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9. January 2014 11:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Malua Bay

9. January 2014 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Over the new year we went with the family to Malua Bay Beach down south.

The house was beach front with great access directly to the beach.

The big wrap-around balcony was great for the kids to play on and they spent hours running around.

And it was great for the family to be together.

There were also lots of chicadas and Ethan found a dead one.

25. December 2013 05:12
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New bike for Aiden

25. December 2013 05:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden got a new bike and helmet for Christmas. He was very proud as it was the biggest present under the tree.

The helmet is a combined bicycle and climbing helmet (cost more than the bike) so will see if I can also find an opportunity to take him climbing in the new year.

25. December 2013 05:09
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Christmas Day 2013

25. December 2013 05:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As usual we celebrated Christmas Day with the whole family.

There was a lot of Christmas presents this year, so the kids must have been good.

Even Father Christmas paid us a visit...

It was a big group this year.

24. December 2013 05:05
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Christmas Family Photos 2013

24. December 2013 05:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Every year I do a family photo. This year we decided to use the gingerbread village and the tree as a backdrop.

Merry Christmas.

23. December 2013 05:03
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Gingerbread Village

23. December 2013 05:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Over the Christmas period Aiden and I have been building a Gingerbread village.

It has been good fun for me to put the houses together and for Aiden to help with sticking on the kandy.

16. December 2013 12:56
by Rene Pallesen
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More Christmas Photos 2013

16. December 2013 12:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Tonight I did some more photos...

The plan was to get a photo of Lucas and Aiden together wrapped in christmas lights. It turned out to be impossible to get especially Lucas to sit still, so we eventually gave up and tried to do some individual shots...the photos below are the best of the lot...not great but will have to do. To be honest the best shot of the evening is the one above of Aiden which I took after we gave up with the chain.

16. December 2013 05:01
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Boys best mates

16. December 2013 05:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Lucas is growing up really fast and him and Aiden are now best mates doing almost everything together (including fighting).

16. December 2013 04:57
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Garage Lizard

16. December 2013 04:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The other day I found this in our garage.

I had to look it up...but it turned up to be a blue tongue lizard but without the stumpy tail we normally see.

I asked Kim if the kids could keep it...but she screamed and said no, so I released it into our garden.

16. December 2013 04:55
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Christmas Banana

16. December 2013 04:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

You can tell that Christmas is approaching when Banana's in Pyjamas is wearing a Christmas hat...oh and then there is the cute Santa's helper.

15. December 2013 07:42
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Kims dads birthday 2013

15. December 2013 07:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Yesterday it was Kims dads Birthday and we celebrated with a big lunch party with cake and good food.

And Kim was beautiful as ever and Lucas was very handsome...

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7. November 2010 02:35
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Aiden 5 Months

7. November 2010 02:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Today it is Aidens Birthday....he is now 5 Months old (when you are less than 6 months old you get to have birthday every month).

Aiden, Mummy & Daddy

He is a good/easy little boy. He is now able to keep his head up, but still unable to sit or roll around onto his tummy. He sleeps through the night and wakes up around 7.30 to get a feed. On weekends he is happy to go back to sleep so his Mummy and Daddy can sleep in.

He is very quiet when in crowded places and likes to just sit and observe (Kims dad is saying that he has got that after me).

It has taken me a long time to get this photo done. I had to wait for him to keep his head up and even then it was pretty hard to get hime to look in the right direction.

3. November 2010 11:50
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Water Portrait

3. November 2010 11:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have now finished the second portrait in the series of the four elements...just Fire and Air left. This one is "Water". The yellow blob is a Weedy Sea Dragon.

...Really helping my Photoshop skills. Not sure if anyone else thinks these photos are cool...but they are cool to make and are different from what I'd otherwise be doing.

1. November 2010 09:50
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Fame - the musical

1. November 2010 09:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This weekend Kim and I went to see the musical Fame at Capitol theatre with a couple of friends Audrey and John.

Most of the cast was made up of dancers from “So you think you can dance” so there was a potential for a really good performance with some excellent dancing.

Our friends had organised a babysitter for the night and Aiden was being looked after by Kim’s dad and sister.

The performance was good (but not great). I think we were expecting more singing and dancing (It was a musical) and less dialogue. The second half of the play was a lot better than the first half with more dancing.

Unfortunately our friends missed this part as she was worried about their kid left alone with the babysitter (that is kinda the point of getting a babysitter) and left during the intermission.

At the end they got everyone in the audience up from their chairs for the famous "Fame" song.

Kim and I however had a good night out…and she looked smashing!

20. October 2010 11:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Self Portrait

20. October 2010 11:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Lately I have been playing around with Photoshop a lot more going through different tutorials.

Main purpose is to enable me to manipulate photos and add a different dimension to these photos. I have especially been trying to create some interesting profile photos that I can use of facebook and the like.

The portraits don't necessarily mean anything...mainly created them to see if I could do something out of the ordinary.The plan is to see if I can make a series Earth - Water - Fire - Air following the four basic elements.

It was really hard to get the starting photo right in my studio. It is almost impossible to do a photo of one-self and have it in focus...eventually Kim had to step in a help me (which I am very grateful for). In total it took me about 2-3 hours from start (taking the photo) to the finished result.

Portrait

18. October 2010 09:19
by Rene Pallesen
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Maroubra

18. October 2010 09:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Yesterday we went to the beach to have a coffee with a couple of friends. While Kim was catching up on all the gossip I went out to see if I could get some good photos of the surfers (The surf was pretty good that day).

18. October 2010 09:02
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Where to...Daddy???

18. October 2010 09:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the weekend I had a bit of fun with Aiden. I bought a world map on email just so that I could take the following photos of him...

And this last photo I call "Is this where you grew up daddy??"

He is now 4 months old and still doesn't like being on his belly...so I had to be pretty quick with the setup.

18. October 2010 08:46
by Rene Pallesen
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Family Portaits

18. October 2010 08:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Sunday night Kim and I was looking after Ethan and Kayla while Chong and KC went out for dinner.

Kims dad and Dylan popped over for a couple of hours (Kims dad wanted to see Aiden ;-)) and after dinner and after Aiden was asleep I set up the studio to take some portraits of the kids. Main purpose was to experiment a little to improve my photography skills...especially my study of shadows (It is easy to light, but harder to create meaningful shadows).

Lately I have been doing more photography using all my flashes with wireless triggers to get interesting angles and effects. A couple of days ago I bought a couple of pieces of fabric in different colours (blue and red) to use as backgrounds and the following photos are a result of Sunday nights photoshoot.

I used one flash camera right in a 60*60 softbox, Hair light behind camera left snooted. In retrospect I should have taken my 3rd flash and used this to light the coloured backdrops to create better seperation...the highlights above are done in Post processing.

27. September 2010 12:21
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Fire Devil fun

27. September 2010 12:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I had a bit of fun on the weekend and spent a little time using photoshop doing something different for a self portrait. Just a bit of fun for a Facebook profile photo.

It took me about 5 minutes to take the photo and about 25-45 in photoshop to modify the image.

After taking the image I modified the background, de-saturated the colours, saturated the green colours, added the cat-eye contact lenses and extended the canine teeth slightly...done! Not perfect, but good enough for what I wanted to try and accomplish.

19. September 2010 10:31
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Surf's-up at Maroubra

19. September 2010 10:31 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This week there was a big low pressure system of the coast of Tasmania resulting in 18 meter waves there. It was predicted that some of this swell would hit Sydney this weekend resulting in 3-4 meter waves on south facing beaches. This Saturday morning I went down to Maroubra to have a look...The waves weren't as big as I had expected, but there were lots of surfers there and I did manage to take a couple of reasonable photos (I may try again tomorrow).

I am sure that there were a lot of professional/semi professional surfers out there, but unfortunately I would not be able to recognise anyone. Some of the photos I took with my 28-200mm lens which is super sharp. I also took some with an old 500mm mirror lens...it is reasonable ok...but almost impossible to keep in focus.

10. September 2010 11:05
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Aiden Looks Like.....

10. September 2010 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Some people have said that Aiden looks like me (mostly) and some says that he looks more like Kim.

Here is a photo of Kim and I with Aiden as well as my mum holding me after I was born (I think):

I REST MY CASE!!!!!

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21. December 2020 13:03
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School award

21. December 2020 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is not often gets an award from school, so he is super proud when he gets a little encouragement.

16. September 2020 16:05
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Pool and Beach Photoshoot

16. September 2020 16:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Boracay I did another shoot with some beautiful models. It was a fun shoot on the beautiful beach and at the hotel pool.

26. July 2020 10:07
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Gold Coast 2020

26. July 2020 10:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Early in the year we made an extended weekend trip to the Gold Coast in Queensland. Main attraction here was for the boys to visit Movieworld and Seaworld.

19. July 2020 13:07
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Indoor boudoir with Kateriina

19. July 2020 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

These photo are from a workshop I did with Kateriina as a model.

It was mainly studio with fixed (hot) lights instead of strobes which I am more used to.

Advantage of the fixed lights in a workshop setting is that it is easier to see what the light is like before taking the photo as well as having multiple photographers shooting at the same time.

21. June 2020 17:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Aidens 10th Birthday

21. June 2020 17:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aidens birthday was during the covid lock down.

Fortunately we were still allowed to have a couple of his school friends over for a little celebration (his school was still open anyhow).

We decided to have it in the garden with a fire pit with roasted marshmellows, sparklers followed by cake.

5. March 2020 20:03
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Shooting - 800m range

5. March 2020 20:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Recently I had the chance to visit the shooting range at Malabar headland with a group of friends.

I used to do a lot of shooting in my younger days, so I was curious to see if I still had it in me.

On this day we were shooting on the 800 meter range (which is a very long distance) with 7.62 NATO rounds.

The distance means that you cannot see where you hit, so they have an electronic readout next to the shooter. The two circles in the middle are about 25cm in diameter at the far end.

Below is the group of shots from my round.

This photo gives a better idea of the distance we were shooting at (It was also a very windy day)

Apparently I shot the best round of the day including the regulars...

Conclusion is that, yes, still got it and I may pick it up as a regular activity some time in the future.

20. October 2019 19:10
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Boracay Phillipines

20. October 2019 19:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

With Kim having a few weeks gap between jobs and badly needing a break she wanted to go somewhere relaxing and where the water and weather would be warm.

After a bit of research we settled on a week to the Phillipines to an island called Boracay.

This is a small island with the most beautiful beach we have seen anywhere outside of Bora Bora (interesting that both have the name 'Bora').

The boys (and adults) managed to get a mighty sunburn already on the first day.

The island also has the most amazing sunsets at the beach.

Also lots of activity on the beach in the evenings whereas during the day is is mostly empty.

We stayed in a large resort built around a golf course. It had seven swimming pools and we spend a lot of time here relaxing with the boys and sipping cocktails.

It was really nice in the evenings to sit in a bar listening to cruisy music. Most of the restaurants and bars would have live entertainers on in the evenings.

One day we went on a snorkeling trip around the island. The boys are well accustomed to snorkeling now and love it. Unfortunately I didn't bring an underwater housing on the trip, but I can say that the coral reef looks to be in a good shape although a lot of the larger schools of fish and large predatory fish seems to be scarce.

We also did a day trip to the main island where we went through one of the local caves.

The cave was full of little bats and also had other creatures that were attracted to the bats and insects such as a snake and spiders I've never seen before.

We even spotted a large hermit crab (size of a hand).

We also went to a local river where there was waterfalls and also rafts for the boys to have a play with.

The food in general was pretty good although we only tried a couple of local dishes (Phillipines is not famous for its food). Especially some of the seafood was really nice.

The way we got around the island was on these small tricycles. There are two types, the old ones pulled by a small moterbike and then the new ones which are all electric. The government wants to have all the old ones off the roads by 2024 which is very sensible both environmentally and economically as even the locals say that they make more money on the new ones.

The main road however is horrendous. In late 2018 the island was closed for 6 months to any visitors due to them sorting out a lot of issues with the sewage system. This means that they have dug up the entire road to install large pipes along with a road widening. A lot of this was still ongoing with the main road being full of holes, but given that it is such a small place it was alright to still get around.

10. October 2019 20:10
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Karate

10. October 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year the boys started doing Karate.

It was something that I've always wanted do do with them, so we looked around for a place where initially they could join some kids classes and then along the way I'd join as well.

Initially they got their red and white stripe belts (automatically)

And then later they went up for grading to get their Red belts.

They love training with some of the equipment that we have at home for it.

Late in the year I joined as well once the sensei established some adult classes and I have now after 20 years (I did a bit of karate back in 1998) finally received my Red belt.

Even Kim has taken a couple of classes - maybe she will even grade on of these days.

1. October 2019 20:10
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Aiden Holy Communion

1. October 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden as part of his school had to do his holy communion.

He looked very handsome in his little suit.

10. September 2019 21:10
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Canoeing with family at Royal national Park

10. September 2019 21:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One weekend we went to the Royal National Park (half an hour south) to go canoeing with the Family.

It was a fun day out and fortunately we can still fit the boys into a single canoe unlike Chong who had to get a rowing boat for his family - they are a lot harder work.

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2. April 2019 13:10
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Japan - Onsen Osaka

2. April 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

While in Japan we had to try a traditional Japanese bathhouse. We found a small one in the suburbs of Osaka that had good reviews and was also suited for the boys.

As most of the bath houses men and women are in different sections, so I took the boys with me which was a fun experience for them.

The bath house had a section that was full of yellow rubber ducks, and the boys spent a fair amount of time playing with them.

It also had a lot of other pools that varied from really hot to freezing cold pools as well a various mineral baths with water pumped up from deep underground.

It is difficult to describe the feeling, but both Kim and I felt amazing afterwards. No photos allowed inside, so the outside and the poster at the local trans station will have to do.

2. April 2019 13:10
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Japan - Universal Studios Osaka

2. April 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Osaka we went to the Universal Studios theme park. It was just before Halloween, so everywhere in the park people were dressed up in 'scary' costumes.

After dark the park put on the most amazing zombie show with hundreds of actors and dancers dressed up as zombies - No One celebrates Halloween like the Japanese - amazing!!!!

1. April 2019 20:10
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Japan - Nara

1. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Nara is an area a couple of hours outside Kyoto that is full of temples and deer roaming the streets.

It has a massive temple with one of the pillars with a hole in it. Apparently if you can squeeze through then you are enlightened.

The deers are good fun although Kim and and boys took a while to get used to them.

1. April 2019 18:10
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Japan - Nijo-jo Castle Kyoto

1. April 2019 18:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This castle is close to the centre of the city. It is quite big and lit up at night. Out hotel was just around the corner so we passed it almost every day.

We didn't go inside it as there were too many other things to see.

1. April 2019 18:10
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Japan - Other Kyoto temples

1. April 2019 18:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

There are lots of temples in Kyoto. This is mainly because the city wasn't bombed during the second world war.

For historical reasons they are mostly outside the city centre in the hills - apparently they were banned from the city centre long time ago due to the monks growing influence.

1. April 2019 13:10
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Japan - Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) Kyoto

1. April 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The golden pavillion in Kyoto is one of the most iconic sights in Kyoto. It is a small zen temple surrounded by a beautifully manicured landscape.

It is however very touristy with large tour buses and large crowds, but still worth the visit.

1. April 2019 09:10
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Japan - Asiyama at Kyoto

1. April 2019 09:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Asiyama is on the outskirts of Kyoto and this is where people go to see the Bamboo forest but there is also lots of other things to see in the area such as monkeys and more traditional sights such as temples.

The bamboo forest itself is very crowded and the foot paths are fenced in and to be honest there are so many bamboo forests in Japan in the land districts that it is hard to see why this particular forest is so special.

It is lovely to see people in traditional kimono's being transported in rickshaws.

From the place where there are monkeys, there is also a view of all of Kyoto.

1. April 2019 09:10
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Japan - Gion District in Kyoto

1. April 2019 09:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The Gion district in Kyoto is the traditional Geisha district and one of the very few places in Japan where it is still possible to spot Geishas and see them perform.

It is a lovely little district with all its narrow lanes and old traditional wooden buildings.

We went there a late afternoon and were lucky enough to see a couple of Geishas heading out to perform.

Later in the evening we went to a performance where they both had Geishas perform as well as some traditional Japanese theatre, comedy and tea ceremony.

28. March 2019 13:03
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Kanasawa Castle - Japan

28. March 2019 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

28. March 2019 13:03
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Kanasawa Geisha District - Japan

28. March 2019 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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24. December 2022 17:12
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Christmas Photo 2022

24. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As per tradition we again did a family Christmas photo this year.

We were running out of time, so it was a bit rushed getting it done.

We also tried to make one with a Karate theme. It is a nice photo, it just wasn't christmassy enough.

23. December 2022 17:12
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Christmas Show - State Theatre

23. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim had booked a Christmas show in the State Theatre. It was an okay show, but as she said, it was more for the 'dads' than for the kids due to the costumes.

20. December 2022 17:12
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Awards 2022

20. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of the awards received by Aiden and Lucas

18. December 2022 17:12
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Lucas Cooking

18. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We have been trying to encourage Aiden and Lucas to once in a while do the cooking. This is so that they know how to cook when they become older and adults.

Lucas is really loving it and Aiden doesn't really have the patience.

17. December 2022 18:12
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Karate - Black Belt

17. December 2022 18:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2022 was also the year where I finally got my Black belt in Karate (Sho-Dan - first belt).

I had to fly up to Brisbane for the grading/exam with the head of the Australian organisation.

17. December 2022 17:12
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Aidens Confirmation and Graduation from Primary school

17. December 2022 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year Aiden was in the last year of primary school (year 6). This means that this was the year of his confirmation and also his graduation before he next year starts in high school.