happy Birthday

To the little BIG girl that has changed my whole existance... my perspective of life and filled the rest of my heart... Happy 8th birthday Angel.

Easter came Early...

For one little lucky duck.

B2 got a call this afternoon asking to speak with Mea. When she asked who it was, she was told that Mea had won first prize in the Local Shopping centre colouring competition. At first B2 thought it was a joke as we had seen some of the entries on the wall only yesterday and were sure that the ones that were obviously adult assisted would win.. that is normally the way, right?

Well this time, it appears that the theory was wrong.. as our little munchkins brightly coloured cadbury bunny and easter chick (in the photo) caught the attention of the judges and a prize of $120 worth of cadbury eggs and a stuffed cadbury easter bunny were all hers!!


She was as proud as punch as this picture easily depicts. She had centre management there when the customer service desk handed over her washing basket full of eggs... taking pictures that would be used in the shopping centre media and would also appear in the local newspaper.

I took George along (my little pocket rocket - camera), I know its not 30D though he does the job as far as I am concerned.. I handed him to Matt so that he could snap a few photos that we could scrap. The manager saw this photo that Matt took and asked weather they could use that instead of the shots they took of Mea, as part of their advertising. How cool was that!!!? Matts pic will also be the one they put in the paper.

It gets better... he has also been told that they will contact him closer to the opening of stage 2 of the shopping centre to be their official photographer!!!
Just think... that was all through a photo taken with George.. I wonder what opportunities could have risen if he had his "baby" back!? ~laughs~

Easter will be rather well sugar-coated here... sickly sweet with gooey caramel creme eggs (insert droolin' here), peppermint creme filled, caramello eggs and all the other wonders from cadbury, not to mention the eggs (very few) that the easter bunny will be delivering tonight. I had told the kids that this year, they would not be having much chocolate and instead, would be given gifts.. So much for that, huh!? ~laughs~ I guess they get the best of both this year!

I hope the easter bunny is good to y'all... Happy easter... Stay safe!

His flag flies half mast...

There is nothing that I can say, that Matt has not said on his blog this morning... so perhaps I will just copy and paste...

It is a sad day for my love... and I have to say, it makes me so sad to see him sooo sad.

“RIP 30D”
© Matt Allan

"I woke up this morning at around 5am and headed out with my trusty kit bag to take some photos of the sunrise. I’ve done this countless times before but this morning… well this morning has left me shattered.

I was in my own world merrily setting up by the waters edge, doing everything the way I had done on so many other occasions… just waiting for the light to give me my first shot of the beautiful morning colours when this punk walked up behind me with his fishing pole and tackle box in hand and scared the absolute shit out of me!

As a result, I turned… tripped on my tripod… fell on my ass and then much to my horror, watched as my tripod and camera tumbled ever so slowly and peacefully into the water lapping up onto the shore.

All the fisherman could do was chuckle as he continued his way along the beach, all I could do was weep with my old friend in my lap as I watched the lights go out forever.

So this is the last image that will ever come from my beloved Canon 30D. She has been a faithful companion over the years and I will miss her.

As a result, I have reducing EVERYTHING in my online store by 10% as I am now trying to bridge the gap between insurance and a replacement companion… a small comfort but I am sure this is what my trusty 30D would want me to do."

So... there you have it... There are some ass-holes out there. I know, perhaps the guy did not mean it to cause damage, though the least that he could have done was stop to see if Matt was okay. This guys does not realize what he has done... honestly.. who does something like that, in the dark when people obviously are not expecting it? He does not realize how lucky he is, for if it was me, I would have hunted the bastard down and given him a piece of my mind.. if not a good smack in the mouth as well.

As Matt has said, there is a gap in what our insurance will cover... a gap that is substantial enough for a family of 5 not to be able to financially cover... I know i am bias, as i should be, though when i say that he is a remarkable photographer, i am being modest. He has an online store, which he has placed many of his works, in different formats, for sale. He has reduced the prices of everything there in a hope that he will be able to bridge some of the gap with the profit made (which really, is not marked up much at all as it was).


We are hoping that a friend of his will assist by loaning out a spare camera so that he can keep his booking schedule. If you are a Melbourne local, looking for an awesome photographer for wedding or family photos, or a portfolio that you will honestly love.. please, drop him an email. He would love to be able to give you a quote.

As they say, the best advertisement is that of word of mouth, pass the word .. hopefully he will not be in mourning long.

xxxxx