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9. December 2016 15:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Harbour Bridge Walk

9. December 2016 15:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

During the winter we went for a walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Here are some of the photos from the walk.

9. December 2016 12:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Fathers day 2016

9. December 2016 12:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On fathers day we used the opportunity to do some family photos with the boys as well as Kims dad.

9. December 2016 09:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Morning silly creatives

9. December 2016 09:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden and Lucas sometimes loves to play with boxes and other items that are in the recycle bin inside.

One morning they had used the boxes to create a farm...not bad!

...and then there is the silliness...

21. October 2016 14:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Meet Aiden and Tiger (aka Calvin and Hobbs)

21. October 2016 14:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Years ago Aiden got a little fluffy toy tiger as a gift.

Over the last couple of years this has been the most treasured toy to the degree where him and Lucas is sometime fighting over it. They sleep with it and they bring it to school to do show and tell.

It reminds me of the comic called Calvin and Hobbs - with a little boy and his toy tiger often getting up to mischief.

21. October 2016 14:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Desert treat for Lucas

21. October 2016 14:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Now that Aiden is a school and Lucas at daycare they are invited to heaps of birthdays.

One evening Kim took Aiden to a birthday and in the meantime I took Lucas for a little desert treat at Choc Top in Rosebery.

The menu looked delicious and not know that they were so big I ordered one for each of us. They also gave us a free ice cream because they were slow.

I felt so sick afterwards and we didn't even finish it.

20. October 2016 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Scarborough Family Trip

20. October 2016 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It has been a while since we did a family trip with the family. Kim's dad is getting older and it is getting harder for him to do longer extended trips.

The family found a nice house at Scarborough just an hours drive from Sydney. It was a beautiful coastal home with room enough for the whole family and with the conveniences of a large kitchen, a fireplace and TV for the kids.

The inlaws recently got a dog and she made it on the trip as well.

More importantly, it was just a short walk to the Scarborough hotel for coffee in the morning.

And also plenty of beaches nearby.

20. October 2016 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Royal National Park walk with friends

20. October 2016 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We are trying to keep the boys (and ourselves) more active on the weekends. This weekend Audrey asked if we wanted to join them for an easy walk at the Royal National Park (about 30 minutes drive from home).

The walk was along an old horse carriage trail (Lady Game Trail) and was fairly level and easy walking the whole way. We made it well past the half way mark where there is an old watering station for the horses before turning around.

I think the kids eventually managed to walk almost 7 kilometers without too much complaining which is pretty far for their little feet.

20. October 2016 13:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping at Cattai

20. October 2016 13:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

For a long time I had wanted to introduce the boys to Camping. Since Kim had never been camping either and wanted a certain level of comfort we looked around for suitable location within easy reach from Sydney.

We eventually settled on Cattai National Park as it has a lot of amenities such as flushing toilets, hot showers and allows camp fires.

Kim also asked some of our friends if they'd like to join, so we ended up going three families together.

We bought a new tent which by most standards is huge, but has plenty of space on rainy days (which we didn't have) for cooking and eating inside the tent as well as air mattresses for sleeping on.
We also had a camping table and chair and amazingly we were able to fit it all into the booth of my car.

Apart from Lucas getting a little cold during the night it went very well. The boys had a blast of a time making up games, eating food (constantly), fishing (no bites) and eating roasted marshmallows.

I also tried a Danish specialty, 'SnogBroed' (Twisted Bread) which consists to of a sausage and bread dough wrapped around a stick and then baked in the fire. Mavis made one that turned out perfectly - unfortunately everyone was too full from eating to really have a go at it (Maybe next time)

In the evening and morning there were lots of kangaroos in the camp ground, which the boys quickly chased away.

19. June 2016 14:06
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chopsticks

19. June 2016 14:06 by Admin | 0 Comments

Last night we went out for Japanese dinner. Lucas wanted to use chopsticks, so I improvised some training ones using a rubber band.

12. June 2016 09:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Aidens 6th Birthday 2016

12. June 2016 09:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

For Aidens 6th birthday we invited his friends to a game of bowling.

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2. April 2016 22:04
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Eastertrip Oberon

2. April 2016 22:04 by Admin | 0 Comments

This Easter we rented a small cabin out at Oberon. It was a beautiful little place on top of a hill with a beautiful view.

The place was full of cattle, kangaroos and wombat holes (with wombats in them).

Along the way we stopped at Wentworth Falls.

We also went to Jenolan Caves one day.

And afterwards Kanangra walls (Lucas never made the 200m walk there...too tired from all the walking. Pity, because it was the perfect spot and light for a family photo).

Next day we tried going to the glow worm tunnel, but the easter crowds made us turn back once we approached the car park. So instead we went up to Blackheath to have a nice lunch and enjoy some of the lookouts.

Later I tried another family photo at the cabin...very windy.

Overall a nice trip and the boys had a lot of fun.

2. April 2016 21:04
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Eastershow 2016

2. April 2016 21:04 by Admin | 0 Comments

Again this year we went to the Easter Show the entertainment quarter. As usual it was great fun for the kids.

Especially Lucas had a blast now that he is old enough to participate.

2. April 2016 19:04
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Australia Day - Citizenship

2. April 2016 19:04 by Admin | 0 Comments

Australia day was a very special day this year. I have been living in Australia for over 17 years and have been waiting for the moment Denmark would accept dual citizenship.

Although I have been been calling Australia my home for a long time I am also a Dane and didn't want to give this up.

I actually thought that it would never happen, but finally in late 2015 the law was finally changed and I lodged my Australian application immediately. On Australian day I took the pledge and can officially call myself an Australian now.

Kim and the boys, KA and Aaron as well a few friends attended the ceremony.

I felt very proud and was very honoured.

And I was pampered with Australia day gifts.

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

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

Between Christmas and New year we went to the Hunter Valley with Sasha and his family.

We stayed overnight in a cabin in Lovedale.

During the day we tasted wines at the various wineries (found some good ones).

The kids also loved playing at the cabin in the evenings.

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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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.

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.

29. November 2015 22:11
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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.

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22. February 2017 19:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Penguins at Boulders Beach

22. February 2017 19:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Going to Boulders Beach with all the penguins was a fun experience for the boys.

There were lots of nesting penguins and they are more agile than you think, jumping between the rocks on the beach (notice how the penguin below is airborne).

They sit on their nests until the eggs hatch.

and they stay with the young ones after they hatch too.

And once in a while a seagull gets lucky and steals one of the eggs.

There are hundreds of them on the beach.

And they are right next to the path.

The whole area was covered in smoke from a massive bush fire up in the hills, so our eyes were watering and hurting by the end of it.

Despite the smoke I still managed to get a good photo of this beautiful flightless bird.

21. February 2017 20:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Cafe Africa Cape town

21. February 2017 20:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In the evening we went to Cafe Africa. This is a nice little cafe serving authentic African cuisine in the middle of Capetown. The menu was a 16 course degustation type menu with all you can eat of food from all over Africa.

They came around to do a bit of face painting and later there was drumming and dancing from the staff.

21. February 2017 19:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Bo Kaap

21. February 2017 19:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the way down from Table Mountain we visited Bo Kaap.

This is a predominantly muslim neighbourhood with some very colourful houses.

Great as a backdrop for photographing the most beautiful girl I know.

And also the most handsome boys.

21. February 2017 19:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Table Mountain

21. February 2017 19:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

After Kruger we flew to Capetown.

The first day we went to Table Mountain. The mountain is often covered in clouds, and with a beautiful hot day we though we'd make the most of it and head up there when we had the opportunity.

The queue getting up there with the cable car was massive, several hundred metres. We quickly learned that the queue for people who had pre-purchased tickets was shorter and also moved faster than the other queue. We quickly jumped across to the other queue and using my mobile I purchased tickets while we were still waiting.

The view from up there is amazing and the top is actually a lot flatter than I though it would be.

20. February 2017 20:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Shangana Village

20. February 2017 20:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One evening at Hazyview we went to a local cultural village of the Shangana Tribe.

First we went to the village itself and were introduced to local food and customs.

The local witch doctor showed us some of the local medicines they used for stomach pains etc.

Afterwards we were entertained by local drumming and dancing in a large hut. Beforehand they had to warm up the drum skins to make them the right tune.

But first we were greeted by the chief of the village.

One of the dances was the boot dance which they danced in the mines of South Africa during the Apartheid.

After the show we had a very traditional and yummy communal dinner as guest of the chief.

20. February 2017 20:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Moholoholo car museum

20. February 2017 20:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At one of the private game reserved the owner maintains a little car museum with some very cool cars.

Especially this Ferrari 335S is interesting. If it is the real thing then it is one of only five ever made where the last one sold at an auction was sold for more that 30 million pounds.

20. February 2017 19:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Hazyview Reptile park

20. February 2017 19:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One morning when it was raining at Hazyview we went to the local Reptile Park.

They had a large display of snakes and other reptiles, and also some interesting talks such as about Poisonous snakes.

One of the snakes they showed us was the African Puff Adder, which I remember as a really vicious snake from my days in Kenya. The snake handler certainly convinced me that it is not as aggressive as I thought by walking bare feet past it when it was all curled up really to attack.

19. February 2017 17:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Moholoholo wildlife rehabilitation

19. February 2017 17:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Towards the northern end of Kruger there is a wildlife rehabilitation centre where injured animals are cared for before returned to the wild.

Some are unfortunately in a condition where they can never be returned and these are used for educating visitors on wildlife issues.

The guide on our tour around the centre was truly amazing, very funny and very knowledgeable.

Angry Lioness:

Leopard:

Cheetah:

Chevel Cat:

Lion:

Lion with Snack:

Painted Dogs:

Hyena:

Southern Ground Hornbill:

Eagles:

Voltures:

Honey Badger:

18. February 2017 15:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Kruger National Park

18. February 2017 15:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In South Africa we did two days in the Kruger National Park.

The first day we hired a private guide to take us around in a 4WD and the second day we did a self drive.

With the guide we were lucky enough to spot all the Big 5 (Elephants, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino). The advantage of a guide is that they are in constant radio communications with all the other cars and therefore can track the animals. On this day it was very hot and a lot of the animals were hiding in the bush and it seemed that we spotted all the animals and called it in to the other cars.

Having the private guide was a massive advantage as we could spend the time as we wanted, so we didn't spend much time on say elephants, but we did spend 45 minutes stalking a lion hoping it would get too hot under a bush and get out into the clear.

The second day we went it was raining and a lot more challenging, but we still spotted some that we didn't see the first day.

Camera wise I knew it would be a challenge to get good photos with a normal lens and didn't have the budget or justification to spend on a fast long lens. Instead all the photos in this post were taken with my 80-200 f2.8 with a 2x teleconverter. I used my tripod as a monopod and the guide was great at moving the car into spots where I had a clear line of sight (another advantage of not having to consider other passengers).

Here are the Big 5 we spotted.

Leopard:

Lion:

Rhinos:

Elephants:

African Buffalos:

And here are some of the others such as Zebras:

Hyenas:

Giraffes:

Impalas:

Kudu:

Waterbucks:

Wothhogs:

Baboons:

Monkeys:

Guinea Fowl:

African Fishing Eagles:

Storks:

Marabous:

Turtles (These ones are predators):

Weaver birds:

Chameleons:

17. February 2017 16:02
by Rene Pallesen
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South Africa - Panorama Route

17. February 2017 16:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the first day in northern South Africa we drove the Panorama route. This is a beautiful drive up through the mountains and is full of scenic views of the Blyde River Canyon and waterfalls.

The most famous place is Bourkes Potholes.

And the Pinacle

But everywhere is full of beautiful scenery

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