Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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7. January 2016 18:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas 2015

7. January 2016 18:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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.

16. December 2015 13:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Silliness

16. December 2015 13:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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.

16. December 2015 12:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas family photo 2015

16. December 2015 12:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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.

1. December 2015 12:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden Graduation and Christmas Concert

1. December 2015 12:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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.

1. December 2015 12:12
by Rene Pallesen
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7th Anniversary

1. December 2015 12:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This month Kim and I had our anniversary.

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

29. November 2015 22:11
by Admin
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Ballet - Sleeping Beauty

29. November 2015 22:11 by Admin | 0 Comments

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.

25. October 2015 09:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Velvet - 2015

25. October 2015 09:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last night Kim and I went to the show Velvet at the Sydney Opera House.

It was a combination of circus, burlesque and boogie nights (70's music) in one show.

The show had great music with Marcia Hines and Brendan Maclean and the performers were great. I think everyones favourite was the guy with the hula hoops.

1. October 2015 19:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Some more baby photos

1. October 2015 19:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I don't know for sure which ones are Claus and which ones are Rene.

30. September 2015 18:09
by Rene Pallesen
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Claus as a tennis player

30. September 2015 18:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This post is mostly about Claus when he was at his top as one of Denmarks top tennis players.

I have kept scans of all the newspaper clippings from when he was winning a lot of tournaments.

In the mid 90's he started to get pretty sick and although he still tried to play tennis it was never at the same level again. Eventually he more or less gave up. His illness took to great a hold of him. These are some of the 'darkest' photos I have of him while he was struggling with his schizophrenia and were taken shortly before I moved to Australia.

He lost contact with most of his friends and was very dependent on my mum and dad as well as other support programs in place.

I prefer to remember him as he was before he passed away.

This poem reminds me of him.

The morning after I killed myself, I woke up.

I made myself breakfast in bed. I added salt and pepper to my eggs and used my toast for a cheese and bacon sandwich. I squeezed a grapefruit into a juice glass. I scraped the ashes from the frying pan and rinsed the butter off the counter. I washed the dishes and folded the towels.
The morning after I killed myself, I fell in love. Not with the boy down the street or the middle school principal. Not with the everyday jogger or the grocer who always left the avocados out of the bag. I fell in love with my mother and the way she sat on the floor of my room holding each rock from my collection in her palms until they grew dark with sweat. I fell in love with my father down at the river as he placed my note into a bottle and sent it into the current. With my brother who once believed in unicorns but who now sat in his desk at school trying desperately to believe I still existed.

The morning after I killed myself, I walked the dog. I watched the way her tail twitched when a bird flew by or how her pace quickened at the sight of a cat. I saw the empty space in her eyes when she reached a stick and turned around to greet me so we could play catch but saw nothing but sky in my place. I stood by as strangers stroked her muzzle and she wilted beneath their touch like she did once for mine.

The morning after I killed myself, I went back to the neighbors’ yard where I left my footprints in concrete as a two year old and examined how they were already fading. I picked a few daylilies and pulled a few weeds and watched the elderly woman through her window as she read the paper with the news of my death. I saw her husband spit tobacco into the kitchen sink and bring her her daily medication.

The morning after I killed myself, I watched the sun come up. Each orange tree opened like a hand and the kid down the street pointed out a single red cloud to his mother.

The morning after I killed myself, I went back to that body in the morgue and tried to talk some sense into her. I told her about the avocados and the stepping stones, the river and her parents. I told her about the sunsets and the dog and the beach.

The morning after I killed myself, I tried to unkill myself, but couldn’t finish what I started.

—Meggie Royer

Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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6. March 2013 09:33
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 5 Months

6. March 2013 09:33 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Lucas is now 5 months and we did his monthly photos the other day together with Aiden.

This also gave me an excuse to try out the new strobe I bought for photography (an Alien Bee B800) and it worked out great...so much better than trying to use multiple flashes inside a softbox to get enough power.

Aiden and Lucas are already ganging up on us and sitting giggling together. They absolutely adore eachother although Aiden sometime can get a little rough with Lucas.

Afterwards we went to the local Park to have a bit of a play (see previous post with photos of Aiden).

5. March 2013 03:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden at Boralee Park

5. March 2013 03:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The other day we visited Boralee Park to let Aiden play and to take some photos of Lucas.

Aiden is now definitely less afraid of playing and is quite happy zooming down the slides by himself...although he is a little cautious about the swing unless showing off in front of Lucas.

http://summitconsulting.com.au/cs/photos/aiden_2013/images/7539/original.aspx

26. February 2013 08:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Sydney Aquarium 2013

26. February 2013 08:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This Sunday we went to Sydney Aquarium with Sacha, Mavis and their daughter Sammi.

Believe it or not, but it was my first time to the Sydney Aquarium, I guess we were waiting for Aiden to be old enough to really enjoy it (Lucas is still too little).

Aiden immediately ran off with Sammi to look at all the fish tanks.

And as we descended deeper and deeper we came close to the big fish in their larger tanks.

And we could look at them walking through the underwater tubes.

They are also one of the only aquariums in the world having Dugongs in captivity.

In the old days it was though that these creatures were mermaids and you can see how that could happen.

LOOK!!!!! A MERMAID!!!!

Anyway...for the most part it is about me watching the Dugong watching the people watching the Dugong....

Unfortunately I had a terrible hay fever and probably would have enjoyed it even more without it....but we may go back in the near future.

6. February 2013 09:09
by Rene Pallesen
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Blue Mountains Landscapes and Waterfalls

6. February 2013 09:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This weekend in the Blue Mountains I took a series of Panorama and waterfall photos.

This first one is taken from Govetts Leap.

And these two are from Evans Head.

This waterfall is also at Govetts Leap.

And these waterfalls are all from the Grand Canyon walk.

5. February 2013 09:09
by Rene Pallesen
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Leura Toy Museum

5. February 2013 09:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the last day in the Blue mountains we made a visit to the Toy and Railway museum in Leura.

They had a lot of old toys and movie related memorabilia such as Tintin.

...and James Bond.

and some impressive Meccano pieces.

Outside there was a garden with a Japanese inspired section

Along with a Matterhorn model railway.

And other railway stuff.

5. February 2013 09:00
by Rene Pallesen
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Blue Mountains February 2013

5. February 2013 09:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This weekend we rented a small cabin in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains.

It was a nice little place with a couple of bedrooms and a nice little fireplace. It was a cool couple of days so we had the fireplace going most of the time.

During the day we would go for nice walks in the local area much to the enjoyment of especially Aiden...

...and have lunch at cafes to the enjoyment of Lucas.

The forest around the cabin had a couple of lyrebirds.

31. January 2013 08:51
by Rene Pallesen
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My Dad leaving

31. January 2013 08:51 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My dad holiday is over and he is returning back to home. To celebrate their last ight we went to a Korean BBQ place in Sydney and then we had a coffee across the street later.

Hopefully it won't be too long before he is coming back!

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

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

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 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.

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