It has been a busy morning here at my desk. Not that I have spent a lot of time at my desk, I’ve been running around the building meeting operations teams and vendors and the like. I’ve enjoyed it.

Something big is happening after work and as I am on the downward slope to home time, my concentration is being rucked and mauled by anticipation. I need to concentrate on my work!! But I can’t.

I haven’t had any more coffee, I’m drinking water and aside from this blog, I’m trying to avoid my web browser unless it is absolutely necessary.
My usual ploy of writing an achievable task list just isn’t working for me today.

And then there is the window.
I need to find a way of sitting by it but not staring out of it.

But wouldn’t you if you were stuck inside on a day like today – and even more so if you were busting to get out of work?

Writing this post however was a bit harder – I do find it a little strange that it should be more difficult to blog that I have met someone and to feel a little nervous about introducing that special person to my family and friends (and readers).  More difficult than admitting I felt alone a lot and had pretty much resigned myself to the single life.  (I was even interviewed regarding my eternal singledom)
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Queue the soppy music, spread the rose petals … all of that sort of stuff.  I’m a very very happy girl.

I have my friend Kim to thank for this fantastic addition to my life.  She decided we’d get on – and she was right!

He’s made the beginning of 2012 fun, exciting and full of laughter.
He’s already interested in photography – and he loves being outside, nature, animals, conservation – so I’ll teach him to dive as soon as my ears are fixed.
He’ll probably (maybe) read this and think .. oh shit she writes about everything!
Well not quite everything (I keep the real crazy thoughts on the inside) but to be safe, I’ve asked him about whether he’s okay with the things I talk about and if he wants to appear or not.  Best to get that out of the way early on.

I know it’s early days yet so I’m not going to ramble on too much.  We just did the whole “Facebook announcement” thing as it was getting kinda hard to say we weren’t together … considering I was down in Hamilton so much.  You can’t blame a girl for wanting to skite about such a catch.

I had stern words from my mother these holidays;

You shouldn’t swear on your blog so much

Which is probably true.
I probably shouldn’t – if I was writing my blog thinking about what people would think when they read it.
Which I don’t.  I don’t write my blog for anyone in particular.  In fact studies** have shown that no one reads my blog.

** By studies I mean stats reports which show about 120-160 visit my blog each day.

So I apologise for my language without really apologising.

I write how I speak – in my head.  Well actually out loud.
I speak what I want to write – sort it out verbally and then I write the sentence.

If you only visit once and then get turned off by my potty mouth, then I’m sorry that happened but you are probably not back to read this so I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Things happen and I blog them.  You get the good, the bad and the uuly.  But you get me.

If Mom doesn’t want me to swear on my blog so much then perhaps I should pay attention to how much I swear when I am speaking.  Perhaps I should also sit up a little straighter, wear a few more dresses and start to act like more of a lady.

Or should I?  Fuck no.

I like to swear.
I enjoy putting a little emphasis on the word shit.  Saying that I am really fucked off makes me feel better.  And a little less fucked off.
I very rarely crack out the big C word however every once and a while … its appropriate.
I don’t agree that swearing is an amplification of my challenged communication skills.  I communicate very well thank you very much.

I tell myself that my swearing is endearing.  It is – isn’t it?

Treats, teaching, getting ready for Christmas, a visit from my Dad and a lot of food and drinks

1.  Birthday baking – treats from Jackson (and Maresa)
2. diver theory
3. my photo made the Popular page of 365project.org
4. me and my Old Mout
5. Christmas lights
6. words to live by (on the wall in my office)
7. Rachael at the lake
8. wow the shop is busy!
9. me and my Dad
10. shitty weather in Auckland – this is NOT summer
11. freshness for dinner
12. views from the Harbour Bridge
13. presents from my Secret Santa
14. Bonney the Octopus getting some colour on her
15. the first of the summer Pimms
16. Petanque
17. oh yea thats right – Wairarapa sunshine
18. flowers that look like people
19. the shed I would buy
20. how many filters does it take to make me look good?

Hamilton Zoo began its life in 1969 as Hilldale Game Farm.
Hilldale was privately owned and functioned mainly to raise birds for the Acclimatisation Society and they also had some exotic mammals and birds for viewing.

Hamilton Zoo became its own identity in 1976 when it was bought by the Hamilton City Council and a Zoological trust bought the 14 hectares and the animals.
Today, Hamilton Zoo has 25 hectares and over 600 animals.

Hamilton Zoo’s conservation role includes raising awareness and funds for the conservation of animals in the wild.
The Hamilton Zoo Conservation Fund was established in October 2006 to accumulate and distribute funds raised from public donations, 10% of revenue for animal encounters (Eye2Eye and Face2Face) and proceeds from special conservation events.

Face2Face tours give you the opportunity to get up close to the animals for a small $10 charge. For example on Mondays, you can feed the lemurs in their enclosure and watch the group interacting with the keepers – and each other.
Sam is Hamilton Zoo’s team leader for mammals. She met us at the enclosure and took us in with a large bucket filled with vegetables to meet the Black and White Ruffed Lemurs and the Ring-Tail Lemurs.
Ruffed Lemurs are on the critically endangered list so getting the chance to see them – and feed them – was amazing.

Friendly AND curious - Ruffed Lemurs from Madagascar

These lemurs are endangered due to habitat loss as the forest is cleared for farming and housing. They are hunted for pet trade and killed for their fur and meat, which is considered a delicacy.

A baby Ring-Tailed Lemur was born at Hamilton Zoo on Christmas Day 2011.

Ringtailed lemurs enjoying snack. Baby born on 25/12/11 holding tight to mum while one of last years twins looking on http://t.co/VcGWV69i—
Ken Millwood (@nzzooboy) January 09, 2012

Ring-tailed lemurs sit on their hunches to eat, gripping food with their hands (they have opposable thumbs, nails and palms just like we do) and tipping their heads back so that the juices of the fruits run into their mouth and not down their fur!

Lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar. The ring-tailed lemur is the most terrestrial (ground dwelling) of all the lemurs, and is easily recognisable by its black and white striped tail.

Eye2Eye tours take you even closer to the animals and give you more of a chance to talk with the keepers about their enclosures and to learn about how they live their lives at Hamilton Zoo.

Delwyn took us on a tour of the tiger enclosure and gave us the opportunity to feed Jaka – a Sumatran tiger.  Using a set of tongs of course!!
It was a very muggy day so Jaka wasn’t interested in us or the food at first however once the meat was out, things changed a little bit.

The Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies, the Siberian the largest.

Sumatran tigers are also on the critically endangered list.   It is estimated that there are only around 500 tigers in the wild.
Jaka has a sister, Mencari, at the zoo as well.  Delwyn sent them both to separate cages via a very intricate series of catches and latches and pulleys and gates and this allowed us to enter in to the enclosure to become “Tiger Bait”.
We walked around touching trees and rocks and spraying some water and then went back behind the fence.  When Jaka was let out, it was like watching a cat or dog scope out their territory!  Sniffing exactly where we had been – very interesting!

Almost bang on schedule, Ken got a call from Kylie to say that she was heading over to feed the Siamangs and the chimpanzees.

Hand feeding berries to the Siamangs

Of all the gibbons, siamang are considered the best at walking upright, holding their long arms above their heads for balance. Most of a siamang’s life is spent in the tree canopy where their long arms allow them to swing from branch to branch.

The chimpanzees are separated into males and females as part of the integration and breeding process and also to manage the aggression between the two sexes.

The chimpanzees are so expressive.  Their faces appear to be full of emotion.
Its so very easy to see why Hamilton Zoo supports the ‘Snare Intervention’ programme and ‘Ugandan paper beads’ programme. The sale of gift cards and the paper bead jewellery helps provide an alternative income for families and reduce the poaching of Chimpanzees.

Food was literally thrown around the inside enclosure so that the chimps can climb and find it.

Animal enrichment is key for this species

Chimpanzees are one of the great apes and are one of our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. Sally is checking out my arm and she went straight to the healing places on my tattoo to check them out / Photograph by Ken Millwood

So after an amazing day with the staff and some of the animals, I totally recommend that if you are heading to – or through Hamilton – head to Hamilton Zoo.

If you get the opportunity, do one of the tours.  Or grab a keeper and ask them some questions.
The team at the zoo is fantastic and we are lucky to have this space (as well as Auckland Zoo, Wellington Zoo and Orana Park)

For more information:

• Hamilton Zoo website
• Follow Ken on Twitter:

Baby cotton top tamarin born 22/12/11 at Hamilton Zoo http://t.co/Ti6UQAVH—
Ken Millwood (@nzzooboy) January 08, 2012

I found this post in the middle of my Google Reader from Danielle and then it appeared in my Tumblr from Megan.
I think it is telling me something.

• Obsessing over:  My only real obsession right now is my 365 Project and improving my photography skills.  Having sold a couple of photographs recently, I have received a real push (and a huge confidence boost).

• Working on:  Absolutely nothing!  It is New Years Eve day, it is raining.  I have absolutely nothing to do except read Lisa Flaus’ book 2012 The Final Revelation

• Thinking about:  Wreck diving.  I am teaching a PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course in january and I’m rather excited

• Anticipating:  Good and bad – returning to Auckland.  I miss my kitten lots and I miss my bed a wee bit.

• Listening to:  The rain outside.  Actually there are more birds chirping than there are raindrops at the moment.  That is a good sign!

• Drinking:  Copious amounts of coffee.  I cannot find a mug large enough in Mom’s cupboards for all the coffee that I would like to consume.

• Wishing:  For people to drive their cars a whole lot safer.  Don’t be a dick – increase your following distances, decrease your speeds and stay within your lanes.  Remember, you don’t have to get there first, you just have to get there.

Happy New Year everyone.  All the best the last day of 2011 and the swing in to 2012! xx

Cameras also make the gadget geeks in us really happy.
Whether it is the Camera+ app on my iPhone or my D300, right now I have enough buttons and menus to keep me busy for hours.
And once I have taken my myriad of photographs for the day (or the month), there is the processing and the uploading.

Through the 365 Project, I have collected a few tips and tricks for taking, processing and collating my photographs and a few links on where to learn more so I thought I’d share them out.  There are some questions that I asked at the start that I am being asked now and it is probably about time to welcome Tanya, Shaun and now Janine as new participants in the 365 Project!

1.  The Camera

I absolutely believe that the best camera you have is the one that you have with you.  That $10,000 camera is no good to you if you are standing on a beach bathed in a stunning sunset if it is at home in the cupboard.  If all you have is your smartphone, then thats what you have.
In saying that, if you do have a $10,000 camera … don’t leave it at home!!  The more you carry your camera, the more you will get used to having it and it won’t feel as bulky as it once did.

I understand that the 365Project might have started with iPhone users.  Now look how far it has gone!
We all learn more about our cameras each time we take them out.  So take them out often.

Any camera allows you to understand and practice composition.
Composition is how the image is made up.  You can use the rule of thirds – you can completely break the rules.
Shoot up, shoot down.  Photograph mostly the horizon or very little of it.
Walk around your subjects, get a feel for them and see how they look from every angle.

Northcote Wharf - left side

Northcote Wharf - right side

I like photographs that tell a story, that capture a mood.  See where your eye leads you.  You will probably start seeing things a little differently.
And make sure you have a camera with you!

2.  The Project

It doesn’t have to be a 365 – in fact, it doesn’t have to be a project at all – but if you are going to start something, know why you are starting it and what you want to achieve.  It could be a subject, a diary, a learning experience.
The 365 Project has pushed me, frustrated me, angered me and taught me alot about light.  That was my main goal so that I could improve my use of ambient and strobe lighting for my underwater photographs.

Rob Wilson set his 365 Project as a subject

Landscapes – that’s what I want to improve on and thats my goal.  I am terrible at composition and struggle every time.. Still a ways to go..!!

Rob has a portfolio over at robwilson.500px.com.  His photographs of Wellington’s South Coast are not what I would call terribly composed at all!

Get some feedback.  It is nice to receive some compliments however the constructive comments are really important too.
Flickr has a huge number of groups of people interested in a wide range of subjects.  There are groups for different cameras, countries, subjects.
If you sign up to Flickr – add me here

3.  Motivation

sometimes you can find your photograph just by looking down

In the same way that exercise becomes a habit after a while, taking a photograph a day (or a week) will become habit after a while.
If you are stuck for ideas, ask your friends or family for a word.  Put a question out to your friends on Facebook or Twitter.  Have a look through Flickr’s images of the day.  Stick with it!

Refer back to .2 above – why did you start this?  What were you hoping to learn or produce?

4.  Cataloguing and Processing

So what do you do with your photographs once you have taken them?
Decide early on how you are going to catalogue or organise them.  I simply do it by the date that they were taken.

The main tool I use is Adobe Lightroom.
It is worth reading the manual for this software and getting to grips with it section by section.  The cataloguing setup works well for me and now that I have a reasonable number of photographs, the keywords and searching make finding things really easy.

The free tool I would use would be Google Picasa.
You can then upload to Web Albums and display your photographs on your Google+ page (or Facebook).

And BACK UP!

5.  Learning more

Back at .1 I said the camera you use doesn’t matter – as long as you enjoy using it.
Try all the modes, all the buttons.  Read the manual!

If you enjoy reading more, here are some sites I enjoy;

The Digital Photography School has posts on just about every situation and some good advice.  I read their post on photographing Fireworks before we went out on the boat for the Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony.

This simple post on Understanding Light was one that really interested me. Light is one of the goals that I have for my 365 Project.

If you are using Adobe Lightroom, take a look at the Killer Tips that are offered online.

If you have any questions, please drop me a comment or a tweet.
If you are completing your own project, I’d love to see it, please share!

© Miguel Yatco Photography

Living in the Stills.

To celebrate what my friend Cate likes to call No Moan Monday, here are some things that make me smile and a few links to get us through the last couple of days of work before we all eat too much and drink too much and hopefully laugh too much …

These gorgeous colours in this octopus tattoo

Summer dinners: Strawberries, asparagus, feta cheese, cracked black pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Michael Buble and Sam.
Sam’s mother talks Michael into letting Sam on stage.

Checking TiVo to find it has recorded lots and lots of Two Guys and a Girl

my favourite colours - now and always

• This great article has really helped restore my sanity – How to clean your apartment in 20 minutes a day for 30 days
• When it comes time to design my resume – these 30 creative resumes are just the inspiration I’ll need
• I am sure we have all seen at least one, if not more, examples of 15 things white girls love to do on Facebook

Not long after I got my Kindle, I signed up to Goodreads.

I don’t write reviews for the site – I use it purely for recommendations on what to read next.
Well honestly, Goodreads AND the Kindle store’s “Recomended For You”  By you, they mean me.
And by me, I mean I think that they know that I cannot finish a book and then not immediately buy a new one.

I logged in to Goodreads in April and received a warning on a challenge that I had joined.  A challenge I thought that I would ace.

Out of the 50 books I challenged myself to read this year, I had finished 11.
And that meant I was 4 books – or 8% – behind.

I went and had a look at the list of books that I had marked that I had finished (its all about setting the date in order for them to come off your challenge) … anyways, the list seemed a little light.
So I checked my Kindle.  And there they were – my secret reading list.  I updated the dates I had finished the books which was easy to do since I had been buying a new book as soon as I finished the previous one.
I also added some of the books that I wanted to read in to a list and I looked at what my Goodreads friends had been reading and recommended and then made myself a promise to allocate myself some reading time.  Some ‘logged off’ time.

I love being able to carry it with me, to read it on the bus and the plane and the train.

Now it is December and I have logged in again and checked my status.

I READ MY 50 BOOKS!

There is one book that I am still avoiding – Women, Food and God.
Answer: I don’t know.

I bought Mom a Kindle this year for her birthday.
I predict a Christmas holiday that focuses on reading and enjoying Pimms – either on the couch or in the garden.
Let’s just hope this weather clears up soon!

If you have any book recommendations, please pass them on to me!