Ice Skating Lesson

Here are some children
learning how to ice-skate
during the school holidays
(7th April 2014)
at our large shopping centre,
Casuarina Square,
in the northern suburbs
of Darwin NT, Australia.

This was a proper mini
ice-skating rink
set up on the ground floor.
It looked like good fun !



(c) Katherine Stuart 2014

Room Renovation

The challenge is on for me
to renovate this room
(which is larger)
so that I can move into it.

Looks pretty derelict doesn't it!
But, with a good clean,
some paint,
and new curtains,
it should be a big improvement
in being able to
organise my business items.




(c) Katherine Stuart 2014

Learning Irish

I have been learning Irish,
and have just reached a milestone
(for me).

I've been able to learn
the sounds of the 92 words
that are examples of pronunciation
in the Irish language course
that I'm studying
by myself in my own time.
And I can recite them as a list
like reciting a poem.
And now, I can also
spell them all correctly :)

(Yes, I am still using the cassette)

As an aid to learning Irish
I've been going to the TG4 internet site.
TG4 is the Irish language television channel,
for those who don't know.

And yesterday (Sat 5 April 2014)
I watched an episode of
"Ros na Run".

:)













original material (c) Katherine Stuart 2014

"Camille Claudel 1915"

On Sunday evening (23 March 2014) I went to see the film "Camille Claudel 1915" (2013)
at the Palace Verona Cinema, Paddington, Sydney, Australia,
with members of my family, as my sister-in-law is French
so there is that interest.

On the way,
we stopped off and had a drink
at the Coco Cubano cafe/bar
in Darlinghurst.
                                                                           
This is the view from my seat
at the window,
looking over Oxford St,
towards Taylor Square
at the Flinders St intersection.
                                                                                 

This is the cinema.

For all those who are not French
and/or don't know,
Camille Claudel
was in a relationship with
the sculptor Rodin.

This film centred on her time
in the asylum
after the breakup of the
relationship.




(c) Katherine Stuart 2014

St Patrick's Day

For St Patrick's Day
my brother and his wife
treated me to an Irish music gig
at the Observer Hotel
at the Rocks
in Sydney, Australia.
A friend of my brother's
was one of the guys
doing the gig.

These are the guys.

We stayed for one sett.
But there was already
plenty of dancing
during that time,
and it was only
4.30 pm.
Even I had a jig
with someone !






Video  -  St Patrick's Day 2014

                                                                         
(c) Katherine Stuart 2014

Dochas Books Film

Trip to Sydney (Australia)

Yesterday (Saturday 1st March)
I was on the plane
from Darwin (Northern Territory,
Australia)
to Sydney (New South Wales,
Australia)
to visit family for 3 weeks.

This is the view from my window seat.

Here you can see the dunes of the
desert down below.

I was lucky enough to see a rainbow
from above.
I had heard that a rainbow is circular /
oval
if you are looking at it from above.
Here you can see it as a circle
about half way between the point
protruding from the wing
and the edge of the window.
So, now I've seen it for myself  :)





(c) Katherine Stuart 2014

Behind the Scenes - Photography Area #2

The Photography Area

This is what I'm using for the photography area.
It's my dressing-table,
but it's a useful surface
for setting up for my overhead photos.

What I do,
is fold up a single bed sheet,
and lay it over the mirror
and the table surface,
as shown here.

I use a sheet that is of a neutral type colour,
such as the beige, here.
It's dark enough to make a contrast
with the white of the paper of the subject
that I'm photographing.
If your subject was a dark colour,
you could use a lighter coloured sheet / piece of
fabric to contrast with it,
if you wanted to and you're including that in your photo.

Then I place two light sources,
which are two desk lamps,
at either end of the table surface.

And place the subject to be
photographed
in the middle.

Then I turn the lamps on and
shine them onto the subject
to get the best illumination,
without it being too bright
and getting a reflection.
                                                          It took a little bit of trial and error

                                                                                       to get the right positions
                                                                                       that produce a good image
                                                                                       on my camera.
                                                                                       One lamp is also noticeably brighter
                                                                                       than the other one,
                                                                                       so I shone it to one side of the subject
                                                                                       and not onto it,
                                                                                       as I did with the other one,
                                                                                       as you can see above.


(c) Katherine Stuart 2014