Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

The Wildlife in Borneo . . .

The jungles in Borneo are really dense, dark and humid.

You will find that some of the photos look as though they have been over-exposed, but in reality, it is just the humidity in the air.






I have a photo of this at home - Glen enlarged it for me, and framed it!

Don't ask me why - I think I look rather wasted there.

Glen and I tried to race through the jungle.

The climb to the top of the mountain is rated as a 1.5 hour climb... Glen and I have done it in 26 minutes... actually I was confident that I could do it in less than 20 and so I did!

I held the record of taking 17 minutes to race to the top of Mt Silam, covering a distance of approx 4 kilometres through the jungle, up a mountain.

I was getting really fit (My girlfriend was proud of me).



This photo shows how dense and dark the jungle can be. It was so humid there... no, not because I hadn't cleaned my lenses.



You can see how muddy it is in the jungle - I became quite dirty after many trips into the jungle.



I think these trees are just as big as the Californian Redwoods. They might not be as old, but definitely just as big.



This was taken with a 300mm lens, from 1.5 metres.

The most amazing thing about them, is when they are scared, the curl up into little "marbles".

It looks like a small bug, but it is actually at least 7cm long, which is actually quite big.




I noticed in Borneo, most of the insects there were huge.

The wingspan of the brown moth was about 15cm wide - huge!

They are mostly active at night, which is quite common for creatures in the jungle.

A couple of the girls stationed in the jungles, was stationed here. Not a wise decision, considering these girls were paranoid about the insects.

(Note: in the photo below, I still had conjunctivitis) I had the red eyes for most of the trip.


Big and beautiful, don't you think? You can see how big the black moth is compared to the size of the telephone.





These plants were kind of special because each branch split into two, so by the end of it, they formed a hexagonal pattern.

Below, are plants known as the "pitcher" plant.

The pitcher plants are meat-eating plants - you have watch out not to fall into them because they will swallow you whole.



If you just believed that, you are very gullible! *laugh*

The pitcher plant, like other carnivorous plants, feed on insects.

They have sweet-smelling nectar that attract the unsuspecting insect to it.

When the insect lands, it finds the surface slippery and fall straight into the “pitcher”, where the plants juices drowns it and is digested by the plant.

You may have heard of other type of carnivorous plants such as the Venus Fly Trap, and the Sundew plants.



Yes, you see me holding the snake with a leaf.

It was a poisonous snake, and I was worried about it's venom getting on my skin.

For example a puff adder, contact with the venom numbs the skin.

I was not familiar with the snakes in Borneo, and was not about to risk it.


The tarantella was sitting inside the catering tent hunting.

Everyone was looking at it and admiring it, which was pretty amazing, considering I know many people who would willingly kill a spider in sight.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Home 15. April 2014 16:04 by Rene Pallesen 1 Comments Open day photoshoot - Sarah Lucien 15. April 2014 16:04 by Rene Pallesen | 1 Comments Tweet One of the model was a more mature girl by the name of Sarah.I had the pleasure of shooting her usin Share One of the model was a more mature girl by the name of Sarah. I had the pleasure of shooting her using natural light next to one of the windows in the upstairs studio. The Look I was going for was a more soft Boudoir type look and I think I managed to capture that in this photo. I found it really hard shooting using natural light. I was using a new Samyang 85mm f/1.4 lens that I bought. The look I wanted required me to shoot it at 1.4 but the light at the window was fairly bright so I was constantly hitting the ceiling of how low the ISO could go and how high shutter speed I had. Model: Sarah Lucien Hair and Makeup: Carla Vallelonga Lights: Natural 15. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Open day photoshoot - Taylia Lopez 15. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet I had a blast of a day this Sunday participating in a modelling workshop with Studio 1A...22 models Share I had a blast of a day this Sunday participating in a modelling workshop with Studio 1A...22 models, 10 makeup artists, 20 sets and lots of opportunity to take great photos. I was totally buggered after shooting for 5 hours but it was great for building experience. This was one of my favorite photos (many more to come) from the day. Model: Taylia Lopez Lighting & Set: Studio 1A Hair & Make-up: Kabuki Mee Designs 10. April 2014 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Lucas with a snotty nose 10. April 2014 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet A cute moment of Lucas attempting to draw and with a very snotty nose.This is a test shot using a ne Share A cute moment of Lucas attempting to draw and with a very snotty nose. This is a test shot using a new Samyang 85mm f/1.4 lens that I recently bought. It is a manual focus lens so it is harder to use (especially with the kids), but this shot shows what beautiful results I am getting when shooting wide open. 10. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden toilet training 10. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet We are training Aiden at the moment. The other day he did a big one on the toilet and as a reward we Share We are training Aiden at the moment. The other day he did a big one on the toilet and as a reward we gave him the dinosaur that we had promised him. 2. April 2014 12:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aunty Irene in town 2. April 2014 12:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet My Aunty and her husband arrived to Australia a couple of days ago and will be traveling around the Share My Aunty and her husband arrived to Australia a couple of days ago and will be traveling around the country for the next 5 weeks. They asked if they could come over for dinner one evening to see where/how we live, so Saturday night we hosted them at our place. It is not often that I have relatives in this part of the world, so when it does happen then it is nice even if it is just for a short visit. The menu was Kims lemon pepper prawns for starters, Duck breast with home made bearnaise and raspberry creme brulee for desert (plus a lot of other goodies such as dips and cheese and wine). They were supposed to have arrived the night before but their flight was delayed so they arrived 6am in the morning going straight to their hotel and then straight onto a bicycle tour around Sydney. From there they went straight to our place...they must have been buggered... 1. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Family Photo at La Perouse 1. April 2014 10:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Last weekend we went down to La Perouse to do some family photos as we needed some new ones. We deci Share Last weekend we went down to La Perouse to do some family photos as we needed some new ones. We decided to do some on the lawn in front of the tower. Lucas was not in the mood to have his photo taken and wanted to be held all the time so we decided to stick to using the picture frame that I had brought along. Aiden on the other hand was having a blast of a time running, climbing and playing. 21. March 2014 15:03 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments St Patricks Day Spike Hair 21. March 2014 15:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Monday it was St Patricks day (an Irish thing) and at daycare they were celebrating it by putting co Share Monday it was St Patricks day (an Irish thing) and at daycare they were celebrating it by putting colour and hairspray in the kids hair (Green is the Irish National colour). Aiden came back with very spiky hair and was his own cheeky self about it... 18. March 2014 12:03 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Playing at the park 18. March 2014 12:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet The other day we went to the park to play with the kids.I brought the camera along to take a few sho Share The other day we went to the park to play with the kids. I brought the camera along to take a few shots of Lucas on the swing. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep on the swing. I also managed to get a couple of great photos of Aiden. 18. March 2014 12:03 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Aiden pedalling his bike 18. March 2014 12:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweet Repeater Stations

The Competitors

Helicopter

Jungle Around Us

The Village

Ecochallenge in 2000 was held on the east coast of Borneo, in the jungles of Sabah. It was an extreme race where the competitors taking part have to endure 10 days of running through the jungles; kayaking and swimming many kilometres offshore; and mountain-biking for 150km on dirt roads. All in all, the fastest competitors travelled 600km in a space of just over 5 days!

I had the privilege of being there, being the developer of software that was used by the radio communications team. I also helped out with the setting up of all equipment and made many trips to the repeater stations.

Being in the jungles of Sabah, let alone part of the Ecochallenge preparations, has proved to be a challenge and an experience worth remembering, and hope to be part of any future Ecochallenge events.

As shown in the map, the red trails are where most of the competitors either ran or walked. The purple trail was the kayaking/canoeing leg. The orange trail was the mountain-bike leg and the blue trail was where the competitors had to swim with all their equipment.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

On this particular Saturday, I drove to Terrigal to see the Mexican Chilli Festival... it was excellent. I shot two rolls of film up there. Some of these pictures have turned out beautifully!

A couple of my Mexican friends were doing the entertainment there. Victor is very good at playing the mexican harp. His wife, Shiraz, is an excellent dancer.

I took a series of shots in colour and a series in black & white. I shall first show you the ones in colour and then in b&w, as the b&w ones are very artistic!







Victor plays the harp like a dream!

I was once at Lance's place - Lance was helping Victor record his music onto CD. The harp does not look like your ordinary orchestral harp. It was ornate and somehow different. It is was a very beautiful instrument.









As you can see, these women are gorgeous! Something about silk stockings, I think...

Shiraz is the photo in the middle. She did quite a few numbers, and this was one of them. All 3 girls danced in a colourful combination!









Here you see Shiraz dancing in a duet.

I have seen her do this dance at a similiar concert May last year, here in Lindfield. Victor and a couple of guitarists provided accompaniment to the dancing. Shiraz moved so fast that at times, all you could see was this colourful wave of skirts.

Her partner's costume reminded me of the costumes the Spanish toledos wore (except without the cape).









As you can see, Shiraz danced a number of dances that day.

It takes a lot of energy to do those dances!

My gallery of black & white photos of the Chilli Festival!

Whilst we were in Morocco, our whole family went riding on donkeys.

That included my grandparents! They needed a bit of support to keep their balance, but otherwise they were doing all right.

You can see my grandmother, my brother Claus and my mother in succession behind by grandfather.





Here is my father! Do you not think that he looks so much like his brother in one of the photos on the 80th birthday page?






Here is my brother on the donkey. It is quite amazing how much these small animals can carry.





My mum on her donkey. Not quite as elegant (maybe relaxing a bit would have helped) as the rest of the family, but at least she didn’t fall off!

This is one of the few pictures I have of her where she is not smoking! (oh, and the other one at my grandmother's 80th, of course! It was a very nice picture of her smiling!



Finally, someone got a photo of me on my donkey!

Our main reason for the trip to Morocco, was to come together as a family and attend my grandmother's 80th birthday. We also managed to explore Morocco, and even had a fun day riding donkeys - yes, the whole family - my grandparents, parents and brother!

We met different people and there were some really beautiful women in this country. There were some interesting buildings and we even found some strange goats!

The Women of Morocco . . .







People in the city tend to be more extremist/fundamentalist when it comes to religion, then those who come from the country areas.

One reason could be that the people living in the cities are mainly Arabic, and those living in the countryside are Berbers.

Berber women are less dressed up than in the cities.

Some of them are extremely beautiful.

Also, I noticed that those in the city tend to be more self-conscious of photos being taken than those in the country.People are naturally a bit shy, but by showing friendliness, it a makes it a lot easier to take good photos.

Hmmm... Do you know that I was actually offered to buy this girl on the right for two camels? I do not know why they wanted to get rid of her. Maybe she was making too much trouble in the village?

Anyway…I refused the offer.






The girls decorate themselves with what is called henna. It is a dye that stains there hands for a long time. They paint different patterns onto their hands and it actually looks very pretty. Much nicer than tattoos - which are permanent!





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Goats . . .



We came across a couple of trees full of goats. They were climbing around the tree to reach all the green leaves. Our first though was that someone put them there, but they were too much out of reach for that idea.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On the weekend we went tot he beach. Initially Aiden was a bit scared of the waves (although he loves the sand and the water)...but after a while he didn't mind the waves splashing around his little legs (I found the water cold but he didn't mind).




As usual he threw a tandrum when we pulled him out of the water.



Afterwards we spend some time in the sand and I was teaching him how to build really cool sand castles and he was teaching me how to demolish them.

The other weekend we took Aiden to the swimming pool.

He is really happy with water now and loves splashing around. He is no longer afraid of it and doesn't mind getting his head under water.



Only problem now is that he throws a tandrum every time we have to leave the pool.

This year I didn't get a chance to go to Sculpture by the sea during the daytime, but I did have some time to go there one evening after we had put Aiden to bed.

I had seen some daylight photos from the exhibition from Tamarama beach where they had these 'Easter Island' type statues. I thought I could do some really cool night time Off-Camera-Flash photos using just ordinary flashes.

When I got there it was almost pitch black darkness...perfect.

I got my gear set up and managed to take the following shot which was exactly what I envisioned in my head.



While there I had a look at a couple of the other sculptures in the area...I did shoot the following photo of this 2 meter tall red chinaman sculpture.