Blue Mountains - Wnetworth Falls Lookoff

This is a view that has several lovely memories attached. We first came to Wentworth Falls with J&M, who were keen to start showing Micah and I the beauty that was Australia. What a fine fine start to adventuring in Oz! Our most recent visit was with Micah's parents, which is the trip on which this photo was taken.

In truth, the Blue Mountains are actually not a mountain range and should be more accurately named the Blue Canyon. It is the second longest canyon after the Grand Canyon. Its depth is not quite as clear here, but man oh man it is beautiful and mighty deep!

Trust me, this is not the last time we will visit this stunning Australian natural treasure.

Taken May 2010 - Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, NSW

Botanical Gardens Sydeny - Cactus Garden

This was such a beautiful day to be out in the sunshine. Micah and our roommates and I went out for a day in the city, to visit the botanical gardens and then to one of the galleries. We puttered around the gardens for a couple of hours, eventually arriving in the cactus garden. What a wonderful little area this is! The garden is wonderfully laid out and the style of this garden is quite different from the more Victorian style main garden(s).

As one of my roommates sat to enjoy the sun, I was really taken by the ochre red of the sculpture behind her. The combination of the almost harsh sun, the cacti and the lines in the sculpture/flower bed structure are really quite something. The addition of my roommate, I think, sets the whole thing up for the perfect picture.

Natalie in the Sun - Taken July 2010 - Cactus Garden in the Botanical Garden, Sydney, NSW

Art Gallery of NWS - Hand

I'm not exactly certain what possessed me to take this photo, but I'm really glad I did. Micah and I were visiting the Art Gallery of NSW with our roommates and we were all working our way towards the absolutely stunning The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon when we came upon this in a display case. I'm fairly certain the boys spent more time looking at this engraving than at the painting the engraving was based upon.

All this said, there was something about the way my roommate's hand looked reflected off of the glass of the case that caught my eye. Not the most romantic picture, but it fascinates me none the less.

Norman's Hand Taken July 2010 - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW

Mount Tomah Gardens - waterfall

I was very pleased to see this photo actually turn out so well. I find it hard to get good photos of waterfalls, but the lighting was perfect on this drizzly day. Next on my list of things to figure out how to take pictures of would be fish. There are several bright orange fish in this pond (as one would expect in a 'proper' garden, eh?) and yet none of my pictures of them turned out at all. Oh well... I guess I'll have to head back and take more pictures. Oh, the hardship...

taken May 2010 - Mount Tomah Gardens, Blue Mountains, NSW

Room with a View

One of the things I can't help myself from doing is taking pictures of my eyes while I'm flying from place to place. I think it's a combination of boredom and how excited I am with the idea of taking pictures of places and things I have never seen before.

On some levels, I'm not certain why I like this particular picture so much. I can see the red mark on my nose from where my glasses usually sit, the eyebrows that I should have plucked before going on vacation, the dark circles under my eyes. Even still, I think it's a pretty interesting shot. I love the colour of my eyes and how the light coming in the window is reflected in them. Really, it just seems like the me I always see when I look in the mirror.

taken June 2010 - Emirates flight, somewhere over Iraq