Walkies

Early morning Terrigal Esplanade. Suddenly it's not Terrigal it's Dogland. I feel like the odd man out walking without a dog. The local vets must be having a great time. All those vaccinations and flea and tick treatments they are selling. And the dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Puppies must have been selling like bikes and laptops in the pandemic.

Chester

I'm not a dog person but I would make an exception for this one seen yesterday at the town called The Entrance on the Central Coast-it's actually called The Entrance because it is where a big coastal lake flows into the sea.
I first spotted him being lifted out of a back of an SUV in the car park and then later I saw him rubbing noses with his owner outside a cafe so I went up to ask if I could photograph them.Sadly the light was all wrong-very harsh and bright and from the wrong direction but having a chat with the owner revealed that Chester is a retired guide dog although he is only 5 years old.Apparently his blind handler had sadly died a year ago and the Guide Dogs organisation had taken Chester back but had decided for some reason that he should be early retired as a guide dog so here he was with a new owner.
Yesterday morning he had been playing in the surf for some time and was looking forward to sharing a kebab with his owner-a regular ritual.He had the most gentle temperament.If only more dogs were like Chester.
Not great photos but I felt that Chester was worth a mention and a couple of photos regardless.Leica X1 photos

Cats,dogs and cameras.

The world's population it seems can be divided into 4 distinct groups-those who like cats, those who like dogs, those who like both cats and dogs- this apparently is a small group-and finally a group who either don't care or who don't like either cats or dogs.
Anyway here are two photos to please the first three groups-the non -carers should just move on at least from this story.
I am really pleased with both these photos.The first I spotted beside a backroad just inside the Austrian border with Slovenia near Villach back in June.The cat was on the windowsill of this old house and the colours were just superb and it was overcast but bright so the light was just right.I stopped the car just past the house,reached for my camera which was on the back seat and fully expected the cat to get up and jump down and make the whole exercise futile.Cats are like that.But much to my surprise the cat stayed in place.
The wonderful dog I spotted looking out of the window of a restaurant on an early morning walk in Paris.I would hazard a guess that it was waiting for its owner to come down and take it for a walk.

Both photos were taken with my Leica X1 as DNG files which I have processed in Lightroom 5.As there are quite a few new readers coming to the blog -welcome-I should say that for me the Leica X1 is just wonderful.Its most attractive feature is its lens and the image quality it produces but also it is small and light and there are no complex menus and useless features to distract you.Just a superb fixed length lens -no zoom lens or interchangeable lenses so no decisions to be made- and plain simple controls.So many photographers burden themselves with too much equipment.A wise old photographer said to me recently that the more equipment you carry the less photos you take.And he is right.

Nowadays you can pick up a s/h X1 for modest money.If you are tempted ignore all the ignorant chatter and BS from the so called experts and pixel peepers on the forums and enthusiast sites and treat yourself.Put an optical viewfinder onto it-the Voigtlander OVF is excellent-and get out and start taking photos.It will do wonders for your photography.But of course if you really prefer to play with toys and talk about features and megapixels rather than taking photographs well the X1 is not for you.....

My favourite

Of all the photos I took in Hong Kong and China on my recent trip this one taken in Stanley Market in Hong Kong is my favourite.You only get the one chance at a photo like this.Hesitate and the moment is gone.So I was lucky.The expressions on the woman and the dog are wonderful and the ice cream tub makes it.
I have recently read a piece on a blog by a fine art photographer- lamenting the decline of photography as a craft and guess this photo typifies what he does not like.It is what he would call a quick fix.Anyway each to his own.I like it and I hope you do too.If you see any photo competitions for photos of dogs and their owners let me know.I reckon that it could be a winner.

Indian summer

The east coast of Australia is having some extraordinary weather at a time when we should be transitioning into winter.It's the warmest May on record.Here in Terrigal we have had daytime temperatures of 23ºC to 28ºC for over a week and the sky has been clear with just some early morning wisps of cloud giving us some beautiful sunrises.

Everyone's watching that beautiful sunrise .

Some had front row seats.I don't know how their fishing went but at least they caught the sunrise.

Here's looking at you....

Keeping a watchful eye on the camera- Phoebe.Leica X1 photo.
Apparently there are 10 pictures of cats to every one picture of a dog on the internet and I'm intent on maintaining that ratio.Phoebe is 13 -an old lady in cat terms .She is a beautiful,friendly and gentle cat and she really is an integral part of our family along with her "sister" Zoe.Earlier in the week Phoebe was under the weather but after a visit to the vet she is back to her usual self although giving her medicine -particularly tablets- is straining our friendship a little.

                                                             Two cats in the yard.Phoebe and Zoe taking in the evening air after dinner two days ago.