some produce.

FEBRUARY 24 - IN YOUR BATHROOM CUPBOARD

My clever sister suggested I take some photos of the bottles on my cabinet and thought what a good idea. The bottles on the shelf are a collection of some of my bottles. The one with the label came from France and I love the writing on them. The photo even comes with its own dust.

BEAUTIFUL JONELLE

RACEHORSE

My partner is an avid follower of racehorses. This photo was taken at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland.

FEBRUARY 23 - SHOES

FEBRUARY 22 - WHERE YOU WORK

EXPRESSIONS

I just love the expressions of my granddaughter while she is playing. Especially the middle picture.

FEBRUARY 21 - SOMETHING YOU HATE TO DO

Vacuuming yuk! Love the look when it's done but our carpet gets very dirty so it's a constant job.