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22. July 2013 06:53
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 10 Months Photo

22. July 2013 06:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 10 months photo


This weekend we went to the local park to get a photo of Lucas for his 'First Year' album.

We wanted to get some photos of him on the swing.



But we also managed to snap a couple with Aiden...

21. July 2013 07:51
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden playing soccer

21. July 2013 07:51 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden playing soccer


Aiden has started playing soccer (not real soccer, but they do get to kick a ball).

He is very proud that he has real soccer shirts and shorts.



We started taking him to assist him with his development. We are starting to see some progress but he is still a bit behind his age group.

21. July 2013 07:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Lego Turtle

21. July 2013 07:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lego turtle


Aiden and I often sit and build Lego together (Sometimes Lucas also joins us, but he is better at taking it apart).

One day we build this Lego turtle worthy of a photo...Aiden had great fun pushing it along the ground.

21. July 2013 07:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Orange Cake

21. July 2013 07:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

orange cake


Kim likes baking too and these days she will ask Aiden to help her.

Her cakes usually looks much better than any of my efforts.

21. July 2013 07:42
by Rene Pallesen
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Baking Ciabata

21. July 2013 07:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

baking ciabata


A couple of weeks ago I tried to bake Ciabata bread.

It is a long process that takes about 24 hours (first you have to make this yeast and flour sponge which you then later use for the end result).

I substituted normal flour for wholemeal. This was the end result.



The taste was ok, but it was too dry for my liking...so will have to try again one day.


28. June 2013 07:40
by Rene Pallesen
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The Lightbulb

28. June 2013 07:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the lightbulb


Light bulbs are really rare now as you can't buy them in the shops any longer.

We still have one in the cupboard so I decided to have a bit of fun with it one evening...



28. June 2013 07:25
by Rene Pallesen
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Vivid Sydney 2013

28. June 2013 07:25 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vivid sydney 2013


Vivid Sydney was on again this year and in my opinion better than the previous years.

Because of the kids it was hard to find the time to explore, but I did manage to head in there one evening to get some photos from the classic angles.















13. June 2013 09:48
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 9 months

13. June 2013 09:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 9 months


Lucas is now 9 month old and the other day we went to the park to do some Autumn photos with him.

The photo of the day was definitely this one of Kim and Lucas having a moment together.



It was hard because he wanted to crawl around and play and because it was the middle of the day the light was pretty harsh.



We also tried to take some at one of the small bridges in the park but they were shooting a commercial shoot there and Lucas was more interested in trying to get into the water than posing.



And when we tried a family photo he didn't want to sit still.


13. June 2013 09:45
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 8 Months

13. June 2013 09:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 8 months


For Lucas 8 month photo we decided to do a profile photo of the four of us just like we had with Aiden.



A bit more difficult this time because there we two kids and getting them to look in the right direction and keep the right face expression.

13. June 2013 09:42
by Rene Pallesen
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Aidens 3 year birthday

13. June 2013 09:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aidens 3 year birthday


Last week it was Aidens 3rd Birthday.

We celebrated it by singing happy birthday and having cake.



For his birthday he got a new car as well as some new shoes.





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25. December 2014 08:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas 2014

25. December 2014 08:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year we celebrated Christmas eve with the boys.5 days before Christmas I still hadn't taken our
This year we celebrated Christmas eve with the boys.

5 days before Christmas I still hadn't taken our annual family photo even though I had the concepts loosely worked out in my head.

I knew that I wanted to do one in the kitchen and one evening when Kim decided she wanted to experiment with cooking brownies I decided to set it up and talked her through the concept and what I wanted her and the kids to do.
It worked out better than expected.



Kim also wanted one of us unpacking gifts.

This one was a lot harder to set up as the light was critical.




The last family photo we did was a simple one taken in the morning at Maroubra beach.


24. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Inspirational notes for 2015

24. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In one of the shops at Eastgardens I found a wall full of these inspirational notes for 2015.
In one of the shops at Eastgardens I found a wall full of these inspirational notes for 2015.


















23. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing a storm

23. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of days ago the kids were playing in the park at Kims dads place while a big storm was appr
A couple of days ago the kids were playing in the park at Kims dads place while a big storm was approaching.

The light was beautiful so I couldn't resist snapping a couple of photos with my phone.











21. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Kim riding a bike

21. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim has never learned to ride a bike. One day at the park she borrowed Kaylas bike and gave it a try
Kim has never learned to ride a bike. One day at the park she borrowed Kaylas bike and gave it a try.

She did pretty good considering that she's never done it before.



20. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Cool art work

20. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is some quick snaps of some public artwork that I find really cool.This artwork I found in the
Here is some quick snaps of some public artwork that I find really cool.

This artwork I found in the Macquarie centre.







It is thousands of plastic balls suspended from the ceiling.

And this grafitti is from Redfern...I wish all grafitti was this well done.


19. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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The Tiger who came to tea

19. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One day we went with the kids to the opera house to experience a play called "The tiger who came to
One day we went with the kids to the opera house to experience a play called "The tiger who came to tea" which is based on a childrens book of the same title.

We had borrowed the book week before and read it to the kids so they were very excited and the play was really good fun and well made.







15. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Lindt Cafe

15. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One of the sad events of the year was the attack on the Lindt cafe in Sydney where a lone gunman too
One of the sad events of the year was the attack on the Lindt cafe in Sydney where a lone gunman took the patrons as hostages. He was eventually shot by the police after killing two patrons.



All of Sydney laid flowers in front of the cafe as Martins place.








22. November 2014 16:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Daydream island

22. November 2014 16:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago we went to Daydream island in the Whitsunday islands at great barrier reef.Thi
A couple of weeks ago we went to Daydream island in the Whitsunday islands at great barrier reef.

This was a great opportunity to check out some of the natural beauties...





...such as Whitehaven beach.











We spent a lot of time playing at the pool and at the beach.





The resort has a massive inland lagoon with lots of stingrays and sharks that the kids loved.






Aiden and Lucas were allowed to touch some of them including this live shark.



and stingrays and star fish.










And on the island there were lots of kangaroos.



A beautiful place.





And I did have time to do a bit of creative shooting.





Eventually it was time to say goodbye to the island with a vulcan salute.





20. November 2014 14:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Mini open day photo shoot

20. November 2014 14:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In early November I did another open studio day. This time a mini day with less models, hair and mak
In early November I did another open studio day. This time a mini day with less models, hair and makeup and studio setups.

As usual it was good practice and fun to work with the various models. I think I did get some great photos and there were a lot of lessons learned that can be done better next time.


Model: Charlotte de Lucey


Model: Jessica Garcia


Model: Tanika de Alwis


Model: Britney Williams


Model: Tanika de Alwis

Compared to the other times I was doing a lot more natural light photography this time and some of it in nasty and not very flattering direct sunlight. I think I still managed to get some very usable results out of it.


Model: Nikki Doan


Model: Nikki Doan


Model: Amy Hill



The hardest thing for me is still the communication with the models and the creation of a vision that is different when you are on a fixed set.


Model: Jessica Garcia


Model: Jessica Garcia

23. October 2014 10:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Trip to Manly

23. October 2014 10:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This Sunday we took the ferry to Manly. It is a beautiful trip past the opera house and the boys wer
This Sunday we took the ferry to Manly.



It is a beautiful trip past the opera house and the boys were very excited being on a boat.














At Manly we went down to the beach. It was a calm day so the boys had a lot of fun at the edge of the water.










After that Kim did some shopping, we had some fish'n'chips and we also had an ice cream.


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22. August 2019 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden - awards card

22. August 2019 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud
It is not often that Aiden gets an award for good work at school, but when he does, he is very proud.


10. August 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping - Barrington Tops

10. August 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydn
Earlier in the year at Easter time we went camping up at Barrington Tops 5 hours drive north of Sydney.

It is a very tall mountain range with some excellent walks, rivers etc.

We had a great weekend with friends sitting around the fire roasting marshmellows, walking and canoeing.

























8. July 2019 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate - Boys getting their red belts

8. July 2019 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.We thought it would be a good activity for them to bui
Fairly recently we started the boys on Karate.

We thought it would be a good activity for them to build strength, motor skills and discipline.

Especially Aiden is really enjoying it and putting in the hard work at home practicing. He has become stronger throughout the classes which is great. Before we started he had almost no core strength and now he is able to do sit-ups and pushups.

This weekend both Aiden and Lucas were pulled up for their first proper graduation from the white belts to the red belts and they both passed.



17. June 2019 20:06
by Rene Pallesen
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Bali - 2018

17. June 2019 20:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.
Photos from out trip to Bali with a couple of friends and kids.




































































































































































































































2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka aquarium

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middl
The Osaka aquarium is massive and very impressive. The centre piece is the massive tank in the middle with two large whale sharks and which is also full of other sharks such as hammerheads.














2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Dontonburi Osaka

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese rest
Tontonburi is know as the chefs/kitchen area. Here you can buy everything needed for a japanese restaurant.

It is also full of actual restaurants and other oddities such as more exotic places. It has what is known as Osaka's best Ramen restaurant (the one with the long counter in the photos below) - and Yes, the Ramen was very good.

Here it is also possible to eat specialties such as the Puffa fish.








It was also one of the few places where I saw real Samurai swords for sale.





2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka tower

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.The area was once a very modern p
Below the Osaka tower is a restaurant area with lots of yummi food.

The area was once a very modern part of Osaka, and worth a visit during the night.




2. April 2019 20:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Osaka Castle

2. April 2019 20:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts w
Osaka castle is a beautiful multi story pagoda like castle inside these massive moats and ramparts with several layers of defense.











2. April 2019 18:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Japan - Toei Film Studio Osaka

2. April 2019 18:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional
In Osaka we went to the Toei Film Studio.

This is an area where they have filmed lots of traditional Japanese movies and where they have all the old houses and also some theaters.

It is also used as a bit of an entertainment and cultural area to teach the Japanese about their culture. Surprisingly we seemed to be the only foreign tourists there and it was definitely worth the visit even though we didn't understand a word of what they were saying.
























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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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29. November 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Struggling

29. November 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I was struggling a lot this year, through a combination of things ranging from self worth, lack of s
I was struggling a lot this year, through a combination of things ranging from self worth, lack of support, dealing with the boys, work and other things.

Mid-year during the lockdown it hit hard.



7. April 2021 22:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping Glenworth Valley

7. April 2021 22:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of
Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of Sydney in an easily accessible but beautiful little valley.

It is private propoerty, so you have to book beforehand and it does get very busy. We were very lucky that we were located down at the end of the property where it was more quiet.

In the evenings there were beautiful sunsets.





In the morning it was a bit more misty in the valley.






The owners also put on a great easter egg hunt for the children. There were hundreds of children with 20,000 chocolate eggs hidden in a field and there was an easter bunny riding a horse.









We also spend time playing some ball sports. I'd brought a baseball bat and ball. Because we were four families, we had plenty of people to form two teams. It got very competitive and the bat took a bit of battering, so I had to go a buy a more solid wooden bat.





In the evenings we had the normal campfire and baked dampers on sticks, marshmellows and baked potatoes in the fire.













There are also lots of walks witin easy driving distance, including some walks with beautiful waterfalls.













Also, people come to the valley for horse riding, so there are lots of horses in the surrounding paddocks.

And wildlife such as Kookaburras!


And going for a short stroll in the mornings was a beautiful experience with the mist and light changing.

Because of lots of rain, the whole area had been flooded just weeks earlier. Where we were camping would have been a meter under water, but because of the river running through the area the water had fortunately receeded.








21. March 2021 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate 3rd Kyu

21. March 2021 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I reached a significant milestone in karate this week. I graded for my 3rd Kyu (Brown belt) and at t
I reached a significant milestone in karate this week. I graded for my 3rd Kyu (Brown belt) and at the same Kim graded for her 5th Kyu (Blue belt).

On the occation I treated myself to a new dogi (karate uniform).


I was so nervous and tense - and screwed up a few places. There is now a lot of hard work ahead to get to the 2nd Kyu which is at least another half a year away.

Here are some photos from the grading. The ones from the dojo are a bit blurry because they weren't taken from my camera and I don't have the full resolution photos.












20. March 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate bruises

20. March 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last year was a tough year with Karate.First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for trainin
Last year was a tough year with Karate.

First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for training, but even in the dojo I managed to get a lot of injuries.
Some of them visible and some of them not so visible...I have a whole stack of scans and x-rays as souvenirs from this year.

Some could have been avoided, but most are just part of the training.






I even earned an award for it...


The worst one was a kick to my chin. I dont have any photos of it, but I do have the indentation it made on my mouth guard I was wearing at the time. If it hadn't been for the mouthguard I am certain that I would have lost some teeth. This injury could have been avoided.


I have now gone out to buy a new and way cooler mouthguard (I created the design myself). It is thors hammer in the middle surrounded by the Fenrir wolf and Midgaards Serpent.


Even Kim got a few bruises.


13. March 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
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My Burmese Dha swords

13. March 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Back in the late 90's I visited Laos. In the northern corner of Laos I acquired two old swords from
Back in the late 90's I visited Laos. In the northern corner of Laos I acquired two old swords from a local.

Through some forums I have tried to find out as much as I can about them and this is what I have been told:

  • The swords are of a Burmese style called Dha (Means sword in Burmese).
  • They are of museum worthy pieces
  • I should NOT EVER attempt to restore them. This would degrade their value significantly.
  • The flower script design on the swords are reserved for the rulers and officers of those days.
  • အဲဒီဓားတွေကငါတို့ရဲ့ဗမာဓားတွေပဲလာအိုဆိုတာအရင်ကဇင်းမယ်လို့ခေါ်တယ်အင်းဝခေတ်မှာမြန်မာတွေတက်သိမ်းခဲ့တဲ့နိုင်ငံပဲဓားကိုငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားလို့ခေါ်တယ်ဓားကဓားကောင်းပဲ အခုငါပြတဲ့ဓားဟာလည်းသမိုင်းဝင်ဓားပဲငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားပေါ့ (Translation: These swords are our Burmese swords. Laos was formerly called Zin Mae, a country that was conquered by the Burmese during the Inwa period. The sword is called the Sword of the Bird. The sword is a good sword.).
  • It's a Ngat kyee daung Dah the sword that was once used by Burmese warriors and Thai during the dark age of Konbaung (1765–1767).
  • This Burmese Empire was destroyed during the English colonized to the East and totally wiped out by the English cannons kind of like a scene from the last samurai movie in the end! They were like charging to the enemy where they were being shot at.
  • These are also antique pieces in a good state of preservation! Swords, even if they are in such good condition, belong in the museum. You have to take a look at the Malaysia Sword Museum! They are great specimen
  • One would have to analyze the material metal wood winding fibers would certainly be very interesting! You don't see such a bundle every day
  • The handle on the smaller sword is made from wound rattan fibres.
  • The larger sword is made from silver and wound silver threading (I believe it is the typical not so pure silver/tin that was used).
This means that it is likely that the swords are up towards 250 years old and that the long one belonged to someone of a high status.

The area they are from is a place that has been ravaged by war for several hundred years right from the wards beween Burma and Siam (Thailand), conquer by the English empire, the Second World War, the Chinese civil war through to the Laos Civil/Vietnam war.

It is highly likely that the swords have seen some action. Although a bit rusty, the swords are still very sharp. Given that the blade on the longer sword is narrower at the hilt it is likely that it has been sharpened several times through history. Again this probably means that it had a practical use/purpose and wasn't just for display.








22. January 2021 01:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Newcastle

22. January 2021 01:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.They had this beautiful l
Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.








They had this beautiful little animal park that is maintained by the council and is free to visit.











Just outside Newcastle is fighterworld, which is an aircraft museum next to an active air strip.










Newcastle museum was also worth a visit on a rainy day.





One evening we went to the games arcade...no idea how Aiden managed to get a first place in racing.




21. January 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Karate 2020

21. January 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.I was devastated when everything moved online. I
Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.

I was devastated when everything moved online. I love the partner work and couldn't see how this was going to work through video conferencing.

The boys and Kim were okay with the new format and I hung in there. I was so happy once we were able to get back in the dojo again.






Just before the lockdown I had purchased a punching bag, so at least we were able to do some outdoor contact punching.









During the lockdown there was a kata competition and other programs, and we did get a few prices.




...but dojo definitely rules...







We have managed to go to gradings...












And I have kept all the grading certificated we have gotton...





















21. January 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Tennis Award

21. January 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Another encouragement award for Aiden. This time in Tennis...
Another encouragement award for Aiden. This time in Tennis...





31. December 2020 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Covid

31. December 2020 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.Australia managed to get through with very few
2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.

Australia managed to get through with very few outbreaks because of very early and sever lockdowns.

This let people to panic buy. We spent the time to chill out and solve lots of puzzles in the evenings, do lots of exercise in the parks (which was still allowed), Karate online and work moving fully to conference calls.


















31. December 2020 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Challenging year

31. December 2020 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The last couple of years has been super challenging for Aiden all around.He is struggling all around
The last couple of years has been super challenging for Aiden all around.

He is struggling all around and this photo tells it all.


For myself I have been struggling equally, and had it not been for the release of karate I don't know where things would have been at. I often wish I had my own bucket to hide under. I don't think this year will be any easier unfortunately...