The Marbled Gecko is one of the gorgeous inhabitants of my garden. I only see them from time to time and when I do, I feel very privileged to share my garden with them. This one was hanging out on the kitchen windowsill last week. They love to hide in crevices, under bricks and rocks and fallen wood.
They lay eggs and usually have two young. They feed on insects and are pretty damn cute/
Tags: Craigieburn Flickr challenge 2020 Gecko backyard marbled Gecko Lizard reptile Christinus marmoratus Garden
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Flickr 100 (10x 10) 6/10 My suburb
Hope you aren't sick of images of this little Syrian Orthodox Church.
It has been a long time since I have been able to visit it with the camera. Same view but always a different sky. I can't really explain why I feel so peaceful at this site.
A chaotic chorus of frogs bubbled up from the dam and the crows and magpies watch my movements without fear. As do the resident kangaroos. The breeze was gentle.
I am parked on the dirt road that currently leads to nowhere. A housing development has crept up directly behind me. I have noted before that this site is earmarked for future development.
So I will continue to visit. Same view, different sky till it is no more but it will exist in these images at least.
Tags: Craigieburn Orthodox Church sunset Syrian Orthodox Church Church CloudsStormsSunsetsSunrises Clouds
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This was taken on Christmas Day, days after her 18th Birthday.
Relaxed and happy.
It was not the face I encountered at 7 am this morning which was crumpled and tear stained, leaning into the computer screen, studying her ATAR results, as if she stared long enough, they might magically change. Her results were close to the top 20% for the State (outstanding in my view) but not enough to get into the University Course she dreams of.
I am so proud of how well she has done in a year that can only be described as “shit” (word most used to describe this year in a Newspaper Poll). The success was not in this score but in having completed year 12 with really only about one month of face to face school contact and many hurdles.
I think some of these challenges will serve these young people well in the future. They have developed resilience, independence, strength and a self driven work ethic that will all be beneficial in the years ahead. They have really looked out for each other.
I reminded her that your VCE ATAR does not define who you are. It doesn’t measure your kindness, strength, compassion and care for others and the world around you.
She has many pathways available to her and I have every confidence that she will achieve whatever she wants in the future. She is a tough and determined cookie.
As many people have sent their best wishes regarding today’s VCE results and (Victorian Certificate of Education) and have followed this years journey, I thought I’d post this and add it to my way behind portrait series. Flickr 2020 x100 Portraits 7/10
Tags: 2020 Christmas Christmas 2020 Portrait Flickr X100 challenge face Teenager girl Lensbaby Velvet 85 Lensbaby Velvet 85
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I am not sure I am going to make 10 portraits of Miss as planned for this challenge. She takes 1000s of selfies with the phone but when it comes to my camera she is recalcitrant!
I was lucky to snap this one while on the beach last week. She approves so here it is.
It is a really tough year for her and her peers, doing their final year of secondary school, amidst this crazy year, the results which dictate whether they get into Uni and their chosen course.
Remote learning, unequal resources between schools and disadvantaged families.
The senior students return to school on Monday, even though we are in lock down. A worrying time. These kids really do show resilience though and flexibility to take on what the world is throwing at them.
There are wonderful young people out there doing their best to navigate as we all face the unknown.
Tags: teenager girl woman beach blue young person portrait Flickr X100 challenge
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We spent a lovely day out in the backyard in the sunshine yesterday. The eye-roller set up her paints outside to do what is called "Blackout poetry".
Blackout poems can be created using the pages of an existing text, in this case a Harlan Coben novel and then applying paint, or a marker, to isolate then piece together single words or short phrases from these texts to create poems.
You can also paint the pages and draw pictures around the words.In this case a page of the solar system was created.
The book is filled with many different black out poems. It provided a good opportunity to try some portraits for my x 100 Flickr challenge.
Tags: 2020 Flickr challenge 2020 Portrait backyard blackout poetry painting girl teenager Nikon D750 Nikon 105
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