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.