Kim and I just had our 5th wedding anniversary.




She still looks as beautiful today as she did when I first met her.

We celebrated by going out having dinner at Darling Harbour and watched the weekly fireworks.

We recently had the international fleet review in Sydney with lots of navy ships from international countries visiting Sydney to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Australian fleet.

This also meant that not only were there lots of sailors in town, but also lots of navy cadets.


Aiden and I chose to visit the American USS Chosin and British HMS Daring.

The US ship is an older class ship, and from the outside fairly unimpressive.



but on closer inspection it had an impressive arsenal of missiles.





As well as guns.



The crew were very friendly and were happy to have their photo taken.



The British vessel on the other hand is a very modern ship, again with a very impressive firepower.







The crew again were happy to have their photos taken.



After this Aiden was over the ships and when he spotted a firetruck he got very excited. Lucky the firemen were pretty bored so they were pretty happy to entertain him for a while and it also gave me a bit of a break from carrying Aiden in my backpack.






After that he was hungry and wanted something to eat.

Last night was Halloween and we walked around with the kids (KC's and our kids) to do trick or treat.

Aiden was a little sick with gastro but we did managed to get him along dressed in his spider man shirt.

I was dressed up as a steam punk vampire.



When we came back I did the photo above in my home studio.

I finally managed to take the 1 year portrait of Lucas that I had planned and it turned out really well I think.



He is a big boy now and he is able to walk by himself (took his first unassisted steps just before his birthday).

The other day we went to Centennial park to take some 1yo photos of Lucas using a balloon.




What we had in mind was to take the photo down a row of trees.



...but it was impossible to get both the balloon and Lucas to behave in the same photo and the light wasn't great anyway with patches of sun and shade in the middle of the day.

We instead tried to be creative with other photos.

A couple of weeks ago we went to centennial park to take some photos of Lucas for his birthday (see separate post).

I also took this photo of Aiden running across the bridge at Centennial park.

Here is some more test shots of Lucas...his facial expressions are priceless.

The other day I was setting up for a portrait using my new beauty dish strobe.

I was using myself as a subject and this one turned out rather well.

Sculptures by the sea is on again and Kim and I managed to find a couple of hours to go and have a look.

I was carrying Lucas in my backpack and didn't bring my camera, so these photos are all shot with my phone...I seriously regret that I didn't bring my larger camera.

Recently I have been doing a lot of work with a client in the Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney CBD.

It has been great working in the city as the commute is a lot easier and more interesting in general.

This is the building I have been working in.

This Easter we rented a small cabin out at Oberon. It was a beautiful little place on top of a hill with a beautiful view.











The place was full of cattle, kangaroos and wombat holes (with wombats in them).




Along the way we stopped at Wentworth Falls.






















We also went to Jenolan Caves one day.








And afterwards Kanangra walls (Lucas never made the 200m walk there...too tired from all the walking. Pity, because it was the perfect spot and light for a family photo).









Next day we tried going to the glow worm tunnel, but the easter crowds made us turn back once we approached the car park. So instead we went up to Blackheath to have a nice lunch and enjoy some of the lookouts.






Later I tried another family photo at the cabin...very windy.




Overall a nice trip and the boys had a lot of fun.

Again this year we went to the Easter Show the entertainment quarter. As usual it was great fun for the kids.

Especially Lucas had a blast now that he is old enough to participate.

Australia day was a very special day this year. I have been living in Australia for over 17 years and have been waiting for the moment Denmark would accept dual citizenship.

Although I have been been calling Australia my home for a long time I am also a Dane and didn't want to give this up.

I actually thought that it would never happen, but finally in late 2015 the law was finally changed and I lodged my Australian application immediately. On Australian day I took the pledge and can officially call myself an Australian now.

Kim and the boys, KA and Aaron as well a few friends attended the ceremony.







I felt very proud and was very honoured.









And I was pampered with Australia day gifts.

Between Christmas and New year we went to the Hunter Valley with Sasha and his family.

We stayed overnight in a cabin in Lovedale.




During the day we tasted wines at the various wineries (found some good ones).






















The kids also loved playing at the cabin in the evenings.

This year we decided not to celebrate on the eve of the 24 and just stick with the 25th at KC's place (too much cooking otherwise). I was responsible for the Christmas ham (with limited success).

It was a relaxing day and the kids were very exited about their presents.

Sometimes when I am setting up for a photo especially Aiden likes to jump in a get silly.

It is a good way to test the lighting and sometimes I managed to get a 'keeper' such as this one from a few weeks back.

It is almost Christmas and I've just completed our annual family Christmas photo and this is the final version.



It was an interesting process getting to this photo this year. Last year we did a photo in the kitchen of us baking a cake, but this years photo has so many more elements to it.

The idea came from a combination of Kim and my ideas. Kim wanted to do a photo of the boys through a crystal ball. I actually bought the crystal ball right after Christmas last year with this year in mind.

We did a test in front of the tree in early December which was reasonably okay, but Kim didn't like the feel to it. She wanted more snow (pretty ambitious on a summers day here in Sydney Australia).



My idea for our family photo was based on me wanting to do a story of us as a family out in a snow storm 'Looking for Santa'. I had purchased a bag of artificial snow and a Christmas cape a few months back and we had some lanterns downstairs so I pretty much had all the components in place for the shoot.

I knew I had to do it as a composite with the boys as there was no way that I would be able to get the photo with all four of us at once. We did the photo over a couple of days, on the first evening (after the kids had gone to bed) I took the one of Kim and myself holding the lantern. Once I had this photo I could show it to Aiden and Lucas so that they knew what we needed them to do (Lucas just had to copy Aiden).



I had Gaffa taped markers on the floor so everyone would know where they were supposed to stand. Inside the lantern I had hidden a speedlight gelled with CTO to make it look light the lantern was lit. We are actually lit by a large Einstein strobe also with CTO, grid and barn doors to control the spill of the light.
At the back left and right were another two speedlights providing a bit of rim light to emulate moon light.

Because of the first 'failed' attempt of the crystal ball I got the idea to extend my 'Looking for Santa' photo into Santa's shed where he would have a crystal ball where he could look at us looking for him.
This would require three components - The crystal ball, the lights from the Christmas tree to create atmosphere and then Santa himself. I created Santa by hanging a hat on a chair which was easy to light and then I had another light which I used to balance the ambient with the lights from the tree.

The final photo all combined looks like the following, but in the end we decided to just use the tighter crop in the first and final photo.

This month Kim and I had our anniversary.

I cant believe we have been married for 7 years...still love her to bits.

It was time again for the annual Christmas concert with Aiden and Lucas' daycare.

Aiden is starting 'big' school after Christmas, so this was also his graduation.



Kim and Aiden had both practiced some dancing and songs for the concert and were both dressed up, Aiden as a doctor and Lucas as a pumpkin.





Although Aiden was very excited leading up to the concert and was telling everyone how he was going to sing and dance, he absolutely broke down once we got there overwhelmed by all the people and the noise.

It was heartbreaking to see him like that on an evening where he should be enjoying himself. He was crying and didn't want to get on the stage. Eventually we managed to get him up and he did try and participate.





Lucas on the other hand had a great time, unfortunately I didn't get a lot of photos of that because I had to try and comfort Aiden.





After the show Santa turned up wit presents for the kids and he was a lot happier again.







After that the graduates had their photos taken and had cake.

Saturday Kim and I went to the Sydney Opera house to watch the Sleeping Beauty performed by the Australian Ballet.



It was one of the better ballets we have seen. The story was great and the dancing (lots of it) was of a really high quality.

The even managed to weave in some of the Red riding hood story, Puss in boots, Cinderella and other stories.

It was beautiful to watch.

Christmas is now approaching and to keep up traditions I have created some family photos as well as some photos of Aiden.

Recently Dao's husband moved to Australia to join her. One of the visa requirements are that they must enter a legally binding marriage (The marriage from Vietnam is not recognised here) for him to stay here, so today we went to the registry office to have them married.

On the weekend we went with the family to Darling Harbour where they have a big water playground.

This gave Aiden a chance to play in the water...which he loves.







I also took a couple of photos of Aiden with grandad and auntie.

Every year we are allowed to spend a certain number of working days on charity events. Last year I did some with a group from work, but this year I was offered to join Cisco on their charity for "Cure our Kids".

This is an even that mainly focuses on providing a support framework for parents whose kids have Cancer with the thinking that if there is a good support for the parents then they will be able to support their children better.



The work we did consisted of going through pallets of boxes with parent folders and then from these remove unwanted items and inserting new leaflets. A team was also going through other boxes to sort through what could be used for xmas and what needed to be ebay'ed off.

This weekend Kim and I met met up with the mothers group for a christmas meet.

Because the weather was nice we decided to meet at the local playground and at the same time I could take some photos of the kids.

The playground has a plastic boat which makes it nice and easy to keep them contained in one area.

They have now set up the christmas tree in East Gardens. I was trying to find a goot spot to take a photo from without use of a tripod and without being chased away by security.



This was the best I could come up with.

On the weekend we went for a walk in Centennial Park. We stopped at this old stone bridge to take a couple of photos, but Aiden was more interested in taking mum for a walk and a swim.

On the weekend I was cutting down some of the bushes in our garden. Very quickly Aiden discovered that it was fun to play in the pile of leaves that I'd left behind.

The other day we were at Eastgardens shopping centre.

Lego had an area set aside where the kids could play with Lego (obviously to get the parents to buy them Lego for Christmas).


Obviously Aiden (and Dad) had to play for a while.







And Aiden also did some drawing (or at least he was playing with the colour pens)

Last weekend we went with Lachlan and Na to Darling Harbour for dinner.

This also happened to be the night of the Christmas parade in Darling Harbour.



So there was a lot of entertainment such as the Three Wise Men.





And lots of people dressed as Santa.



And Elves.

During my first year in Australia, after coming from Denmark, I was contracted out to work at Port Macquarie - a quiet, but beautiful and peaceful seaside town a few hours north of Sydney. The first pictures were taken in Port Macquarie during Easter 1998.

Lance, Anne and Graham, some good friends of mine, decided to do some exploring around the area...

Graham here, on the right, The Admiral himself... (also called "Wobber") "Is that a chicky-babe in the water ?"

The photo is taken on "Kermit" (Note, the green seats...) in the river at Port Macquarie.




Lance seasick ???? No, just a little tired !

This is one of many photos I have of Lance sleeping - he has a knack for taking a nap just about anywhere - just ask Anne! *smile*

It's a great day to sail on "Kermit".




Whereas, who do we have here?

Me! I love sailing, and as usual, like to be a'head' of things...

"Clear water ahead Navigator?"

"Aye-Aye Admiral!"



"The Admiral" is giving Anne a good whacking.

Poor Anne...












Lance and The Admiral in front of the lighthouse at Port Macquarie





In the mangrove at Port Macquarie, there are millions of these small blue crabs (Taste like shit). It's pretty amazing though - crabs do not exist only on a beach. They live wherever there is enough water and they can burrow quickly and easily away from danger.

The photo above is taken on a sandbar in the river at Port Macquarie.

There are also a lot of pelicans in Port Macquarie. I managed to get a picture of one flying. And one yawning!

There are quite a few pelicans here in Narrabeen, on Pittwater Rd - a main street near where I live. Narrabeen lakes draws its salt water from the sea, and at one point on Pittwater Rd, there is a bridge. This is where I see most of the pelicans - perched on top of the flat heads of street lights! It's quite funny to see them there, and have never managed to get a photo of this yet, as I usually see them when I am driving over the bridge.



We went bushwalking in the mountains and forests at Port Macquarie and found this beautiful rockpool. We used the opportunity to go for a swim.











Off the beaten track in the forests around Port Macquarie!







Moi!

One of the few pictures of me (as you will notice in this whole website). I tend to prefer taking pictures of other people and places - but my girlfriend is trying to remedy that! (she's still trying not get blurry pictures...)














As you can see, this place is really good for getting comfortable, enjoying my lunch, no worries, good place to get a bit of sleep...



Like my new haircut?

I wanted to do something radical. I needed a change, I wanted people to look at me when I was walking down the street. So decided to change my hairstyle. By the way, you like it green? I can't be a dumb blond forever...







A picture of Lance and I with the beaches at Port Macquarie and one of the Brothers in the background !







There was a storm in Newcastle. These were the biggest waves I had ever seen - some were 7-8 meters high. The waves were washing all the way up to where I am standing taking the picture.

The kids in the photo were waiting for a big wave to hit them and wash them into the rock pool. You know the big wave coming towards them? They were still a couple of hundred meters away from it...





Henrik, Lance and I made a bet with Anne about whether or not we would be able not to use a computer in our sparetime for two weeks while we were up in Newcastle. We accepted the bet and won it simply because it was impossible for us to lose since we didn't have access to any computers!

That meant that Anne had to cook us a dinner... Australian Style!









Aussie?

We had to dress "Australian style" for the dinner (at least to start with). Reckon it is Aussie with a billabong hat? (Need some flies for the corks to chase away). But it is DEFINITELY Aussie with that holey surfie t-shirt and a Fosters (disgusting) in hand!












Can't see, can't hear and can't talk, who am I?

No actually he was trying to wear his wife's earrings but didn't want it on a photo!

I have often said that Port Macquarie was a beautiful place, but it is much too quiet for me in the long run. Working there during 1998 was good, but I was also glad to be back in Sydney!

We celebrated Anne's birthday at a restaurant called Pete's Bite. The only access to the restaurant is by seaplane or boat. It is located 2 hours north of where I live.

The food is marvelous and bloody expensive. It is definetely worth trying (once)!



It was 40-45 degrees that day and no wind so everybody moved out on the lawn in the shade of palms!




So this is what a heat stroke looks like !

Narrabeen Beach . . .

My apartment is situated right on Narrabeen beach - one of the nicer and quieter northern beaches.

Now that I've said this, you're probably wondering about that surfer in the middle of that photo... and is the wave real?

You betcha!

I even have a photo of this surfer being 'chased' by this HUGE wave, on the wall in my apartment.



Narrabeen is renowned for its great surf and dangerous rips. Many famous lifesavers come to surf at this beach. However, usually after a big storm, the beach is closed as the waves can get pretty rough and dangerous rips pull you out to sea.

These photos were taken outside my apartment during the annual National Surf and Lifesaving competition.