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19. December 2011 11:22
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Family Photos 2011

19. December 2011 11:22 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas photos 2011


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

Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos


19. December 2011 01:21
by Rene Pallesen
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Daos Wedding

19. December 2011 01:21 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

daos wedding


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.







19. December 2011 01:19
by Rene Pallesen
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Water Playground in Darling Harbour

19. December 2011 01:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

water playground


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.







9. December 2011 08:06
by Rene Pallesen
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Cure Our Kids

9. December 2011 08:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

cure the kids


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.





4. December 2011 03:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Mothersgroup 2011 Christmas meet

4. December 2011 03:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

mothersgroup 2011 christmas meet


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.









27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Eastgarden Christmas Decorations

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

eastgarden christmas decorations


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.

27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Centenial Bridge

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

centenial bridge


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.







27. November 2011 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing with Leaves in the Garden

27. November 2011 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

playing with leaves in the garden


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.



27. November 2011 07:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing with Lego

27. November 2011 07:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

playing with lego


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)



27. November 2011 07:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Parade Darling Harbour

27. November 2011 07:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas parade darling harbour


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.

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26. January 2013 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Darling Harbour - Pre Australia day

26. January 2013 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

darling harbour pre australia day


Last night we were at Darling Harbour with my dad having dinner. They had already started the pre-Australia Day celebrations with music and a light show on the harbour.



Dinner was very nice...but too much food.



26. January 2013 08:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas' Eye

26. January 2013 08:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas eye


The other day I was playing around with some macro shots of Lucas and managed to shoot this photo of him...I had something else in mind, but this turned out quite nice (I think).




It was a real challenge to try and keep reflections out of his eye...and as you can see I didn't succeed using a shoot-through umbrella.

19. January 2013 07:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 4 Months Photo

19. January 2013 07:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 4 months photo


Lucas is now 4 Months and here are his monthly photos.





Kim has him started on solids hoping that he will start sleeping through and he is almost able to sit and he has started babbling when we talk to him.

His favourite pass time is to eat his fingers and play with his feet.

18. January 2013 03:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Heat Record in Sydney 46.4 Degrees

18. January 2013 03:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

heat record in sydney 46 4 degrees


Today was REALLY hot in Sydney.

We have had a couple of really hot (40C++) days in Sydney this summer but yesterday beat the current longstanding heat record from 1936.

In Sydney itself they measured 45.8C and at the Airport which is closer to us the measured 46.4C. At our place we measured more than 43C degrees at midday.



Fortunately yesterday was a lot cooler and because we knew that there was a hot day coming up we managed to cool down the place the during the night to a pleasant 25 degrees...and out house maintained that temperature for most of the day (apart from our study which gets really hot because of the big windows).

In the evening a cool change arrived with very strong winds and a bit of rain...we quickly opened all doors and windows to take advantage of it and cool down the place again...unfortunately this also came with a very fine layer of dust on everything next morning.


9. January 2013 04:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Blog posts for 2012

9. January 2013 04:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

blog posts for 2012


2012 was a record blogging years for me...77 posts over the entire year...which means one new entry every 4.5 days, or in other terms something new to look at regularly.

I am hoping that 2013 will have equally many posts. I have now been blogging for more than 15 years and most if not all the posts can be seen here:

Click here


2. January 2013 01:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Family Bedtime

2. January 2013 01:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

family bedtime


Here is another family photo that I had my Dad assist us with. It was easier to have him on a ladder taking the photo than trying to set it up on a lightstand.



It was lit by firing a group of flashes into the ceiling of the room...hopefully I will get a professional studio flash soon and will have some more power available for these types of photos.


I recon this is one of my favourite family photos from 2012.

2. January 2013 01:00
by Rene Pallesen
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My dad with Aiden and Lucas 2013

2. January 2013 01:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

my dad with aiden and lucas 2013


For the next couple of weeks my Dad and his partner are renting a campervan to cruise down the coastline from Cairns back to Sydney (hopefully they enjoy the cool weather compared to the 41 degrees we had here in Sydney yesterday).

Before they left I managed to do a photo session with him and the kids to get some portraits.

Click here for more photos





I may try and do another one once they return on a darker background.




1. January 2013 09:53
by Rene Pallesen
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New Years Day 2012/2013

1. January 2013 09:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new years day 2012 2013


New Years day we organised a more of let spontaneous BBQ (well..it was organised day before) at one of our local parks with family and a couple of friends.


I think my dad was still a bit hung over from the day before, but we still managed to get him to do some of the BBQ'ing. They went to the city night before to see the big midnight fireworks while Aiden and myself went to Coogee to see the 9pm fireworks there with family (Kim stayed at home with Lucas).


Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos

...while Kims Dad was looking after Lucas.

Click here for more photos

30. December 2012 01:30
by Rene Pallesen
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Duck feeding with my dad

30. December 2012 01:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

duck feeding with my dad


One afternoon we made the trip to Centennial park to go duck feedking with Aiden, but also to show our visitors one of the great parks of Sydney.





Aiden was very excited playing with my dad and running up and down the hills and checking out the big trees.





(photos courtesy of my dad)

27. December 2012 10:13
by Rene Pallesen
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My Dad and Aiden bonding

27. December 2012 10:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

my dad and aiden bonding


So far my Dad and Aiden are bonding very well.

The first thing AIden asks for when he wakes up in the morning is 'Play Bedstefar' (play grandad) and wants to go and knock on his door to play with him.

My dad has been very patient with letting him jump while holding his hands, so now he wants to do it all the time.

Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos

He especially enjoys the two handed jump...


Click here for more photos

...so now he also wants it when we are walking him.

Click here for more photos

The jumping has come in handy as I have used it to trick Aiden to get in the water at Maroubra a few times.


My dad also reads him his story before he goes to bed at night...we will se over the next month whether we also can get him to change nappies, brush his teeth, feed him, dress him etc.
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5. February 2019 09:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Shinjuku

5. February 2019 09:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments











28. August 2018 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Outdoor Artnude photography workshop

28. August 2018 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

all
I did an art nude photoshoot over on the other side or Botany bat at Kurnell with a group of photographers and a Elen who was the model and organiser.



































26. August 2018 16:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping - Wombeyan Caves

26. August 2018 16:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We made another camping trip. This time to Wombeyan caves with one of Kims colleagues.It was just be
We made another camping trip. This time to Wombeyan caves with one of Kims colleagues.

It was just before winter set in, so the nights were cold and it was nice sitting around the fire at night.



There are a lot of limestone caves in the area that are worth visiting. We did this one which was self guided.





I tried to teach the boys how to shoot with a bow - kept them busy for a while.



We also rigged up a badminton net for both adults and kids to play.


But mostly it was the fire that the boys had fun with.





We also did a really long 8km walk - almost lost the track at one point.



26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Blue Mountains

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This winter we went to the Blue mountains with a group of friends. We hired a house at Leura and spe
This winter we went to the Blue mountains with a group of friends. We hired a house at Leura and spend the days going for walks.


This is from the Grans Canyon walk.





And some from the other walks.












26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Ayutthaya

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand. It is a couple of hour north of Bangkok, and the easiest w
Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand. It is a couple of hour north of Bangkok, and the easiest way to get there (by far) is by Train (we learned this the hard way).

The capital was only moved 250 years ago after it was ransacked by the Burmese, but now most of what used to be some extraordinary buildings are now mostly rubble.





It is a large area with lots of temples, so it is worthwhile having plenty of time and not rush it. We just visited three of the main sites, and that was plenty with the kids around.






Some of the highlights are the big lying down Buddha.


People still use this as a place of worship.


And apparently it is good luck if you can make a coin stick on the buddhas feed (without resorting to chewing gum).


At one of the temples there is also the head of Buddha stuck in the roots of the tree.


And as usual it is worthwhile keeping a look out for other moments involving people.













26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Ayutthaya Train

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We took the train back to Bangkok after visiting Ayutthaya on 2nd class tickets.There is not much di
We took the train back to Bangkok after visiting Ayutthaya on 2nd class tickets.

There is not much difference between the classes except extra bolstering on the seats. We however found a more open carriage where the kids could better play, draw and read books during the ride.


There was also a bit more life here. I went for a couple of walks through the train and found a lot of interesting sights.

The carriages were open between the carriages, so people used these areas to sit sown and get some fresh air or a smoke.



There was also a section that was reserved for monks, where I got permission to take this shot.


The mail/cargo carriage was more open with this man sitting keeping an eye on things.


As we approached Bangkok the man from the little kitchen chased people away from a part of our carriage as this was his place to sleep.



26. August 2018 15:08
by Rene Pallesen
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My dad's 75th birthday

26. August 2018 15:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year it was my dad's 75 birthday. I traveled back for the party.The party was at a little hotel
This year it was my dad's 75 birthday. I traveled back for the party.


The party was at a little hotel (in danish called a 'Kro') at Soroe.




While there I also got to see the new house they are living in.



26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand - Floating market

26. August 2018 14:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The floating market is 2 hours drive south of Bangkok. We made a bargain with a taxi driver to drive
The floating market is 2 hours drive south of Bangkok. We made a bargain with a taxi driver to drive us all there in a minivan. In the process he tried to take us to the wrong place 5 kilometers from the market and tried to rip us off by saying we should pay an exorbitant amount to take a boat from there - Kim and I had been there before and remembered that it was possible to drive there. With the assistance from Kim's colleague, the driver was put in his place and took us to the right location, so we still came out ahead and it turned out to be a nice day trip.


The market is very much for tourists these days, but they still have the original boats selling food, although the market itself is all souvernirs.






It is however interesting to observe the other tourists and I managed to capture a couple of good moments.









26. August 2018 14:08
by Rene Pallesen
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Bangkok

26. August 2018 14:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

After Laos we went back to Bangkok.Bangkok is much the same, however it feels a lot cleaner with reg
After Laos we went back to Bangkok.

Bangkok is much the same, however it feels a lot cleaner with regards to smoke from all the bikes, but the traffic itself is horrendous.


The tuk-tuks are still there, but they try to charge exorbitant prices, so it was far cheaper and more convenient to get a taxi.


As usual there are still lots of interesting choices for food, such as braised pigs head.


Or Scorpions (which are mostly sold to tourists)


When it comes to shopping, Kim was in shoe shop heaven.


The boys however was in their own upside down ice cream heaven.



The nightlife is also much the same, with the more relaxes and romantic atmosphere along the river.


As opposed to the more thrashy massage parlour atmosphere just around the corner from our hotel.


While we were there it was childrens week, much to the joy of the boys.



This also gave me some unique photo opportunities such as the Thai version of Wonder woman.


Evening were spend having nice dinners with friends, Kim's colleagues and by ourselves.



This photo was my all I packed for the entire trip (only thing missing is my camera and the two lenses I brought along). Everything fitted into a small carry-on backpack.



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15. March 1998 10:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Port Macquarie ( 1998 ) . . .

15. March 1998 10:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

port macquarie 1998
Graham -


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 - sleeping


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".

Rene up front onboard!



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!"
Graham picking on Anne!


"The Admiral" is giving Anne a good whacking.

Poor Anne...





Lighthouse at Port Macquarie







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




Hundreds of crabs!

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!

Flying pelican

More pelicans

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.

Rockpool

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.

Me!










Off the beaten track in the forests around Port Macquarie!


Me!





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...)





Me 
eating lunch









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...


Me under the bushes...

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...

Lance & I






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






The hugest waves!

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...



Dinner with the Lenehans, Henrik & wife


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!


Who looks Aussie now?






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!







Henrik





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!






15. February 1998 10:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Anne's Birthday ( 15th Feb 1998 ) . . .

15. February 1998 10:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

anne s birthday 15th feb 1998



Anne



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)!

Me feeling hot


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

Me definitely feeling hot



So this is what a heat stroke looks like !

15. March 1997 11:14
by Rene Pallesen
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Narrabeen Beach . . .

15. March 1997 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

narrabeen beach
Huge waves at Narrabeen

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 beach

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.

Narrabeen BeachNarrabeen beach
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21. August 2012 12:03
by Rene Pallesen
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The Entrance 2012

21. August 2012 12:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the entrance 2012
This weekend we went with the family up to the Entrance 150km North of Sydney.

We stayed at a small resort in the middle of The Entrance close to the water and restaurants.

When we arrived on the Friday night it was really windy and cold...I had left behind my jacket in Sydney rushing out the door but fortunately I had enough jumpers to still stay warm.

We were staying close to the bridge across the Entrance and underneath the bridge there were some nice lines that I quickly rushed out to capture before sunset.


Next day we spend around the local area looking at the market, playground etc.

In the afternoon there was pelican feeding which definitely was worth seeing.

One of the birds had a fish hook stuck in its neck and the feeders quickly caught it to try and pull it out.

They also have this insanely long jetty going into the lake. I wanted to do a sunset photo but the conditions weren't great...no spectacular clouds and the water was full of seaweed that had been blown in with the wind.

21. August 2012 10:14
by Rene Pallesen
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Norah Head Lighthouse and Milky Way 2012

21. August 2012 10:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

norah head lighthouse and milky way 2012


During the day at the Entrance we made a quick trip up to Norah Head light house to scope it out.

Later that evening I headed up there in the dark to take some star photos.

The conditions were perfect with the Milky way clearly visible and I good some great shots. Here is one pretty much straight out of the camera that requires just a little more processing.





As I walked from the gate to the lighthouse (about 700 metres in pitch darkness) with my torch all hell broke loose suddenly when I rounded a corner.

I heard people scrambling in all directions through the bushes falling over branches. I used my torch to have a look and saw these 6-7 kids running away...obviously they were sitting there smoking weed and got a freight.

Later in the evening they walked past me as I was taking photos and one of them said 'Man, you gave us a freight...we thought you were a cop'!

15. August 2012 03:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Cherry Blossom Season

15. August 2012 03:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

cherry blossom season


The Cherry Blossom season is about to start here in Sydney (does that mean spring is here) and the first flowers are out. Yesterday I brought my camera along when picking up Aiden from daycare and managed to take a couple of photo along the way.



I may try and take some more photos over the next week or so. Kim mentioned that she would like to hang one of the photos on the wall.

We are in the process of doing some large prints...I have already ordered the first one which is a glass print which should arrive next month.





8. August 2012 10:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Love the new camera

8. August 2012 10:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

love the new camera


I love the new camera...it performed abosolutely amazing on the weekend when I did a photoshoot with the family. The 36 Megapixels mean that every detail such as pores in the skin, hairs etc. is visible and sharp.

This photo below shows one of the photos of Chong and Emma zoomed in at 100 percent..the small photo on the left shows the original photo.





8. August 2012 08:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Emma

8. August 2012 08:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

emma


A couple of months ago Chong and KC had a new addition to their family.

Last week they asked me if I'd take some photos for them. It was a good chance for me to have a play with the new camera as well as some light setups.






Emma was very good and only had one 'accident'.



It was also a good practice session for when our next addition arrives in a couple of months.











I love the new camera, the details are absolutely amazing in the studio and the autofocus is accurate now after I had it fixed by Nikon.

31. July 2012 10:06
by Rene Pallesen
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Satellite Tracking Facility

31. July 2012 10:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

satellite tracking facility at belrose


Yesterday I went to a work conference where at the end of the day they offered us to do some site visits.

I was fortunate enough to visit the satellite tracking facility in the Northern part of Sydney. The company I work for owns a number of satellites (at a cost of around $400 million each) and they will be launching their 10th satellite later this year...the 'O10'.


This photo is from the control room where they look after all the locations, transponders and media broadcasts from the satellites.




It was interesting to be able to see the raw/unedited broadcasts from areas such as the London Olympics, the conflict in Syria etc.


The actual electronics was equally impressive.






I even found the box that currently is receiving all the media broadcasts from the 2012 London Olympics.






This is the Satelite Dish controller...On the display you can see the current position of the dish (and from that you could probably calculate the location of the actual satellite).




Outside was the array of dishes.






Most of the satellites are being launched from French Guyana by the European space agency.




30. July 2012 07:34
by Rene Pallesen
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Big Birthday

30. July 2012 07:34 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

big birthday


A couple of days ago it was my birthday...I wish it was my 27th...but it wasn't!

Kim took me out for dinner on the day itself to a nice place at Circular Quay...very nice, but absolutely freezing and windy in there.





Day after we went out for dinner with the family to a Japanese restaurant and they ordered a shameful amount of food!

After the dinner we went back to our place for cake.



15. July 2012 12:26
by Rene Pallesen
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Thomas Trains and Warragamba Dam

15. July 2012 12:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

thomas trains and warragamba dam


Aiden is a big fan of the Thomas Trains, so a few weeks ago when Kim saw some vouchers for the Train Shed she bought some tickets.

This morning we went out there with the whole family to go riding on the trains. Aiden was very excited...to the point where he didn't want to get off the train.



The kids had 5 rides each and they also had lunch and scones provided for us.







Aiden had to check out anything that remotely looked like a train (looks like he is taking a wee here).




It was also a good day to try out the new camera (just came back after 5 weeks in the repair shop for recalibration). Kim was using it most of the day and said she loves it compared to my old camera.


On the way in I had seen a signpost towards the Warragamba Dam. This is where 80-90 percent of Sydneys drinking water supply comes from.





8. July 2012 10:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Duck feeding at Centenial Park

8. July 2012 10:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

duck feeding at centenial park


This morning it was a beautiful winter day here in Sydney and we decided therefore to go duck feeding in Centenial Park with Aiden and Dylan (I was supposed to have been doing a course, but it was cancelled).

Aiden eventually figured out that it was fun to tear off small pieces of bread and throw it in the water for the ducks and swans to eat.



I showed him how to hand feed the big swans with a flat hand, but he still didn't like them much...and even less so when one of them stole his bread after sneaking in from behind.



Stupid Swan!!!!



But eventually the swan apologised and he was happy to feed the smaller birds.



Also the pond is full of fat eels (and on one occation I have seen turtles there). Some of them would surface to try and steal the bread from the ducks.





10. June 2012 09:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Emily's birthday party

10. June 2012 09:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

emily s birthday party


Yesterday we went to Emily's birthday party in Centennial park. We were there on time at 10.30 on a very cold morning (it had been 7 degrees overnight) but there was no-one else there...the host and the birthday child turned up two hours later (I cannot stand people who consistently have no respect for other people time).

We had brought Aiden tri-cycle that he got as a birthday present from his grandma last year.



We also spend some time exploring the forest next to the playground.