Have your say about dog exclusion areas

The Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) is currently seeking input from the community about excluding dogs from ovals.

Given our love of pets and pet photography we are of course speaking from a biased point of view. We think it is vital that dogs are exercised and socialised and therefore have access to safe areas where this can be done. However it is not just from self interest that we have this point of view. We see that the whole Blue Mountains community (whether you are a dog lover or not), benefit when dogs and their owners are allowed access to these areas for exercise and socialisation. Some of our reasons are listed below and we hope it will make you consider your response to BMCC.

1. Exercise and Socialisation address behaviour problems –  Two important things a dog needs are exercise and socialisation. If a dog is exercised many behaviour problems (such as barking) become easier to address. An exercised dog is content to be at home alone while you are at work. An exercised dog is a happy dog. Socialisation is another vital aspect of a dog's life– dogs need from an early age to come into contact with other dogs as well as other people. If a dog is properly socialised he will know how to behave amongst other dogs without causing fights. Furthermore and more importantly if a dog is used to all kinds of people and activity around him, it will be less likely that he will be aggressive towards humans.

2. Everyone benefits when dogs are socialised and exercised – It is not just dog owners who benefit from a well exercised and socialised dog. Neighbours and all who come into contact with a dog will see the benefits if dogs are exercised and socialised more.

3. Creating stronger communities – When not in use for sport, which is a large percentage of the time, ovals have the potential to be a great community area. It could be a place where many people use a shared resource together. It could be a way of uniting different areas of the community and could be a place where people from different walks of life co-exist happily. It could provide an area to exercise so that people have a healthier lifestyle. There could be a huge benefit to the Blue Mountains if ovals were shared by everyone in the community.

Furthermore:

4. Responsible dog owners are just that, responsible – they carry bags and pick up after their dog. They understand their dog's behaviour and they have them under control. It is a very small minority that don’t do the right thing by their dogs and by their community. Punishing everyone by restricting access to ovals just because a couple of people don’t pick up after their dog doesn’t solve anything.

5. What other alternatives do dog owners have? Yes we can walk in the streets but many don’t have footpaths, and often we have to walk on the road. This is dangerous and even more so if you are walking with your children or grandchildren as well. Alternatively ovals provide a safe area for dog walking and exercise. It is also a large enough area for dogs to meet each other and still be able to have space.

6. Don’t waste the space – ovals are a community resource and are there for the whole community, not just sporting groups. When sport is not on, ovals are where families picnic, kids play safely, dogs are walked and couples stroll hand in hand. I have seen all of this at ovals while walking my dog and everyone co- exists happily. The majority of the time ovals are lying empty not being used for sport - What a waste of space and land it would be if leisure activities such as dog walking were banned from the ovals.

If you are finding it hard to believe that sport, recreational activities and dog walking can exist all at one time on the one oval then I urge you to visit ovals in the Sydney area where dogs are welcome. To name just one, Santa Rosa Park in Ryde is a wonderful oval where the whole community gets together and enjoys the outdoors. I have been there when sport practise is going on down one end of the oval, dogs are running and playing off leash at the other end, and where families are playing, some people are cycling, others walking and jogging. Everyone exists is harmony and there is a great community feel.

So how can problems be addressed?:

1. Provide bins and bags at ovals – this is the most obvious and easiest way to address the dog poo problem. While most dog owners already carry bags and pick up after their dog, it will solve the problem for ones that have forgotten a bag or don’t want to carry a poo bag with them. Many other councils have provided these simple facilities for their residents for years, yet this is not so in the Blue Mountains.

2. Change the undertone of the Blue Mountains community – Sadly I feel this has to be said. It has been our experience that the Blue Mountains seems particularly unfriendly towards dogs. While many residents own and love dogs, there seems to be a section of the community that want to see dogs gone.  I have personally experienced snide comments being made when I was walking my dog and doing the right thing by picking up after him. The general undertone (evidenced by reading letters in the Gazette or watching more and more dog off leash areas being closed) is that dogs are disliked in the Blue Mountains. The fact that the council is even considering banning dogs from ovals is evidence enough.

These are just a some reasons why dogs should not be banned from ovals. There are many more points and suggestions being made on the BMCC survey website.

We urge you to complete the survey on the BMCC website before the closing date – 22 April 2013. You can access it by the following link:

http://bluemountainshaveyoursay.com.au/dog-free-zones-in-sports-fields

Textured photographic art

One of the joys of digital post-processing for me is I get to pretend I can paint by creating images worthy of a canvas! By applying layers of textures to a photo and with much experimentation and tweaking, the photographic image can be manipulated to have more of a "painterly look". It allows me to create mood, change colour tones, manipulate the background to put all the focus on the subject...and it's just plain fun! It's always an experiment as every photo and every texture and every way of blending the two creates a different result. It's a case of fiddling and fine tuning until I'm happy with the result.
Animals were the first thing I started texturing and are immortalised with great elegance by the process.

This image of my boy Oscar is one of my favourites. The textures give him a very soft appearance which complements his nature. The other effect was to subdue the bright colours of the sofa which allows all the attention to be on the beautiful subject.

This photograph was taken by Dilshara of her dog, Murphy. I textured it for her and it printed up beautifully onto canvas.

Another of Dilshara's photos that I textured

Beautiful Ruby is hard to photograph as her eyes are so often covered by hair - a tip for dog's with long hair is to make sure the hair is out of their eyes before you take the shot, othrerwise they have a tendency to look like a toilet brush!

Landscapes are wonderful to texture and I think it gives them a timeless quality.

 

People are much trickier and often the texture is more about creating a border or adding a change in colour tone to the image.

If you are interested in us creating a unique portrait of your pet that will last a lifetime and certainly be a talking point in your home, contact us at mindseyephoto@hotmail.com

LB



Beautiful Blue Mountains Portrait Shoot

Late last year we spent a lovely evening photographing this big and beautiful family at a splendid lookout in Wentworth Falls.

 

 

An aside on taking group portraits
On a photographic note for those taking their own large group shots, the received wisdom is to take one shot for every group member, plus one more. This is to take into account that there is no possible way everyone will be looking at the camera, not wincing/blinking/scowling/ moving if you only take one or two shots. My two tips in this regard would be:
1: Use the formula above.... and then take a few more for good measure
2: Don't take the shots as fast as your camera will allow i.e. not just in one hold of the button with your shooting mode set on "continuous". If you do rely on that quick burst of shots that might mean with some fast cameras that the whole lot of shots is taken in a second or two- leaving Aunty Mabel no time to recover from her sneeze or for that pesky toddler to get their finger out of their nose!!

Introducing Araminta Lily

 

A few weeks ago we photographed the baptism of Araminta Lily. It was a beautiful day and the park outside the Cathedral at Parramatta made for a lovely backdrop. It was such a joyful family occasion and a privilege to be invited to be a part of it. 



Four generations - what a great moment to capture

 

Kate's Maternity Photoshoot

Thank you to Kate and Matt for inviting us to photograph such a special time in their lives. We got in just in time as Kate had the baby a week after the photoshoot - a beautiful baby girl! It was fun photographing this maternity shoot and creating images to be treasured for a lifetime.
We look forward to photographing their daughter in the follow up newborn/baby shoot

On our website you'll fnd details of our photographic packages. Book both a maternity and newborn shoot and receive a discount on the second shoot.

My Favourite Lens ... so far ...

Something all you budding photographers might like to read – I’ll come out with it straight away – my favourite lens has to be the 50mm, f/1.8 lens. I say “so far” since I really haven’t tried out every single lens there is and one day I might have a new favourite.

I was motivated to write about this when I was recently asked how a particular photo was taken – it had a very shallow depth of field making one question if the effect had been produced by a programme such as Photoshop instead. 

Though taking photos with an extreme aperture of 1.8 may not produce best quality photos, interesting effects can be made. Here’s a photo of cracked paint taken at f1.8:

Cracked Paint

I find the best use of this lens however is for portraiture. Its crystal clear optics and again its shallow depth of field make for very nice portraits.

Furthermore we can turn this lens into a macro lens by attaching a macro filter onto it. Although not perfect, it’s another interesting use.

This 50mm lens is light weight, fast, has great optics, and is one of the cheapest lenses on the market.

DH

South Lawson Waterfalls

Location: Start at South Lawson Park in Honour Ave, Lawson. There is a small car park opposite Livingstone Ave where this walk starts.

Duration: 2 hours

Grade: Easy - Moderate

Features: waterfalls, creeks, lookouts,  

Junction Falls

Trip Notes: 

Where else would you find five impressive waterfalls in a short bushwalk? We start at a new sign detailing the route (and the waterfalls) by descending a long row of stone steps. About half way down there is an intersection of tracks – the one on the left is our return route while the track on the right goes to the old golf course. We continue straight ahead down the steps where we can already hear the sound of the first waterfall – Adelina Falls. 

Following the damp and muddy path we descend through a hanging swamp to reach a junction, where a 50 metre detour to the right takes us to Adelina Falls. We cross over a small wooden bridge nestled amongst ferns. An old moss covered barbecue stands in what once may have been a cleared picnic area and the rock wall covered in ferns is being sprinkled with shimmering sprays of droplets. After soaking up the atmosphere of this fairyland we follow the creek  back to the junction.

Shimmering droplets at Adeline Falls

This trail here is very muddy, especially when going through the hanging swamps; there are a couple of bridges to cross and the track mainly follows the creek. Here we pass tumbling cascades with various slippery side tracks that lead to the water. The orange angophoras emerge through the ferns and the whip birds strike their call. Eventually the track swings up a couple of steps to the right but before going up, a worn foot pad takes us around a boulder giving a dizzying look over one branch of Junction Falls (a bit dangerous and not recommended for those who are averse to heights!). The main track heads up the steps between a fence and a rock shelf and soon we cross a creek over the top of the other branch of Junction Falls, which actually comprises two waterfalls, one from Ridge Creek and the other from Lawson Creek, that meet nearby. Winding our way down steep stone steps and turning left before the long wooden bridge, we reach the first waterfall. The water cascading down layers of rock, the fallen trees, green ferns and  coachwoods standing tall all make  this an impressive place. A little memory plaque is fixed on the rock beside us and we sit and watch the falls in this peaceful spot.

Junction Falls

Crossing the long wooden bridge and heading around a boulder takes us to the other section of Junction Falls. This is another delightful spot where the waterfall cascades over the rock face, splashing on the rocks below while an old picnic table provides a seat from which to admire the surroundings.

Continuing along the track with the creek now on our right, the vegetation is a bit drier. We pass some weathered rock overhangs on our left and soon come to a set of steps. To get to Federal Falls continue straight ahead, down the pretty leaf littered path that takes us to the falls. Here we are in a sort of cavern and there is a huge rock shelf protruding out to the falls. Rocks covered in velvety green moss, coachwood trees and the beautiful falls flowing through a wide beach make this a spectacular place. It’s a terrific spot for a break and a picnic, and a place that kids can enjoy and explore.

Federal Falls

After savouring this waterfall, we head back to the steps which we climb, past the old painted writing on the rocks with distances given in miles and yards. The steps rise steeply to a little lookout and we continue through the bush, passing by blooming yellow wattle before descending to the creek. There is a slightly difficult crossing as we need to rock hop - the original bridge is no longer there, however preparations are evident for a new crossing. The path meanders through the bush and soon a little detour leads down to a charming spot beside a small waterfall – another nice place for a picnic. The track then continues away from the waterfall past mossy rocks and logs; there is peaceful silence here as the creek gently bubbles with the sweet ring of bird calls in the air.

Soon we get to some steps, but before heading up we continue straight ahead to visit Cataract Falls. In this lovely oasis stands an old gnarled tree amongst sparkling ferns and flowing water, making this a beautiful place.  This is the last of the main waterfalls on this loop, but we get to follow its course for some time as we head back to the steps and ascend the escarpment. About half way up a detour to the left leads to an engaging view overlooking the top half of Cataract Falls. 

Cataract Falls

Eventually the track meets a wider path where we turn left (turning right eventually takes you to Terrace Falls). We follow the sign to Lawson and we catch various glimpses of Cataract Falls from a few small lookouts. In one stands a lovely memorial seat dedicated to a couple who “loved these mountains”.

The track soon comes out at another car park, so we continue past this and past the picnic table and large fireplace, and follow the brown walker sign. Blooms of wattle and grevilleas with old man banksias line this sandy trail. Eventually we meet our original track and turning right up the stone steps gets us back to the start.

DH

 This article has been published in the Sept/Oct 2012 edition of The Mountains Blueberry

Getting ready for your Maternity Photo Shoot

Spring is a time for new life and new beginnings. We thought we would use this time to give you some photography preparation tips if you are getting ready to welcome a little one into the world. One of the many questions we get asked as photographers is how to prepare for a maternity photo shoot.

Here are some of our suggestions:

1. The best time for a maternity photo shoot is when you are at least 32 weeks pregnant. You want your stomach to be big!

2. Get to know your photographer – whether it’s before the photo shoot or on the day, it’s good to take some time to get to know each other so you will both be relaxed during the photo session.

3. Your photographer will have ideas and suggestions on how to pose and what to do. However if you have an idea of what style of photography you like (eg: formal, close ups, garden setting etc), let your photographer know what you prefer. Think of positions you do (or don’t) want for your photos and don’t be shy to let your photographer know.

4. We always advise people to wear what clothes which accentuate your stomach (and of course ones which are flattering and you are comfortable in). Avoid black or dark colours as this hides your shape. Also avoid bold patterns and brand names as this could be distracting in the photo. You may like to have a selection of clothes and try a few different styles during the shoot. Don’t wear elastic pants or skirts as the elastic will leave a line on your tummy (That’s if you want bare tummy photos).

5. If you have any props (maybe something special to you or for your baby) get them out for the photo shoot. 

6. Relax and enjoy your photo session!