'round town'

2012-01-24T02:41:00.000-08:00

Holidays with Bailey

2012-01-24T02:39:00.000-08:00

Beautiful magnolia up at Nymet Garden

Did I mention I like weeds!

And then I found a fairy at the bottom of the garden

2012-01-24T02:37:00.000-08:00

One of the beautiful black cats at work .... study in black.

I DO NOT want my photo taken THANK YOU!

Foster kitty playing inside my jacket. It's really interesting trying to take a pic when they're trying to catch the camera and soooo close!

2012-01-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

Photos by me, digital scrapbooking kit from http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/

Coffee's ready!

Beautiful weeds in the garden

2012-01-22T10:20:00.001-08:00

2012-01-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

New product on Zazzle Golden retriever dog bowl

Golden retriever dog bowl. by suemack_nz
Browse Zazzle for a different cat bowl.

2012-01-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

New Zazzle planner folio

Fern planner folio by suemack_nz
Shop for another planner.

2012-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

Trying again
Abstract camelia messenger bag by suemack_nz
See other courier bags.">

2012-01-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

New product on Zazzle. Abstract camelia messenger bag

2012-01-12T21:45:00.001-08:00

Hehe just looked at the date of my last blog .... 6 years!! Wouldn't be home without Bailey. She's 13 years now, grey and pretty deaf (read totally deaf), but races round like a pup still.

2012-01-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

Might be time to relook at my blog page.

2006-03-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

have just about given up on blogger....can't get images uploaded most nights. Been using suemack.buzznet.com/user/

try again

2006-03-15T04:16:00.000-08:00

No image first time round, uploaded when I re-edited the post. Bit frustrating!

Yes, I actually made it up just after dawn! Doesn't happen often :)

2006-03-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

Having a frustrating morning here.....can't seem to u/l any images :( Will try again later.

eggs in one basket

2006-03-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

2006-03-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Not many of these shots worked out cos it was kinda windy and the bumblebees kept blowing away :)

Real progress

2006-03-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Another week on and these little guys have made such amazing progress they're ready for new homes.

2006-03-08T04:27:00.000-08:00

Visiting with Twiggy( the cat) at one of the resthomes today

2006-03-07T03:17:00.000-08:00

Closeup of a dandelion, then messed round in photoshop

The Mountain

2006-03-06T03:21:00.000-08:00

I came.......I saw........eventually I conquered!

ps playing round again.....

2006-03-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

Playing round with an old photo of a glass in ps today....thoughts of the 'square crop'

2006-03-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

At the stock car track yesturday. No energy left to u/l them from the camera till this morning.
Must have been tired though, going to have to rotate a whole bunch of them cos they're crooked!

2006-03-03T03:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not doing to well with my people shots am I! Just can't seem to get interested in pointing the camera at people at the moment. Will try to work on it over the weekend and post something apart from animals

2006-03-02T04:13:00.000-08:00

Babies are growing up. This is one of the bigger keyhole cichlid babies that I really...... I mean really, need to get into the local petshop. Now that they're getting bigger the tank is becoming very overcrowded. Couple of weeks ago caught 8 of them, plus a few of the guppies (95) and took them in, am planning on catching more this weekend.

These babies are quick though, almost defeated me last time. Now the guppies......just scoop them out with a cup LOL

2006-03-01T03:30:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe, but this was taken a week after she was found and she's gained weight. She will be ok. Somedays I really don't like people very much!

Arggggh printing b/w!!!

2006-02-28T04:21:00.000-08:00

Grrrrrrr.....I'm having real problems printing b/w on my printer! Upgraded to a Canon Pixma iP4200. Prints beautiful colour but the b/w.......... they're b/w with distinct pink tones to them.

Fine if you want pink, but when you're trying to get a gritty kinda look!! Played round in the colour balance in ps tonight, trying to see if I could work out a balance. Lowered the red tones, slight green with a touch of yellow......better, but now a bit greeny yellowy ....... pffffft!

Got my old printer here, might have to get another connection cord and see if I can set it up to print b/w.

The beautiful hands are courtesy of the most amazing and wonderful 96yr young woman I know. 'Katie's hands'

2006-02-27T03:06:00.000-08:00

playing round in ps

2006-02-26T02:23:00.000-08:00

Lazy kinda Sunday today. Got up late.....blobbed round on the computer for a while, fed the animals......finally got round to cleaning out one of the fish tanks. Went into town for some fuel, shoes, milk...the essentials (jandals finally died after 8+ years)

Got home and decided to torture one of the fish....well not really, just popped him into a glass and took some pics. He didn't seem too worried, specially when he got rewarded with food when I put him back in the tank.

Need to work on better lighting. Had the glass on a white sheep of paper outside, but the light was beginning to fade. That and read the manual on WB :))

the kitten

2006-02-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

Mostly animal shots this week at work...this is one of our foster babies. Not sure about my editing....let me know what you think :))

2006-02-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

She's changing from a little girl into a beautiful young woman..

2006-02-21T03:22:00.000-08:00

They're not pretty.....but at this age they're cute. Only a month old and all 7 piglets have homes waiting till they're old enough.

'the pup'

2006-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Animals get in the darndest places!

just me and my shadow

2006-02-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

Strange how you get an impression of size from a shadow......

Hello!

2006-02-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Went into the local pet shop to get some supplies for the fish tanks, spotted this guy and couldn't resist getting a few shots of him. Glass in the tank is very scratched .....got the worst off, but still some work to do but needed to post my PaD

2006-02-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

mostly cute kitty pics today

2006-02-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

Little punk heron again. Lighting in the room was very difficult.....late in the day and could only use natural light w/out upsetting the birds. Used ISO 400-800 knowing that they'd be noisy.....but probably my one chance at getting some shots of a baby of this age.

Punk rock baby

2006-02-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

Little dude with attitude.....looks like he's having a bad hair day. Baby white faced heron at the Bird Recovery Centre. He's fine, fit and healthy, will be released as soon as he's old enough.

Little bun

2006-02-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

hopes and dreams

2006-02-09T02:43:00.000-08:00

Little cutie

2006-02-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

How do you tie them down. This little cutie never stops still for more than a brief second or 2....then she's off again.

2006-02-06T03:30:00.000-08:00

Horrible headache tonight....landlord's been painting the outside door for the last few days. Though the door and windows have been open the fumes have gotten to me.

Armour

2006-02-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

The details in these cicada shells amaze me. You can see the hairs on their chin!

bent not broken

2006-02-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

Spent a short time (battery on the camera wasn't fully charged and went flat) at the stock car track today. Got 3 shots of the cart as it flipped.

Nothing for the panning challenge....too fast a shutter speed and I froze the action instead. Have to work on some new ideas tomorrow.

2006-02-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

off out to try and get some inspiration for abstract

2006-02-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

still a few miles left in the tread of these......my sister-out-law's beloved old sneakers

Too many....

2006-02-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Was trying for a photo of 'feeding the fish' ....dunno why but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Problem was there are too many fish in the tank .......the guppies and growing on keyhole babies kept crowding round, getting out of focus. They seemed to enjoy being models though!

Hadn't realised how hard it is to stand with 1 hand in the tank with food, t'other with the camera trying to focus on these tiny fast moving objects in a low light environment. Many more misses than in focus shots from this shoot! LOL

2006-01-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

Considered this one for freestudy, but no....... went with a completely different theme.

2006-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

Playing with the settings on the camera today...taken in sepia mode (Sony 717) converted to b/w.

this little piggy.....

2006-01-29T13:40:00.000-08:00

3 day old Kunekune piglets....they're just the cutest babies!! This was their first venture out into the world.

keyhole kid

2006-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

Keyhole kid has a completely different meaning round my house. Meet mama and one of the keyhole kids. Poor old mama, in her last tank when she had the previous batch of babies, had some major run-ins with the loaches......which is why the holes in her nose. She and 'the mister' now have their own luxurious apartment, which they share with about 30 minuscule fry.

2006-01-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

on the wall at work

the pup

2006-01-26T02:47:00.000-08:00

Taking the photos for the work website today. This little girl was sitting with her mum and brother in one of our outside pens one morning when we got to work. Never did find out where they came from.

She should be going out to her new home soon

I'm in awe...

2006-01-25T02:51:00.000-08:00

I'm in awe of all your wonderful children images. How do you keep them still long enough to get a shot......and clean!

My little buddy here is 18mnths old. She zoomed round the house at great speed, majority of my shots were blurred (incredibly 'soft focus') .....she was fascinated with the lens of the camera and kept wanting to touch it (fingers matched the flavour and texture of her face LOL).

It was late in the day so the light wasn't wonderful, will try again round at her own home earlier in the day.

My wildlife entry.....

2006-01-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

Attack of the killer guppies........well it was either that or Attack of the cuddly kittens!! Trouble is, couldn't get the gupps to attack anything, and the kittens weren't being cuddly!

Didn't think that would go down too well with the voters so am entering tribute......well I think I am.......possibly. LOL Too late to be decisive......will decide in the morning.

In memory of Tomsk

2006-01-23T03:50:00.000-08:00

Tomsk was only a couple of weeks old when he and his littermates came into the spca. They'd been abandoned on the side of the road. 2 of his littermates didn't make it....they just faded away.

Tomsk has had problems all along.....oh his foster mum has fought so hard, but he just wouldn't thrive. Today she lost that battle. His little bladder hadn't developed properly, he was becoming more and more toxic.......and he was too young and sick for surgery.

Tomsk......you will not be forgotten. Though you only walked in this world for a short time, you left your footprints on our souls.

'the feather'

2006-01-22T03:52:00.000-08:00

Rapidly running out of time to come up with an entry for fantasy....total mental blank!

Old technology

2006-01-21T04:34:00.000-08:00

Visited a resthome yesturday, one of the residents was sitting in his room watching the 6 million dollar man (very loudly) on his TV. Fascinating.....TV was bout 20yrs old, b/w!

bejewelled

2006-01-20T04:10:00.000-08:00

Raindrops on one of the succulents at work. Took lots of different angles, dof.....if it ever rains again here would like to try again

In the land of nod

2006-01-19T03:12:00.000-08:00

She's looks such an angel when she's asleep......Kyra's new baby.......right little monkey when she's awake. You forget how energetic and enthusiastic baby animals are.

Yesturday's PaD...ran out of editing day yesturday. Today's will have to wait till I've visited the land of nod myself.

night :))

'sparrow'

2006-01-17T04:05:00.000-08:00

Supposedly a pest, but I love these little guys...... they're always so cheerful, so friendly.

Too little time....

2006-01-16T01:28:00.000-08:00

there's never enough hours in the day to fit everything in.............if only I didn't have to work to pay the bills!

Taken in a quick break in the lunchroom, most of the rest of the shots were oof.....was trying not to get caught 'mucking round' with the camera!

One of those days.....

2006-01-15T01:45:00.000-08:00

Definitely one of those days today.......sinus and throat infection so not much sleep. Did go out today and try for a shot for the Singled out challenge but nothing even average........came home and had a nana-nap (for 5 hours!!)

Tonight, I'm twiddling about here, managed to change the template to relocate my dpc links ......then changed it back cos I'm in a minimalistic mood. Ended up just editing a shot taken earlier in the week. 'Honey' in the resthome. Very tricky sometimes getting these shots as the lighting is less that optimal, generally have to juggle the animal I'm holding and the camera, and just grab what I can. Taken with Sony 717, it's little and light when you're carrying cages, towels, kitten, dirtbox, water etc :))

Mariah Seagull

2006-01-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

'and I ........I.........I will always love youuuuuuuu'
Shame you couldn't hear the music she was shouting at me today.

Twiggy again

2006-01-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a day late in editing these.....we went out to another resthome with little Twiggy. What a little charmer she is. I found this amazing verse on the wall there.......

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I'd like to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly
and sanely hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it again,
I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after the other,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.
I've been one of those persons
who never goes anywhere without a thermometer,
a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.
If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds,
I would pick more daisies.

by Nadine Stair
from the book "Bag of Jewels"
by Susan Hayward

2006-01-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

we were trying to work out what breed they are.....best I could come up with was 'originals'

rest home visiting

2006-01-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

Twiggy at the resthome

freedom

2006-01-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

On the way home I stopped at the new 'transfer station' ....aka the dump.... and got a few shots of the birds.

Gotta go to bed now, it's just after 2am and I'm tired. Every Tuesday night for the last I don't know how many yrs I've organised the housie (bingo) for the spca. Don't get home till nearly midnight and I'm wired with mountain dew so not tired. Get onto the puter and start editing photos and .......

night :)

grandpa

2006-01-09T03:28:00.000-08:00

It was wonderful watching the grandpa with his 2 grandgirls, they had a very close and loving bond. Not the kind of relationship I shared with either of my granddads. One was very right and proper, stern is the word......he didn't really appear to have much of a sense of humour. Grandma blossomed after he went. Sold the big old house, joined up with her church group and traveled...she laughed a lot more, visited all her children and cuddled us. My other grandfather died when I was very young so never really got to know him.

the fly

2006-01-08T03:57:00.000-08:00

Been having problems getting the right dof with my 60mm 2.8 EF-S lens. Great for portraits, but it's easier to use my Sony717 for closeups. So....today got out and took photos of everything! Most of them are now residing in the rubbish bin...but a few survived. f9.0 ISO 200 1/100 handheld. A little tripod would come in really handy, only got a tall one, not much use when you're hunched over a plant. Neighbours think I'm nutz! Hehe!

water slide

2006-01-07T02:32:00.000-08:00

Friend's daughter's birthday today so we all headed off down to Waiwera Hot Springs were they have the most amazing water slides. Gave me lots of opportunity to get action shots.

2006-01-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

'Max'
Finding it really interesting trying to figure out the most flattering angles to take people shots from.....didn't really get it with this shot, it's not too bad but I'll try again.

sunkissed

2006-01-05T02:48:00.000-08:00

Friend's daughter, at the beach last weekend. Taken with the 300D and 90-300mm 4.5-5.6 USM lens. Incredibly windy day so didn't end up getting many shots.

Hmmmm had a list of all the dpc PaD peops down the side of my blog, they're all still there in the template......but they don't show up here! Will have to try to figure out what I altered in the code. Moral of the story....dont' tutu with codes wot you don't understand! LOL

Just noticed.....most of my links have disappeared too!! I'm sure I didn't touch anything!

'trust'

2006-01-04T01:53:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, slipped. Back to the doggy theme.

Couldn't resist getting some shots of this vision of trust. Foster pup asleep in her foster mum's hand.

2006-01-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

So much more comfortable taking photos of animals......this is going to be an ongoing project for the year. Aim the camera at people (as well as animals) .....get out of the comfort zone!

New Year

2006-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Good part about having some time off at New Yrs is that you have time to go visit. This is Nymet at New Years. Couldn't resist getting a photo of the water garden with a blue sky!

Been a while,,,,

2005-12-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since my last post here hasn't it!

2005-09-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

How could you resist this face!! Rocko, the rotti x pup during one of the rest home visits.

Well, the rugby team shoot is done! What a mission. Thank goodness I got there early as the lights I'd hired didn't come with instructions, extension cords ....nothing. It took ages to figure out the rickety stands, find a long extension cord as the only powerpoint was on t'other side of the room.

Set up the lights, tripod, took some practise shots, everything worked well, then the rugby players arrived ......and decided they wanted them taken in another part of the hall!! hehe.

This is not my thing and won't do it again. I'm way more comfortable out in the field taking shots of the players in action.

Calendar ideas

2005-09-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to put together 13 images for a calendar they've decided to do for next yr. They're wanting b/w......sad, cute, funny. I can use some I've already taken, but think I'm going to need time to get more. This is one idea I might use.

This little sweetheart has already gone to her new home.

One of those days....

2005-09-08T01:05:00.000-07:00

I can't wait till the days are longer and it's lighter after work. Will be able to get a reasonable shutterspeed when trying to take action shots. This is Bailey at full throttle!

Can't believe it...went into the supermarket, wandered up and down the aisles, did all the shopping, came home with all sorts of things I didn't really need, but without coffee or sugar!!! Argggggh!! Got enough coffee till tomorrow....but no sugar :(

Pffft....that'll learn me for going grocery shopping with no list when I'm tired!! In the meantime I'm learning a new appreciation for coffee with milk and no sweetning.

bit of a reprieve

2005-09-07T00:52:00.000-07:00

Panic on hold till next week.

They've put the rugby team shoot off till next Wed cos some of the players are away. Phew....gives me more time to try out the lights, friend will be back from holidays and can come along for advice and moral support ....and help with the lights. The hall as you can see is huge, high ceilings and dim lighting.

Lighting I've got available is 2 floodlights. Each stand has 2 x 500watt lights which can be directed in different positions. Not ideal but will have to do.

Still not quite sure how I got meself into this.......

Day off

2005-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the world's procrastinators! Got the day off today......guppies to catch to take into the petshop (to pay for the light I bought for the tank on Sat), check in to see if Ian left me the off camera flash, check out with the hire shop what kind of lights I can hire, go to the hall and see which lens to use......not to mention housework!! And what am I doing.........uploading to iStock and creating a new blog!!!! LOL more relaxing than housework!

Team photos to take of the local rugby teams on Wed night and I don't have the lighting equipment I need. Also haven't done this kind of shoot before so ....... am getting a bit nervous about it all. Don't know what I'd do w/out my support family at dpc.

Right ....looks like the file is finished u/loading, guppies are going to take forever to catch.....they're in the plant tank and they just go hide out behind the plants. Trying the coax and lure trick with food, I should be able to outsmart them, I mean ....have you ever seen the size of a guppies brain!