I was told a few years ago at a leadership conference that leaders should be like ducks.  Serene and calm on the surface, but underneath paddling like mad to keep things moving.  The same can be said about blogging and participating in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (31DBBB) Challenge.

I’ve been keeping up with the daily challenges over the past few days, but as they’ve been about behind the scene work it’s been hard to articulate into a blog post. It’s all been valuable work that’s helping me to understand this medium that I like to play in and how to get more out of it for myself and those that would share in what I put out there into the interverse¹.

While I’m not able to share some of the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes I can share with you another task from the Problogger playbook.  I thought it might also be good for those of you thinking about purchasing and completing 31DBBB to see the kind of things that you’ll be doing, and how much fun, information and direction you can get from participating.

It’s the 7 Link Challenge.  The idea is to post links that relate to seven blogging topics.  Topics that highlight your own blog and highlight those that you read and aspire to be like.  Without further ado here’s my response to the 7 Link Challenge:

Your first post:

My first post was definitely not a Pulitzer Prize winning entry.  In fact it was fairly bland in the scheme of things. Not so much a cannon fire of an announcement, more a spitball against a blackboard.  However it served it’s purpose; it got me started!

A post you enjoyed writing the most:

It’s hard to go back through the archives and search for posts because I tend to feel like they all happened yesterday.  The posts that I usually enjoy writing the most are my review posts.  I have an opinion and I love to give it.  One of my favourite review posts has to be the one I wrote for Star Trek.  I left the cinema and headed straight home and it just flowed.  Even now reading back over it I’m really happy with the end result.

A post which had a great discussion:

A month ago Australia got it’s first ever female Prime Minister and I wrote a post about it. While the post received a handful of comments I had a really great time talking to friends, family and tweeters about the event which in turned help inspire me to write the post.  I also found people that read the post off twitter commented back to me through twitter about the post and we were able to talk about it.  I really got a buzz out of that interaction.

A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written:

Damn, talk about a hard question.  I’m torn between being purely egotistical and going for a post that went viral and shot someone to blogging fame.  Or maybe a post that tugs at the heart strings and makes you see the good in humanity.  Even going with a post that makes you laugh.  I guess for me I haven’t ever looked at someone else’s posts and wished I had written them.  I think for me it boils down to the fact that we’re all individuals and we’ve all got amazing things to share.  It’s about getting out there and interacting with the internet and finding those pieces of amazing.

Your most helpful post:

From a purely, how to perspective, it would have to be the only how to I’ve done.  How to make a heat bag.   Although I’d like to think that my Friday Fancies help people come up with gift ideas if they need them.  My Blog Love and Music Monday posts should point people in the direction of new and interesting blogs to check out as well as some interesting play lists.

A post with a title that you are proud of:

This going to sound naff, but I’m quite fond of the title for this post.  I’m starting to think more about my blog and it’s content and that’s all because of this Challenge.  I’m really enjoying the challenge and it’s given me a real push when it comes to getting the blog in shape and getting out and about in Blogland.  I didn’t realize just how much I needed that.

A post that you wish more people had read:

Gosh… can I say all of them.  *laugh*  Difficult question.  I’ve even been through some of the archives looking for something and I can’t really find anything that jumps out and says “People need to know this!”.  I guess there’s posts that I’m proud of the way they reflect who I am and therefore I think if people want to get to know me a bit better then these posts should be read more… two that I can think of are Self Portrait and Cupcake of Doom.

That was a lot harder and took a lot longer than I thought it would.  Damn that Problogger for his insight and thought provoking questions!

¹ I just made that word up, it’s a cross between internet and universe and I’m totally going to play that in my next game of scrabble.

After weeks of slicing, dicing and julienne(ing) the Masterchef Australia contestants the final is airing on Sunday 25 July. The success of this season is epitomized by the fact that the Australian Federal Election Debate was moved from it’s original scheduled time so as not to clash with the finale.  Seems even the politicians don’t want to compete with the wanna be chefs.

I didn’t watch season one, nor do I watch or follow anything to do with the contestants from season one.  For some reason I just didn’t get into it in the first season.  I wasn’t so fortunate to miss the bug this time around.

For the past few weeks I have been captivated by Masterchef Australia and the Masterchef Twitter Feed.  Seems I haven’t been the only one to notice that the popularity of this season is being, in part, fueled by those on Twitter.  Natalie Hambly wrote about the phenomena on 23 July 2010 in the Sydney Morning Herald.  

Some of my favourite moments from the season have come not from the show but from Twitter.  It’s provided an outlet for my snark and outrage at some of the decisions made in relation to the contestants and their performance.  I’m still smarting over the elimination of Marion, and thanks to Twitter I know I’m not alone.

Twitter also provided Chef Neil Perry (Twitter ID: rockpoolgroup) with an outlet to express his feelings about being misquoted by Jonathon Moran in The Sunday Telegraph on 18 July 2010.  The article attributed the following quotes to Perry:

“If you leave MasterChef and think that you are now one of the great chefs of Australia, I think you are probably up for a pretty rough ride,” Perry told The Sunday Telegraph.

“These people are just nobodies with very little experience, and [aided by the show] are able to be exposed and have opportunities. That’s why people go on the show.

“Most of them don’t go on the show thinking they will be opening a restaurant … most go on there to get enough media fame to be able to go on and do more media things.”

“You’ve got to have a really good palate and you’ve got to understand the process if you want to put your own spin on it rather than just put your name on it,” he said.

“And writing a cookbook is a really difficult thing to do.”

In fact, I received this direct message (DM) from rockpoolgroup after posting a tweet about Perry doing a backflip on his comments:

People seemed to be shocked by the comments as they came from a chef that had been a contributor to a number of episodes this season.  Unfortunately people also took it as an opportunity to sink the boot into Perry.  Which is a shame as Perry has done a lot of positive work for the food industry both nationally and internationally, regardless of his personal opinion about a reality television show.

One of my favourite television blogs, Reality Ravings, also posted about Perry’s comments and the majority of the readers seemed to be  in agreement with Perry’s comments.  In fact the comments on the original article seemed to support him in the main as well.  However it didn’t stop him from emailing Matt Preston, Masterchef Host, to clarify his position.  Matt Preston then took to Facebook and posted the email.

Regardless of whether he said it or not, I happen to agree with the comments.  Masterchef Australia is not a trade qualification; it’s a game show.  None of the contestants, even those that win the show, can call themselves Chefs.  They’re just glorified cooks.

The fact that they leave the show and start their own sauce ranges, restaurants or cookbooks is more about putting a celebrity face on a product then being qualified to do something.

The performance of the final two contestants, Adam and Callum, who will battle out on Sunday 25 July, merely supports this position.

Adam has been a consistent performer.  He’s produced quality dishes and always been in the top of the contestants.  However at crucial times his pallet and tendency to overstretch himself have caused him to stumble.

Callum on the other hand has stunned Australia by making it to the final two.  Admittedly, as a 33 year old that did some time in a professional kitchen I would struggle to produce some of the dishes he has delivered, it still doesn’t detract from the fact that he has consistently ignored expert advice, failed to plate dishes for judging and stumbled over simple recipes such as custard.

Let none of us forget the Country Women’s Association challenge where they all failed miserably to make traditional recipes such as lamingtons, fruit cake and jam.  Something that should have been fairly straight forward and basic caused major pitfalls for all the contestants, least of all Adam and Callum.  Interestingly, it was this challenge that pitted Adam and Callum against each other to make lamingtons.  Adam was triumphant in the end plating some of the best food on the day.  However Callum failed to even make a consistently sized product.

It will be interesting to see whether history repeats on the finale.  If I was a betting lass, and history and my bank balance has shown that I am, my money would be on Adam to win.  He has the maturity, calm nature and eye for detail that Callum is missing.

Regardless of the outcome, I’ve had a blast with this show and the interaction on Twitter.  I know my week nights won’t be the same without it, and I’m not alone there.  In fact, Jane over at Life @ Number 8 has posted about this exact problem.  She’s gone so far as to suggest alternative ways to fill the void that will be left by Masterchef Australia. For me, I’ll be replacing one reality television addiction with another and tuning in to Masterchef USA.  Bring on the Ramsey!

It’s amazing how sometimes life is like a rolling stone.  One minute you’re just minding your own business and the next you’ve signed up to improve your corner of the internet and you’re booking flights to attend an all-day blogging event in another city.

I started this blog on 13 September 2008, that’s nearly two years ago.  I find it really hard to believe that I’ve been at this for that amount of time.  It seems like only yesterday, in fact I thought it was only a year ago.  Amazing really.

In all this time I’ve not really done anything to improve my style or content.  I’ve just been happily coming up with little bits and pieces.  However I think it might be time to admit that I don’t know everything there is about blogging and look at ways to make my content more enjoyable and relevant.

In short, I want to find my blogging voice and mojo.

What does this mean?  I’ve decided to join the SITS Girls and participate in the Problogger Challenge.  The challenge is simple; Using the ebook 31 Days to  Build a Better Blog, produced by Problogger, everyday from 19 July to 19 August I will be posting based on the topics covered in the ebook.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes of the challenge and meeting some new blogging friends.  It should be exciting to do some thinking and activities around something that I really enjoy doing. Who knows I may even learn something. *wink*

This week has the possibility of being a life changing week in our house.  After five long years of trying to have a baby we’re entering into our first round of IVF.  Not assisted reproduction or IUI, but IVF.  The whole kit and kaboodle.  I’ve started on the first course of medication designed to prepare my body for egg harvesting.  It’s going to be a good five to six week I think before they’ll be in a position to harvest anything and in that time I will have taken at least four different medications.

I’m not really sure what to expect, and to be quite frank it seems all a little surreal at the moment.  There’s still so many hoops to jump through between now and possibly being pregnant that it just seems like a monumental task.  Not to mention the financial impact of having to go through all of this.

I know that thousands of couples do this everyday, all around the world, but I can’t seem to keep it in my head at the moment that we’re going to be going through it.  All the visits to doctors over the past years have really numbed me towards the enormity of it all.  It just seems like a series of appointments and medication taking to me at the moment.  Which I feel in some ways is really sad, and in other ways probably a great way to look at it.

I’m positive that whatever happens we’ll be ok and that we’ll deal positively with what ever comes of it all.  It’s just frustrating to be having to go through all of this.  Although, it is teaching me a level of patience I never thought I would ever need or have.

1. new baby in the family, 2. Baby Blues, 3. Baby Jazz Hands, 4. :: Baby Eyes ::

♥♥♥♥♥

Wanna see more Flickr Faves, or even submit your own, head on over to ArtMind!

1. {day one hundred and twelve} Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.

This week I followed my own advice and took the plunge and enrolled in a Web Design course.   The goal is to get out from under the thumb of the man.  I want to be able to run my own business and turn the internet into something wonderful.

The course will just be an opener for getting my Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Design in Multimedia.  For the first time in a long time I have a long term plan in my head.  I’ve felt a little without direction lately, and it’s nice to be able to daydream about the future.

So, that’s it.  I just thought I would share with you all… as you were.

Last night I was glued to my iphone following updates on Twitter about a possible Australian Labor Party (ALP) leadership spill.  ALP spills are nothing new in the history of Australia, this one however had major ramifications.  The leader of the ALP was currently the Prime Minister of Australia.

At 9:30am this morning a change of leadership did occur and Australia had it’s first female Prime Minister sworn in at 1:00pm.  Julia Gillard became the first female Australian Prime Minister.  Amazing.

Regardless of which side of the political fence you sit on you have to take notice of the historical significance of this moment in time.  For the first time in our history we will be governed by a woman.  For the first time in our history we will be governed by a single person.  For the first time in our history we had a Prime Minister lose his leadership before the end of his first term in office.  A big day of firsts.

For many people it was also the first time they realised that under the Westminster system of government they don’t actually vote for a Prime Minister¹ and therefore the Party could decide to have a change of leadership which would lead to a change of Prime Minister.

Today again reinforced to me the there is no amount of money in this world that would see me take on the responsibility and the scrutiny that comes with being a politician.  I admire all those that have decided to serve their nation in this manner, regardless of their political persuasion. It takes a level of courage that few of us will ever need in our lifetimes, and I’m thankful that there are people out there willing to stand up and be the voice to our nation.

While my opinions about the previous Prime Minister had been waning, my heart did break for him today when he made his final address as the Prime Minister.  I think people tend to forget that he lost his job today, and for anyone that’s a massive blow.  It would be a hundred times harder to lose that job while the nation is watching and commenting.  I admired him for the professionalism and dignity he showed in his final speech.  I think it showed the level of his character to be so gracious under what a lot of people would acknowledge was an unusually hard way to lose your position.

For what it’s worth, I think he made the right decision to not contest the role.  Stepping aside has left him with the option of being able to step back into a pivotal role when his party needs him without having the “numbers” from the vote hanging over his head.  It also allows the party to keep a unified front and not display to the public just how fractured they may be.  Something the Liberal Party would do a lot to learn from.

How will Julia Gillard fair as Prime Minister? That’s for the history books to decide; but she will do as good a job, or as bad a job, as any man would in that position.  The fact that she’s a woman should not be the defining legacy of her leadership.

As one voter in this mighty fine country I wish her well and thank her for standing up and taking on this responsibility when she was called on.  I’m proud this day to have voted for the Australian Labor Party, and I’m equally as proud to be an Australian with a female Prime Minister.  I look forward to the day when it’s no longer of historical significance what the gender of our leaders are and I believe this is one small step towards making that a reality.

¹  The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General, who by convention under the Constitution, must appoint the parliamentary leader of the party, or coalition of parties, which has a majority of seats in the House of Representatives. – http://www.aph.gov.au

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you feel like the universe is conspiring against you?  I’ve just had one of those weeks.  It’s been horrid!

Work has been hideous and drama filled, I’ve had to go for one of the worst possible infertility tests I can imagine and the results of those tests haven’t been great.  It’s meant that all week I’ve been looking forward to Friday with blind abandon.  Not because anything special was happening on Friday; just because it meant that my work week was over.

I cannot explain the relief of driving out of the work car park on Friday and heading for home.  On the drive home I daydreamed about getting home, changing into my jim jams and climbing into bed with another great book from Kinley MacGregor and forgetting all about the week that was.

Turns out the universe wasn’t done with me just yet… Thinking nothing could raise my spirits from the funk they were in I hadn’t counted on getting mail.  I got home to find a parcel on my doorstep and overseas mail in my mailbox.  Score!  Nothing makes me as happy as receiving mail!

Last week I had ordered lettering for the sides of my Derby helment.  I wasn’t expecting to get them until the middle of next week… at the earliest.  But here they were, waiting for me.  Yippie!  I grabbed my helmet, prepared the surface and stuck them on.  I love them!!!

I ordered them from Frank’s Sister on Etsy.  I was nervous about ordering them without being able to see them, but Frank’s Sister didn’t disappoint.  They look perfect.  They’re in great condition and are exactly what I wanted.  I’m so happy.  I can’t wait to hit Derby training on Sunday and show them off!

(I just noticed myself in the reflection of the helmet… lucky I had pants on!!!)

Time to turn my attention on to the parcel.  It was from Victoria Mason; artist extraordinaire.  I have been in love with Victoria‘s work for well over a year.  I even featured her work in a Friday Fancy last year.  But I hadn’t made the leap to buy a piece yet.  Then I saw her latest creation featured over on Kootoyoo.  I wasn’t lucky enough to win the necklace on offer, but I did have access to email and now I had Victoria‘s contact details I thought I would take a punt and get in contact with her to see when they would be available.

She was amazing.  Really friendly and helpful, just wonderful.  I feel really blessed that I was able to order one of her prototypes.  I expected to have to wait for ages to get one as they are so new, but no I was able to order one straight away.  Then a double shock – it arrived on Friday.  I wasn’t expecting to see it until next week.  I opened the parcel and fell in love.

This photo doesn’t do it enough justice.  It’s absolutely stunning.  It sparkles.  The detail in the crocheting is amazing.  Just beautiful.

I’m so happy with it, especially because it’s a combined birthday gift from my parents and HUBBY.  I feel like it’s something that I’ll be able to cherish for years to come and hand down to our children.  It totally made my week.

Needless to say I still got into my jim jams and climbed into bed with another great book from Kinley MacGregor; just I did it with a smile instead.

HUBBY and I have been talking a lot lately about whether we move or whether we stay where we are.  Our house is brand new and sometimes I feel like it lacks some of the character that is evident in all the design blogs.  I like to think that it’s generic modern.

While the house is a decent size our yard is somewhat lacking because we’re in a townhouse.   I feel guilty that our yard is around 30 square meters and we have two dogs living it, but I’m that in some places in the world where our yard would be considered a large size.

It’s funny, I don’t want a yard because I want the large space I’d just like a yard that we can entertain in. If that makes sense.  So if we decide to stay here I’m going to spend some time looking at garden architecture and landscaping so that we can make our space livable.

I love these images from Napa Valley.  I dream of a trellis covered in wisteria, with hanging lights and a large table underneath it all.  A large rectangle table with mismatched chairs.  Only thing is we obviously don’t have the space to do something on the scale of the images above, but I’m sure I can use some of the design aesthetic to inspire a functional area for us to live in.

OI just have to make sure that we save the money for it.  Concentrate on the end goal.  This isn’t the house of our dreams, but I’d like to enjoy living here and lately I don’t feel like I do and I’m torn between putting money into this house and running the risk of over capitalising or being patient, saving the pennies and then buying the house that becomes the house of our dreams.

It’s just so complicated being a grown up… *wink*

For this weeks Flickr Faves Mitsy set us some homework.  This week’s theme was set for us; Self Portrait.  We were tasked with finding images that represented who we are.  So without further ado here’s the 9 images I chose to speak to who I am at this moment in time.  The lists is by no means definite or exhaustive. It’s just 9 somewhat random images.

1. gnome – This one is a no brainer in some ways and yet in others it’s surprising.  My gnome “fetish” was well over a decade ago and yet I still have this link to gnomes.  It’s one that I propigate through my own choices, but it still amazes me that these little guys keep coming up in my life.  Sometimes the gnome thing is really random and then at other times it seems apt.  I’m sure when I move on to the next stage in my adventure a gnome will adorn my body’s final resting place.  I just hope it’s a tasteful one, like this one, and not some $2 Crazy Clark’s job!

2. Colored Pens #8,- I love stationery.  I’m a mad pen collector.  I might not drink coffee, but I have a coffee mug collection that grows just to house all the pens I acquire.  I love notepads, blank paper, wrapping paper, envelopes, cards, stickers and the list goes on and on.  There’s nothing more thrilling than a fresh notebook.  That first beautifully empty page.  I love the beginning of a school year when school supplies litter all the shops.  I love stationery!

3. Groovy Rainbow Cupcake,- Food.  I’ve had a constant battle with food.  I love to bake and I love to eat.  Two things that have not been conducive to a healthy lifestyle.  My relationship with food is changing and evolving and I want to be able to still have fun with my food and enjoy my life through my enjoyment of food.

4. star dust and rainbows. 156:365, – I love rainbows.  I love colour.  Lots of colour.  Bold colour.  I also love Converse Chuck Taylor shoes and mad socks.  Rainbows are happy.  I love to be happy.  Happiness is a state that I want to be in for the largest chunk of my life.   I love this image.

5. Tattoo pioeuvre 9,- Much to the misunderstood amusement of my friends and family I love tattoo’s.  I have four.  Two rather large and prominently placed and two smaller pieces.  I will get more.  I love them on other people (when they’re done well); regardless of their age, race, size or subject matter.  To me they’re like a living canvas.  I love the images that people chose to carry with them.  The stories behind them.  The technique that is used to make them.  I love them.  I will continue to think that people that have them are beautiful in their own way, and that the tattoo doesn’t distract from that.  I don’t regret mine, and I hope that those that get tattoo’s don’t regret theirs either.

6. I Want To Read: cover,- I’m a bookworm.  I love a good book.  Although I suspect what I consider to be “good” is not to everyone’s taste.  I love getting lost in a book.  I love the sense of accomplishment when I finish a book.  I love listening to people read from books.  I love going to bookstores and wondering the story picking up and caressing various books.  I’m a bibliophile and proud of it!

7. Girl Painting a Rainbow,- First off, I love the name of this image.  It sounds like it should be a Rollingstone’s song.  I love being creative.  I love to take objects and re-purposing  them.  I love the imagination.  I love seeing what others come up with.  I love the design revolution that’s happening now.  I love spending hours looking online at what people have created and how they incorporate the design trends and their own quirky style into their homes.  I love getting my hands dirty in the creative process.

8. A-Maze-Ing Laughter, – A day without laughter is like a day without sun.  It’s not right.  I can’t get enough of laughing.  I love to laugh; I love to make others laugh.  I love hearing a child just cracking up with their own laughter.  I love watching other people laugh.  I love infectious laughter that flows from one person to another.  I love a good joke.  I love a smartarse comment.  I love a witty insight.  A good pun.  I love a fart joke.  I want to laugh.  I believe our bodies were built for laughter.  I believe laughter is the sound of love.  I want to see this sculpture in person!

9. Macro Game Piece Monday – I’m an online gamer.  I’m addicted to playing an online game.  I love it.  I love playing board games and card games with my friends.  I love strategy and I love the escapism.  I love games.  I love nothing more then a good meal, great company and a few rounds of various games as a good night in.  I love trivia nights.  I love competition.  I love playing.

I loved this task so much it inspired a redesign of my blog theme where I chose photo’s from my life that I have taken that I feel represent all the great things in my life.  (With the exception of friends and family because I didn’t want to use their images without permission.)  I also realised that I used ‘love’ a lot in this task and I think it’s reflective of where I am at the moment.  I’m loving life.  Are you loving your life?

♣♣♣♣♣♣

Wanna see more wonderful self portraits?  Or maybe you want to submit your own.  Head on over to Artmind where Ms Misty is hosting the Flickr Fave party.  Happy St Patrick’s Day!

1. yellow van, #410 in explore !, 2. Walk In My Yellow Shoes, 3. inconspicuous yellow umbrella, 4. Yellow Bike, 5. Happy Yellow Sunshine Rainbow Baby Tighter Crop, 6. yellow Y and blue sky, 7. it was all yellow, 8. Parking on double yellow lines, 9. Photo Course 01.03.10

I’m in a yellow kind of mood today.  Not sure why, yellow isn’t one of my favourite colours either so it’s doubly surprising.

The last week has been interesting.  HUBBY is still job hunting while I’ve been patiently awaiting a call from my new employer letting me know when I’ll be able to start.  While I’m enjoying the time at home with HUBBY I’m starting to get a little anxious about when we’ll both be back at work.  There’s a few things we’d like to do this year that rely on both of us working.  (Like eating regularly!)  But it’s in GOD’s hands so I guess I’d best just chill and enjoy the time I have at home.

On Saturday night we caught up with HUBBY’s Dad and his partner.  It was a great night.  I forget just how much I enjoy their company until we’re all together again and then I spend the next week or two wishing we all lived closer together.  His Dad was traveling with friends of theirs from Melbourne, A and P.  A and I had a great natter about the marvelous-ness that is Etsy.  We had an awesomely delicious meal at La Rustica in Kingston; it was just a shame that the service was appalling.  We waited over an hour to get our meals and the wait staff were not the friendliest wait staff.  One of the waitresses was wearing a rather lovely set of gold bangles that had little medallions hanging from them.  Only one problem, every time she served food she dragged the bangles through the dish.  Yummy!

We spent Sunday the way we’d spent most of the week.  Lazying about the house amusing ourselves with various media outlets.  It was a cloudy day that threatened rain and failed to deliver.  But it was clearly the first real day of Autumn, which is grand as it means Summer is over and Winter is just around the corner.  I love this time of year almost as much as I love Spring. I love seeing the colours change around the place and the ability to wear scarves.  I just love scarves.  In fact I’m going to have to make it a priority to learn how to make one this winter.

On Monday I went to a photography course with M called Love Your Camera.   (The rubber duck image above is one I took as part of the course.) It was great to catch up with M who is positively glowing in her pregnant state.  We spent the day having a good natter and a laugh.  The course was enjoyable and the facilitator really lovely.  I spent half the day wishing we could have a photo session with her because she was so captivating.  The course was a great rehash of a lot of the fundamentals that I had been taught at university.  The course is geared towards taking photos of your kids it’s still good practical advice for anyone wanting to just take a better photo and understand their camera. The facilitator is clearly really good at what she does and has a wealth of information to share about the business, tools of the trade and how to interact with your subjects.

Despite being enjoyable it just felt like it was missing something.  I really felt the lack of a handbook as I’m a note taker that likes to make notes on the slides as I see them.   I also thought it was hard to see what we were all doing when you just relied on the digital display on our cameras.  It would have been great to do some practical work in the morning, have the facilitator load the images over lunch and then talk about what we’d all been doing, with a follow up in the afternoon to correct what we’d done in the morning.  Or even set a homework task and have people take photos prior to the class and go through those and then show the improvement at the end of the day.  Besides being really helpful people always get a kick out of showing off their talents and subjects.  (Or is that just me?)

At the end of the day did I feel like I got my $225 worth.  Unfortunately not.  Due to the size of the class it was hard to get one-on-one time with the facilitator and because we couldn’t see the difference in our images over the day it really made it hard to adjust your style and settings to see some improvement and take advantage of having the expert with you.

Would I recommend the course?  Probably, but only to those that had children or were looking to start a family portraits business and we’re looking at a really basic introduction in to what to do.

Would I book Angie to take photo’s of me and my family?  Hell yeah!  She was wonderful and clearly talented.  My brother’s 30th Birthday is coming up and she’ll be in Brisbane around that time.  I’m seriously considering flying up there and getting her to take the family portraits my mother has always wanted of us.  I will definitely be keeping her in mind when my Sister-In-Law has her baby later this year.  It would be a wonderful gift to give new parents.

♣♣♣♣♣

If you want to see other people’s Flickr Faves head on over to ArtMind. While you’re there check out the latest, and way cutest, offering from ArtMind: Bunny Art

Image source: ArtMind