Supposed to be Fireworks but due to my own football commitments and general ouches from the exertions I ended up staying at home. So I decided to finally use the Star Trails as my image. I took two attempts to not get a photo (despite my previously highly successful experiments/backup photos)

And so it was down to using a balloon and making an animated GIF.

Sunday : With a Scav hunt competitor you’ve never met – 72 points

I’d previously flagged doing to vist the Berowra Markets to visit The Howies Fairtrade stall and hoped that someone would come up to get a photo with me so I could claim the 72 points. Thankfully someone did. Jo French. 72 points. Thanks!

This is the catch up.

Photo 1: Bokeh 49 points

Bokeh is a style of photo taking.

Bokeh has been defined as “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”.

from the Wikipedia Page

The judges have been fairly easy going with the points of light part – which is fine for 49 points (and helpful for my own effort) – and while I got some points of light it wasn’t quite the effect I was after. But I like it none the less.

Featuring one of my 500 balloons - the gift that keeps on giving

Photo 2: In a vault 83 points

If you get stuck in the vault you can ring the bell and hope someone comes and get you – although you do need very slender fingers.

I don’t want to reveal it’s location so the story will be brief.

I found this completely by chance after not being able to get a photo at what turned out to be a working bank vault. The man with the gun behind the locked bars was unwilling to let me take a photo of their working bank vault for some reason.

Photo 3: With someone Famous 75 points

After being out late last night I stayed up another hour to get a photo of Star Fields as my photo for today. Despite my 2am bedtime I was up at about 8am today and planned to head back to bed until The Housemate offered bacon and eggs for breakfast.

As we were munching on our Bacon and Eggs my mind was churning the March Scavenger hunt for the days to come and today’s plans to check out possible locations to get a few points. Then it dawned on me.

SydneyFC train on Fridays and finish about 10am. It was just turning 9am. THERE WAS TIME.

Scoffed my bacon and eggs, had a shower, grabbed my Unbelievable Tekkers T-Shirt (what else) took the ball and Sharpie (Housemate wanted a signature too) and then zipped over to Jim Campbell Sportsfield in Macquarie Park.

I arrived at about 10am and it looked like training was just finishing up. Del Piero was practicing with balls crossed into the spot and heading and shooting goals. He got a few. And missed a few. There was some banter going on and lots of Italian being spoken.

Once the other players had finished stretching and headed back to the main offices del Piero finished up and went over and did his own stretching. And then he headed out. There was about 20 people there. Japanese women and Italian Men and me. I almost missed out as I tried to get a signature and a photo all the while borrowing and returning someone’s clipboard and while he was slowly moving a step at a time back to the sheds. Clearly I managed to get the selfie (though I almost left myself out!) thanks to ADP’s patience and willingness to interact with his fans.

But, as is often the case, the March Scavenger Hunt was not finished giving yet.

Once I had got the photo I needed I went around to take some more photos of the area.

While I was taking the photo of the SydneyFC sign I noticed some bloke walking out of the club house. I ignored him at first and then took another look and realised it was another member of the team (injured Pascaal Bosschardt) one of my more favoured players from the team, a tops twitter user and very positive with the fans. I said hi and asked if I could grab a photo too.

Not sure why I looked so worried – I think I was concentrating on getting the photo. Asked him about his injury and wished him well. He said thanks and was very happy to oblige with the photo. What a gentleman.

Tops day!

Housemate didn’t get his ball signed but I am going to head back again next week and watch more of the session to see what they do and try and get some more signatures.

Oh yeah and I am very happy with my 1st Place after the first week. I know that I am unlikely to stay there the whole way through – my final goal is to finish top ten – but my early goal was to take out the first week and I have done it. And getting a photo with Del Piero was another goal. I am enjoying  my Hunt so far and managed to keep the competitiveness at a suitable level. And the adventure and unexpected moments have stayed high. Looking forward to the days to come.

The description chose to be vague – well – presumptious I guess. Maybe niave?

Post a photo of you on a date. No further clarification will be given.

See what I mean? Asking for trouble.

So, yeah, I piked.

I had initally thought about a photo of me stepping on a fruit version of a date. I held off cos I didn’t want to risk not getting the photo. Felt like it was wimping out. And yet, the description was wonderfully vague. Anyway I waited a few days and sure enough by the 3rd day someone had posted the photo of themselves stepping on some fruit. Then day 4 saw the calendar reference. And today had a bonus photo to get and so the calendar it was.

I still have balloons in my room

Photo 2 – 24hours Bonus Category 1 – 32 points

Between 12:00am and 11:59pm on 5th March 2013 you must get a photo of you with someone whose birthday is between 1st March and 7th March. You must be giving them a present or giving them a cake, with lit candles.

His name is Cozza. He’s a Tops bloke. He was Born March 7th 1993.

I took a balloon with me but it was a shy balloon and hid itself behind us so well you can’t see it. I left it behind with the the cakes and candles.

Final note: I once again used the Timelapse app to get this photo. This time I just used it on my iPhone. Best 99 cents I have spent for quite a while.

Prospect.

These industrial units have never been finished.

Thankfully there was a gap in the fence and I could just walk into the area and get my photo. I had taken a balloon with me to use as a link to my first photo but it burst on the dirty ground. I will take a few extras along to my other photos and see if I can get them involved from now on.

I love a good pano.

It’s a book on my To-Read list but have never got around to it – and so I did some research to understand the first line and once I found out it was about an alternate future where the firemen set the fires to destroy the houses of those who have books not only does it mean I really want to read that book – it also inspired me to do the shot.

I printed off four walls and four sheets of paper to be made into a roof. On each paper was a shot of a Penguin Edition Shakespeare front cover and over printed onto it were the top 100 first lines of novels. I used some of the 200 skewers I bought to create the frames for the walls and roof and to help keep the house stuck to the ground.

Once I had finished the construction I found that our grass was too long and so my plans to secure to the house to the ground was a wash out. Plus it was windy out. In the end I made good use of the foam lid of the Lite and Easy box. Then it was time to use the Timelapse app again to film the destruction and to ensure I got a photo.

It was a pleasure to burn.

Bonus video: The Aftermath

And so it was.

Much more Homer Simpson than Nigella Lawson

You can taste every cent in the 73 cent cake. Although after this photo I doubt I shall eat cake again.

It stood up for about a minute or so with the skewers I had put in the cake working to ensure it only split it in two. I got the photo and that is what mattered.

I also bought 6 biscuits trays and a pack of 200 skewers – who needs 200 skewers!!??

What do you get when you combine 500 balloons, an air mattress pump and 4.5 hours of physical labor? The happiest room in the world and 77 points in the March Scavenger hunt.

Behind The Scenes

My planning for each day of the hunt begins the day before or the morning of. Later on in the comp I might start planning further ahead but usually I take it a day at a time. I pick a couple of possibilities including a fall back option just in cast of plans not working or judge rejection (never happened, our judges are extremely lovely and gracious). And I wanted to start with a nice splash.

I didn’t decide for sure until just before lunch and then hit the road to buy the stuff I needed. Thankfully the prep was easy and so I was underway by 1:30pm – I had to go out at 7pm and I had to do 500 balloons – sure I could do 100 an hour.

TimeLapse – watch the happiness grow.

And of course I could – in fact it took about 45 minutes per 100 balloons. I had a few extras just to make sure – and I was glad I did. There were a few DOA’s and some just decided it was time to check out with a bang! My timelapse was my back up option (it was to become a animated gif if needs be – not that could think of any reason I wouldn’t get it approved but it was good practice)

Finding an app to do the Timelapse cost me about $10 as I worked my way through the apps that promised but didn’t deliver. I was after an app that let me position my iPhone a a camera and then use my iPad to view and record. I don’t have an iPhone camera mount so I was using a shoe box as my tripod. In the end I found two great apps which did exactly what I wanted. It uses wifi but BlueTooth doesn’t have the bandwidth so I was happy with the wifi only.

The Remote app I used on the iPhone5 was Stop Motion Studio Remote Camera (FREE) and the Recording App I used on the iPad2 was Timelapse Studio Pro ($0.99). The Timelapse app is absolutely amazing. They both work on iPhone and the iPad. I tried more expensive and other free but these were the best.

Thanks for sticking around – I know it’s been a long time since I last posted.

Tomorrow is March and once again I am taking part in the March Scavenger Hunt.

It’s bigger than ever with 100 events to choose from.

And it all start tomorrow

A huge week after a huge month of participatiing.

In the end I came second but in all the hugeness I neglected to share the final photos – so, here they are ….

March 29th : Sunrise – 12 points (Total: 516)

From the backyard of The house of Bach this morning. We don’t get much of a sunrise and without clouds it’s not much to look at. This was taken about 7am. Official Sunrise at Toongabbie was 7:06am and I have a photo for that time too but this looked the best.

March 30th : Sky diving – 30 points (Total:546)

w00t!! Absolutely amazing. Igor was my sky diver and he even had a crazy slavic accent. Who’s in for next time?

I was surprised at how much I enjoy the jump – I am very keen to go again. Their wash’t time to get worried in the door way (where I was thinking I would most freak out) and once out the plane that is it. The free fall was about one minute long and felt like a roller coaster until you hit terminal velocity and then it was just looking around and enjoying the 220kph wind roaring. Once the shute went off then it was just having fun doing the turns and loving the view.

DO IT!

March 31st : With a Fancy Car 13 Points (Total: 559)

It was always going to my final image but it also worked out to be a nice easy photos to get on what turned out to be the day of most sermon work. It took 45 days for the part to come to the smash repairer and during that time I had a hire car – a Ford XR6 – and it was not a pleasant experience. It is so good to have the WRX back – it really is a fancy car.

And that’s it – the photo scavenger hunt is over and it was a tops month but I am glad it is over and done with until next year – next year I will be participating only and managing the stress of the competitive side of me. Thanks heaps to Tom for setting it all up. A great adventure.

Today I just needed something easy to get. I knew there was  museum in Fairfield and it was not far out of my way as I headed home from work. It was just beginning to rain as I arrived and so I didn’t stay long but it’s a tops place to go. There are recreations and relocations of actual buildings from various areas and eras of Fairfield’s Development. Lots of cool things to look at and stories to read. And the outside under the trees is a little haven in the middle of the noisy busy industrial / shopping centre precinct at Horsley Drive and Cumberland Highway – an OASIS of history.

Having, yet again,  been denied a photo op at Maccas, there being no religious leaders at the buddhist temple, and not bringing a change of cloths so not willing to gate crash the Hindu evening worship as I drove by after soccer training, it was a quick trip down Memory Lane (Beresford Road) Greystanes to visit by old primary school.

It 30 years ago I was in Year 6. Gosh!

Meet Goldie the Gold Fish. Actually, I have no idea what the Gold fish is called or even if it is a Gold Fish. It’s a very fat fish, that I do know.

The photo top left is from the outside – the other 3 were taken inside the tank and, hence, the camera phone was underwater. In a ziplock bag but none the less underwater.

I used QuadCamera to get this photo.

The WIld Mouse Luna Park.

Grabbed this on the way to watch Sydney FC squeak into the final series.

COMEONSYDNEY!

Meet Mark B – he drives coal trains. He also plays cricket with friends of mine and thanks to stevetheplumber making a phone call I scored myself 30 points.

It’s so interesting how many people will say yes and help out in what is truly the most of frivolous of pursuits.

For instance, yesterday I called a few Government Departments – DFAT, AG, and a statutory body called The National Capital Authority – I was requesting some information and the person I called tried a person walking past their desk, the boss of that person, the boss of that person and finally I was given an email address to try and then, 20 minutes later, called me back with the answer I needed – they had spoken to the CEO of NatCap to find out the answer. Sadly the answer was no, but I am being blown away at how willing people are to help me have fun and adventures.

About 9pm tonight I set off for Homebush to collect a 13 point photo – as I drove I thought I should at least detour via the recording studio that I had found in Wetherilll Park – just in case someone was there. I got there about 9:30pm and the place was busy – of course! The best Rock happens late at night

I wandered in and said I wanted to take a photo of a studio – they laughed and said “um” “sure” and let me.

The photo is of one of the Rehearsal Studios at:

L.A. STUDIOS. Rehearsal & Recording Studio. Unit 6, 442-446 Victoria St. Wetherill Park
they are open all time of the day and night 7 Days.
Phone: (02) 9756 4953
eMail: manager@lastudios.com.au
website: www.lastudios.com.au
facebook:www.facebook.com/lastudiosaustralia

They were busy but Stuart was pretty cool and let me get a couple of photos. The recording studio had just been locked up and I appeared randomly out of the dark night. So even getting this photo was most generous. If you need recording or rehearsal space give them a call. Say that guy on the scavenger hunt sent you and Stuart might just feel it was worth it

I just spent some time rearranging the rest of the photos I plan to take – things are looking good – I won’t be able to win but I should have a good chance at pulling off second – I want to do most of these final ones cos they represent personal challenges to me. As I have said I am participating, and looking at what remains it is going to be a huge week of participating in a bunch of stuff out of my comfort zone.

The experiences I am going to go through will make it one of the funnest most challenging weeks I have had for a long time. It’s going to be great!

Meet Mario Anthony, he is my Dentist. Naturally I had to wait before I got to get in and see him and he was very pleased that we were taking photos of famous people,dentists and politicians.

Nave279 is the vocalist and star of The Arranged Marriage song : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iri3lM8fQaQ : 193,029 views as of 20/3/2012 Thanks Nave279!

His name is Daniel and he is mates with DavidC from Bible Study – last night I was talking about The Hunt and David brought up the video and said he knew the guy who was in it. This afternoon I got confirmation from Scavenger Master Tom that >190,000 views on YouTube was reckoned to be famous enough!

I messaged Dave, tense cos I had failed again to get the Maccas shot – damm OH&S – and hoping that I could put off the Cross Dressing for another night. As I took some photos of my WRX as a Plan C, if needed, the message came through – 7.25p at the old church!

I met a few other people before Daniel turned up – all he knew was that one of DavidC’s wanted a friend with him – he laughed when I told him way and asked a few times – so there is no prize – nope, just the pride.

Make sure you watch the view it’s funny! I especially liked the ending.

I support SydneyFC – at first it was a way of connecting with the blokes at Tooney and reconnection upon my return from bollege. It was a sport I was always interesting in and I thought I get ‘get in from the ground floor’ – somehow, without even realising it I suddenly became a fan. Away trips to Melb (many), Gold Coast, New Zealand have all followed – I am Sydney ‘Til I Die!

I did’t want the face to be quite so … menacing … but the face paint didn’t help – as the paint set it is designed to form a plasticy mask which is supposed to make it easy to remove – it also meant that it tightened onto my face and felt that if I smiled or moved too much would split and tear and just look dodgy.

Hence the look.

I was right to be concerned, as soon as I had decided I had enough photos to pick the right one I smiled and flexed my face the paint tore and hung down off my face. Made it easy to get off – and it was water soluble anyway so it’s all come off and out of my shirt and beanie without any problems.

The adventure continues – last weekend I forgot to get to Future Music in Sydney and instead got caught up in the Arthur Stace recreation. So last Sunday I spent some time being disappointed as I used Google to find Music Festivals in Sydney in March or even NSW. Thankfully Katoomba turned up with a Music festival this weekend.

Saturday was my original day but football decided that they needed to be played and so it got moved to Sunday and then the lighting came on Saturday morning. I had no choice though as I had to get this photo this weekend otherwise I had no other options – and to ensure my participation could also see me finish Top 5 then I have to get as many of the 15 points and above photos as possible – I call it Partipating to Win!

I had an afternoon of Church Music Prep ahead of me so I knew I had to get up early and head straight up the mountains and grab the photo and come straight back.

And so I did.

As I left home I went back for my hoodie – it felt weird cos it wasn’t really cold enough to bother – but you never know an since my Summer Road Trip through the centre I am not the cold loving Eskimo B I once was. Glad I did – it was so very very cold up there – cloudy, wind blowing, ears are hurting cold.

It’s been a good weekend – Friday was Goulburn then fun Friday night with Roberto and Bailey, Music with Bailey on Saturday was an unexpected and delightful pleasure caused by the cancellation of all sport due to the lightning producing downpour of the night before, Sydney FC managed to keep their finals hopes alive and then music tonight was a busy hard working session but it all paid off and I was very pleased with the final result. A few things didn’t quite come off how I had planned but only in a lesson learnt way, nothing more.

It was good, very good

An uncertain week of photo taking lies ahead – a few irons are still in the fire warming to be ready to strike. So I have a plan but the plan may get changed – I still have some back up options for when the plans fail but I am hoping to have the final week mapped out by the middle of this week, and somewhere amongst the Photo taking and planning I have to write a sermon for April 1st. Hmmm.

You can just see the forks of lighting.

Last night Bailey and Roberto and I went to the Tooney pub for dinner and then headed up to Max Brenner to grab some dessert. As we were talking, Bailey, worried about the weather stopping cricket, announced it was forecast to storm, looking at the Radar he thought 2am was likely. I wondered if I could get a lightning photo.

We then went home and played some MW3. Good fun.

The boys left and something distracted me for a while on TV and when I finally headed to bed I noted the time was about 1:30am and thought I’d check the Radar. There was a solid mass of rain filling the left hand side of the 64k Radar image and it was due to hit us in about 20 minutes.

I jumped in the car and sussed out a place I thought might give views back to the mountains and the approaching storm. Not so. Then I headed to Eastern Creek and just stopped on the road pointing in the general direction and hoping.

The lightning began – but how was I catch it? I used Slow Shutter Cam and with some experimentation finally worked out that Capture Mode: Light Trail, Shutter Speed: B* (stays open until I stop it) Sensitivity: 1/4 was the best combo to get what I wanted and I used the Freeze:off photo as that showed the moment of lightning the best. Basically it combines all the images taken into the one image. Normally that would give the blurred effect you are after with a slow shutter but with the lightning on a very dark patch of road it yields the elusive flash.

I didn’t like the location I was in at first and and the storm moved so I switched locations and collected the photo above – as well as a few others – The photo is location tagged so you can see where I took it.. It looked good and I thought I had it but I waited around for some more and then tried another location. It was only when I got home that I realised that the photo that I thought was my best, was my best, in fact it had forks in it! Excellent!

I also posted some of my other attempts including the motion blur from the car and then a truck that went by. (full set)

As I sat in the dark I gave thanks for Tom and his photo scavenger hunt. I have always thought about taking some photos of lightning but never bothered trying. This hunt continues to give motivation to try new things.

This is just the first half of March – even more adventurous adventures are yet to come…

* lol how appropriate – it actually stands for Bulb – though I don’t know why.