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2. May 2013 07:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu food

2. May 2013 07:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu food


You would think that a country with access to some of the best seafood and freshest produce would have fantastic food.

Although the food was Ok, we didn't find it fantastic and generally very over prised.



There was plenty of restaurant in and around Port Vila and some of them serving specialties such as coconut crabs and flying foxes.

We tried the coconut crab...but it was overcooked and dry and had surprising little meat on it (no meat in the body itself).




So we stuck to more traditional seafood which most often was battered and deep fried.



And as usual Aiden got into the free kids menu desserts



2. May 2013 05:26
by Rene Pallesen
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Lake Macquarie 2013

2. May 2013 05:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lake macquarie 2013


This weekend we went up to Lake Macquarie with the family to stay for a couple of night at a resort. I didn't take a lot of photos because we either didn't do much or were too busy with the family.

I did however take this one photo one evening at Katherine Hill Bay.


1. May 2013 12:38
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - Star fish

1. May 2013 12:38 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu star fish


The beach at the hotel was full of really big and colourful star fish....couldn't help but take a few snapshots.





26. April 2013 10:46
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 7 Months

26. April 2013 10:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 7 months


Lucas is now 7 Months and for this month we decided to take his Monthly photos while he was on his first overseas trip to Vanuatu.

This series of photos was taken at Eton Beach on the east side of the island of Efate in Vanuatu...he loved the water and had a hard time to understand that it is unpleasant to eat the sand and drink the salt water.

He is now almost able to crawl...he just needs to figure out that it is not enough to just move the legs...you also have to move your hands.



3. April 2013 07:20
by Rene Pallesen
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Another old Lucas 4 months photo

3. April 2013 07:20 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

another old lucas 4 months photo


I know it was a couple of months ago, but I only now got around to processing it.

Here is another photo that I took of Lucas when he was 4 Months.

27. March 2013 11:15
by Rene Pallesen
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Axolotls

27. March 2013 11:15 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

axolotls


The other night we went for dinner at Marks place. He asked us if we could help him take some photos of the kids Axolotls...our response was 'Their WHAT??'.

Anyway, it turns out to be some sort of Mexican Salamander and he'd attempted to get some photos using his point and shoot camera, but wanted something better that he could print and hang on the kids wall.

Here are some of my efforts:



27. March 2013 11:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Sucking feet

27. March 2013 11:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

sucking feet


When Lucas doesn't have any toys to play with then his favourit pass time is to suck his feet. Here is a quick snapshot from the other day when he was at it again.




He's now got two teeth, so hopefully he wont chomp off his toes.

12. March 2013 09:27
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 6 Months - Pictured and Framed

12. March 2013 09:27 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 6 months


Lucas is now 6 months and is enjoying the easy life...

On the weekend we went down to La Perouse to do these creative shots of him at sunset.

I always said that I would take a photo of him and put it in a frame...but not sure if this is what everyone had in mind.




It was pretty good fun trying to set it all up. A lot of other walkers on the beach were wondering what we were doing.

I have been planning this photo for a while.


The frame I had picked up from a garbage collection day last month outside a block of units with this particular photo in mind.

The chair and table are bath aids and foot stools from home.







It was really cool to see everything come together in the end. Unfortunately we missed just the end of the sunset as there were a few clouds on the horizon.


A lot of lessons learnt came out of it. Even though the photos came out almost as I had envisioned...I still had a few things that I could have done better....just small things such as two flashes to light frame and Lucas independently, CTO gelling the flash to match the ambient, using an umbrella to avoid hard shadows, bringing a mid range zoom to have more composition options and be able to get a bit closer, use black string to hold up the frame instead of white, bring a pillow to keep his head up and then stripping his clothes and then bring my light meter to check the setting to start with instead of chimping.

It was the first time I've used the D800 for this (in the past I've been using my D50 with a different shutter system) and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to balance out the ambient with the flash and still stay below the sync speed...but it worked out like a charm...or maybe I was just lucky!

12. March 2013 09:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Kims Kitchen - Raspberries Creme Brulee

12. March 2013 09:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

kims kitchen raspberries creme brulee


Last night Kim made a very nice Creme Brulee...Yummiiiii!!!!

She asked me to take a couple of photos which I think turned out quite nicely.

12. March 2013 09:15
by Rene Pallesen
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Sydney Wildlife Park 2013

12. March 2013 09:15 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

sydney wildlife park 2013


On the weekend we went to the Sydney Wildlife Park at Darling Harbour.

It was good fun to show Aiden all the different animals (Although he was pretty tired by the end).

The highlight of the exhibition is the 4.5 meter long Saltie (Saltwater Crocodile). He is such a darling and he loved his girlfriends so much that he had them over for dinner (Ha Ha).





Aiden wasn't sure about the crocodiles and definitely wasn't happy with the big mouth and all the sharp teeth...



...Daddy came to the rescue and threw himself at the monster.



He was a bit more happy with the smaller cuddlier animals...



Such as the wombats...



...the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies...



...or even the Tasmanian Devil.



The start of the exhibition is pretty amazing as you wank through a large enclosure with lots of butterflies flying around.



And besides from that there is of cause a lot of lizards, frogs and snakes on display.


ink over time I will get her hardened up enough to check out the hostels first and then afterwards increase the comfort levels if we dont find anything of a decent standard...but so far it is ok that she gets a bit of comfort...it is her first backpacking/roughing trip and she is doing really well so far (getting into the spirit of finding cheap restaurants etc.). Click here to see more photos from Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:00
by Rene Pallesen
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Copacabana - Bolivia

10. March 2008 08:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

copacabana bolivia


The bus ride from Cusco was interesting...but probably more for Kim than I (she called it horrendous). The company that we had bought our ticket from in Cusco came and picked us up at the hotel at 9.30 pm in a taxi and then drove us to the bus terminal a couple of kilometers out of town. The ticket was a direct ticket to Copacabana in Bolivia in a sleeper bus...but when we got to the station it turned out that the bus was going to drop us off 15 kilometers out of Copacabana...the guy from the company gave us a little cach and told us to use it to bribe the bus driver to drive us all the was to Copacabana.
We then had a talk to the company and they agreed to organise with the bus driver to drive us all the way. The bus was ok and full of other gringos also going to Copacabana or La Paz. Kim was greatfull that the bus had a toilet and less gratefull that it was pitch black in the middle of the night and couldn´t flush...so very stinky. About 30 kilometers from the border we got dropped off by the bus (so much for the promise of a direct bus)and loaded into a minibus with far too little seating. The bus wouldn´t start so we had to get out and push. It then started to rain and there was 2-3cm of snow on the road at certain places (4000 meters altitude) once we reached the Peru border we were again off loaded and had to walk across the border...the border crossing itself was smooth although we had to wai a while for the office to open at 7.30am.

On the bolivia side we then took another bus (which we had to pay for) to Copacabana about 8 kilometers away.
Copacabana is a small town next to Lake Titicaca and Kim had researched hotels...but after looking where some of the other people on the bus would stay she agreed to stay the same place (after we got some towels and a heater).
The rest of the day we spent in Copacabana which is a pleasant but very small place and hos got a cheap backpacker feel to it in a positive way (A lot of backpackers out searching for the meaning of life rather than partying an ruining it for others).
In the evening after dinner we found a little cafe playing live music. For dinner they had these set 3-4 course menus for around $2 USD per person at the various restaurants which is a lot cheaper than a-la-carte.

The next day we took a boat to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) on the lake and spent a couple of hours walking the 11 km from one end to the other (I am quite proud of Kim on this trip being happy to walk long distances with me) and then in the afternoon we took the boat back to Copacabana. On the Island I bought a jumper made from Alpaca wool for around USD $7 and Kim bought a local scarf.

Click here to see more photos Click here to see more photos



Back in Copacabana Kim found some really nice local jewellery so she was busy spending the rest of the evening shopping (I have told her not to buy too much because it is difficult to carry).

Click here to see more photos

In the morning next day we took the bus to La Paz (about USD $2 per person for a 4 hour drive).
Click here to see more photos from Bolivia