Lest We Forget

I spent the my usual ANZAC Day crying as I watched the service at Gallipoli. It has become very meaningful for me since I visited Anzac Cove in 2007. As I watched the service today I was so glad  we were able to visit the peninsula without hordes of other visitors. It was a time for walking amonsgst the gravestones, quiet meditation and  horror as I saw the ages of the Australian, New Zealand and Turkish men who died in that battle. In that quiet, beautiful place, one needed solitude to imagine the ships coming in, the men battling and maybe dying before getting to the shore, and the bullets raining down on them (in the museum we saw bullets fused together as they had hit one another, so many were flying through the air).

 

As the mother of a son, I looked for, and found plenty of young Anzacs and Turks of around the same age and the emotion was overwhelming. Was it ever thus, young men dying in old men's wars.

It was really striking just how small the whole cove is. I wonder why it seems quite large in the televised service. Perhaps it's the type camera lens used. It has also struck me that the pilgrimages being made every year for ANZAC Day, is actually destroying the peninsula, as the Turks widen roads etc to accomodate the tourists. Perhaps the dawn service there should be limited to officials, forces and family members. The rest of us can visit another time.

There has been talk about whether or not ANZAC Day should become our national day. I hate the idea. I don't think ANZAC Day is  a day to celebrate: it is about commemoration, honouring the dead,  acknowledging mateship and great bravery, and reflection upon the chaos, destruction and futility  of war. Australia Day is about celebration and rejoicing in our way of life. The two may have links but I don't think they're the same thing. Still, I think mine is a minority view.

What do you think?

Some freebies

I've been pretty slack artistically lately so I thought I'd make some recompense by putting up some freebies from my collection of postcards, playing cards and cabinet cards. They may take a while to load as I kept the files larger than usual, so hopefully they will print better. My computer is dying. It's like a TV where the picture tube has lost most of the colour. I can't afford a new one and a trip to Turkey in June , so I'll just have to make do. I hope these are OK.

More to come!

Technorati Tags: freebies,vintage pics

To thine own self be true...!

A few weeks ago I caught up with a couple of friends in Bairnsdale. On two evenings I took very different photos a sunset and a cloudy sky (see earlier post) Then, the week before Easter I took my first walk at Birdsland since the fires. I was upset by the damage but also pleased with how, so soon, the green is starting to come back.

On Easter Monday, Ben and I went for a drive into the hills. I wanted to see for myself the damage on the Black Spur, and to have a look at Marysville, where I had been to several conferences and always planned to go back to. I thought I would find material for 'arty" photos and ignored the nagging doubt about whether or not it was the right thing to do.

I should have listened to the inner me.

When we arrived the places was absolutely packed. I have never seen so many cars in the town. Everyone was walking around with cameras and I thought of flies around a dung heap. I felt sick and couldn't stop or get out of the car. I couldn't even stop to have a look at the guest house where I used to stay. To be honest, I found it very hard to orientate myself anyway. Anyway,I felt we were all voyeurs and vultures and just wanted to get out of town, I felt so ashamed to be part of it.

So I have no photos of Marysville or any little parts thereof, just an abiding sadness for what has gone. I also have the knowledge that my first instincts are usually right, that I am unlikely to ever be able to make art of something which has caused others so much pain and I certainly couldn't be a photo journalist, much as I might admire them.

So, here's to new beginnings

And here's a digital collage using the cloudy night and one of my burnt forest photos.

Technorati Tags: digital collage

International Charm Day!

If you'd like to join this celebration of all things charming (pardon the terrible pun!) click on the title to head over to the International Charm Day blog. There is no swap, just a sharing of pics, ideas, links and tutorials. You could also be in line for a prize by simply following the blog.

A gift from Ben- professional photos taken.

Ben had two weeks at home for Easter and informed me he had arranged for us to have professional photos taken. The last ones we had, I think he was about 10! I was chuffed to think that he'd want  to do something like that, but I do hate having pics taken as I am not at all photogenic, and hate the forced smiles.

Anyway, the process was not at all painful, though I did discover I actually pull away from the camera and it it felt very awkward and unbalanced to  lean forward.

Heidi  used a digital SLR to take  over 120 photos, which were immediately uploaded so we could make our selections before we left. I must say I was really  happy with lots of the photos and it was difficult to narrow them down. We eventually got it to ten.

The pics arrived today and I couldn't be happier.  My favourite is this . It was the only one that looked any good in black and white. We ordered an 8 x10, but when I got home and had another look at our smaller images on the receipt I decided I wanted a bigger one again so I ordered it in a 12 X14, which I may just have mounted behind glass rather than framed.

There were several of us that I really liked but these in particular-

 

BTW Ben is semi crouching in the first one, so the height difference is not so great!

And who'd have believed I could look this glam!

I had mentioned to Ben that I hoped Heidi didn't attempt to take out my wrinkles. Admittedly she used a portrait lens but I still have my crows feet etc but they just don't stand out! This photo is pretty much as it was originally shot.

It was well worth the money, but I am trying to get Ben to accept that this could be my 60th birthday present rather that just a gift out of the blue.