Time flashes by

I wanted a blurred background, attached the camera to a tripod and spun around on the patio - occurred to me how badly you could waste your camera while doing this (whack it on a wall; get giddy and fall down; have it fly off the mount...etc) so I stopped without it really turning out as I'd hoped.  I was thinking about you today in particular - will give you a call later (post exams at 11am on a Sunday sounds like maybe still sleeping) - wondering how the quizzes went, thinking about how you might be feeling considering the date tomorrow; I hope OK.

Portrait of Aiden - June 2012 High Junk Peak

The woods and the saddle after rain

Every now and then I take a photo that I really like, and it's not an accident at some level; one of those ones where you think of the place, you convince the kid, you lug the kit, you set it up and it comes out as you imagined it.  I think maybe if you are a good photographer you do this all the time - if you want to become a good photographer, you try and try and very occasionally you surprise yourself.  So that's what happened today.  It's been raining terrifically.  In a gap in it all I convinced Aiden, to walk through the woods and up to the saddle, from where you can look down on the city.   Ev's got a bug, so was listless; Ange kindly stayed with him.  When you get to the saddle
there are some groovy patterned trees in a little clearing, and I thought I could take a nice portrait there.  But it's not the one above (which is very similar, but slightly overcooked on the flash, and I still really like - its the one in the post above). 



Cool having a radio-trigger again - hang the flash in a tree and photoambush the walkers with light - creates weird and surreal pics; in this one Pieter and Robyn in front of Aiden.

Anyway, it was GREAT out and about, water everywhere, mud and mulch, squelch squelch.  We'd taken the shots and I was packing up when Pieter and Robyn and Lara and Jordan arrived.  I watched the rugby at Pieter and Robyn's the night before.  A very lekker klap for the English :-).  They brought their two dogs and Jordan brought Daisy - who Aiden and Evan are in love with.  We walked a bit with them, the dogs were jolling in the mud and the bushes.  I took some more pics (ah that was it, this was all with my new radio trigger - which is the same as the old one which died so heroically next to the pool - just it has some extra switches (which the old one really lacked, and it has a much better range - and of course costs 170 (whereas the old one cost 80 - that's inflation polite for you - outrageous increase for 3 years, but add some stuff and call it an upgrade and everyone is smiling.  It was a lovely outing.



Daisy going wild with Jordan and Aiden wishing they could have a dip in that particular little stream (steamy hot, so just dripping with sweat and jungle water).  Daisy very different with a haircut and wet legs - very cool dog.

Aiden, Lara and Jordan having got to the top of the saddle, over the other side the city lurks - Tseng Kwan O in the background, and far in the distance the skyscrapers in Central.

Swimmin in the rain

It's Saturday morning and the rain is coming down - but its Hong Kong summer too, so it's greasy-warm and Ev celebrates it all by zooming into the pool, loving all the water, from wherever.

Just before it all goes wrong (and then right)

I was rowing early this morning, and while I was doing it I looked outside and thought, I could take a cool pic of the boys playing in their paddling pool with an off camera flash that would allow me to put detail into the sky and islands in the background – what I’d do is put the flash on top of the canopy.  So while I was trying to cool down for a shower I decided to quickly set it up to see how it would work.  Nice pic don’t you think – board-shorts and a sweaty “wife-beater” as Aussies call rancid old vests.  I fired off one to see if the trigger would still get the signal tucked away on the awning.  It did, but it was nearly the last pic taken with that flash.  Out of nowhere comes a puff of wind, which makes the awning puff out like a sail of some sort, it shoots the flash up into the air, it does a nice little somersault or two, and comes crashing down on the paving, bits of plastic shooting out with a crash.  Aaaaargh.  I run over to pick it up, and getting there see that it's landed on the radio trigger, which has exploded (the trigger costs R80) and the flash is absolutely fine - wooohooo - lucky escape.  So this one is taken afterwards with the now-bounced flash - but of course on the camera, so it looks like a regular flash photo with nasty flat shadows (though the sky and islands still look cool, and I am so happy that the thing still works).

Space-face

I hope you got my message last night - it was great to get your email, though I feel for you, the pressure the academics put you under; the burden of high standards and self expectation; I'm somehow sure that's always worthwhile - squeezing the most out of yourself and your life, even when that can be painful.  Keep at it.  And well done for doing so.

Ev is a bit of a game addict - so he has to be extensively rationed - otherwise he might disappear into the world of cybernothingness from where no child returns unscathed.  I found him, the other night, in the semidark of our room tanning his face with the screen's moonlight glow.  In the trance state, you can get him up and move him around the room for different shots.  Makes me laugh and worry at the same time.

Beach volleyball

 

Ange with Aiden and Ev during a break between games

In the spirit of sports-other-than-rugby I played in a beach volleyball match on Sunday - god it was such fun - Sheung Sze Wan (our village) vs Lobster Bay (the village across the bay - the real name of which is Tai Hang Hau I think).  Any way, we kicked butt - which was something of a surprise to all of us - as the opposing team had Malcolm - as in ex beach heavy and I think once life saver (now literally - saw him rescue someone in Thailand - which I think is an act of true heroism), and Doug - as in 6 foot 10 and 150kgs, big big man (with a big big heart, see top pic, with the court taking shape) - did you meet him in HK, I cant remember, but if you did, you would - and the superfit Warren etc - but somehow, SSW prevailed. Tex organised some truly blinding orange vests for our team, and then to round it off played in a neon green "budgie smuggler" - I laughed - there were some very funny comments flying back and forth. All in all its the most fun I've had on a Sunday in absolute ages - and it made me think too that there is something that is lost in suburbia, or perhaps it's South African suburbia - and that is community. It really is a valuable thing - and I'm only really seeing this now, glaringly. The thing that is weird for me personally is that some part of me resists it - some part that wants to keep to myself - and I found myself getting grumpy on the way to the beach (what is that?) - but then I have an absolute ball. Critically I think, you need someone like Simon who will arrange something like this - and I would just never think of it - maybe it's a confidence thinkg - that I can't imagine that a whole number of people would want to do what I wanted to do. Simon is confident - and everyone had an absolute blast (though I confess to feeling today like I've been through a tumble dryer or some such - all sorts of aches and pains - it was hypercompetitive.

Looks like a gloomy day - but actually lovely - aready hot and humid, so an absence of sun some relief

Evan on the swing - pop art in paradise

While Aiden was warming up for the gymnastics - Evan and I hit the playground at the CWB club - it was an overcast but beautiful morning.  I used an off-camera flash to take this super-cool pop art picture of the Pickle on the swing - I think it is great.

Sports other than rugby

Waiting to compete

Part of the beam routine

Aiden does gymnastics.  Ev used to, but he decided he didn't want to any more.  Then he decided that in fact he did, but it was too late (so we'll see what his committment looks like next year).  The end of the year (which bizarrely is now - following UK academic calendars) culminates in a gymnastics competition - so were up early for that this morning - registration 8.15am, warmup until 9, and then the thing.  It was quite fun to watch (if your kids are in it at any rate). 

Aiden did well - he came third in the vault overall, and won the boys section - which is somewhat misleading as there were only two boys in the whole competition (paradise?).  Hong Kong style there were lots of medals and fanfare.  I thought his vaulting looked pretty good - and I was amazed at his beam stuff (never been on one, looks like a good way to land awkwardly) - and likewise the floor exercises - I cant do a cartwheel to save my life, and he just motors along with that sort of thing.  The girls were mean it needs to be said - as in supercompact and competent (little buggers can really bend in all sorts of ways).


Winners podium taking shape

Sports (other than rugby)

Both Ev and Aiden are into tennis. Aiden's co-ord's have always been pretty good, Ev on the other had seemed to have some room for catch up.  Well that seems to have happened while I wasnt watching (I had a hint of it at Aiden's baseball party where Ev connected with a big swing every time he batted).  I recently got to go to one of Ev's lessons and was really impressed, he is "klapping" the ball beautifully, head down, follow through, wrist roll - the whole nine yards.  Here he is playing against the wall:

We call the place they have lessons the dungeon - it's very Hong Kong - under a building - steamy as all hell inside - but it does allow for regular lessons - on this particular day it was, as is so often the case in summer here, raining considerably.  The thing about indoor courts is that its not only the size of the surface area that has to be accommodated - but you need substantial hight of roof too (in this photo it doesnt fit in, but you get the idea:

Birthday portraits

I wanted to take a pic of the boys for GR for her birthday - this is how it came out:

But it certainly does not tell the whole story of trying to take a pic of the boys in front of a light set -



which in reality includes pictures of Evan with his bunny...


... and innumerous pics of people with their eyes closed or half closed looking marginally stoned (by accident) or throwing wobblies about how long it is taking (all of 10 minutes, these of course on purpose), which look something like this: