7. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tribes - Laos 7. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetThe tribes of Laos still exist although it is no longer as noticeable. They no longer wear their traShareThe tribes of Laos still exist although it is no longer as noticeable. They no longer wear their traditional costumes but it is possible to glimpse the occasional traditional head wear or dress in one of the shops.It is especially sad to see the Hmong tribal wear gone as worn below by Mavis and Kim. The Hmong traditionally lived in the mountains. The government has forced them down into the lowlands where they can be controlled and 'integrated' into the the rest of Laos.
6. January 2018 20:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vang Vieng Countryside - Laos 6. January 2018 20:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetOn the first day in Vang Vieng we hired a local guide to take us through the country side and some oShareOn the first day in Vang Vieng we hired a local guide to take us through the country side and some of the villages around Vang Vieng. Hiking through the countryside in Laos is partly magical and at the same time an eye opener. It is not until you get into the country side that you get a glimse of the real Laos and its people, the way of living and their beliefs.Walking into the first village a group of boys came walking towards us. One of the kids was holding his head with blood dripping down his face. The other boys were taking him home to his parents. I couldn't help but notice that there was a green substance smeared across the wound and asked our guide is he knew what it was. He went over to some bushes and plucked a couple of leaves and said that if you crush them then they will help stop the bleeding. This is when you realise that a lot of the plants in the villages serve a purpose as natural herbal medicine or for eating.The village was a HMong village and at one of the houses we spotted the little girl above standing in a door opening with her grand mother. There are very few of the traditional bamboo shacks still standing and instead being replaced with brick buildings.A bit further up the road we heard a sound. Someone was hitting a gong and chanting. Thinking it might be a monk we went to investigate. The sound was coming from one of the local houses. At the back of the house the family was in the process of preparing food, but we couldn't see where the sound was coming from. Our guide asked them and was told that they had a newborn (possibly sick) child and that the Shaman was in the house talking to the 'other world to' attract the good spirits and chase the evil spirits away.As we walked on we could see him through the opening of the door and I snapped the above photo which is one of my favourite photos of the trip.In the village people go about their normal life such as this woman removing lice from her daughters hair.As we walked on we had to walk through the local school. It happened to be recess and the kids in the smaller classes were outside playing. There was a small stand selling them lunches who also sold lollies, so Kim got the idea to spoil the kids with lollies - but also turned out to be a great opportunity for our kids to interact and see what a classroom in Laos looks like.The area is still very un-developed. Although there seems to be electricity, this is mainly used for lighting. Cooking is still done by collecting wood and done on wood fired stoves and people still wash their clothes in the rivers and streams.Although there are still a number of water buffaloes these are mainly used for eating along with any other non-human living animal - such as pigs, dogs, birds etc.It was very healthy for the boys to see where their food 'potentially' comes from and understand that this is part of life.The area is full of rice paddies, but these are now worked with mechanical tools rather than buffaloes.The government has built bridges across the large river to allow access to the villages.But the smaller streams have bamboo bridges - in this case wide enough to drive a motorbike across, others just a single bamboo to allow a person walk across.At the far village (Lao and not Hmong) there was a limestone cliff with a small cave in it. This was called elephant cave and inside there was a small shrine along with some bizarre images.The whole area is spectacular - I can only imagine what it would be like during rice planting season - yes it would be muddy but also stunningly beautiful.During this whole hike we saw no other travelers. Other than at the cave we didn't get a sense that there frequently came any groups through and I think the feedback from all of us was that this was one of the highlights of the trip - no adrenaline required.
5. January 2018 16:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vang Vieng - Laos 5. January 2018 16:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetVang Vieng is an interesting tourism destination in Laos that has undergone several iterations of reShareVang Vieng is an interesting tourism destination in Laos that has undergone several iterations of re-inventing itself.When I first visited for an overnight stopover it was a sleepy little town with maybe a handful of backpackers going tubing (more on that later). I also remember the deserted airport runway from the 'secret war' going through the sleepy little village (Lima site 6) and the stunning mountain scenery in the background. Other than that there wasn't much there.Ten years later my mum and dad visited the place and told me stories how the place had transformed. It had grown and was full of drunk backpackers with loud rave music and parties throughout the night. During the day they were floating down the river in car tubes again with beers and drinks in their hands.Then again about 5 years ago, Laos appeared in the Australian news media with stories of young backpackers breaking their necks doing somersaults off the tree branches on the river and lagoons and hitting the rocks. Stories of high highly available drugs were also emerged.The Lao government stepped in and closed the majority of the bars along the river, stopped the parties and the drugs and implemented a number of other safety restrictions. It worked, the parties stopped and the young party seeking backpackers fled.A new crowd has now moved in - this is bus loads of adrenaline seeking Koreans. They go there to go kayaking, zip lining, tubing, buggy riding etc. They eat at the Korean restaurants and stay at the same hotels, but otherwise mostly keep to themselves. This also means that some of the same old sleepy feeling has returned to this town. It also meant that is was easy (or just plain luck from our side) to avoid the tourists.The airstrip is still there, but I recon most visitors would walk across it and not notice and definitely wouldn't know the history behind the secret war in Laos, let alone the American involvement and the little airstrips around the place. It is a fascinating story and has very much shaped Laos into what it is today.The area is just absolutely stunning with steep limestone cliffs and rice paddies. I could easily have spent more time there taking photos in the surrounding area.
3. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Pha That Luang - Laos 3. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetA must see in Vientiane is Pha That Luang - It is on every bank note in Laos and they are very proudShareA must see in Vientiane is Pha That Luang - It is on every bank note in Laos and they are very proud of it.Unlike Buddha Park it is surprisingly quiet when it comes to tourists. The majority of people visiting seems to be either Laos or Thai people offering a prayer. The correct way here is to get the insense and flowers and then walk clockwise around the Stuba on the inside of the covered corridor (mostly to keep out of the sun I assume).Although it is not particularly old (The original 1st century structure was mostly destroyed and has undergone a number of more recent restorations), it is stunningly beautiful and impressive in size.For me to get some of the panorama photos here with the selection of lenses I'd brought along I had to take multiple photos that I then had to stitch together.Outside there is a temple that is equally interesting, although nothing compared to further north in Luang Prabang.There are also street vendors selling cage birds that are supposed to bring good luck and prayers to anyone releasing them.
2. January 2018 10:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Buddha Park - Laos 2. January 2018 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetOne of the sights we wanted to visit was Buddha Park outside Vientiane (close to the border crossingShareOne of the sights we wanted to visit was Buddha Park outside Vientiane (close to the border crossing back into Thailand).Trying to figure out the most comfortable way to get there we settled on taking the local bus. There aren't any taxis as such in Vientiane and we weren't keen taking a tuk-tuk for 30 kilometers. Most of the tuk-tuks are in an extremely poor shape with failing brakes, wobbling wheels and thick smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes. They are perfectly fine for shorter trips inside the city (such as hotel to bus station), but not recommended for longer trips.The bus turned out to be easy to find and we were early enough to all get a seat. The bus was later packed with passengers going to Thailand and it would have been tough to stand up for the one hour bus ride.The bus is also really convenient in that it stops right outside Buddha Park which is the last stop before the bus turns around and heads back to Vientiane. Buddha Park itself was apparently established by a Monk building the statues for religious purposes as education of his religious beliefs. It is actually a nice little area and quite interesting with lots of (to us) weird statues showing bizarre things.The most obvious is the massive 'pumpkin' at the entrance that you can climb. Each level inside the the sculpture itself represents hell, earth and sky.The entrance is a head with a clock above it - meaning swallowed up by time?There is also a massive reclining buddha.And my favourite was the large centre sculpture carrying the body of a woman...no idea what this is supposed to represent.
2. January 2018 09:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Vientiane - Laos 2. January 2018 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetVientiane is no longer the sleepy capital city it used to be. It is hustling and bustling with peoplShareVientiane is no longer the sleepy capital city it used to be. It is hustling and bustling with people, cars, motorbikes and shops everywhere.The once neglected colonial buildings have all been renovated and the red dust flying everywhere is long gone as the roads have been paved. In the outskirts of the city high-rise office towers have started shooting up and I think that given another decade this city will look like any other East Asian capital. The most striking difference was the banks of the Mekong River. Last time I was there it was really just a dirty path and following it north long enough there would be a string of wooden shacks with local restaurants that would serve some beautiful local dishes, fish and other seafood. The water then would come right up to the bank and the boats could pull up and during the day the local kids would jump from the trees and swim in the river. The old path has been replaced by a modern walk way (which actually is really nice) and the shacks have been replaced by some bars closer to the centre catering more for a western clientel - still with some nice seafood on the menu. The water of the Mekon has receeded and there is now a massive sand bank moving the river 2-300 meter back from the city.Although Vientiane doesn't have a massive amount of things to see, it is definitely worth a visit. The Wats are beautiful and the vertical runway (local Arc de Triumpe - called so because they used cement intended for building an airport) is worth the climb to get a view of the city (and the main road which used to be the only paved road). There is certainly plenty to do for a couple of days.About 100 meters from the Arc down a side street we had what was probably the best noodle soup of the whole trip. It was just a local mum, dad and grandma run place and it met the critia of being busy having locals eating there which means that it is likely that the food is good and relative fresh.Even with it being in the middle of the city there was no access to gas or running water, so everything was cooked over wood fired stoves with the broth for the soups likely cooking overnight and the rest cooked fresh on the spot.On the first afternoon we were sitting in a local coffee place and I started speaking to the girl working there. I asked her for local places to eat great authentic Lao food - not touristy. She recommended a place up neat That Dam (the black stuba) called Soukvinam and she showed me some photos. It looked more like a fine dining place, but the food looked delicious so we decided to give it a go. It was a quiet place with a nice ambience. We were sitting outside in the courtyard which was ideal with the kids. We ordered a lot of food sticking to specialties we had never tried before such as stuffed frogs, fermented fish eggs etc. and it was all really nice.By Lao standards it probably wasn't cheap, but for the whole group of us the entire meal ended up costing approximately $100 AUD. On that 'note' it is easy to be an instant millionaire as a foreigner in Laos - change $150 Australian dollars you are there.We also celebrated New Years Even in Vientiane which was fairly low key with a couple of late night drinks.
1. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Returning to Laos 1. January 2018 21:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetReturning to Laos ShareThis year our holiday was going to a country in South East Asia called to the Laos with the boys and some close friends. I went there almost 20 years ago. I had just migrated to Australia and was going on my first holiday. Laos which had only just been opened up by the communist regime, was very much undeveloped after two decades of isolation and happened to be one of the first places I visited in Asia and it was a country that I immediately fell in love with. It wasn’t the things to see and do in the country that I fell in love with - but the people. I loved the smiles, how welcoming everyone was, and I especially loved the joy of the dirty kids playing in the streets. Everyone was living at very simple lifestyle and yet everyone had what they needed and were happy. Back then I had no firm plans, but made them up as I went along. I traveled light, caught local transport, I met locals and other travelers along the way on a budget of less than $10/day, and still remember the sticky rice sold to passengers when passing through towns. I had some incredible experiences in an amazing country. I managed to have a full busload full of locals break down laughing from me trying to read up sentences from my little pocket Lao phrase book. Through this I was invited to visit families and join their local celebrations through festive events. The only local I met up in Northern Laos who could English was a girl working for an NGO. She invited me to join her visits to remote local villages where we had to cross the rivers on bamboo rafts to get to them and experienced the local dragon boat racing. Since this distant time I had heard and lots about the country from other travelers including my Mum and Dad who visited the country ten years ago. I heard how the country had changed and how mass tourism had ruined the experience. I had heard about the young backpacker rave parties, the drugs and adrenaline junkies in Vang Vieng. I heard about the modernization, cars and traffic in Vientiane. Going back with family and friends I was worried that they wouldn’t see the country that I saw so many years ago. There isn’t a lot of historical sites to see in Laos other than in Luang Prabang where there are lots of Temples due to many wars destroying major parts of the country. More worried was I that I would be disappointed by the country and the people I saw back then being no more. When we got there it turned out that, yes, the country has changed a lot. Lots of roads have been paved, there are lots of cars everywhere, the old colonial buildings have been renovated and all the houses are now built in brick and mortar instead of being wooden bamboo shacks. People are on mobile phones, the kids are watching youtube videos, every hotel has wifi, you can buy everything, and major investments are flowing in from neighboring Thailand, China and Vietnam. There are a lot more tourists in the country, especially in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, but they are a different type of tourists than the ones I was dreading.The backpackers have been replaced with mainly adrenalin loving Korean tourists or wealthier middle-aged Europeans and the era of party fueled backpacker tourism is largely gone. And most importantly getting outside the towns, the Laos I loved back then still very much exists if you go look for it. The modern tourists are surprisingly easy to avoid. They all stay in the same places and visit the same top ten sites or visit the same restaurants that Tripadvisor recommended they go to. They go back home and tell everyone that they have experienced Laos, not knowing that their comfort has eluded them of the real magic of Laos. The Lao people everywhere are still very loving, smiling and friendly, there are dirty kids, chickens, cows, dogs and cats roaming the streets everywhere and the remnants of the old tribes that I saw back then still exists through their ancient traditions although the traditional costumes and houses are largely gone now due to government policies. Had we gone even further afield that we did on this trip, I’m convinced that little has changed in those villages I once visited two decades ago. Prior to going I was scared what I would find there, but now I feel blessed that my family and friends have experienced some of the glimpses of ‘my’ Laos together with me…Laos still has a big place in my heart.
9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Christmas 2016 - family photos 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetHere are some more photos from Christmas 2016ShareHere are some more photos from Christmas 2016
9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims old photos 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetKims dad has some old photos hanging of Kim when she was little.This is Kims mum when she was young.ShareKims dad has some old photos hanging of Kim when she was little.This is Kims mum when she was young.This is Kims dad when he was young
9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Malabar headland 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetMalabar headland is now open to the public. We have been there a few time now taking the kids walkinShareMalabar headland is now open to the public. We have been there a few time now taking the kids walking.Here are some photos from various walks. Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 26. October 2002 11:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Memories of Claus . . . 26. October 2002 11:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy memories of clausShareBefore Claus became ill, he was a rising star in the world of tennis. He was featured in the local newspaper as Amtsmester - he came first in the local "Amst" - level similar to state-level.Claus loved being out in the wind and the sun. He was also prone to seasickness.Claus and my family came to visit me in Australia in 1999. I think he liked it here - warmer winters and friendly people. I really like the top middle photo, of Claus eating oysters. He looked very happy. They did a lot of sightseeing here, and even visited my apartment on Narrabeen beach.The following are the last photos that were taken of Claus, on one of our sailing trips. 26. October 2002 11:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Dear Big Brother... 26. October 2002 11:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy dear big brotherShareMy brother had schizophrenia, and he passed away not long after his 33rd birthday. I love my brother, and I regret not telling him this. My girlfriend tells me that Claus knew I loved him. I am not convinced of this, so I wrote him a letter, in the hope that he will read this, wherever he is. There is so much I wanted to say to him. I want to remember him when he was not sick, when he was happy, and when I was last in Denmark in June 2002. I want to remember him, as you will see him in these photos. 26. October 2002 11:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Always Part of My Family . . . 26. October 2002 11:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetalways part of my familyShare 26. October 2002 10:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Big Brother 26. October 2002 10:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy big brotherShareMy Big Brother . . .Created: 8 Oct 2002 Last Updated: 24 Oct 2002 10. June 2002 11:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Singapore 10. June 2002 11:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetsingaporeShareOn the way back from Denmark we made a stopover in Singapore to have a look as well as do some shopping. Here a photo from Little India in Singapore. 4. June 2002 11:36 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My mums birthday 4. June 2002 11:36 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy mums birthdayShareWe surprised my Mum by turning up in Denmark before her 60th Birthday. She had a big party where a lot of her friends and family turned up. While we were there we also got to visit some of my friends and family as well as do a bit of Sightseeing in Copenhagen and Legoland. Click here to see more photos from: Mums 60th Birthday/Slideshow 29. March 2002 02:52 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Drive in Australia 29. March 2002 02:52 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdrive in australiaShare Over the Christmas holidays we went for a drive through some of the most scenic parts of Australia. First we drive down to Melbourne and then along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. The sunsets were spectacular. We then continued up to the Flinders Ranges and along the way had a look at cave paintings. In Broken hill we went down into the old Daydream silvermine. We also had a look at some of the Desert Sculptures Along the way we saw some Australian Wildlife. Here a wombat. And here a possum. Lots of Koalas And here one very angry Lizard. And of course some Emus. We were camping along the way. Click here to see more photos from Driving in Australia / Slideshow 27. March 2002 11:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Whale Watching 27. March 2002 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwhale watchingShareWe went with Donna and Sandra up to Port Stephens to go Whale watching. It was a great day (very cold) and we saw lots of whales. Click here to see more photos from: Whale Watching/Slideshow 27. March 2002 11:03 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing in New Zealand 27. March 2002 11:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetclimbing in new zealandShareI went climbing with Andy in New Zealand. We flew onto the glacier at Pioneer hut with a skiplane. We attempted a couple of peaks in the area but were mainly unsuccessful due to sloshy conditions and late starts. Andy eventually insisted going down after taking a bit of a slide after taking a bit of a slide. We did however get a little bit of climbing done. Click here to see more photos from: Climbing in New Zealand/Slideshow 16. September 2001 11:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Friends in Denmark . . . 16. September 2001 11:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy friends in denmarkShareBelieve it or not, I still have quite a few friends in Denmark. I would like to put photos of all of them here - unfortunately I do not have photos of all of them. If you are one of my friends and your photo is not on this page then please do not despair - I still consider you a friend, and maybe, the next time I go to Denmark, I shall have photos of you all! Here is one of my best friends in Denmark. This photo was taken quite a while ago, before I came to Australia. Kenneth is now living here in Sydney, on the beautiful Manly beach - only about a half hour away from me. Kenneth came to stay with me a few months ago. He was trying out a new job, and actually came back! He is going to give Australia a go, to see if he likes it like I do. No more biting winters, lots of warmth and sunshine, beautiful mountains and bush to explore... and I think he has discovered, there are lots of friends to make - especially the pretty fun-going ones with two legs and a skirt! *smile* He is actually a pretty good cook. Whist he stayed in my apartment for a couple of months, he cooked pot roast with gorgonzola sauce, and also gave a wonderful 3-course dinner for a small group of friends here. About two years after I arrived in Australia, I returned to Denmark for a visit. On the day I arrived in Denmark, he threw together a party for me! Here is Ester, another one of my friends. She is a fashion designer and paints some wonderful paintings. Naturally at parties, there was quite a large amount of beer being consumed (how can you not?? - not possible to have a party otherwise in Denmark. It was nice to taste one of the annual Christmas beers from Tuborg. Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001 << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...85868788899091929394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley 2010 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley 2010Share This long Anzac weekend we drove up to Hunter Valley with a couple of friends. Meeting up there we planned what wineries we were going to. Sasha had a couple in mind which was perfect as they were some Kim and I had never been been to before. The first place we stopped was Petersons...Joanne wanted to pick up some pink bubbly stuff (pink champagne). They have some wines there without preservatives which are really nice. On the way from one of the other places we drove past a new place called Noonji...sounded japanese and it was a new one, so we had to have a look at what they were doing. They had just opened up for tasting recently and as soon as we walked through the door we could tell that this husband and wife were doing things differently. We were welcomed and were told that this was table tasting, so we all sat down at the table. This was really good since it enabled us to taste five different vintages simultaneously (In other places you taste one vintage at a time). The prices were reasonable and they had a pretty good discount if you bought a case, so Kim and I ended up buying two cases of wine from here. After this we did some more sightseeing and tasting before we drove back to sydney. On the way back we stopped at a petrol station and someone has this cool car parked there. 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wingello 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetwingelloShare On Anzac day I went climbing with Andy and Dan at a new place called Wingello that we'd never been to before. Wingello is about two hours south of sydney towards Canberra. It is mostly sports climbing on ring bolts. This means that instead of placing protection you can clip pre-placed bolts. My finger is still injured so I am in reality unable to climb (pst...I did clean a climb on top rope but dont tell anyone). This meant that I spent most of the day belaying the others and taking some photos. On one of the easier scrambles I got to the top so that I could take some photos from the top. It is the first time I have tried to really try and take photos from the top and it was difficult. A lot of the photos were slightly blurred because it was hard to keep the lens steady in the available light when zooming in). Here are some of the photos from this climb that did turn out alright. Also being up high means that I could provide Dan with some instructions cleaning the anchor system. For his first try it wasn't pretty and he got the ropes in a big tangle. Eventually we got it sorted so that he could get down safely....but more practice is needed. After this we went further along the wall to so some easy/moderate climbs (16/17s). One one of the climbs Andy stuck his hand into a hole with a snake skin in it...this is his second snake incident. After this he refused to even get close to the hole (fair enough). He is now on the leader board 2:1...my incident was a brown snake crawling across my feet while belaying him years ago. Dan managed to also lead this climb which he was absolutely stoked about. We finished the climb just before the sun set and we managed to get out before just in time. The climb out was interesting at the easiest route is through this narrow and steep gully with fixed ropes and ladders (The fact that Dan was carrying his makeup bag and a 5 litre bottle of water didn't make it easier). 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My nephews Porche Carrera GT 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy nephews porche carrera gtShare Today I borrowed a couple of Toy cars from my nephew Ethan. I had to promise that I'd bring them back tomorrow. I wanted to have a play with using a single bare flash right above the car as a softbox. Because the flash is hanging right above the car just outside view) it has been dialed all the way back to 1/128th power (shooting at f/32, iso 200 @ 1/250) or I'd use detail. On the side just outside view I put a piece of white paper to reflect a little light onto the side of the car. The reflective surface is a glass chopping board from the kitchen. After a while I started also using a flash on the background using different gels. I found that orange and blue gels were the nicest. The Blue as a good contrast to the yello car. With the orange gel I could create a sunset type light by letting the light fall off quickly on the wall. The background if a white wall (except for the textured background which is a black backdrop). None of the photos below have had any photoshopping done to them (otherwise I would have removed those scratches on the windshield). 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Flash balancing fun 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetflash balancing exerciseShareKim was kind enough to let me take some photos of her. I have been studying some flash photography videos and articles and wanted to have a play with multiple flashes around dusk. The trick is to balance the ambient light with the light filled from the flash...especially tricky as the light constantly changes during the last 30 minutes of the day.So far I only have two wireless flash triggers to was was somewhat limited (ideally I would like to have three triggers).It was really good to be able to do some experimenting. For these photos I used one flash 45 degrees to the back and another 45 degrees in front. On the back I am using a CTO gel. In the beginning I was using one on the front one as well, but when I got home to look at the photos I could see that it was too warm (Lesson learnt that I should use the warm gels on the back). On the photos here there is no gel on the front flash only on the back.I would have liked to stay just a bit longer to play, but kim was getting a bit cold. With a more time I would have been able to enhance some of the zoom effects as seen in this photo:Definitely a trick I'll be using in the future...makes for some cool effects. At lot of the photos are actually quite nice, but the two above are my preferred ones. 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 31, not long to go 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 31 not long to goShareIt is now week 31, so only 9-10 weeks until baby is due to arrive.Kim is getting a fair bit bigger and the baby is now very active. So far things looks good although Kim is worried that the boy will be a shortie like mummy. 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water fun 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater funShare I read this article about how to take water photos in an easy way. The photos is taken using a bare flash firing onto a white background at 1/8th power. The blue colour is because I (on purpose) changed the white balance of the camera to Tungsten. I only had a shallow painting tray at my disposal. This paint residue in the bottom of the tray creates the pattern in the photo. I also couldn't get a nice formed drop pattern forming due to the drops hitting the bottom of the shallow tray unevenly. Lessons for next time: Use a deeper tray. Make it black so that no other colours penetrate and make dure the water can reach the edge of the tray. Next time I try I will use one of the large scanpans we have...I think it will be better suited. 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tasmania - Easter 2010 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettasmania easter 2010ShareDuring the Easter Break Kim and I made a trip to Tasmania. This was to be our last holiday together before the baby arrives. Tasmania is an island south of Australia about 1.5 times larger than Denmark. The east coast is lightly populated and the west coast is mainly national parks and forests. We had rented a car to make it easier for us to get around and the first place we headed to was Cradle Mountains national park. This is probably one of the most iconic places in Tasmania and every Australian has seen the pictures of the mountain itself. The drive there was full of contrast. There has always been of criticism of the lumber industries in Tasmania and when you see the methods they use to cut down trees then it is easy to see why. They don't do selective cutting, they instead pretty much bulldoze whole areas which then take many decades to recover. One of the days there we did a number of walks within the park and around the lakes. Kim is 7 months pregnant and did really well although walking a bit slower than normal. We also did some walks to some of the lookouts and waterfalls in the park. I did have some time to experiment with some photos along the way. I really wanted to see some of the wildlife in the park, but unfortunately most of the animals are nocturnal (only out at night). The park had a bus going through the park at night time costing $50 for the two of us. We spoke to the driver and he said that we would not be able to leave the bus at any time. I really wanted to be able to get off the bus at take some wildlife photos so we instead decided to drive our rental car through the park late at night. We wouldn't have the luxury of the nighttime lights and the local knowledge of where to spot certain animals but we thought that the bus would be staying on the same road as we did anyhow. It turned out to be a really good idea. We managed to spot lots of Possums, Wallaby's (a small Kangaroo) and Wombats. We even spotted Quolls and a Tasmanian Devil. May has later told me that the frog in the photo is a 'Southern Brown Tree Frog' and that she keeps one of them as a pet. Below is photos of the animals we spotted: (The closeup photos of the Tasmanian devil and the Quoll I've borrowed, but the rest are my own photos.) After this we drove to Freycinet national park on the east coast. Along the way we stopped at a few scenic spots and wineries. One of the places we stopped was a place called Devils Gullet. It would have been really spectacular had it not been for the dense fog. It was a fairly long drive getting there and I was pretty buggered by the time we arrived to the B&B after driving most of the day with just a few stops on the way to rest and take photos. The sun started to set and I rushed Kim down to the beach in from of the place we were staying to take some portraits using some creative lighting. She wasn't too keen as the wind was a bit cold and we missed the actual sunset by just a couple of minutes. I did however manage to take a couple of photos of her. In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant called 'The edge' very close to the B&B. This turned out to the be highlight in terms of meals during the trip. It was very nice. On the way to the restaurant we spotted a Tasmanian owl and afterwards we did a drive through the national park spotting more Quolls, Possums and Wallabies. The next day we decided to do a number of other walks. The first one of the day included climbing up to the top of this saddle between two mountain tops to get a magnificent view of Wineglass Bay. The climb itself was spectacular in itself as the mountains are formed by this pink coloured granite (I was looking for climbing routes, but most of the granite looked completely barren of any holds...some lunatic would probably come and prove otherwise). Along the trail we we spotted a baby Black snake, a couple of Lizards and birds. We also made a drive up to 'Friendly Beach' where we took a lot of photos. This beach was mostly deserted apart from a couple of walkers and surfers. At sunset we drove to Honeymoon bay to get some scenic shots using the colour of the setting sun against the pink granite as well as some normal sunset photos. In the evening we had a clear sky with lots of stars. Because of the light population of Tasmania there is not a lot of city lights to disturb the stars gazing. It has been years ago since I was able to lie down and just look at the stars to see if I could spot any satellites moving across the sky (this evening I spotted 2). I used the opportunity to after dinner drive back to Honeymoon bay to do some star trail photography. I left Kim in the car as she didn't want to make the walk down to the beach in the dark without a torch. I did take two photos down there using a 30 minute exposure (the maximum my camera allows & @f4.0). They turned out reasonable okay considering what camera they are taken with (Nikon D50). Next day it was back to Sydney. We left Freycinet at 8.30am in the morning and I was stressing that we wouldn't make it back to the airport in time...but we did! 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 25 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 25ShareIt is now week 25 and almost the third trimester. Kim is certainly getting a lot bigger these days but is still very active with swimming, yoga and walking (According to Kim baby is very active too). Both baby and mum are so far doing fine.They say that most of the growth is in the third trimester...she could be huge! We have finished painting the baby room and we have bought the most essential furniture such as a cot, a chest of drawers, car seats etc. It is now up to Kim to decorate the room so that it looks nice. 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Taste of Sydney 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettaste of sydneyShareToday Kim and I met up with Sasha and his wife to go to 'Taste of Sydney'. This is an annual event where the premier restaurants of sydney and food and wine producers showcase their food and wine.This year it was held in Centennial park which is the largest park in sydney which is pretty convenient for us.At the event they had what the call 'Chef's table'. This is where you can sit down with the chefs of some of the premier restaurants and they will tell you about their restaurants, their food and you can ask them questions. In the mean time they were serving us seafood, wine and cheese (I discovered a new cheese that I in particular really liked).They also had showcases where some of the chefs from some of sydney best restaurants show you how to cook different dishes. We went to one session where we saw Matt Moran from Aria prepare a lovely cured trout. This was cured like Gravad laks using salt, sugar, coreander and fennel and then cured a secod time using dijon mustard and dill. The different restaurants were also having some of their food for sale. Some of it was quite nice (I had a nice yellowfin tuna), but I don't think it was a proper representation of their food. It is difficult to prepare and cook in large quantities without access to proper kitchen facilities, so most of the food was more fancy fast food. 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments King Lear 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetking learShareLast weekend Kim and I went to see King Lear at the Sydney Opera House. Kim had managed to get cheap preview tickets on the third row from the stage which is pretty unheard of.The play wasn't anything fancy in terms of stage production, costumes or anything (Actually some of the actors were wearing fairly modern denim jeans).On the side of the stage they had positioned a drumkit and a girl was banging away all throughout the first half of the performance. I found this very distracting and annoying since I was already trying hard to concentrate on understanding the old Shakespearean English.During the second half they moved the drumkit off the stage, so I must say that I actually started to enjoy the play a lot more.Given that we got pretty cheap tickets I found the evening pretty good value, but I don't think I'd pay full price for this one. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...646566676869707172...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 30. July 2007 12:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Skiing Australia 2007 30. July 2007 12:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetskiing australia 2007Share This weekend it was my birthday and it also happened to be the ski peak season here in Australia. (click here for more photos) A group of us rented a house in Cooma not too far away from the ski fields and apart from a few mechanical problems with my car we had a blast of a time. On the Saturday we went to Perisher. The snow was perfect and a lot of the runs hadn't been groomed so it was still deep powder snow that we were skiing in. Kim, Luke and Karen took lessons in the morning and later in the afternoon I went for a couple of runs with Luke (Soeren didn't make it to the ski area that day). In the evening we were watching a video (I fell asleep 15 minutes into it), and we had birthday cake and wine/beer. The day after all of us went to Thredbo (which in my opinion is much better) and I was skiing with Soeren all day. The girls were having fun skiing down in the beginners area and Luke was skiing by himself higher on the mountain. We left Thredbo at around 3.30pm and arrived back home in Sydney at around 10.15pm....a long drive. I took a couple of videos of Soeren and myself skiing: Video of Rene Skiing #1 Video of Rene Skiing #2 Video of Soeren Skiing #1 Video of Soeren Skiing #2 Click here to see more photos from: Skiing in Australia/SlideShow 11. July 2007 04:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Denmark 2007 11. July 2007 04:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdenmark 2007ShareOk, it is not just in Holland that they steal with arms a legs. I am not proud to admit that the same seems to happen in Denmark (my birth country)...but more about that later. After Holland I flew a quick trip to Denmark. On the way there in Heathrow Airport I met up with Kim who had spend a couple of days in London with a couple of friends. I was really looking forward to introducing her to my parents. My flight arrived a bit late in London so we arrived to Copenhagen without my luggage which turned up the following day. All the time while in Denmark it was pouring with rain, but we did have one good day in Copenhagen where Kim got to see the sights Fredriksborg Slot, The Marble church, Amalienborg, City Square and City Hall, Stroeget, The little Mermaid, Runde Taarn, Tivoli and Gefion Springvandet. We had lunch at Kultorvet and here Kim got her handbag stolen by a very professional bag snatcher (Latin American or Eastern European looking, dark short hair, wears a dark green suit and will sit down at the table next to you and talk on his mobile. When he leaves he will take your bag). We also spent a couple of days at my grandmothers place where we we had a look at Koldinghus and Trapholt. Kim got to meet most of the family in Jutland (The family on my Dads side). My cousin had a child recently and the christening was taking place while we were visiting, so it gave us an excuse to visit my grandmother. On the way back from Jutland we visited my Uncle and Auntie Eli and Henning on their farm and also had a look at their windmill. One day we went also sailing up through Guldborgsund with my dad and we also went a quick trip to Germany one afternoon with the ferry. It was good to see my parents again, but I also realise that apart from them there is not much left for me in Denmark and I would never be able to live the same lifestyle in Denmark as I do in Sydney Australia. I took a number of videos while in Denmark and also a lot of photos. I can recommend that you click on the following links to see more from Denmark. Video of my Uncles Windmill #1 Video of my Uncles Windmill #2 Video of my Uncles Windmill #3 Video of Kim and my dad picking strawberries Video of sailing with my dad #1 Video of sailing with my dad #2 Video of sailing with my dad #3 Click here to see more photos from:Denmark/ Slideshow 22. June 2007 06:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Holland 2007 22. June 2007 06:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetholland 2007ShareAfter my stay in Athens Greece I am now in Vianen in Holland where our European office is. The purpose with my stay here is to do a bit or coordination and do some planning. Vianen is about 45 minutes drive south of Amsterdam not too far from Utrect. I am staying at the only hotel in Vianen which is located 3-4 kilometers from the office, but fortunately I have been able to borrow one of the company cars.Vianen really is in the middle of no-where. It is a sleepy little town with no major attractions.The hotel here is really weird. None of the floors meet and the numbering system of the rooms is all over the place. It is generally faster to get from one room in the hotel to another by always taking the lift to the ground floor, exit the hotel, enter it elsewhere and then take the lift up again...at least the ground floor is always on the same level.The room itself is nice enough. When I wake up in the morning i wake up looking at a cow paddock with a couple of horses wandering around...did I say that this is out in the sticks? People in holland steal with their arms and legs. Yesterday I asked to get an ironing board and an iron brought to my room.They told me that they could not do that (could be because of the mile long walk from the reception but I don't think so, because the room also don't have an alarm clock and the tv is bolted to the table) and they told me that they now had a special ironing room. The iron and ironing board was bolted with a big chain to the wall.The only positive thing about the hotel is that the breakfast is pretty nice (dinner isn't) and the internet is reasonably priced at 25 Euros for a week. Its is nice to catch up with colleagues although the schedule is pretty busy here. I interviewed a couple of people for the office here and we are going to give an offer to one of the guys.Also a couple of the restaurants in Vianen itself are fairly decent and the fact that I could borrow a car meant that I could get around a bit. 12. June 2007 07:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Greece 2007 12. June 2007 07:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetgreece 2007Share Here in mid June I am in Greece assisting one of our partners on a project involving our software. I arrived Sunday evening and started working Monday morning with the partner. One of my colleagues Karsten is also here and last night we went to this fantastic restaurant called moorings. It is the most fantastic setting right next to the sea, and the food was fantastic. My starter was goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto ham baked in the oven and then served on a bed of wild mushrooms. For mains I had Grober (a fish) and it was really nice. The servings were massive so no chance of leaving hungry. It was a pity that Kim wasn't there joining me...she would have loved the place. The whole dinner including a bottle of wine, pre-dinner drinks for two people amounted to approximately 135 Euros which is really cheap considering the food and the setting. During the week Karsten and I have been pretty busy assisting the partner on the project. Later in the week they requested to get some more of my time to assist them. Since Athens is a nice place to be (more interesting than Vianen anyway) I as happy to stay. This means that my stay will ten days in total before continuing to Holland. During the weekend I had time to do some windows shopping along Ermou street and in the Athens Flea markets as well as visit the Unknown soldiers grave. After that I continued up to see the Acropolis. I was in Greece and Athens about 15 years ago and managed to see a lot of things, but it was nice with a bit of a refresher. One of the things I particularly remember from Acropolis is the Porch of the Maidens. One evening around sunset on the weekend I walked up this hill close to the hotel that has a small chapel on top. There were also a couple of restaurants up there so I decided to sit down and have dinner. The evening view from the hill was fantastic with a view of Acropolis lit up as well as all of the lights of Athens all the way to Pireus. Click here to see more photos from: Athens / Slideshow 21. May 2007 12:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Golf at Wakehurst Golf Course 21. May 2007 12:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Various of the boys 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Gerringong Family trip 9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playingShareDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playing in the sand and water.We also visited one of the few vineyards in the area.It was Chong's birthday while we were there.One morning I made a stack of pancakes - they were all eaten.On the last day we went to Minnamurra rainforest.We also went to the Kiama blowhole - but not much action. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Boys artwork 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetLucas version of a Miro paintingShareLucas version of a Miro painting 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming Certificates 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims Birthday 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments NRL - Sharks vs Cowboys 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the bShareKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the boys the experience of seeing a game...especially Aiden was really into it. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Peter Pan 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents.ShareWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Easter trip 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetAt easter we rented a house with the family again.ShareAt easter we rented a house with the family again. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden student of the week certificate 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Illawarra airshow 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely fShareThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely find time to go there next time. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...141516171819202122...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming at Maroubra 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetswimming at maroubraShareSunday I convinced Kim that we should go to the Beach. I wanted to try my underwater casing for my pocket camera in the waves to see if I could get some good photos. In 2000 I went to the World Press Photo exhibition and saw these great underwater photos from the surf and was inspired to see if I could re-create them.Kim insisted that we picked up a beach shelter on the way there so that she would have some shade. We found on in K-Mart and then went on our way to the beach.The first few minutes folding up the beach shelter was a disaster (It was one of those quick fold out ones where you just pull a string...junk!!) and eventually we just threw it all back in the bag deciding to return it on the way home (we'll get a pop-up one instead). Taking the photos turned out to be a lot trickier than expected. It was fairly windy and the visibility wasn't great. Also the pocket camera tries to auto focus prior to taking the photo which was difficult with everything moving around constantly so most of the time the camera didn't take the photo.It was also quite hard to aim the camera while being battered around by the waves.I did however manage to take these photos that turned out somewhat alright. I might try again one day when the conditions are better (and I've figured out how to lock the focus on the camera) 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Uncle and Auntie in Sydney 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetuncle and auntie in sydneyShareFor the past three weeks my uncle and auntie (Eli & Henning) has been travelling in New Zealand with a tour group. On the way home they did a 24 hour stopover with the group so do some quick sightseeing before continuing their journey.They had a tightly packed program arriving late in the afternoon, out for a late dinner and then spend then morning next day on a tour around the city before heading back to the airport.Kim and I managed to catch up with them in the evening for dinner at Nicks at King Street Wharf. Afterwards we went for a walk down to Circular Quay so that they could have a look at the Harbour bridge and the Opera House at night.By the time we got back to the hotel it was midnight and they had to check out of their hotel early next morning.We hope that they enjoyed the sightseeing the day after (it was a fairly warm day) and that they had a good journey back to Denmark. Apparently there is a lot of snow there currently so they were prepared for the fact that they would have to do a fair bit of digging to get to their car and into their house. It is not very often that we have visiting family from Denmark so it is always a pleasure to see them. 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments More garden critters 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmore garden crittersShareThis weekend I was cutting down the bouganvillae in the garden. Whenever I cut down some of the vegetation in the garden it is always interesting what insects I discover in the process. Because of the variety of plants there is always something new to discover. I try not to use pesticides in the garden itself...better to just let nature find a balance.On this occation I discovered a large Garden spider and a Green Praying mantis (I have seen a Mantis before in the garden and they are great to have a pest control). Both are totally harmless. This is what a website had to say about this Common Garden Spider:"Now this is your classic common garden spider from Sydney. The Australian Museum page on garden orb weaving spiders tells me there is a second, almost identical species (edulis) but that that lives further inland. There must be hundreds of people each summer who can be seen jumping madly up and down in their gardens swiping at themselves just to be sure to get rid of this guy from their clothing after they've walked through a web. Although certainly large enough, this spider is reluctant to bite humans. "Last week I did however see a redback spider on the other side of the house. Needless to say that I killed it before I got a chance to take a photo (They are extremely venoumous and the closest relative to a Black Widow). To be honest it is the first time I've seen one in the wild for more that 10 years so fortunately they are very rare. 13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Open Air Cinema 13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetopen air cinemaShareThis saturday Kim had booked tickets for 'The wolf man' at the open air cinema.Every year in January and February Sydney hosts a number of events such as operas, concerts and cinemas.The open Air cinema is located at Ms Macquaries Chair in the botanical garden overlooking the city, the opera house and the bridge. It is a spectacular setting, especially when the weather is really nice as it was saturday (last year it was pouring down with rain). This years all the seats were sold out within 30 minutes, but Kim was quick to get a couple (smart cookie). Even though we got there two hours early most of the seats had already been taken. We did manage to find two seats that were really good eventually (we were worried that we'd have to sit on one of the first rows right in front of the screen.The movie was about warewolves and it was funny to listen to people reaction when large fruit bats from the botanical garden flew down in front of the set. 2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hamilton Island 2010 2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethamilton island 2010ShareThis weekend we went for an extended (4 nights) weekend to Hamilton Island with Kims Family. Hamilton Island is located 1500 kilometers north of Sydney (2.5 hours flight) in the Whitsundays group of islands near the great barrier reef. This time of the year it is rain season up there and the first three days it was raining a fair bit. This didn't stop us from spending time in the pool or at the beach though. In the evenings we would spend time in the cocktail bars, dining our or playing blackjack. On the first and the last morning morning we did some catemaran sailing. The wind was a bit patchy with periods with no wind and other with lots of wind.The last day however was beautiful and I gave Kim a very basic first course in sailing after which she took over the steering. Click here to see a video from the catemaran One of the other days there was too much wind for them to allow the catemarans going out. I managed to convince the people at the beach to let me take out one of the windsurfers. It was a pretty short session as I found that I am totally out of shape but as least Chong managed to have a bit of a go as well. Click here to see a video from the windsurfing We booked an afternoon of snorkeling up near Hayman island. It was a day with pretty rough seas and even though it was a pretty big boat it was really thrown around and a lot of people on the boat got sea sick (Dylan got a bit sick, but otherwise everyone else in the family was ok). After about an hour of sailing the captain said that the seas were too rough and that the water was too murky and dangerous to continue, so he cancelled the trip and returned to port. A bit of a disappointment, but at least we got a refund and a bit of a sailing trip out of it. I brought a waterproof pouch for my pocket camera which meant that I could take photos under the water and while sailing. This resulted in some pretty good photos in the pool. The kids (Kims nephews and niece) recently started swimming lessons. They are still a little uncomfortable with the water although this did improve while we were at Hamilton. Especially Ethan is not very comfortable as you can tell from this video: Video of Ethan swimming We also took some nice photos of some of the local wildlife and flora on the island and in the dining places. 2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Junior 2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabyShareWe (Kim that is) are now almost half way through the pregnancy. Last week we went to another ultrasound scan to check if everything is on track and to count the number of fingers and toes. Both baby and mum is fine so far. And how is daddy you ask? He is worried how he is going to handle being a dad...such a big responsibility and worried that he will be a lousy dad. We now also know the sex of the baby...and it is going to be a BOY and is still due in mid-June!!! He has already started kicking according to Kim, so he may be an active one. We were hoping for a girl because there is already more than enough boys in the family (Kayla started crying when she heard that is was a boy...she was hoping for someone to play with). Anyway we can now start looking a good names for a boy.I suggested to Kim that we would start an auction on eBay where the winner would get the naming rights...Kim said NOOOO!!! So there goes my retirement plans and all the millions! For anyone who is planning ahead and start buying stuff for the boy...check with Kim or myself first with regards to what we need (Sizes, Colours and brands). Rules for toys: 1) No dolls or pink fluffy stuff....it is a boy for christ sake!2) Climbing harness and shoes are perfect around year 43) A pair of skis at age 64) First Ice axe and crampons at age 105) Toys that required assembling and dis-assembling by the kid is perfect6) Toys that can be assembled in more than one way is perfect (ie. Lego)7) Toys that are created with the intension of making noise are banned8) And the most important: Don't buy a toy unless you can explain to me what valuable lesson you hope the kid will learn from using that toy. 2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Critters 2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetcrittersShareIt is common for Australian households to get a number of critters (mainly insects) into their houses during the summertime.This may range from anything as harmless as flies to more serious things such as spiders. The worst of the spiders is probably the Funnel Webs although they are quite rare and I've never seen one inside.The more scary but relatively harmless ones are the Huntsman spiders. These can get huge (the size of a dinner plate) and they are quite common inside. We get them inside probably 2-3 times a year and they always scare the #$@#$@ out of us!The one picture below was inside the shower cabin and scared Kim.We also get smaller spiders inside...one of these is the Whitetail. It is a smaller spider but they can give a nasty bite that can get infected (but it is very rare for anyone to get bitten). I notice a lot of them outside when I'm watering the grass. I still haven't decided whether it is a problem I need to deal with as they also help controlling other insects.We also get a lot of lot of other critter such as grasshoppers and caterpillars in the garden. Most of the insects I don't mind...the more biodiversity the more indication of a healthy micro ecosystem...if I could just get rid of the mosquitoes and the fruit flies. 11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bale de Rua 11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbale de ruaShareKim gave me tickets for a performance called Bale de Rua (Brasilian street dance). This satisfied the criteria of experiences rather than objects as presents.The performance took place in the opera house and it was really good. There was some really cool tricks.I am still wondering why the dance crew consisted of 15 men and one woman...the woman didn't do anything that required her being a woman so it was a bit odd and could just as well have been a performance consisting of 16 men.Kim had bought really good seats on the 4th row (almost too close) so we could see every drop of sweat. 11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Babysitting 11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabysittingShareWhile my dad was here we were looking after Kims nephews and niece a fair bit.They loved coming over here to talk to my dad and play.When they are here we put them to good use:Here's is Kayla baking scones for usAnd here she is sweeping the floor.And here she is haging up the laundry.Unfortunately I didn't get a photo from yesterday when she was watering the lawn for me. 11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Restaurants with my dad 11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetrestaurants with my dadShareWhile my dad was in Sydney we went to a number of different restaurants. We tried to find venues of the sort he hadn't tried before or that is unusual for his side of the hemisphere.There was the Yum-Cha (For those that are not familiar with this...it is a sort of chinese dumpling place where you just point at the items you want from trolleys). And my dad was brave enough to try the chicken feet this time. We also did Japanese a couple of times (once at Liverpool St which was terrible) and then later at Wagaya at the entertainment centre (which was excellent). We also did brasilian (no, we did not all get a close shave). This was a lot of meat and we were all very full afterwards. We also did French food at Tabou in Surrey Hills.And one evening we did hot-pot at home with friends.And Kims dad cooked his famous crabs. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...656667686970717273...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Serenpidity canyon 19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetserenpidity canyonShareLast year I received a gift voucher through work and decided to use it for a canyoning trip in the blue mountains before it expired.one of the companies were doing intermediate canyons and it happens that the canyon they were doing this Sunday was the serendipity canyon at mount Wilson. We (two guides and 6 other clients) parked at mount Wilson fire station and headed down the trail 30 minutes downhill. After a quick briefing about the canyon and a change to wetsuits we absailed into the canyon itself.There were lots of yabbies...really big ones everywhere.It was a fun canyon with a couple of a absails and lots of jumps into water pools and swim-throughs. It was raining a lot the day before so there was a lot of water in the canyon and the water was relatively warm.Once we were out of the canyon we had some lunch and headed back to the car a 45 minute uphill walk later. We returned back to Katoomba at around 3pm in thick fog. After a quick turnaround I headed back towards sydney as a snail pace until I was below the clouds where visibility improved. I made it back just in time for having dinner with the family.A lot of the canyons in the mountains are still closed due to the bushfire a couple of months ago. 10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Sourdough 10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread sourdoughShareFor the past 9 days is has been a small project of mine to try and bake an authentic sourdough bread.By sourdough I mean by using the old techniques of not adding yeast and let the bread ferment using the natural yeast from the air.As such it is not a lot of work, but there is a lot of waiting time and there are a lot of places that things can go wrong.I finally managed to bake an actual bread last night and brought it for the family to taste.They liked it and asked if I could bake them some more. Fortunately I still had some ferment left over for an additional two breads...photo above is one of them.Although it was interesting to do, I think it will take a while before I attempt it again...the whole process is just too long. 6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Emmas Babtism 6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetemmas babtismShareEmma was baptised this weekend at the local church. Fastest ever...the priest was speed reading! 6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Chinese New Year 2014 6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchinese new year 2014ShareThe other day it was Chinese new year. It is now the year of the horse.Again it was celebrated with vegan food and money was put on Aidens rocking horse for good luck. 6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden pedalling his tricycle 6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetaiden pedalling his tricycleShareAiden has finally learned how to ride his little tricycle (the one his grandma gave him just before she passed away) by using the pedals.He is very proud...hopefully he is able to soon using his new skills on the bike he got for christmas.Even Lucas was proud and gave Aiden the victory jump. 6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Walnut and Fig bread 6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread walnut and fig breadShareAt the moment I am going through a phase where I Loooveee baking bread.There is something really satisfying about working with something that is so diverse and alive. And there is nothing like eating a freshly baked bread with a nice crust.So far I have found a couple of recipes I really like...one of them is this walnut and fig bread.On the weekend I made it for the family dinner and they wanted the recipe. - 400g white flour into a bowl- Add 100g of wholemeal flour- Add 10g of sea salt flakes- Add 5g of dry yeast into the bowl- Add 335ml of water - Mix it all together using your hand- Kneed it by stretching it out on a table and then roll it up...do this 3-6 times- flatten the bread to a thickness of about 15mm and then place walnuts and chopped figs on top. Roll up the bread with the walnuts and figs inside.- Stretch the bread another couple of time and roll it up until the walnuts and figs are mixed into the bread.- Put the bread in a bowl and cover it with glad wrap (or better yet, just leave it on the table and cover it with the bowl) for one hour...knock back the bread every 20 minutes (3 times in total).- Leave the bread for another one hour (without knocking it back). After 30 minutes (30 minutes prior to baking) start preheating the oven with a baking/pizza stone at 250 degrees. Also put a small metal tray in the oven (for the ice cubes)- Add a bit of semolina (or flour) to the baking stone and to the top of the bread to avoid it sticking.- Place the bread on the baking stone and make a couple of cuts to the top of the dough.- Add 3-4 ice cubes to the metal tray- Close the oven and turn down the temperature to 200 degrees immediately.- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven. 23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Gardens light show. 23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley gardens light showShareEvery year hunter valley garden put up a light show where they decorate part of the garden in christmas lights. They leave this open until end of January, so this year we headed up there to have a look....enjoy. 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Trip with family 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley trip with familyShareLast weekend we made an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley a couple of hours drive north of Sydney.The main reason was to see the lights in the Hunter Valley Garden (see separate post), but also to go and taste some wine and generally have a good time.Pretty soon after we arrived the girls were distracted by the chocolate and cheese places. We did however go to a couple of places for wine tasting.We also had some really nice food up there. I was especially impressed by a really nice gnocchi salad I had....it was yummi.Outside it was really hot...like 39 degrees in the shade. There were a couple of horses relaxing under a couple of trees.We decided an alternative approach of checking into our hotel and jump in the pool to cool off. In the evening we went to the light show and on the following day we just did a number of wineries before heading back to Sydney. 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Ten Pin Bowling 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetten pin bowlingShareOn the weekend we did some ten pin bowling with the family.Kim had managed to secure some cheap tickets so it was great to play against the family.We had one lane for the kids (with rails) and one lane for the adults. I had a bad start and was behind much of the game, but my luck eventually caught up and I started playing a good game. Afterwards we had a bit of a play in the games arcadeAiden was absolutely terrified of the big scary bear (I can see why).The kids also tried to figure out what this machine was for:I love some of the old 50's style decor. 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water Play 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater playShareIt is summer and Lucas and Aiden is enjoying a bit of water play in the back yard on warm days. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...343536373839404142...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you
26. October 2002 11:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Memories of Claus . . . 26. October 2002 11:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy memories of clausShareBefore Claus became ill, he was a rising star in the world of tennis. He was featured in the local newspaper as Amtsmester - he came first in the local "Amst" - level similar to state-level.Claus loved being out in the wind and the sun. He was also prone to seasickness.Claus and my family came to visit me in Australia in 1999. I think he liked it here - warmer winters and friendly people. I really like the top middle photo, of Claus eating oysters. He looked very happy. They did a lot of sightseeing here, and even visited my apartment on Narrabeen beach.The following are the last photos that were taken of Claus, on one of our sailing trips.
26. October 2002 11:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Dear Big Brother... 26. October 2002 11:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy dear big brotherShareMy brother had schizophrenia, and he passed away not long after his 33rd birthday. I love my brother, and I regret not telling him this. My girlfriend tells me that Claus knew I loved him. I am not convinced of this, so I wrote him a letter, in the hope that he will read this, wherever he is. There is so much I wanted to say to him. I want to remember him when he was not sick, when he was happy, and when I was last in Denmark in June 2002. I want to remember him, as you will see him in these photos.
26. October 2002 11:01 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Always Part of My Family . . . 26. October 2002 11:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetalways part of my familyShare
26. October 2002 10:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Big Brother 26. October 2002 10:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy big brotherShareMy Big Brother . . .Created: 8 Oct 2002 Last Updated: 24 Oct 2002
10. June 2002 11:47 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Singapore 10. June 2002 11:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetsingaporeShareOn the way back from Denmark we made a stopover in Singapore to have a look as well as do some shopping. Here a photo from Little India in Singapore.
4. June 2002 11:36 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My mums birthday 4. June 2002 11:36 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy mums birthdayShareWe surprised my Mum by turning up in Denmark before her 60th Birthday. She had a big party where a lot of her friends and family turned up. While we were there we also got to visit some of my friends and family as well as do a bit of Sightseeing in Copenhagen and Legoland. Click here to see more photos from: Mums 60th Birthday/Slideshow
29. March 2002 02:52 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Drive in Australia 29. March 2002 02:52 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdrive in australiaShare Over the Christmas holidays we went for a drive through some of the most scenic parts of Australia. First we drive down to Melbourne and then along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. The sunsets were spectacular. We then continued up to the Flinders Ranges and along the way had a look at cave paintings. In Broken hill we went down into the old Daydream silvermine. We also had a look at some of the Desert Sculptures Along the way we saw some Australian Wildlife. Here a wombat. And here a possum. Lots of Koalas And here one very angry Lizard. And of course some Emus. We were camping along the way. Click here to see more photos from Driving in Australia / Slideshow
27. March 2002 11:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Whale Watching 27. March 2002 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwhale watchingShareWe went with Donna and Sandra up to Port Stephens to go Whale watching. It was a great day (very cold) and we saw lots of whales. Click here to see more photos from: Whale Watching/Slideshow
27. March 2002 11:03 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Climbing in New Zealand 27. March 2002 11:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetclimbing in new zealandShareI went climbing with Andy in New Zealand. We flew onto the glacier at Pioneer hut with a skiplane. We attempted a couple of peaks in the area but were mainly unsuccessful due to sloshy conditions and late starts. Andy eventually insisted going down after taking a bit of a slide after taking a bit of a slide. We did however get a little bit of climbing done. Click here to see more photos from: Climbing in New Zealand/Slideshow
16. September 2001 11:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My Friends in Denmark . . . 16. September 2001 11:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy friends in denmarkShareBelieve it or not, I still have quite a few friends in Denmark. I would like to put photos of all of them here - unfortunately I do not have photos of all of them. If you are one of my friends and your photo is not on this page then please do not despair - I still consider you a friend, and maybe, the next time I go to Denmark, I shall have photos of you all! Here is one of my best friends in Denmark. This photo was taken quite a while ago, before I came to Australia. Kenneth is now living here in Sydney, on the beautiful Manly beach - only about a half hour away from me. Kenneth came to stay with me a few months ago. He was trying out a new job, and actually came back! He is going to give Australia a go, to see if he likes it like I do. No more biting winters, lots of warmth and sunshine, beautiful mountains and bush to explore... and I think he has discovered, there are lots of friends to make - especially the pretty fun-going ones with two legs and a skirt! *smile* He is actually a pretty good cook. Whist he stayed in my apartment for a couple of months, he cooked pot roast with gorgonzola sauce, and also gave a wonderful 3-course dinner for a small group of friends here. About two years after I arrived in Australia, I returned to Denmark for a visit. On the day I arrived in Denmark, he threw together a party for me! Here is Ester, another one of my friends. She is a fashion designer and paints some wonderful paintings. Naturally at parties, there was quite a large amount of beer being consumed (how can you not?? - not possible to have a party otherwise in Denmark. It was nice to taste one of the annual Christmas beers from Tuborg. Created: Jan 2000 Last Updated: 16 Sept 2001
27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley 2010 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley 2010Share This long Anzac weekend we drove up to Hunter Valley with a couple of friends. Meeting up there we planned what wineries we were going to. Sasha had a couple in mind which was perfect as they were some Kim and I had never been been to before. The first place we stopped was Petersons...Joanne wanted to pick up some pink bubbly stuff (pink champagne). They have some wines there without preservatives which are really nice. On the way from one of the other places we drove past a new place called Noonji...sounded japanese and it was a new one, so we had to have a look at what they were doing. They had just opened up for tasting recently and as soon as we walked through the door we could tell that this husband and wife were doing things differently. We were welcomed and were told that this was table tasting, so we all sat down at the table. This was really good since it enabled us to taste five different vintages simultaneously (In other places you taste one vintage at a time). The prices were reasonable and they had a pretty good discount if you bought a case, so Kim and I ended up buying two cases of wine from here. After this we did some more sightseeing and tasting before we drove back to sydney. On the way back we stopped at a petrol station and someone has this cool car parked there.
26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wingello 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetwingelloShare On Anzac day I went climbing with Andy and Dan at a new place called Wingello that we'd never been to before. Wingello is about two hours south of sydney towards Canberra. It is mostly sports climbing on ring bolts. This means that instead of placing protection you can clip pre-placed bolts. My finger is still injured so I am in reality unable to climb (pst...I did clean a climb on top rope but dont tell anyone). This meant that I spent most of the day belaying the others and taking some photos. On one of the easier scrambles I got to the top so that I could take some photos from the top. It is the first time I have tried to really try and take photos from the top and it was difficult. A lot of the photos were slightly blurred because it was hard to keep the lens steady in the available light when zooming in). Here are some of the photos from this climb that did turn out alright. Also being up high means that I could provide Dan with some instructions cleaning the anchor system. For his first try it wasn't pretty and he got the ropes in a big tangle. Eventually we got it sorted so that he could get down safely....but more practice is needed. After this we went further along the wall to so some easy/moderate climbs (16/17s). One one of the climbs Andy stuck his hand into a hole with a snake skin in it...this is his second snake incident. After this he refused to even get close to the hole (fair enough). He is now on the leader board 2:1...my incident was a brown snake crawling across my feet while belaying him years ago. Dan managed to also lead this climb which he was absolutely stoked about. We finished the climb just before the sun set and we managed to get out before just in time. The climb out was interesting at the easiest route is through this narrow and steep gully with fixed ropes and ladders (The fact that Dan was carrying his makeup bag and a 5 litre bottle of water didn't make it easier).
21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My nephews Porche Carrera GT 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy nephews porche carrera gtShare Today I borrowed a couple of Toy cars from my nephew Ethan. I had to promise that I'd bring them back tomorrow. I wanted to have a play with using a single bare flash right above the car as a softbox. Because the flash is hanging right above the car just outside view) it has been dialed all the way back to 1/128th power (shooting at f/32, iso 200 @ 1/250) or I'd use detail. On the side just outside view I put a piece of white paper to reflect a little light onto the side of the car. The reflective surface is a glass chopping board from the kitchen. After a while I started also using a flash on the background using different gels. I found that orange and blue gels were the nicest. The Blue as a good contrast to the yello car. With the orange gel I could create a sunset type light by letting the light fall off quickly on the wall. The background if a white wall (except for the textured background which is a black backdrop). None of the photos below have had any photoshopping done to them (otherwise I would have removed those scratches on the windshield).
17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Flash balancing fun 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetflash balancing exerciseShareKim was kind enough to let me take some photos of her. I have been studying some flash photography videos and articles and wanted to have a play with multiple flashes around dusk. The trick is to balance the ambient light with the light filled from the flash...especially tricky as the light constantly changes during the last 30 minutes of the day.So far I only have two wireless flash triggers to was was somewhat limited (ideally I would like to have three triggers).It was really good to be able to do some experimenting. For these photos I used one flash 45 degrees to the back and another 45 degrees in front. On the back I am using a CTO gel. In the beginning I was using one on the front one as well, but when I got home to look at the photos I could see that it was too warm (Lesson learnt that I should use the warm gels on the back). On the photos here there is no gel on the front flash only on the back.I would have liked to stay just a bit longer to play, but kim was getting a bit cold. With a more time I would have been able to enhance some of the zoom effects as seen in this photo:Definitely a trick I'll be using in the future...makes for some cool effects. At lot of the photos are actually quite nice, but the two above are my preferred ones.
17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 31, not long to go 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 31 not long to goShareIt is now week 31, so only 9-10 weeks until baby is due to arrive.Kim is getting a fair bit bigger and the baby is now very active. So far things looks good although Kim is worried that the boy will be a shortie like mummy.
11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water fun 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater funShare I read this article about how to take water photos in an easy way. The photos is taken using a bare flash firing onto a white background at 1/8th power. The blue colour is because I (on purpose) changed the white balance of the camera to Tungsten. I only had a shallow painting tray at my disposal. This paint residue in the bottom of the tray creates the pattern in the photo. I also couldn't get a nice formed drop pattern forming due to the drops hitting the bottom of the shallow tray unevenly. Lessons for next time: Use a deeper tray. Make it black so that no other colours penetrate and make dure the water can reach the edge of the tray. Next time I try I will use one of the large scanpans we have...I think it will be better suited.
6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tasmania - Easter 2010 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettasmania easter 2010ShareDuring the Easter Break Kim and I made a trip to Tasmania. This was to be our last holiday together before the baby arrives. Tasmania is an island south of Australia about 1.5 times larger than Denmark. The east coast is lightly populated and the west coast is mainly national parks and forests. We had rented a car to make it easier for us to get around and the first place we headed to was Cradle Mountains national park. This is probably one of the most iconic places in Tasmania and every Australian has seen the pictures of the mountain itself. The drive there was full of contrast. There has always been of criticism of the lumber industries in Tasmania and when you see the methods they use to cut down trees then it is easy to see why. They don't do selective cutting, they instead pretty much bulldoze whole areas which then take many decades to recover. One of the days there we did a number of walks within the park and around the lakes. Kim is 7 months pregnant and did really well although walking a bit slower than normal. We also did some walks to some of the lookouts and waterfalls in the park. I did have some time to experiment with some photos along the way. I really wanted to see some of the wildlife in the park, but unfortunately most of the animals are nocturnal (only out at night). The park had a bus going through the park at night time costing $50 for the two of us. We spoke to the driver and he said that we would not be able to leave the bus at any time. I really wanted to be able to get off the bus at take some wildlife photos so we instead decided to drive our rental car through the park late at night. We wouldn't have the luxury of the nighttime lights and the local knowledge of where to spot certain animals but we thought that the bus would be staying on the same road as we did anyhow. It turned out to be a really good idea. We managed to spot lots of Possums, Wallaby's (a small Kangaroo) and Wombats. We even spotted Quolls and a Tasmanian Devil. May has later told me that the frog in the photo is a 'Southern Brown Tree Frog' and that she keeps one of them as a pet. Below is photos of the animals we spotted: (The closeup photos of the Tasmanian devil and the Quoll I've borrowed, but the rest are my own photos.) After this we drove to Freycinet national park on the east coast. Along the way we stopped at a few scenic spots and wineries. One of the places we stopped was a place called Devils Gullet. It would have been really spectacular had it not been for the dense fog. It was a fairly long drive getting there and I was pretty buggered by the time we arrived to the B&B after driving most of the day with just a few stops on the way to rest and take photos. The sun started to set and I rushed Kim down to the beach in from of the place we were staying to take some portraits using some creative lighting. She wasn't too keen as the wind was a bit cold and we missed the actual sunset by just a couple of minutes. I did however manage to take a couple of photos of her. In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant called 'The edge' very close to the B&B. This turned out to the be highlight in terms of meals during the trip. It was very nice. On the way to the restaurant we spotted a Tasmanian owl and afterwards we did a drive through the national park spotting more Quolls, Possums and Wallabies. The next day we decided to do a number of other walks. The first one of the day included climbing up to the top of this saddle between two mountain tops to get a magnificent view of Wineglass Bay. The climb itself was spectacular in itself as the mountains are formed by this pink coloured granite (I was looking for climbing routes, but most of the granite looked completely barren of any holds...some lunatic would probably come and prove otherwise). Along the trail we we spotted a baby Black snake, a couple of Lizards and birds. We also made a drive up to 'Friendly Beach' where we took a lot of photos. This beach was mostly deserted apart from a couple of walkers and surfers. At sunset we drove to Honeymoon bay to get some scenic shots using the colour of the setting sun against the pink granite as well as some normal sunset photos. In the evening we had a clear sky with lots of stars. Because of the light population of Tasmania there is not a lot of city lights to disturb the stars gazing. It has been years ago since I was able to lie down and just look at the stars to see if I could spot any satellites moving across the sky (this evening I spotted 2). I used the opportunity to after dinner drive back to Honeymoon bay to do some star trail photography. I left Kim in the car as she didn't want to make the walk down to the beach in the dark without a torch. I did take two photos down there using a 30 minute exposure (the maximum my camera allows & @f4.0). They turned out reasonable okay considering what camera they are taken with (Nikon D50). Next day it was back to Sydney. We left Freycinet at 8.30am in the morning and I was stressing that we wouldn't make it back to the airport in time...but we did!
14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 25 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 25ShareIt is now week 25 and almost the third trimester. Kim is certainly getting a lot bigger these days but is still very active with swimming, yoga and walking (According to Kim baby is very active too). Both baby and mum are so far doing fine.They say that most of the growth is in the third trimester...she could be huge! We have finished painting the baby room and we have bought the most essential furniture such as a cot, a chest of drawers, car seats etc. It is now up to Kim to decorate the room so that it looks nice.
13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Taste of Sydney 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettaste of sydneyShareToday Kim and I met up with Sasha and his wife to go to 'Taste of Sydney'. This is an annual event where the premier restaurants of sydney and food and wine producers showcase their food and wine.This year it was held in Centennial park which is the largest park in sydney which is pretty convenient for us.At the event they had what the call 'Chef's table'. This is where you can sit down with the chefs of some of the premier restaurants and they will tell you about their restaurants, their food and you can ask them questions. In the mean time they were serving us seafood, wine and cheese (I discovered a new cheese that I in particular really liked).They also had showcases where some of the chefs from some of sydney best restaurants show you how to cook different dishes. We went to one session where we saw Matt Moran from Aria prepare a lovely cured trout. This was cured like Gravad laks using salt, sugar, coreander and fennel and then cured a secod time using dijon mustard and dill. The different restaurants were also having some of their food for sale. Some of it was quite nice (I had a nice yellowfin tuna), but I don't think it was a proper representation of their food. It is difficult to prepare and cook in large quantities without access to proper kitchen facilities, so most of the food was more fancy fast food.
10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments King Lear 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetking learShareLast weekend Kim and I went to see King Lear at the Sydney Opera House. Kim had managed to get cheap preview tickets on the third row from the stage which is pretty unheard of.The play wasn't anything fancy in terms of stage production, costumes or anything (Actually some of the actors were wearing fairly modern denim jeans).On the side of the stage they had positioned a drumkit and a girl was banging away all throughout the first half of the performance. I found this very distracting and annoying since I was already trying hard to concentrate on understanding the old Shakespearean English.During the second half they moved the drumkit off the stage, so I must say that I actually started to enjoy the play a lot more.Given that we got pretty cheap tickets I found the evening pretty good value, but I don't think I'd pay full price for this one.
30. July 2007 12:56 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Skiing Australia 2007 30. July 2007 12:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetskiing australia 2007Share This weekend it was my birthday and it also happened to be the ski peak season here in Australia. (click here for more photos) A group of us rented a house in Cooma not too far away from the ski fields and apart from a few mechanical problems with my car we had a blast of a time. On the Saturday we went to Perisher. The snow was perfect and a lot of the runs hadn't been groomed so it was still deep powder snow that we were skiing in. Kim, Luke and Karen took lessons in the morning and later in the afternoon I went for a couple of runs with Luke (Soeren didn't make it to the ski area that day). In the evening we were watching a video (I fell asleep 15 minutes into it), and we had birthday cake and wine/beer. The day after all of us went to Thredbo (which in my opinion is much better) and I was skiing with Soeren all day. The girls were having fun skiing down in the beginners area and Luke was skiing by himself higher on the mountain. We left Thredbo at around 3.30pm and arrived back home in Sydney at around 10.15pm....a long drive. I took a couple of videos of Soeren and myself skiing: Video of Rene Skiing #1 Video of Rene Skiing #2 Video of Soeren Skiing #1 Video of Soeren Skiing #2 Click here to see more photos from: Skiing in Australia/SlideShow
11. July 2007 04:34 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Denmark 2007 11. July 2007 04:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetdenmark 2007ShareOk, it is not just in Holland that they steal with arms a legs. I am not proud to admit that the same seems to happen in Denmark (my birth country)...but more about that later. After Holland I flew a quick trip to Denmark. On the way there in Heathrow Airport I met up with Kim who had spend a couple of days in London with a couple of friends. I was really looking forward to introducing her to my parents. My flight arrived a bit late in London so we arrived to Copenhagen without my luggage which turned up the following day. All the time while in Denmark it was pouring with rain, but we did have one good day in Copenhagen where Kim got to see the sights Fredriksborg Slot, The Marble church, Amalienborg, City Square and City Hall, Stroeget, The little Mermaid, Runde Taarn, Tivoli and Gefion Springvandet. We had lunch at Kultorvet and here Kim got her handbag stolen by a very professional bag snatcher (Latin American or Eastern European looking, dark short hair, wears a dark green suit and will sit down at the table next to you and talk on his mobile. When he leaves he will take your bag). We also spent a couple of days at my grandmothers place where we we had a look at Koldinghus and Trapholt. Kim got to meet most of the family in Jutland (The family on my Dads side). My cousin had a child recently and the christening was taking place while we were visiting, so it gave us an excuse to visit my grandmother. On the way back from Jutland we visited my Uncle and Auntie Eli and Henning on their farm and also had a look at their windmill. One day we went also sailing up through Guldborgsund with my dad and we also went a quick trip to Germany one afternoon with the ferry. It was good to see my parents again, but I also realise that apart from them there is not much left for me in Denmark and I would never be able to live the same lifestyle in Denmark as I do in Sydney Australia. I took a number of videos while in Denmark and also a lot of photos. I can recommend that you click on the following links to see more from Denmark. Video of my Uncles Windmill #1 Video of my Uncles Windmill #2 Video of my Uncles Windmill #3 Video of Kim and my dad picking strawberries Video of sailing with my dad #1 Video of sailing with my dad #2 Video of sailing with my dad #3 Click here to see more photos from:Denmark/ Slideshow
22. June 2007 06:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Holland 2007 22. June 2007 06:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetholland 2007ShareAfter my stay in Athens Greece I am now in Vianen in Holland where our European office is. The purpose with my stay here is to do a bit or coordination and do some planning. Vianen is about 45 minutes drive south of Amsterdam not too far from Utrect. I am staying at the only hotel in Vianen which is located 3-4 kilometers from the office, but fortunately I have been able to borrow one of the company cars.Vianen really is in the middle of no-where. It is a sleepy little town with no major attractions.The hotel here is really weird. None of the floors meet and the numbering system of the rooms is all over the place. It is generally faster to get from one room in the hotel to another by always taking the lift to the ground floor, exit the hotel, enter it elsewhere and then take the lift up again...at least the ground floor is always on the same level.The room itself is nice enough. When I wake up in the morning i wake up looking at a cow paddock with a couple of horses wandering around...did I say that this is out in the sticks? People in holland steal with their arms and legs. Yesterday I asked to get an ironing board and an iron brought to my room.They told me that they could not do that (could be because of the mile long walk from the reception but I don't think so, because the room also don't have an alarm clock and the tv is bolted to the table) and they told me that they now had a special ironing room. The iron and ironing board was bolted with a big chain to the wall.The only positive thing about the hotel is that the breakfast is pretty nice (dinner isn't) and the internet is reasonably priced at 25 Euros for a week. Its is nice to catch up with colleagues although the schedule is pretty busy here. I interviewed a couple of people for the office here and we are going to give an offer to one of the guys.Also a couple of the restaurants in Vianen itself are fairly decent and the fact that I could borrow a car meant that I could get around a bit.
12. June 2007 07:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Greece 2007 12. June 2007 07:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetgreece 2007Share Here in mid June I am in Greece assisting one of our partners on a project involving our software. I arrived Sunday evening and started working Monday morning with the partner. One of my colleagues Karsten is also here and last night we went to this fantastic restaurant called moorings. It is the most fantastic setting right next to the sea, and the food was fantastic. My starter was goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto ham baked in the oven and then served on a bed of wild mushrooms. For mains I had Grober (a fish) and it was really nice. The servings were massive so no chance of leaving hungry. It was a pity that Kim wasn't there joining me...she would have loved the place. The whole dinner including a bottle of wine, pre-dinner drinks for two people amounted to approximately 135 Euros which is really cheap considering the food and the setting. During the week Karsten and I have been pretty busy assisting the partner on the project. Later in the week they requested to get some more of my time to assist them. Since Athens is a nice place to be (more interesting than Vianen anyway) I as happy to stay. This means that my stay will ten days in total before continuing to Holland. During the weekend I had time to do some windows shopping along Ermou street and in the Athens Flea markets as well as visit the Unknown soldiers grave. After that I continued up to see the Acropolis. I was in Greece and Athens about 15 years ago and managed to see a lot of things, but it was nice with a bit of a refresher. One of the things I particularly remember from Acropolis is the Porch of the Maidens. One evening around sunset on the weekend I walked up this hill close to the hotel that has a small chapel on top. There were also a couple of restaurants up there so I decided to sit down and have dinner. The evening view from the hill was fantastic with a view of Acropolis lit up as well as all of the lights of Athens all the way to Pireus. Click here to see more photos from: Athens / Slideshow
21. May 2007 12:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Golf at Wakehurst Golf Course 21. May 2007 12:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Various of the boys 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Gerringong Family trip 9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playingShareDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playing in the sand and water.We also visited one of the few vineyards in the area.It was Chong's birthday while we were there.One morning I made a stack of pancakes - they were all eaten.On the last day we went to Minnamurra rainforest.We also went to the Kiama blowhole - but not much action. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Boys artwork 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetLucas version of a Miro paintingShareLucas version of a Miro painting 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming Certificates 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims Birthday 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments NRL - Sharks vs Cowboys 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the bShareKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the boys the experience of seeing a game...especially Aiden was really into it. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Peter Pan 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents.ShareWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Easter trip 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetAt easter we rented a house with the family again.ShareAt easter we rented a house with the family again. 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden student of the week certificate 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Illawarra airshow 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely fShareThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely find time to go there next time. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...141516171819202122...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming at Maroubra 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetswimming at maroubraShareSunday I convinced Kim that we should go to the Beach. I wanted to try my underwater casing for my pocket camera in the waves to see if I could get some good photos. In 2000 I went to the World Press Photo exhibition and saw these great underwater photos from the surf and was inspired to see if I could re-create them.Kim insisted that we picked up a beach shelter on the way there so that she would have some shade. We found on in K-Mart and then went on our way to the beach.The first few minutes folding up the beach shelter was a disaster (It was one of those quick fold out ones where you just pull a string...junk!!) and eventually we just threw it all back in the bag deciding to return it on the way home (we'll get a pop-up one instead). Taking the photos turned out to be a lot trickier than expected. It was fairly windy and the visibility wasn't great. Also the pocket camera tries to auto focus prior to taking the photo which was difficult with everything moving around constantly so most of the time the camera didn't take the photo.It was also quite hard to aim the camera while being battered around by the waves.I did however manage to take these photos that turned out somewhat alright. I might try again one day when the conditions are better (and I've figured out how to lock the focus on the camera) 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Uncle and Auntie in Sydney 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetuncle and auntie in sydneyShareFor the past three weeks my uncle and auntie (Eli & Henning) has been travelling in New Zealand with a tour group. On the way home they did a 24 hour stopover with the group so do some quick sightseeing before continuing their journey.They had a tightly packed program arriving late in the afternoon, out for a late dinner and then spend then morning next day on a tour around the city before heading back to the airport.Kim and I managed to catch up with them in the evening for dinner at Nicks at King Street Wharf. Afterwards we went for a walk down to Circular Quay so that they could have a look at the Harbour bridge and the Opera House at night.By the time we got back to the hotel it was midnight and they had to check out of their hotel early next morning.We hope that they enjoyed the sightseeing the day after (it was a fairly warm day) and that they had a good journey back to Denmark. Apparently there is a lot of snow there currently so they were prepared for the fact that they would have to do a fair bit of digging to get to their car and into their house. It is not very often that we have visiting family from Denmark so it is always a pleasure to see them. 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments More garden critters 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmore garden crittersShareThis weekend I was cutting down the bouganvillae in the garden. Whenever I cut down some of the vegetation in the garden it is always interesting what insects I discover in the process. Because of the variety of plants there is always something new to discover. I try not to use pesticides in the garden itself...better to just let nature find a balance.On this occation I discovered a large Garden spider and a Green Praying mantis (I have seen a Mantis before in the garden and they are great to have a pest control). Both are totally harmless. This is what a website had to say about this Common Garden Spider:"Now this is your classic common garden spider from Sydney. The Australian Museum page on garden orb weaving spiders tells me there is a second, almost identical species (edulis) but that that lives further inland. There must be hundreds of people each summer who can be seen jumping madly up and down in their gardens swiping at themselves just to be sure to get rid of this guy from their clothing after they've walked through a web. Although certainly large enough, this spider is reluctant to bite humans. "Last week I did however see a redback spider on the other side of the house. Needless to say that I killed it before I got a chance to take a photo (They are extremely venoumous and the closest relative to a Black Widow). To be honest it is the first time I've seen one in the wild for more that 10 years so fortunately they are very rare. 13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Open Air Cinema 13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetopen air cinemaShareThis saturday Kim had booked tickets for 'The wolf man' at the open air cinema.Every year in January and February Sydney hosts a number of events such as operas, concerts and cinemas.The open Air cinema is located at Ms Macquaries Chair in the botanical garden overlooking the city, the opera house and the bridge. It is a spectacular setting, especially when the weather is really nice as it was saturday (last year it was pouring down with rain). This years all the seats were sold out within 30 minutes, but Kim was quick to get a couple (smart cookie). Even though we got there two hours early most of the seats had already been taken. We did manage to find two seats that were really good eventually (we were worried that we'd have to sit on one of the first rows right in front of the screen.The movie was about warewolves and it was funny to listen to people reaction when large fruit bats from the botanical garden flew down in front of the set. 2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hamilton Island 2010 2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethamilton island 2010ShareThis weekend we went for an extended (4 nights) weekend to Hamilton Island with Kims Family. Hamilton Island is located 1500 kilometers north of Sydney (2.5 hours flight) in the Whitsundays group of islands near the great barrier reef. This time of the year it is rain season up there and the first three days it was raining a fair bit. This didn't stop us from spending time in the pool or at the beach though. In the evenings we would spend time in the cocktail bars, dining our or playing blackjack. On the first and the last morning morning we did some catemaran sailing. The wind was a bit patchy with periods with no wind and other with lots of wind.The last day however was beautiful and I gave Kim a very basic first course in sailing after which she took over the steering. Click here to see a video from the catemaran One of the other days there was too much wind for them to allow the catemarans going out. I managed to convince the people at the beach to let me take out one of the windsurfers. It was a pretty short session as I found that I am totally out of shape but as least Chong managed to have a bit of a go as well. Click here to see a video from the windsurfing We booked an afternoon of snorkeling up near Hayman island. It was a day with pretty rough seas and even though it was a pretty big boat it was really thrown around and a lot of people on the boat got sea sick (Dylan got a bit sick, but otherwise everyone else in the family was ok). After about an hour of sailing the captain said that the seas were too rough and that the water was too murky and dangerous to continue, so he cancelled the trip and returned to port. A bit of a disappointment, but at least we got a refund and a bit of a sailing trip out of it. I brought a waterproof pouch for my pocket camera which meant that I could take photos under the water and while sailing. This resulted in some pretty good photos in the pool. The kids (Kims nephews and niece) recently started swimming lessons. They are still a little uncomfortable with the water although this did improve while we were at Hamilton. Especially Ethan is not very comfortable as you can tell from this video: Video of Ethan swimming We also took some nice photos of some of the local wildlife and flora on the island and in the dining places. 2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Junior 2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabyShareWe (Kim that is) are now almost half way through the pregnancy. Last week we went to another ultrasound scan to check if everything is on track and to count the number of fingers and toes. Both baby and mum is fine so far. And how is daddy you ask? He is worried how he is going to handle being a dad...such a big responsibility and worried that he will be a lousy dad. We now also know the sex of the baby...and it is going to be a BOY and is still due in mid-June!!! He has already started kicking according to Kim, so he may be an active one. We were hoping for a girl because there is already more than enough boys in the family (Kayla started crying when she heard that is was a boy...she was hoping for someone to play with). Anyway we can now start looking a good names for a boy.I suggested to Kim that we would start an auction on eBay where the winner would get the naming rights...Kim said NOOOO!!! So there goes my retirement plans and all the millions! For anyone who is planning ahead and start buying stuff for the boy...check with Kim or myself first with regards to what we need (Sizes, Colours and brands). Rules for toys: 1) No dolls or pink fluffy stuff....it is a boy for christ sake!2) Climbing harness and shoes are perfect around year 43) A pair of skis at age 64) First Ice axe and crampons at age 105) Toys that required assembling and dis-assembling by the kid is perfect6) Toys that can be assembled in more than one way is perfect (ie. Lego)7) Toys that are created with the intension of making noise are banned8) And the most important: Don't buy a toy unless you can explain to me what valuable lesson you hope the kid will learn from using that toy. 2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Critters 2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetcrittersShareIt is common for Australian households to get a number of critters (mainly insects) into their houses during the summertime.This may range from anything as harmless as flies to more serious things such as spiders. The worst of the spiders is probably the Funnel Webs although they are quite rare and I've never seen one inside.The more scary but relatively harmless ones are the Huntsman spiders. These can get huge (the size of a dinner plate) and they are quite common inside. We get them inside probably 2-3 times a year and they always scare the #$@#$@ out of us!The one picture below was inside the shower cabin and scared Kim.We also get smaller spiders inside...one of these is the Whitetail. It is a smaller spider but they can give a nasty bite that can get infected (but it is very rare for anyone to get bitten). I notice a lot of them outside when I'm watering the grass. I still haven't decided whether it is a problem I need to deal with as they also help controlling other insects.We also get a lot of lot of other critter such as grasshoppers and caterpillars in the garden. Most of the insects I don't mind...the more biodiversity the more indication of a healthy micro ecosystem...if I could just get rid of the mosquitoes and the fruit flies. 11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bale de Rua 11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbale de ruaShareKim gave me tickets for a performance called Bale de Rua (Brasilian street dance). This satisfied the criteria of experiences rather than objects as presents.The performance took place in the opera house and it was really good. There was some really cool tricks.I am still wondering why the dance crew consisted of 15 men and one woman...the woman didn't do anything that required her being a woman so it was a bit odd and could just as well have been a performance consisting of 16 men.Kim had bought really good seats on the 4th row (almost too close) so we could see every drop of sweat. 11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Babysitting 11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabysittingShareWhile my dad was here we were looking after Kims nephews and niece a fair bit.They loved coming over here to talk to my dad and play.When they are here we put them to good use:Here's is Kayla baking scones for usAnd here she is sweeping the floor.And here she is haging up the laundry.Unfortunately I didn't get a photo from yesterday when she was watering the lawn for me. 11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Restaurants with my dad 11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetrestaurants with my dadShareWhile my dad was in Sydney we went to a number of different restaurants. We tried to find venues of the sort he hadn't tried before or that is unusual for his side of the hemisphere.There was the Yum-Cha (For those that are not familiar with this...it is a sort of chinese dumpling place where you just point at the items you want from trolleys). And my dad was brave enough to try the chicken feet this time. We also did Japanese a couple of times (once at Liverpool St which was terrible) and then later at Wagaya at the entertainment centre (which was excellent). We also did brasilian (no, we did not all get a close shave). This was a lot of meat and we were all very full afterwards. We also did French food at Tabou in Surrey Hills.And one evening we did hot-pot at home with friends.And Kims dad cooked his famous crabs. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...656667686970717273...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Serenpidity canyon 19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetserenpidity canyonShareLast year I received a gift voucher through work and decided to use it for a canyoning trip in the blue mountains before it expired.one of the companies were doing intermediate canyons and it happens that the canyon they were doing this Sunday was the serendipity canyon at mount Wilson. We (two guides and 6 other clients) parked at mount Wilson fire station and headed down the trail 30 minutes downhill. After a quick briefing about the canyon and a change to wetsuits we absailed into the canyon itself.There were lots of yabbies...really big ones everywhere.It was a fun canyon with a couple of a absails and lots of jumps into water pools and swim-throughs. It was raining a lot the day before so there was a lot of water in the canyon and the water was relatively warm.Once we were out of the canyon we had some lunch and headed back to the car a 45 minute uphill walk later. We returned back to Katoomba at around 3pm in thick fog. After a quick turnaround I headed back towards sydney as a snail pace until I was below the clouds where visibility improved. I made it back just in time for having dinner with the family.A lot of the canyons in the mountains are still closed due to the bushfire a couple of months ago. 10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Sourdough 10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread sourdoughShareFor the past 9 days is has been a small project of mine to try and bake an authentic sourdough bread.By sourdough I mean by using the old techniques of not adding yeast and let the bread ferment using the natural yeast from the air.As such it is not a lot of work, but there is a lot of waiting time and there are a lot of places that things can go wrong.I finally managed to bake an actual bread last night and brought it for the family to taste.They liked it and asked if I could bake them some more. Fortunately I still had some ferment left over for an additional two breads...photo above is one of them.Although it was interesting to do, I think it will take a while before I attempt it again...the whole process is just too long. 6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Emmas Babtism 6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetemmas babtismShareEmma was baptised this weekend at the local church. Fastest ever...the priest was speed reading! 6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Chinese New Year 2014 6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchinese new year 2014ShareThe other day it was Chinese new year. It is now the year of the horse.Again it was celebrated with vegan food and money was put on Aidens rocking horse for good luck. 6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden pedalling his tricycle 6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetaiden pedalling his tricycleShareAiden has finally learned how to ride his little tricycle (the one his grandma gave him just before she passed away) by using the pedals.He is very proud...hopefully he is able to soon using his new skills on the bike he got for christmas.Even Lucas was proud and gave Aiden the victory jump. 6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Walnut and Fig bread 6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread walnut and fig breadShareAt the moment I am going through a phase where I Loooveee baking bread.There is something really satisfying about working with something that is so diverse and alive. And there is nothing like eating a freshly baked bread with a nice crust.So far I have found a couple of recipes I really like...one of them is this walnut and fig bread.On the weekend I made it for the family dinner and they wanted the recipe. - 400g white flour into a bowl- Add 100g of wholemeal flour- Add 10g of sea salt flakes- Add 5g of dry yeast into the bowl- Add 335ml of water - Mix it all together using your hand- Kneed it by stretching it out on a table and then roll it up...do this 3-6 times- flatten the bread to a thickness of about 15mm and then place walnuts and chopped figs on top. Roll up the bread with the walnuts and figs inside.- Stretch the bread another couple of time and roll it up until the walnuts and figs are mixed into the bread.- Put the bread in a bowl and cover it with glad wrap (or better yet, just leave it on the table and cover it with the bowl) for one hour...knock back the bread every 20 minutes (3 times in total).- Leave the bread for another one hour (without knocking it back). After 30 minutes (30 minutes prior to baking) start preheating the oven with a baking/pizza stone at 250 degrees. Also put a small metal tray in the oven (for the ice cubes)- Add a bit of semolina (or flour) to the baking stone and to the top of the bread to avoid it sticking.- Place the bread on the baking stone and make a couple of cuts to the top of the dough.- Add 3-4 ice cubes to the metal tray- Close the oven and turn down the temperature to 200 degrees immediately.- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven. 23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Gardens light show. 23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley gardens light showShareEvery year hunter valley garden put up a light show where they decorate part of the garden in christmas lights. They leave this open until end of January, so this year we headed up there to have a look....enjoy. 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Trip with family 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley trip with familyShareLast weekend we made an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley a couple of hours drive north of Sydney.The main reason was to see the lights in the Hunter Valley Garden (see separate post), but also to go and taste some wine and generally have a good time.Pretty soon after we arrived the girls were distracted by the chocolate and cheese places. We did however go to a couple of places for wine tasting.We also had some really nice food up there. I was especially impressed by a really nice gnocchi salad I had....it was yummi.Outside it was really hot...like 39 degrees in the shade. There were a couple of horses relaxing under a couple of trees.We decided an alternative approach of checking into our hotel and jump in the pool to cool off. In the evening we went to the light show and on the following day we just did a number of wineries before heading back to Sydney. 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Ten Pin Bowling 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetten pin bowlingShareOn the weekend we did some ten pin bowling with the family.Kim had managed to secure some cheap tickets so it was great to play against the family.We had one lane for the kids (with rails) and one lane for the adults. I had a bad start and was behind much of the game, but my luck eventually caught up and I started playing a good game. Afterwards we had a bit of a play in the games arcadeAiden was absolutely terrified of the big scary bear (I can see why).The kids also tried to figure out what this machine was for:I love some of the old 50's style decor. 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water Play 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater playShareIt is summer and Lucas and Aiden is enjoying a bit of water play in the back yard on warm days. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...343536373839404142...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you
9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Various of the boys 9. October 2017 12:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare
9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Gerringong Family trip 9. October 2017 11:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playingShareDuring the October long weekend we went to Gerringong 2 hours south of Sydney.The kids loved playing in the sand and water.We also visited one of the few vineyards in the area.It was Chong's birthday while we were there.One morning I made a stack of pancakes - they were all eaten.On the last day we went to Minnamurra rainforest.We also went to the Kiama blowhole - but not much action.
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Boys artwork 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetLucas version of a Miro paintingShareLucas version of a Miro painting
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming Certificates 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Kims Birthday 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments NRL - Sharks vs Cowboys 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the bShareKA had some tickets for the lead-up final games for the NRL. I thought it could be fun to give the boys the experience of seeing a game...especially Aiden was really into it.
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Peter Pan 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents.ShareWe took the older children to see Peter Pan - this was their christmas/birthday presents.
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Easter trip 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetAt easter we rented a house with the family again.ShareAt easter we rented a house with the family again.
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden student of the week certificate 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetShare
19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Illawarra airshow 2017 19. September 2017 17:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely fShareThis year the airshow was on - we went there with the boys, highly recommended and will definitely find time to go there next time.
22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Swimming at Maroubra 22. February 2010 02:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetswimming at maroubraShareSunday I convinced Kim that we should go to the Beach. I wanted to try my underwater casing for my pocket camera in the waves to see if I could get some good photos. In 2000 I went to the World Press Photo exhibition and saw these great underwater photos from the surf and was inspired to see if I could re-create them.Kim insisted that we picked up a beach shelter on the way there so that she would have some shade. We found on in K-Mart and then went on our way to the beach.The first few minutes folding up the beach shelter was a disaster (It was one of those quick fold out ones where you just pull a string...junk!!) and eventually we just threw it all back in the bag deciding to return it on the way home (we'll get a pop-up one instead). Taking the photos turned out to be a lot trickier than expected. It was fairly windy and the visibility wasn't great. Also the pocket camera tries to auto focus prior to taking the photo which was difficult with everything moving around constantly so most of the time the camera didn't take the photo.It was also quite hard to aim the camera while being battered around by the waves.I did however manage to take these photos that turned out somewhat alright. I might try again one day when the conditions are better (and I've figured out how to lock the focus on the camera)
22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Uncle and Auntie in Sydney 22. February 2010 01:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetuncle and auntie in sydneyShareFor the past three weeks my uncle and auntie (Eli & Henning) has been travelling in New Zealand with a tour group. On the way home they did a 24 hour stopover with the group so do some quick sightseeing before continuing their journey.They had a tightly packed program arriving late in the afternoon, out for a late dinner and then spend then morning next day on a tour around the city before heading back to the airport.Kim and I managed to catch up with them in the evening for dinner at Nicks at King Street Wharf. Afterwards we went for a walk down to Circular Quay so that they could have a look at the Harbour bridge and the Opera House at night.By the time we got back to the hotel it was midnight and they had to check out of their hotel early next morning.We hope that they enjoyed the sightseeing the day after (it was a fairly warm day) and that they had a good journey back to Denmark. Apparently there is a lot of snow there currently so they were prepared for the fact that they would have to do a fair bit of digging to get to their car and into their house. It is not very often that we have visiting family from Denmark so it is always a pleasure to see them.
19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments More garden critters 19. February 2010 05:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmore garden crittersShareThis weekend I was cutting down the bouganvillae in the garden. Whenever I cut down some of the vegetation in the garden it is always interesting what insects I discover in the process. Because of the variety of plants there is always something new to discover. I try not to use pesticides in the garden itself...better to just let nature find a balance.On this occation I discovered a large Garden spider and a Green Praying mantis (I have seen a Mantis before in the garden and they are great to have a pest control). Both are totally harmless. This is what a website had to say about this Common Garden Spider:"Now this is your classic common garden spider from Sydney. The Australian Museum page on garden orb weaving spiders tells me there is a second, almost identical species (edulis) but that that lives further inland. There must be hundreds of people each summer who can be seen jumping madly up and down in their gardens swiping at themselves just to be sure to get rid of this guy from their clothing after they've walked through a web. Although certainly large enough, this spider is reluctant to bite humans. "Last week I did however see a redback spider on the other side of the house. Needless to say that I killed it before I got a chance to take a photo (They are extremely venoumous and the closest relative to a Black Widow). To be honest it is the first time I've seen one in the wild for more that 10 years so fortunately they are very rare.
13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Open Air Cinema 13. February 2010 07:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetopen air cinemaShareThis saturday Kim had booked tickets for 'The wolf man' at the open air cinema.Every year in January and February Sydney hosts a number of events such as operas, concerts and cinemas.The open Air cinema is located at Ms Macquaries Chair in the botanical garden overlooking the city, the opera house and the bridge. It is a spectacular setting, especially when the weather is really nice as it was saturday (last year it was pouring down with rain). This years all the seats were sold out within 30 minutes, but Kim was quick to get a couple (smart cookie). Even though we got there two hours early most of the seats had already been taken. We did manage to find two seats that were really good eventually (we were worried that we'd have to sit on one of the first rows right in front of the screen.The movie was about warewolves and it was funny to listen to people reaction when large fruit bats from the botanical garden flew down in front of the set.
2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hamilton Island 2010 2. February 2010 03:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethamilton island 2010ShareThis weekend we went for an extended (4 nights) weekend to Hamilton Island with Kims Family. Hamilton Island is located 1500 kilometers north of Sydney (2.5 hours flight) in the Whitsundays group of islands near the great barrier reef. This time of the year it is rain season up there and the first three days it was raining a fair bit. This didn't stop us from spending time in the pool or at the beach though. In the evenings we would spend time in the cocktail bars, dining our or playing blackjack. On the first and the last morning morning we did some catemaran sailing. The wind was a bit patchy with periods with no wind and other with lots of wind.The last day however was beautiful and I gave Kim a very basic first course in sailing after which she took over the steering. Click here to see a video from the catemaran One of the other days there was too much wind for them to allow the catemarans going out. I managed to convince the people at the beach to let me take out one of the windsurfers. It was a pretty short session as I found that I am totally out of shape but as least Chong managed to have a bit of a go as well. Click here to see a video from the windsurfing We booked an afternoon of snorkeling up near Hayman island. It was a day with pretty rough seas and even though it was a pretty big boat it was really thrown around and a lot of people on the boat got sea sick (Dylan got a bit sick, but otherwise everyone else in the family was ok). After about an hour of sailing the captain said that the seas were too rough and that the water was too murky and dangerous to continue, so he cancelled the trip and returned to port. A bit of a disappointment, but at least we got a refund and a bit of a sailing trip out of it. I brought a waterproof pouch for my pocket camera which meant that I could take photos under the water and while sailing. This resulted in some pretty good photos in the pool. The kids (Kims nephews and niece) recently started swimming lessons. They are still a little uncomfortable with the water although this did improve while we were at Hamilton. Especially Ethan is not very comfortable as you can tell from this video: Video of Ethan swimming We also took some nice photos of some of the local wildlife and flora on the island and in the dining places.
2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Junior 2. February 2010 02:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabyShareWe (Kim that is) are now almost half way through the pregnancy. Last week we went to another ultrasound scan to check if everything is on track and to count the number of fingers and toes. Both baby and mum is fine so far. And how is daddy you ask? He is worried how he is going to handle being a dad...such a big responsibility and worried that he will be a lousy dad. We now also know the sex of the baby...and it is going to be a BOY and is still due in mid-June!!! He has already started kicking according to Kim, so he may be an active one. We were hoping for a girl because there is already more than enough boys in the family (Kayla started crying when she heard that is was a boy...she was hoping for someone to play with). Anyway we can now start looking a good names for a boy.I suggested to Kim that we would start an auction on eBay where the winner would get the naming rights...Kim said NOOOO!!! So there goes my retirement plans and all the millions! For anyone who is planning ahead and start buying stuff for the boy...check with Kim or myself first with regards to what we need (Sizes, Colours and brands). Rules for toys: 1) No dolls or pink fluffy stuff....it is a boy for christ sake!2) Climbing harness and shoes are perfect around year 43) A pair of skis at age 64) First Ice axe and crampons at age 105) Toys that required assembling and dis-assembling by the kid is perfect6) Toys that can be assembled in more than one way is perfect (ie. Lego)7) Toys that are created with the intension of making noise are banned8) And the most important: Don't buy a toy unless you can explain to me what valuable lesson you hope the kid will learn from using that toy.
2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Critters 2. February 2010 01:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetcrittersShareIt is common for Australian households to get a number of critters (mainly insects) into their houses during the summertime.This may range from anything as harmless as flies to more serious things such as spiders. The worst of the spiders is probably the Funnel Webs although they are quite rare and I've never seen one inside.The more scary but relatively harmless ones are the Huntsman spiders. These can get huge (the size of a dinner plate) and they are quite common inside. We get them inside probably 2-3 times a year and they always scare the #$@#$@ out of us!The one picture below was inside the shower cabin and scared Kim.We also get smaller spiders inside...one of these is the Whitetail. It is a smaller spider but they can give a nasty bite that can get infected (but it is very rare for anyone to get bitten). I notice a lot of them outside when I'm watering the grass. I still haven't decided whether it is a problem I need to deal with as they also help controlling other insects.We also get a lot of lot of other critter such as grasshoppers and caterpillars in the garden. Most of the insects I don't mind...the more biodiversity the more indication of a healthy micro ecosystem...if I could just get rid of the mosquitoes and the fruit flies.
11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bale de Rua 11. January 2010 09:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbale de ruaShareKim gave me tickets for a performance called Bale de Rua (Brasilian street dance). This satisfied the criteria of experiences rather than objects as presents.The performance took place in the opera house and it was really good. There was some really cool tricks.I am still wondering why the dance crew consisted of 15 men and one woman...the woman didn't do anything that required her being a woman so it was a bit odd and could just as well have been a performance consisting of 16 men.Kim had bought really good seats on the 4th row (almost too close) so we could see every drop of sweat.
11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Babysitting 11. January 2010 09:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetbabysittingShareWhile my dad was here we were looking after Kims nephews and niece a fair bit.They loved coming over here to talk to my dad and play.When they are here we put them to good use:Here's is Kayla baking scones for usAnd here she is sweeping the floor.And here she is haging up the laundry.Unfortunately I didn't get a photo from yesterday when she was watering the lawn for me.
11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Restaurants with my dad 11. January 2010 01:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetrestaurants with my dadShareWhile my dad was in Sydney we went to a number of different restaurants. We tried to find venues of the sort he hadn't tried before or that is unusual for his side of the hemisphere.There was the Yum-Cha (For those that are not familiar with this...it is a sort of chinese dumpling place where you just point at the items you want from trolleys). And my dad was brave enough to try the chicken feet this time. We also did Japanese a couple of times (once at Liverpool St which was terrible) and then later at Wagaya at the entertainment centre (which was excellent). We also did brasilian (no, we did not all get a close shave). This was a lot of meat and we were all very full afterwards. We also did French food at Tabou in Surrey Hills.And one evening we did hot-pot at home with friends.And Kims dad cooked his famous crabs.
19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Serenpidity canyon 19. February 2014 06:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetserenpidity canyonShareLast year I received a gift voucher through work and decided to use it for a canyoning trip in the blue mountains before it expired.one of the companies were doing intermediate canyons and it happens that the canyon they were doing this Sunday was the serendipity canyon at mount Wilson. We (two guides and 6 other clients) parked at mount Wilson fire station and headed down the trail 30 minutes downhill. After a quick briefing about the canyon and a change to wetsuits we absailed into the canyon itself.There were lots of yabbies...really big ones everywhere.It was a fun canyon with a couple of a absails and lots of jumps into water pools and swim-throughs. It was raining a lot the day before so there was a lot of water in the canyon and the water was relatively warm.Once we were out of the canyon we had some lunch and headed back to the car a 45 minute uphill walk later. We returned back to Katoomba at around 3pm in thick fog. After a quick turnaround I headed back towards sydney as a snail pace until I was below the clouds where visibility improved. I made it back just in time for having dinner with the family.A lot of the canyons in the mountains are still closed due to the bushfire a couple of months ago.
10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Sourdough 10. February 2014 12:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread sourdoughShareFor the past 9 days is has been a small project of mine to try and bake an authentic sourdough bread.By sourdough I mean by using the old techniques of not adding yeast and let the bread ferment using the natural yeast from the air.As such it is not a lot of work, but there is a lot of waiting time and there are a lot of places that things can go wrong.I finally managed to bake an actual bread last night and brought it for the family to taste.They liked it and asked if I could bake them some more. Fortunately I still had some ferment left over for an additional two breads...photo above is one of them.Although it was interesting to do, I think it will take a while before I attempt it again...the whole process is just too long.
6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Emmas Babtism 6. February 2014 04:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetemmas babtismShareEmma was baptised this weekend at the local church. Fastest ever...the priest was speed reading!
6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Chinese New Year 2014 6. February 2014 04:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetchinese new year 2014ShareThe other day it was Chinese new year. It is now the year of the horse.Again it was celebrated with vegan food and money was put on Aidens rocking horse for good luck.
6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden pedalling his tricycle 6. February 2014 04:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetaiden pedalling his tricycleShareAiden has finally learned how to ride his little tricycle (the one his grandma gave him just before she passed away) by using the pedals.He is very proud...hopefully he is able to soon using his new skills on the bike he got for christmas.Even Lucas was proud and gave Aiden the victory jump.
6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Baking bread - Walnut and Fig bread 6. February 2014 04:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbaking bread walnut and fig breadShareAt the moment I am going through a phase where I Loooveee baking bread.There is something really satisfying about working with something that is so diverse and alive. And there is nothing like eating a freshly baked bread with a nice crust.So far I have found a couple of recipes I really like...one of them is this walnut and fig bread.On the weekend I made it for the family dinner and they wanted the recipe. - 400g white flour into a bowl- Add 100g of wholemeal flour- Add 10g of sea salt flakes- Add 5g of dry yeast into the bowl- Add 335ml of water - Mix it all together using your hand- Kneed it by stretching it out on a table and then roll it up...do this 3-6 times- flatten the bread to a thickness of about 15mm and then place walnuts and chopped figs on top. Roll up the bread with the walnuts and figs inside.- Stretch the bread another couple of time and roll it up until the walnuts and figs are mixed into the bread.- Put the bread in a bowl and cover it with glad wrap (or better yet, just leave it on the table and cover it with the bowl) for one hour...knock back the bread every 20 minutes (3 times in total).- Leave the bread for another one hour (without knocking it back). After 30 minutes (30 minutes prior to baking) start preheating the oven with a baking/pizza stone at 250 degrees. Also put a small metal tray in the oven (for the ice cubes)- Add a bit of semolina (or flour) to the baking stone and to the top of the bread to avoid it sticking.- Place the bread on the baking stone and make a couple of cuts to the top of the dough.- Add 3-4 ice cubes to the metal tray- Close the oven and turn down the temperature to 200 degrees immediately.- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven.
23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Gardens light show. 23. January 2014 12:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley gardens light showShareEvery year hunter valley garden put up a light show where they decorate part of the garden in christmas lights. They leave this open until end of January, so this year we headed up there to have a look....enjoy.
23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley Trip with family 23. January 2014 12:28 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley trip with familyShareLast weekend we made an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley a couple of hours drive north of Sydney.The main reason was to see the lights in the Hunter Valley Garden (see separate post), but also to go and taste some wine and generally have a good time.Pretty soon after we arrived the girls were distracted by the chocolate and cheese places. We did however go to a couple of places for wine tasting.We also had some really nice food up there. I was especially impressed by a really nice gnocchi salad I had....it was yummi.Outside it was really hot...like 39 degrees in the shade. There were a couple of horses relaxing under a couple of trees.We decided an alternative approach of checking into our hotel and jump in the pool to cool off. In the evening we went to the light show and on the following day we just did a number of wineries before heading back to Sydney.
17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Ten Pin Bowling 17. January 2014 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetten pin bowlingShareOn the weekend we did some ten pin bowling with the family.Kim had managed to secure some cheap tickets so it was great to play against the family.We had one lane for the kids (with rails) and one lane for the adults. I had a bad start and was behind much of the game, but my luck eventually caught up and I started playing a good game. Afterwards we had a bit of a play in the games arcadeAiden was absolutely terrified of the big scary bear (I can see why).The kids also tried to figure out what this machine was for:I love some of the old 50's style decor.
17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water Play 17. January 2014 12:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater playShareIt is summer and Lucas and Aiden is enjoying a bit of water play in the back yard on warm days.