Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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.

During 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!

It 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.

Week 25

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.

Today 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.

Last 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.

Here are some various photos from first part of 2022.

Here is one of Aiden in his happy space at the Piano and Guitar.

At Cabramatta we sat down having an asian drink. It looked so much like one of the birds from Angry bird that I just had to get a photo. See the resemblance?

This is a Lego truck that Lucas built.

At karate Aiden is sometimes asked to teach the newbies. It is great to see how it gives him confidence.

Aiden went to a birthday party with a Virtual Reality experience...a bit scary for him.

The local corner shop was refitted for a TV show.

Easter egg loot.

What do the boys get up to in their room sometimes???

Family photo at QVB

Having desserts in the city

A seal resting on the rocks at the opera house.

One one of our trips down south we visited the Nan Tien temple south of Sydney.

It is a Chinese Buddhist temple that is worth a relaxing visit for anyone with some time.

During the Christmas holidays we rented a place at Warilla Beach a couple of hours south of Sydney.

We discovered that the beach has pipies in the sand, so every day we made sure that we harvested a plate full of them for dinner.

We brought Aidens new guitar, so that he was able to practice his music while enjoying the scenery.

The kids also attended online drawing lessons.

It was a beautiful spot to sit on the balcony, enjoy the view and have some great food (including fresh pipies).

One day we also visited the Jambaroo Water park. This was a disappointment with long queues at every ride and Aiden was too scared to do any rides so it was a bit of a miserable day.

Last weekend it was Ethans 21st Birthday. He had a bit party with the whole family and his friends.

They had arranged for catering with lots of Cambodian, Laotian and other asian foods.

It has been three years since I last spent time with my dad. This is due to Australia closing its borders for two years due to the Covid pandemic.

As soon as they announced opening the borders again in February my dad booked his ticket to come a visit.

It was really nice to have him here and different from when he has been here previously. For starters, he was here by himself which was a different dynamic and also Aiden and Lucas have grown older and really enjoyed bonding with 'Bedstefar'. Especially Aiden and my dad found that they had music in common and Aiden took great prise in being able to play some of the pieces on piano that my dad was able to sing.

I really enjoyed having a few beers (and other good stuff) with him while he was here.

A couple of years ago I bough a machine to transfer my dads and grandads old 8mm film to digital. Because of the pandemic I was never able to try it out. My dad brought one of his films to do a trial transfer. It worked really well and he'd now brought it back to Denmark with him to transfer the rest.

One afternoon dad and I went up to the Barrenjoey lighthouse. My dad is still able to do it although he is a bit slower and not as strong as he used to be.

Kims dad passed away 92 years old. He will be greatly missed by his daughters, grandchildren, grandsons and friends.

It was a beautiful funeral following chinese traditions with wearing white clothes to celebrate a long life.

Aiden played a beautiful song on the piano in front of everyone and we had put together slides showing his life.

Day after we did the traditional cleaning of the tomb stone and also the burning of paper clothes and money (theory is that it will then go to the afterlife for him to wear).

I hope that the boys are old enough to remember their time with him.

Even though his old body was failing him, his mind was still sharp enough to play Mahjong and other games with us. These photos are from our last trip with him down to Bowral.

Lucas is part of the schools chess club.

The other day he was very proud that he'd received this award.

This Christmas was almost normal with the Covid restrictions lifted.

As usual we did our annual Christmas photo.

Kims dad is staying at Kims sisters place over Christmas after haing been in hospital. He is looking the best he has for years.

This are from various events of 2021

Lucas Holy Communion

Lunar Esclipse

Swimming at Yarra Bay in the middle of winter

Aidens Learning award

Empty Maroubra Beach during covid lockdown

Seafood dinner with family

Chillies harvested from the garden

Cooking lobster at home during lockdown

Spotted Herbie in our local area

Monkeys in a tree

Playing games at home during Covid lockdown

Enjoying a hot chocolate during Covid lockdown

Boys make a mess and have to clean the house

Dinner at home during Covid lockdown

Conference call with family during Covid lockdown

How many people can you fit into a dinghy?

Pho at the local cafe

Going for a walk after Covid restrictions lifted

On a conference call with Dalai Lama from home

Kim received a Hoodie to keep her warm in the cold winter evenings. I thought it was something else and wrote instructions on the packaging.

Aidens birthday was bowling with his friends and dinner with family

Kim dressed appropriately for walking 20 meters to the car

The boys learning to use a hammer.

Spending time at Yarra bay

Aiden still struggling, although him now having a piano seems to help him.

Lucas got some more awards at the Athletics carnival to add to his swimming awards.

Mid year I decided to get an electric piano. I've always wanted to learn and we wanted to boys to start playing as well.

We have been using an online lesson system and it has been working really well for us. Especially Aiden seems to pick it up quickly.

Aiden has also been begging to get an electric guitar, so this Christmas we got him one. It is fortunate that the same online lesson subscription also covers guitar playing.

This weekend we went Luna Park to celebrate Sammi's birthday.

The kids (especially Aiden and Sammi) had loads of fun on the different rides.

Last weekend we made another excursion to Centennial. This time to a different and more open area (Kim wanted to have picnic on the manicured lawn, but I convinced her to move into the trees so the kids could play).

They also wanted to go and play/climb on the rocks.

Here are a lot of individual photos of the kids that I haven't had a chance to post because they didn't really justify a post or not of the best quality.

First one is one of Lucas with face paint from daycare.

And he throws the biggest tantrums once in a while. Here is one on the street.

Here Aiden and Lucas are being silly and trying to balance on one leg.

And here is Aiden think he is stuck under the sofa (he is not).

Here he is very proud of his colouring in from daycare.

They both have the same bathrobes.

As a reward we took Aiden to the movies to watch 'How to train your dragon 2'.

We are still trying to teach Aiden how to ride a bicycle.

A scary hand.

They love their chocolate and ice cream.

Chilling out.

Selfies.

Breakfast.

A beautiful sunset.

Last weekend kim was away for a girls weekend.

While she was away I decided to go to the little forested area of Centennial park and let the boys play amongst the trees.

They had a lot of fun just making up their own games.

Here is a couple of photos from Lucas' 2 year birthday with the family.

Aiden and Lucas are doing a lot of painting and drawing at daycare.

Here is some of their better work.

This one I call 'The water dragon' by Lucas

This is 'The night owl' by Aiden (Aiden calls it 'Wave')

This is without a doubt my favourite photo of the day (and it was also one of the first I took).

There is something very serene and dream like about this photo that I really like, and the dreamy look or the model fits well.

Set & Lights: Studio 1A Sydney
Model: Jacqueline S (IKON)
HMUA: Donna Kalasho
Photo: Rene Pallesen

This was the last of the models I photographed at the goods elevator.

Set & Lights: Studio 1A Sydney
Model: Christina Tran
Hair: Roxanne Cahill
Makeup: Rachael Bastiaansen
Photo: Rene Pallesen

There was another model at on the day with this really nicely done black body paint.
She looked great against the black backdrop.

These were taken with a gridded beauty dish high camera left. I had someone hold a silver reflector on the right to create some separation but I don't think it is really noticeable.

Set & Lights: Studio 1A Sydney
Model: Anna Gambril
HMUA: Jade Little
Photo: Rene Pallesen

Here is another one of Michaela from the open day.

Set & Lights: Studio 1A Sydney
Model: Michaela Baranov
Hair: Roxanne Cahill
Makeup: Rachel Bastiaansen
Photo: Rene Pallesen

Water fun

Tasmania - Easter 2010

Week 25

Taste of Sydney

King Lear

Home

The Rooftop

Streets of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another Part 3

Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another Part 2

Temple of Philae - Moved from One Island to Another

Nile Cruise

Tomb of Nobles

An Egyptian Perfumery

The Unfinished Obelisk

Home

Various 2022

Nan Tien Temple

Warilla Beach 2022

Ethans 21st Birthday

Dad in Sydney 2022

Father in law passed away

Lucas awesome checkmate award

Christmas 2021

Various 2021

Piano and Guitar

Home

Sammi's birthday at Luna Park

More from playing in the forest at Centennial Park

Lots of oldies but goodies

Playing in the forest with the boys

Lucas 2yo birthday

Childrens Paintings

Open day - flower girl

Open day - Christina

Open Day - Black Body Paint

Open day - Michaela

Newsletter

Thank you

Newsletter

Thank you

Newsletter

Thank you

Newsletter

Thank you