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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
by Admin
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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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23. August 2023 20:08
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New Zealand 2023 - Driving and Various

23. August 2023 20:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The trip in New Zealand first landed us in Christchurch where we picked up our rental car and stayed the first night.

Next day we drove through Arthurs Pass to Franz Josef (a long drive) where we stayed for three nights. This was mainly so that we had a spare day in case the weather closed in and we couldn't fly to the glacier.

From there we drove to Queenstown via Wanaka and the Crowns Range (another long drive). We were lucky that this was open and that snow chains weren't required.

Here we stayed for 5 nights whereafter we went to Twizel near Mount Cook for two night.

Lastly we drive back to Christchurch to fly out.

Queenstown is a scenic place, but lost of other scenic places along the way.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Pukaki chapel

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.

Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Skiing

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Queenstown we did 4 days of skiing at the Remarkables.

The boys did two days of lessons and were with me the other two days. Some friends of our joined us in Queenstown, so for the other days I had Tod to go with, who is a very decent snowboarder.

Aiden and Lucas are both becoming good skiers, but especially Lucas is getting really good to the point where I can bring him onto black runs.

Although Kim is still very much a beginner she still did two days of skiing sticking to the beginner slope where there is a 'magic carpet' lift. I did see some improvement to last year, but she is still too scared to go on the proper lifts.

I bought my own ski boots last year and brought them along (my feet are not compatible with rental ski boots).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - West coast

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The west coast of New Zealand is really beautiful.

It is not very populated and there are not a lot of tourists either as it is hard to get to.

We did a lot of walks in the area both around beautiful lakes and also at the beach outside Fox Glacier and Franz Josef villages.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Wanaka and the famous most photographed tree.

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving back towards Queenstown we had to go through Wanaka. Boy, has it changed! It used to be a small place with maybe fifty houses, but now it is a proper town with lots of cars and traffic.

It is very scenic approaching Lake Wanaka, and the lake itself has this tree growing in the water that photographers from all around the world come here to take photos of.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lindis Pass

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A place that I have always found really magical is driving through the Lindis Pass.

Kim doesn't think much of it, but since I visited it the first time, I've alwas found the rolling hills and the colours absolutely stunning.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Glacier Tour

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kims highlight on the trip was to go up on a real glacier.

She had booked a helicopter tour that would take up up on a section of the glacier between the two major ice falls.

This is a section of the glacier that Andy and I dreaded having to walk through 20 years ago when we were climbing higher up on the glacier. Mind you, back then there was probably another 100 metres of ice on top of where we landed on this day.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Castle Hill Boulders

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving from Christchurch toward the west coast we passed the Castle Hills boulders.

This is a phenomenal place to go climbing if you are a good boulderer. It is also quite scenic to just go for a walk.

We saw lots of people with their bouldering mats (a soft mat to land on when you are climbing).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Mount Cook

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Mount Cook we did a long 10km walk to the start of the Hooker glacier.

It is a beautiful walk where you walk past the Tasman Glacier and Muller Glacier before you eventually come to the Hooker Glacier lake.

The lake was frozen with an iceberg floating around in it.

25. December 2022 18:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Day - 2022

25. December 2022 18:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As usual, we did a family thing at Kims sisters house.

At home I had Aiden make Havregryns Kugler (oat balls).

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1. March 2015 09:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Swan Lake

1. March 2015 09:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim and I went to see the Swan Lake with the Australian Ballet at the Capitol Theatre this season.

Neither of us had ever seen the swan lake and really wanted to see it. My dad was here at the same time but he was happy to babysit the kids while we we were going.

It was a beautiful performance and without a doubt the best ballet I have seen.

19. February 2015 14:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Kims Babtism

19. February 2015 14:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Since the kids were babtised last year Kim though it would make sense that she would be babtised too.

So, early January it was her turn with just the immediate family around.

19. February 2015 14:02
by Rene Pallesen
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Kenya Tribes

19. February 2015 14:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It was a privilege to live in Kenya during the 80's. Much of the the country had seen very few (if any) white people.

So, everywhere that we went we seemed to be the main attraction (especially me and my brother with our blonde hair).

To be honest I can't identify all the tribes anymore, but I know that a lot of them are from Samburu, Turkana and the northern part of Kenya.

I suspect that if you went to those areas today then they would all be wearing T-Shirts.

28. January 2015 16:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Kenya - Animals

28. January 2015 16:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Needless to say that I saw a lot of animals while in Kenya.

I don't know how it is today, but back then they were everywhere in the national parks.

Here is some of the Rhinos we saw.

Elephants were plentiful.

Lots of cheetahs.

And lots of lions.

Their kittens.

Lots of Hippos (Lots of these in Lake victoria) and they would be grazing on the golf course across the street.

Hyenas

The vultures eating the remains of the kills.

And of cause loads of zebras and various gazelles.

23. January 2015 15:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Kenya - childhood

23. January 2015 15:01 by Rene Pallesen | 1 Comments

My time in Kenya was every kids dream.

I got see and do things that few other kids had a chance of doing and it definitely had a big impact on my adult life.

Living at Lake Victoria gave me the chance of catching the biggest fish I have ever caught (A 56pound/25kg Nile Perch).

I also caught the smallest fish I have ever caught in that same lake.

We didn't need fancy fishing gear, just a stick with a piece of line on it.

Life, going to school and emerged in a different culture was a different kind of life (This is our house maid, my brother and my grandmother in front of our house).

This is Filistus another of our house maids. She was working for us most of our time there (we found out the she died from a bad case of malaria years after we left).

Here we are riding a 100 year old turtle.

Life with my brother was also very different. He discovered his talent for Tennis in Kenya and could whoop most of the adults arse when he was 12yo.

No hair dressers around so we also had the worst hair cuts.

There wasn't a lot of Europeans around so we'd know most with a 100km radius.

Family life was simple (not TV) but good.

Our dog was part of the family and made quite a few trips to Kenya.

Every afternoon was spent at the Nyanza Country club where Claus played Tennis and we went swimming.

I taught myself to swim and owe these days to how solid a swimmer I am today...I got really upset that I couldn't swim and my stubborness kicked in and I became determined to learn...fast.

Some of the less memorable moments were the school plays where I was dressed up as a big bird.

Here is one of Claus singing in the choir.

23. January 2015 07:01
by Rene Pallesen
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1981 Kisumu Primary School class photo

23. January 2015 07:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have started going through some of the old photos on my computer and will start post some of them on my blog.

The first one I stumbled upon one of my class photos from Kenya from 1981/82 when I went to Kisumu Primary School.

I was the only white person in my class (we were 5-6 europeans in the whole school)

16. January 2015 15:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Alpaca farm stay - hunter valley gardens

16. January 2015 15:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One evening while staying at the farm we went to the Hunter Valley gardens to check out the light show and the mega bugs.

There were lots of really creepy insects around the garden and they were all moving and making sounds.

The light show was also really good and there were a couple of new things compared to last year.

And we also spend a bit more time in the story garden.

And the story about girls and boys is 'different'...

...but maybe true for these little monkeys.

16. January 2015 14:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Alpaca farm stay

16. January 2015 14:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At the end of the summer holidays we made a trip up north to Broke (Hunter Valley) with the kids and some friends to stay at an Alpaca farm.

It didn't take long for Aiden to get comfortable with feeding the Alpacas but Lucas was a bit more hesitant and was happy to just observe or throw the food at them.

The Alpacas also provided them with a biology lesson teaching them about the bees and the flowers.

We also did a bit of wine tasting while we were in that part of the hunter.

But the kids were more interested in playing outside and chasing the cat.

16. January 2015 10:01
by Rene Pallesen
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NY resolution - Get healthy

16. January 2015 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My New Years resolution for this year is to get healthy.

By this I don't mean that I will try and become super fit and start running marathons. No, I just mean that I want to get to a stage where I feel healthy, do a bit of exercise, have a healthy mental state and generally eat healthy.

I started really well on this last year, but about half way through I started getting sick all the time (like every 2-3 weeks).

This time around I want to have 2 months without getting sick and then I will start some easy to moderate exercise again.

I want to see if I can get back to running again.

16. January 2015 10:01
by Rene Pallesen
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A place to stay

16. January 2015 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is a fun little street sign. This is a place I wanna live...

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23. August 2023 20:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Driving and Various

23. August 2023 20:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The trip in New Zealand first landed us in Christchurch where we picked up our rental car and stayed the first night.

From there we drove to Queenstown via Wanaka and the Crowns Range (another long drive). We were lucky that this was open and that snow chains weren't required.

Here we stayed for 5 nights whereafter we went to Twizel near Mount Cook for two night.

Lastly we drive back to Christchurch to fly out.

Queenstown is a scenic place, but lost of other scenic places along the way.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Pukaki chapel

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.

Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Skiing

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Queenstown we did 4 days of skiing at the Remarkables.

The boys did two days of lessons and were with me the other two days. Some friends of our joined us in Queenstown, so for the other days I had Tod to go with, who is a very decent snowboarder.

Aiden and Lucas are both becoming good skiers, but especially Lucas is getting really good to the point where I can bring him onto black runs.

I bought my own ski boots last year and brought them along (my feet are not compatible with rental ski boots).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - West coast

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The west coast of New Zealand is really beautiful.

It is not very populated and there are not a lot of tourists either as it is hard to get to.

We did a lot of walks in the area both around beautiful lakes and also at the beach outside Fox Glacier and Franz Josef villages.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Wanaka and the famous most photographed tree.

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving back towards Queenstown we had to go through Wanaka. Boy, has it changed! It used to be a small place with maybe fifty houses, but now it is a proper town with lots of cars and traffic.

It is very scenic approaching Lake Wanaka, and the lake itself has this tree growing in the water that photographers from all around the world come here to take photos of.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lindis Pass

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A place that I have always found really magical is driving through the Lindis Pass.

Kim doesn't think much of it, but since I visited it the first time, I've alwas found the rolling hills and the colours absolutely stunning.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Glacier Tour

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kims highlight on the trip was to go up on a real glacier.

She had booked a helicopter tour that would take up up on a section of the glacier between the two major ice falls.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Castle Hill Boulders

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Driving from Christchurch toward the west coast we passed the Castle Hills boulders.

This is a phenomenal place to go climbing if you are a good boulderer. It is also quite scenic to just go for a walk.

We saw lots of people with their bouldering mats (a soft mat to land on when you are climbing).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Mount Cook

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Mount Cook we did a long 10km walk to the start of the Hooker glacier.

It is a beautiful walk where you walk past the Tasman Glacier and Muller Glacier before you eventually come to the Hooker Glacier lake.

The lake was frozen with an iceberg floating around in it.

25. December 2022 18:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Day - 2022

25. December 2022 18:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

As usual, we did a family thing at Kims sisters house.

At home I had Aiden make Havregryns Kugler (oat balls).

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I took more than 400 photos on this day and most of them are pretty good. It was pretty exhausting...especially the youngest daughter was really tired by the end of the day.

The photos above are just a couple of the ones I took. I haven't had time to process the others yet so I may make a second blog post later. I took some photos of Karen as well as some where the family is together, but I think Karen would like me to do a bit of work on them first.

I also found that it would have been really hard if I hadn't had Kim there to keep a look out for how the hair was looking, positioning and constant feedback on the photos. She is actually a pretty good assistant even though she doesn't know much about the photography side.

I also realised that I need more practice with taking photos outide in constantly changing conditions, so if anyone if willing to be a 'Model-for-the-day' then let myself or Kim know...it is a win-win, you get some (hopefully great) photos and I get some practice!

21. December 2010 09:55
by Rene Pallesen
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Merry Christmas 2010

21. December 2010 09:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Merry Christmas everyone!

2010 will be out little boys first Christmas and he is already getting into the Christmas Spirit. He is still trying to figure out what it means to be Santas Little helper.

We can't wait to see him open his presents....it may be a challenge for him to rip the wrapping paper.

This is our official 2010 Christmas family photo....new tradition for the next couple of years.

6. December 2010 05:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Caterpillars in our Garden

6. December 2010 05:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

There are so many different insects and critters in our garden and they are not all spiders. Every time I do a bit or gardening I get surprised by some of the diversity out there.

I really don't mind as long as they stay out of the house, which they do...most of the time. Most of the insects are too fast to photograph, but yesterday I did spot a couple of caterpillars that were slow enough for me to pull out my macro lens and a flash.

They are actually really hard taking photos of. At that close distance there is a really shallow depth of field and the caterpillars actually move quite fast so it is impossible to use a tripod.

This means that the photos are taken handheld and that I am just holding the flash next to the camera triggered wirelessly.

3. December 2010 07:50
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden's first visit to the hospital

3. December 2010 07:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Today was Aidens first visit to the hospitals Emergency Room.

When I got home from work this afternoon Kim said that Aiden had been unsettled all afternoon. He would be crying/screaming when we were holding him and initially I thought he was hot (it was a warm day). I took him to the shower to see if that would calm him down...it did a little bit.

Afterwards we had him on the bed and we noticed that he wasn't moving his left arm and leaving it limb down his side and when we touched it he started screaming...so off we went to the hospital.

We were lucky that they could take us almost right away to have a doctor examine him. He made the same observation that there was something wrong with his arm and ordered some X-Rays. The X-rays didn't show any fractures or anything (pheeeww...) so they gave him some pain killers. Aiden was so brave having his Xrays taken and being at the doctors. Once the pain killers kicked in he started moving his arm a little.

We were waiting for quite a while for the doctor to come back and when he did Aiden had started moving his arm more. The doctor re-examined the arm and twisted the elbox and bit and said "oh...I felt it pop". Aiden started screaming again, but the doctor said that the arm now should be ok and that he would come back in 10-15 minuted to check.

Surely enough Aiden was a very happy boy when he came back and we think his arm now if back to normal...he had just pulled his elbow.

Apparently it is quite normal for kids. The doctor said that he gets about two cases like that every day.

Thank you Doctor!

1. December 2010 08:32
by Rene Pallesen
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1st December 2010

1. December 2010 08:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is now the 1st December and the Month of Christmas has officially started. The christmas decorations in the shops here in Sydney went up a little later this year (November) compared to last year (October).

Kim and I have already bought all the christmas presents and this weekend we will put up the Christmas tree. It will be Aiden's first Christmas...he is still a bit too small to understand what christmas is...but at least he will have the photos to remember it by.

Merry Chrismas everyone!

24. November 2010 09:00
by Rene Pallesen
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24th November - One month to Christmas

24. November 2010 09:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is now exactly one month to Christmas...the silly season has started.

Kim and I are kicking off the season with some photos of Aiden...it is afterall his first Christmas. He may not remember it later, but at least he will have some photos to look at.

Next week on the 1st of December we will set up the Christmas tree...and I will take some more photos. Already got some ideas...

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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.

Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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23. August 2023 20:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Driving and Various

23. August 2023 20:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The trip in New Zealand first landed us in Christchurch where we picked up our rental car and stayed the first night.

From there we drove to Queenstown via Wanaka and the Crowns Range (another long drive). We were lucky that this was open and that snow chains weren't required.

Here we stayed for 5 nights whereafter we went to Twizel near Mount Cook for two night.

Lastly we drive back to Christchurch to fly out.

Queenstown is a scenic place, but lost of other scenic places along the way.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Pukaki chapel

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Lake Pukaki there is this little beautiful chapel at the lake.

Again this is a really photographed location and much more busy than I remember it.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Skiing

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At Queenstown we did 4 days of skiing at the Remarkables.

The boys did two days of lessons and were with me the other two days. Some friends of our joined us in Queenstown, so for the other days I had Tod to go with, who is a very decent snowboarder.

Aiden and Lucas are both becoming good skiers, but especially Lucas is getting really good to the point where I can bring him onto black runs.

I bought my own ski boots last year and brought them along (my feet are not compatible with rental ski boots).

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - West coast

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The west coast of New Zealand is really beautiful.

It is not very populated and there are not a lot of tourists either as it is hard to get to.

We did a lot of walks in the area both around beautiful lakes and also at the beach outside Fox Glacier and Franz Josef villages.

23. August 2023 19:08
by Rene Pallesen
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New Zealand 2023 - Lake Wanaka and the famous most photographed tree.

23. August 2023 19:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

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