This Sunday we went to Ethans 10yo Birthday at Maroubra. It also happens that Aiden was 10 Months a couple of days ago and it was a nice and overcast day, so good to take some monthly photos of him.




He is pretty happy to show off his new chompers (teeth)...he's got four now. He's been a bit sick for the last week with a cold. Probably something he picked up in daycare, but he is a lot happier now.



He now knows how to sit up straight, but he is still not able to crawl or get to/from sitting position, so the way he gets around is by rolling. He has learned to repeat one word from up and that is 'Dada'...but he still doesn't know the context or meaning of the word.

He is also a lot more reserved when it comes to other people...the general rule is that he likes me and grandad, but everyone else depends on the day...even mummy is sometimes given the cold shoulder (which Kim gets slightly upset about when it happens).

Last month we received our new bi-folding doors to the garden. The old doors were old aluminium sliding doors that didn't allow us to open up the dining room towards the garden properly, they only allowed us a metre of opening to walk through.



We really wanted to open up the outside and inside areas. The old door really wasn't ideal.


Before christmas we ordered new bi-folding doors that would allow us to open up the whole area (about three metres and would allow us easier and better access to the garden).

It took the two tradespeople the better part of a full day to remove the old door and install the new one.



The new door looks really good, it was delivered in raw cedar wood and yesterday I spent most of the following weekend sanding and varnishing it.



The new door comes with a sliding moscito net that allows us to open the whole area and still keep the little critters out. It is almost invisible to when we have the family over we will need to keep it open to prevent the kids from running through the net.

The trades people couldn't take the old door with them so I had to find a way to dispose of it. Eventually I put it on Gumtree (a free site similar to eBay) and said that whoever wanted the door could come and pick it up for free. Within a couple of hours I had a dozen interested people and a couple of days later hey came to pick it up.

Saturday Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Lyrics Theatre to see the Doctor Zhivago the Musical. It is a large production that they hope eventually will make it to broadway.

If you would like to know the story then rent the movie of the same title...worth watching.


For those of you not familiar with the story behind the story: It is about the cultural revolution and civil war in russia during the years 1917-1921 (mainly). The book was written by a russian Boris Pasternak during and after the cultural revolution. It was smuggled out of Russia in the 1950's and the author was awarded the Nobels literature price much to the dismay of the russian government (the book is very critical of the revolution).




We did have tickets booked a couple of months ago, but when we turned up then they said that the lead actor (playing Zhivago) had an injury in the afternoon. They said that they would still show us the first 20-40 minutes of the performance as this was all that the understudy (replacement) was familiar with and then let us either rebook or get a refund. Very dissapointing, but not much we could do about it.


It was actually worth seeing the whole performance (and not just the beginning). The acting and singing was great (Kim was so-so about the actual songs, but I thought they were ok).The stage setup was very clever and added a lot of depth to the stage, it allowed them to show what was happening in several locations at the same time using the same stage.




We had left Aiden with his grandad for the evening and this time we decided to let him sleep there all night rather than wake him up really late to take him home.

Friday night Kim and I went to the Opera to watch "The barber of Seville". We had left Aiden with his grandad for the night hoping that either of them would be able to get some sleep (Aiden is a little chatterbox once he gets started).



The play is not one of the usual tragic Operas but more of a playful one with a more happy ending. During the play there is a lot of different things happening on different parts of the stage. Most of the play is taking place in a house and there are different things happening in different rooms of the house.

It was a good play but I think Kim and I agree that we prefer the more tragic operas although I think I have now seen all the major Operas.

Aiden is now nine months young. He is finally able to start sitting by himself without falling over (...too often). Another milestone reached and another opportunity to take some more photos of him.








He is still a happy and hungry little boy. He is such as daddy's boy and loves being carried around on my shoulder. Sometimes he cries when he sees me after I return from work in the afternoon because he is happy to see me.

We are hoping that he will be able to crawl around soon now that he is sitting...but could take a while.

There are several legends about how the animals were chosen for the Chinese zodiac. This is one of them. The Jade Emperor is the name of the Emperor of Heaven.

Long ago, in China, the Jade Emperor decided there should be a way of measuring time. On his birthday he told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first twelve animals across the fast flowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them.

All the animals lined up along the river bank. The rat and the cat, who were good friends, were worried because they were poor swimmers. Being clever they asked the strong ox if he would carry them across the river.

'Of course' said the kind ox. 'Just climb on my back and I will take you across.'

The rat and the cat quickly jumped up and were very excited when the ox soon took the lead in the race. They had almost reached the other bank when the rat pushed the cat into the river leaving him to struggle in the water. Then just before the ox was about to win the race the rat leapt on his head and on to the bank to finish first.

'Well done,' said the Jade Emperor to the proud rat. 'The first year of the zodiac will be named after you.'

The poor ox had been tricked into second place and the second year of the zodiac was named after him. Shortly after the exhausted tiger clawed his way to the river bank to claim third place. Swimming across the river had been an enormous struggle for him against the strong currents. The Emperor was so delighted with his efforts that he named the third year after him.

Next to arrive was the rabbit, who hadn't swum across at all. He hopped across on some stepping stones and then found a floating log which carried him to the shore.

'I shall be very happy to call the fourth year after you,' the surprised Jade Emperor explained.

Just then a kind dragon swooped down to take fifth place.

'Why didn’t you win the race, as you can fly as well as swim?' the Jade Emperor asked.

'I was held up because some people and animals needed water to drink. I needed to make some rain,' the dragon explained. 'Then when I was nearly here I saw a poor little rabbit on a log in the water and I blew a puff of wind so that the log would float to the river bank.'

'Well that was very kind of you and now you are here you will have the fifth year of the zodiac named after you.' The next thing the Jade Emperor heard was the sound of the horse’s hooves. Just as he was thinking the horse would be the next animal to arrive, a sneaky snake wriggled out from around one of the horse’s hooves. The horse was so surprised that he jumped backwards giving the snake a chance to take the sixth place in the race. The poor horse had to be satisfied with seventh place.

Not long afterwards a raft arrived carrying the goat, the monkey and the rooster. They explained to the Emperor how they had shared the raft that the rooster had found. The goat and monkey had cleared weeds and pushed the raft to the shore. The Emperor was very pleased that the animals had worked together. He said the goat would be the eighth zodiac animal, the monkey the ninth and the rooster the tenth.

The next animal to finish was the dog.

'Why are you so late when you are one of the best swimmers?' asked the Jade Emperor.

'The water in the river was so clean that I had to have a bath on the way,' explained the dog.

His reward was to have the eleventh year named after him. Now there was one place left in the zodiac and the Emperor wondered when the last winner would come. He had nearly given up when he heard a grunt from the boar.

'You took a long time to cross the river,' said the Emperor to the boar.

'I was hungry and stopped to eat,' explained the boar. 'After the meal I felt so tired that I fell asleep.'

'You have still done well,' said the Jade Emperor. 'The last year of the zodiac will be named after you.'

As for the cat who had been pushed into the water by the rat, he finally crawled out of the water but was too late to have a year named after him. He felt very cross with the rat and since then cats have never been friends with rats.

From that day to this the Chinese Zodiac has followed this cycle of years named after these twelve animals.

The other day Kim and I went for a walk down to the local park with Aiden.

It was a good opportunity for us to give him a ride on one of the swings as they have some bucket seats that makes it impossible for him to fall out (he is still not able to quite sit by himself yet).

He absolutely loved the experience and wasn't scared at all (we will make a real boy out of him in no time).






He is now seven and a half months and is learning how to control his parents and he is starting to know what he wants and don't want...ie doesn't want to sleep if he is in a playful mood.

Over the weekend I had a play with creating a more interesting profile photo for my Facebook profile. The idea was to use photoshop to create something a bit out of the ordinary (and a bit spooky).

Anyway here it is...and you can either love it or hate it!




For those interested in the details...it is 3 composite photos (Face, left eye and mouth). I could have done it with two composites, but I wasn't happy with the mouth. It was originally shot on a red background but I desaturated the background and darkened it a bit because I though this looks better. It has also been ultra sharpened to add some effect.

This Tuesday Kim and I went to the Opera to see Madame butterfly with one on Kims friends. I have already seen Madame butterfly some years ago so this was a bit of a repeat for me.

It was the same stage setup as last time, most of the cast were the same as well, but despite that it was an really good experience. It is a good story despite the tragic ending...and yes the american sailor is both a dog and a coward.



Kim was sitting next to me crying for much of the performance...so sad!!!

When we arrived to New Caledonia we started to find a good place/party to celebrate New Years eve.

As far as we could tell it sounded like the hotel we were staying at was the place to be, but when we tried to book we were told that it was fully booked and that we were number twenty-six on the waiting list. Fortunately we received confirmation a couple of days later that we now had a confirmed booking at the party.

On new years eve we were greeted by musicians playing local music and girls putting a Lei around our necks. Kim and I was going to bring Aiden along to the party (fortunately there was other kids there as well).








Aiden wasn't sure what to think of the Lei...I think he would prefer not to have one as it tickled.



There was about 3-400 guests at the party and the food was absolutely fantastic. It was a buffet of 25-30 dishes of mainly seafood ranging from fresh oysters (still moving in their shell), lobster salads, sushi to fresh Sashimi cut straight from a massive tuna.

This was followed by entertainment from dancers and musicians.








After the entertainment the dance floor was open and pretty much everyone (including Kim and I) was dancing. Aiden got his first dance with mummy (all the other guest were laughing).


At midnight everyone celebrated the new year with a toast.

After midnight we headed up to our hotel room to see if there was any fireworks (there was a little so Aiden got to experience his first fireworks).

This week was the end of the GCC challenge at work. It was 16 weeks of walking almost 10km every day competing against other teams within the company and other companies. In total there was more than 13000 teams of 7 team members each. By the end of the challenge our team was positioned at the top 10% which I think is pretty good.




Since the race finished I've been walking to work every day.

Last week we had breakfast with Audrey and Aren. Aren was born three days after Aiden was born at the same hospital and during Kims pregnancy we met them at the antenatal classes.

Menu was pancakes and afterwards I offered to do some photos of Audrey and Aren.

This afternoon Kim and I decided to try and take a photo of Aiden for his passport. This was not as easy as it sounded and he couldn't sit or lie still and was making all sort of expressions.

These photos were all taken within 10 minutes from start to finish... He is such a funny little boy!

This weekend we finally got around to taking some nice outdoor family photos.

We made out way to Centennial park in the afternoon for a coffee, walk and photoshoot. When we got there they had closed most of the roads for a bicycle race so we had to park outside the park.

After the coffee we walked over to one of the closer located lakes and set up for a couple of photos and these are the results.

Aiden was very well behaved although having a few problems with locating the direction of the camera and being confused with the new exciting surroundings. He is now 11 weeks young.












(strobist: SB80DX @ 1/2 power with 1/2 CTO camera left triggered by CTR301P, Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, 3200s, D50)

Every year my work provides with a Volunteer day where we don't have to work and can do volunteer work for any organisation of our choice.

This Friday some of the guys at work organised a day of work at the Celebral Palsy centre (spastic) so I chose to help out (beats sitting behind a desk on a sunny day). The location was at one of their houses in Frenchs Forest and we were to do some maintenance of their garden and some painting of the interior.

There was seven of us so we split up into two teams where I was on the team doing painting. The gardening team definitely had the easier job.


It was a really good day and here are some of the photos from our day out.

Last year Kim and I won 5 days worth of accommodation at Smiggings Hole at Perisher. Because we had Aiden it was difficult for us to go (for some reason the place would not allow children that young).

We therefore decided to let KC and Chong have three of the days with their kids and then I would go with someone else for a weekend. We were lucky that the place would allow all of us to go on the same weekend during the peak season at Perisher.

Soeren and I left Friday afternoon to do the 500km drive to Perisher. We stopped at Cooma to pick up car chains and ski gear and arrived at the lodge just before 7pm...just in time for dinner with the rest of the family.


In the morning we woke up to a glorious day and we hit the fields immediately heading straight to the Blue Cow area after doing a few warm up runs. In the past I have only been skiing in the front of the valley and Mt Perisher itself so it was nice to have some new unexplored territory and it was also nice to get away from the crowds.

In the evening we again had dinner with the family...4 courses at the lodge. I think everyone was pretty tired from a whole day outside so it was a fairly early bedtime.




On the second day the weather closed in and there was a blizzard. On the tops there was a fresh load of snow. My highlight was that I managed to have a good run of Kamikaze which is the only double black diamond in the area and I felt really good on it because of the great conditions. The photo above was taken on top of Bluecow shortly earlier.

Later in the morning Soeren and I met up with chong and we did a couple of runs at Perisher Mountain. Again, because of the blizzard there was no crowds and off the sides of the slopes the snow was soft and deep (for Australian standards). I had really good fun on the unprepared runs in the loose snow and felt solid getting down the terrain (you don't gain much experience from running on prepared slopes all the time).


In the early afternoon we headed back down, packed up and made our way back to Sydney (in just under 6 hours).

So how is daddy coping with fatherhood. Fatherhood is great...So far it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be. So far I would by lying if I didn't say that I enjoy every minute of it.

Everyone around me told me that it is sooo hard having kids, especially the first few months are a nightmare. Not sure what they are talking about...yeah Aiden wakes up at weird times wanting a feed, but besides from that he is doing what babies are expected to be doing. He is sleeping, pooping, crying and eating...easy!



...That is when I'm around. For example this weekend when I was in the snow he was crying all the time. It seems that he somehow senses when I'm not around and then starts being difficult. Maybe he is turning into a daddy's boy ;-)


When we were expecting I promised myself that I would just relax and enjoy the new company. There is no point stressing and swimming against the current...so if he wants to cry then he can cry, and if he wants to eat then he can eat. While we were planng kids I was worried if I was parent material and how good a dad I would be. I had never really been around newborns...let alone picked up one. I am getting a lot more confident now.

During the week Kim does the night feeds as I have to go to work in the Morning, but during the weekends I generally give him the bottle at night. Sometimes I have to then catch up on some sleep later in the day (otherwise Kim will have to deal with two babies) but that is ok.

Aiden turned two months old a couple of days ago and is a good little boy. He has started smiling and laughing once in a while when he is in a good mood. He is very curious and looks around to study and understand his surroundings all the time which I take as a good thing.

I think his favourite time is when we take a shower together. Kim and I discovered that it is a lot easier to just take him in the shower with me rather than having to fill up bath tubs etc. We also think that his least favourite time is go leave the shower.

This morning I had an early start (for a Sunday) taking the bus into the city to participate in the city to surf race. This is a race that starts from Hyde park in the centre of Sydney and ends at Bondi beach which is one of the most famous beaches in Australia (but not the best).In this years race there were over 80,000 participants.




I met up with a couple of work colleagues at Martin place in the city. We all also participate in the Global Corporate Challenge and this was a good way to increase our stepcount. We were starting at the back of thepack...which pretty much meant that we were planning to walk the 14.1 kilometers to Bondi.




Out team name in the GCC is Onthophagytes (Dung beatles)...so the photo above is very appropriate.

It was freezing in the morning but the sun was out, so as soon as we started walking we were warm.


Along the way to Bondi there is different people entertaining and a lot of people were dressed up (we were overtaken by Superman and an Avatar).















When we got to Bondi (I'll know my race time later but I think it will be around 2 hours and 15 minutes...It turned out to be 2:29:28...just just below my target of 2.5 hours) te queue for the buses were mile long. I already knew they were going to be impossible and therefor decided to walk to Coogee (another 7km) and then have Kim pick me up from there. Two of my colleagues decided to join me on the walk and then catch the bus from there.



It was a pleasant walk where we stopped for a bite at Bronte and eventually had a quick beer (for me anyway) at Coogee before Kim called me and told me she was there with Aiden in the car.

Sunday I had a couple of hours to spare to explore while Kim was looking after Aiden. I decided to drive to La Perouse and then walk along the coast to Cape Banks to find the shipwreck of SS Minmi.



The ship hit the cliffs in heavy fog and storm in 1937 and broke in two. Part of the wreck is still visible on the rocks. Because it is on the inside of the heads the wreck isn't as exposed to wind and waves as it would have been on the outside so there is still a lot of the ship left.







The walk out there from La Perouse was longer than I expected so I was a bit rushed and didn't have as much time taking photos as I would have liked. It took me about two hours to walk out there and back via Henry Heads (here there is still some remnants of gun positions from the wartime).

It is actually a really nice walk and I will have to come back with Kim and Aiden sometime. I will have to check out if it is possible to drive a bit closer.



I managed to make it back just in time for the family coming over for dinner.

Hi everyone. My mum and dad is telling me that I am now one month old...what ever that means. I am still coming to terms with me feeling really hungry every 3 hours. One Month....how many feeds is that?

I am getting more used to be in this world, my mum and dad are doing their best to make me comfortable but I still cry once in a while. My dad is telling me that big boys like me shouldn't cry...but I feel so little compared to all of them so why shouldn't I cry?

In the evening I like to sit in daddy's lap. It is nice, warm and secure there. Sometimes I almost fall asleep there before my dad puts me to bed, but I usually beg him to let me stay a little longer. On the weekends he is happy with me spending time there, but I really miss daddy during the week when he is at work. During the week I ask my mummy as well, but she is too tired from feeding me all the time...I think this sometimes frustrates her as she would like some rest in between my feeds. I have grown a lot and I can no longer fit into my first set of clothes it must be all those meals.


I have also started having a shower on some days with my dad instead of a bath in my bathtub. It is really nice to feel the warm water drops on my little body and it feels much nicer and secure than having a bath in my bathtub. I have learned that I should close my eyes and hold my breath when he puts my head under the water. Daddy says that hopefully it will make me less scared in a couple of years time when he is going to teach me something called 'swimming'.



Most evenings I get a little upset for a couple of hours, I don't understand why but mummy and daddy calls it my 'witches hour' and says that it is normal and should pass. My dad is very patient and is telling me that for the first 6-8 weeks they will respond to all my needs, but after that they will start setting some rules to make me sleep all through the night.

My dad is still taking photos of me. I still find it confusing and I am not sure in what direction to look when he is taking photos. Should I look at him, mummy, the lights or all the interesting alien space ships I'm surrounded by?

I think it is about time that I introduce myself. It has afterall been two weeks since I was born...but my parents didn't have a name ready for me when the Stork arrived....typical!!

They have now finally named me...took them long enough. They had a shortlist of names, but they weren't sure which one I would prefer. I was trying to tell them but there is an interpretation problem, they don't understand Baby and I am still unable to speak English. Fortunately they chose the name that I like as well. For the first couple of weeks they just called me 'Baby'.


So here I go....Hello everyone. My name is AIDEN LEE PALLESEN....and I am pleased to meet you!




The first two weeks of my life has been busy. I arrived to this world on the 7th June 2010. Suddenly I was removed from my mums comfortable belly and was expected to take my first breath. Yeah right...I'd like to see you guys have your head put under water and see how quickly you adjust!! I was worried that they would slap me in the bum like I have seen on some of the movies.



Anyway, only took a couple of hours before I got the idea. It is really not that hard, you just move your chest up and down and the rest takes care of itself.

One thing though...for the past two weeks I've felt sooo sleepy and really hungry. I know I am giving my mum a really hard time wanting food every couple of hours but at least she has my dad there to help her out a bit and take care of my night feeds.

Last week I was introduced to my new home. My dad carried me around the house and told me where everything was. I must say that my mum and dad has done a fantastic job decorating the room I will be living in when I get a bit older.




I feel that I am very lucky that I have two very loving and caring parents. It is a new experience to them as well as to me, so a bit of a learning curve ahead.
For example the first few days after I arrived home they kept taking my clothes off all the time. They said it was so that they could change something called a 'Nappy'. I don't like the cold so every time they did it I would start crying. Now I know that this is one of the ways they show me that they love me...so I don't mind it so much anymore.



Also, every morning my dad takes me to the bathroom and gives me something he calls a 'Bath'...sounds like Thai to me, but apparently it is supposed to make me clean and smell nice.
It involved my dad using something called 'Water' to first clean my fair and then submerge me into. Silly dad...he should know that I have quite gotten used to do this thing called 'Breathing' now and dont need water.


Anyway, in the beginning I was crying everytime he put me in the water, but I am slowly getting used to the idea as long as the water is warm enough. I still panic once in a while due to the feeling of weightlesness. I prefer when daddy takes me in the shower...I like the feeling of water sprinkled onto my belly. Once in a while I return my love by sprinkling my daddy with warm water too...




My dad and I will give you some future updates on how I am experiencing my new life. I am still getting used to the idea of him taking photos of me. The flashes are really bright! Mummy is worried about my comfort...I love her deerly for her concern. I should be getting more used to him taking photos...he's already told me that he's got so many ideas and I would like to help him. I am still working on the learning how to pose in photos so that I am ready for what he would like me to do...It is hard to look cute when you are put in an unfamiliar basket like above and don't have any control of your arms and legs yet.


I am really pleased to say hello to all of you! I can't wait to meet you all!

Ok, He has now been cleaned up a bit but is still sleeping most of the time.

I brough my camera gear to the ward to take some more (and better) photos than what I could do with the small pocket camera.

On the 7th June in the morning Kim started going into labour.She woke me up at 6am and told me that her water broke...and that it was time to go to the hospital.

When we got there the contractions were only 4-5 minutes apart and pretty irregular. After a few hours they started infusing to move things along. Eventually the contractions were very close and very painful (for Kim), so we aked for an epidural.

As soon as she got the epidural everything stopped and slowed down. Eventually the Obstitrician said that it was time to do a C-section to get the baby out.

It was pretty quick and those critters definitely look like little aliens when they come out.




In the beginning he had a few breathing problems (which apparently is normal with children with ceasar children) so he (and I) was rushed to the nursing care unit for closer observation.




While we were there Kim was eventually rolled past an hour later so that she could have a quick cuddle before herself being rolled up to the ward for observation.

Here's a photo of the very proud mum:



I was still in my operating theatre outfit and here's a photo of the very proud dad too:



He also managed to get a quick feed while he was there.


After spending 4 hours in the care his breathing was relaxed and his carbondioxide levels had dropped he was released and I could roll him up to mummy in the ward for some sleep for both of them.

On the 4th of June 2010 my grandmother (on my dads side) passed away being 90 years old. She had a stroke about a months ago and was unconscious for a long time.



She did regain a bit of conscious to the point where she could nod and recognise people.

After this her condition deteriorated but her being such a tough woman she was hanging on in there.

Eventually she couldn't hand on any longer and passed away. She was the last one of my grandparents and she was burried on the 10th June, 3 days after my son was born, so unfortunately they never got a chance to meet.

Tonight is my GCC break day (Only 11,000 steps today compared to over 20,000 yesterday). I celebrated this with a glass of wine...and then I though why stop there.I could take a cool photo as I was pouring the glass (my second).




I did do a bit of playing around but I found that it worked best if the flash was able to burn out some of the details and illuminate the wine from behind.

Flash was positioned on the floor (glass on a chopping board on a chair) @ 1/4 power...the background is a white wall.

The wine is a Southern Sisters 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot...not a bad drop for an everyday wine.

I did another photo session with little bob. He was going "More, More...." and Mummy was going "Not again!".

Anyway, had the chance for a couple more creative shots.







Not sure if I like the reflection in this shot...so I may have to re-do it.

Here is another GCC photo

I am currently participating in the GCC (Global Corporate Challenge). This is a team event where each participant has to do more than 10,000 steps per day using a pedometer (step counter) for the next 16 weeks. I will when convenient take my camera with me an try and do something creative.

This was day one where I walked to a meeting in North Sydney over the Sydney harbour bridge. When I got home I did some tilt shift effect to it so make it more toy like:

It is now week 35 and the baby is expected within the next 5 weeks (hopefully at week 40). Kim is getting pretty big and yesterday I used the opportunity to take a couple of photos of her belly (and a worried dad)...evidence below.



I alto tried to take a couple of nice ones as well as some artistic ones.




I would have taken a lot more, but even though the baby was saying "More, More..." the mummy ran out of patience...maybe I'll get another chance during the week to take some more.

Some time ago I saw a photo of a kiwifruit and wanted to see if I could do something similar. It took a bit of experimenting, but eventually I got there. First a thin slice of kiwifruit (I chose to keep the skin on for effect), a couple of toothpicks to lift it off the surface and then one toothpick to hold it upright.

20 cm behind the flice I positioned a flash (SB600) firing at 1/64 power. Camera is set at 1/250th sec, f13, ISO 200 @42mm (on Nikon D50)....viola: