I'll get the clowning around going with some selections from the archives. I see the thumbnail feature still doesn't work so the photo captions can't be seen.

This seat is situated under a "Flapper Tree". A "flapper" is a tree where large flocks of birds frequently perch and known to the locals. Not a good idea to sit under a "Flapper"...

 "Go on! Have a seat!" Seat 

When is the worst time to break down? In the middle of a parade with thousands of spectators! A couple of hefty parade marshalls pushed the recalcitrant Jeep to the side...

 "Jeepers Creepers!" Broken 

And last, but not least, no doubt some kids in this small community needed an "N" for something special. Or were they just being a bit cheeky?

 "Looking for the Donkey Vote?" PnC 

The local cycle club had a training day today. These cyclists are paraplegic and use hand cranked tricycles. I thought them to be a bit of a unique subject for this month's study of motion. I opted for the "reverse motion" technique of focussing the background and blurring the subject.

 Motion1 

 Motion2 

 Motion3 

I'm going to try a slideshow here. I see that there have been some site problems recently and it looks like it's been fixed.

These are a selection of shots from various parts of Singapore. I even happened upon some members of the local photo club doing some sort of modelling shoot. I also have a few more  slideshows to put together - one on Fort Canning Park, one from the Botanical Gardens and surrounds and one from the National Day in the suburbs. I couldn't get to within a bulls roar of the main event.

 Singapore by Day. 

Stay tuned for the next installment!

G'day Gang,

After three weeks in the very hot and very humid Singapore, it's great to be back home with my family. While I was kept busy Monday to Friday, the evenings offered some time to drag the tripod out and about. I was there for their National Day celebrations which seem to go all month. No matter where I went, there was scaffolding and stages everywhere, in various states of assembly or dis-assembly. It was really difficult to not get this stuff in the background of the photos. The citizens take their National Day VERY seriously and it was just madness everywhere. The hustle and bustle of the place made getting "peopleless" shots nigh on impossible. I really enjoyed my visit there and I set myself a rule of "no western food" for my entire stay. A three week tastebud adventure I'm keen to undertake again!

So, here are a series of photos of Singapore by night. Stay tuned for a post of some daytime shots I'll put up soon.

 A quiet little cafe. 

 Clarke Quay. Restaurants galore. 

 Singapore Flyer - Via Suntec City 

 Fullerton Hotel on Boat Quay. 

 George Street building foyer. 

 The well-known Merlion on a breezey evening. 

 A not-so-common view of the famous Raffles Hotel. 

 Singapore city in the late twilight. 

It has been pretty quiet around here lately, but I haven't been sitting on my hands. On the cadet front, I attended the commissioning ceremony for the newest navy cadet unit, TS Diamantina. It was held at the Brisbane Maritime Museum where the original HMAS Diamantina is in a drydock. It was a fitting location and was attended by a number of local and interstate dignitaries. Some of our unit's cadets participated in a support role to boost the numbers on the parade.

 Chief of Cadet Policy gives the commissioning speech. 

 Training Ship Diamantina crew on board the original HMAS Diamantina. 

Recently, we have had have our beloved cat Annabelle put down due to a very virulent cancer in her lungs and spine. The poor little thing was only 8 years old and we miss her dearly. A few weeks after that event, this sweet little abandoned Tonkinese decided we might be suitable carers and she wended her way into our hearts. She was very skinny and in poor condition when she came to us and with a lot of loving care she is now our latest family addition. We named her Sirikit, after the reigning queen of Thailand. Something that is quite illegal in Thailand, is to name anything after the queen. Only the queen has that power!

 She wandered into our life. She needed us and we fulfilled her need. 

On one of our usual weekend picnics, I saw this cloud developing. It eventually became a rain cloud. I thought this was an unusual shape for a developing rain cloud.

 Unusual cloud formation. 

And finally, the winter sunsets can be quite boring but this one of the sun setting and just highlighting the tops of the taller buildings offered some sort of interest to the shot.

 Sunset over Brisbane City. 

I've been trying to get some of my son who is currently heavily into freestyle BMX. We are trying to tee up some time in the really early morning before anyone gets to the skate parks for some photos. Let's not forget that he IS a teenager... 11:00AM rises are the norm...

Dang! I just discovered that I can only post one story per day!

I'm not sure how often us Canon users upgrade their Canon software, but there were a raft of upgrades in June. ZoomBrowser, Digital Photo Professional, EOS Utility, PhotoStitch and Picture Style Editor are all new.

I upgraded all my stuff and didn't have any problems. Some minor feature additions in the new versions. Upgrades are free from www.canon.com