I had been wanting to get into photography for years, I just hadn’t found anything that really appealed to me. And then, I found out about the Diana. Harking back to the ol’ 70-80s plastic cameras, these are imprecise, dirty and give a very faded/washed-out look that appeals to me. So, a few friends chipped in to buy me one for Christmas. It came with an instant back that allows me to take Polaroids as well. Very very cool. I liked it so much, I splurged on a deluxe kit when I was in the U.K. The deluxe kit comes with a 35mm film adapter (and backing), and lots of lenses to boot. Perfect for dabbling in different effects!

So last weekend, the boy and I took advantage of the good weather and took our cameras out for a spin. I didn’t use up the whole roll of 35mm in the Diana. The boy did however, find an adapter so we can use the Diana lenses on our Canon SLR/DSLRs. And I do have the results from that. Here’s a few pics from that adventure. Hoping to find some more interesting photo subjects soon.

Fuzzy grainy goodness

I quite like the effect the Diana lenses have given my SLR photos, although I suspect the Diana itself will give completely different results. I think the middle one was taken with the Fisheye lens, but somehow it just doesn’t have that real fisheye effect?

Now, I just need to work out how to get copies of my instant photos so I can put them up here as well.

Will you take me out of here?
When I’m staring down the peril
When I’m blinded by the lights
When I can not see your face
Take me out of here

All I believe and all I’ve known
Are being taken from me back at home
Yeah do your worst, when worlds collide
Let their fear collapse, bring no surprise

Pendulum – Watercolour

Go-karting in Wollongong!

Go-kart Track

Falling to earth!

Hurricane's!

Casualties sustained in clubbing....

And that’s all I really have time to show. Will post some time when I have real things to say…

[Chorus]

Since we’ve been wrong
I’ve been part awake
Since we’ve been wrong
You will never ever know me
What took you so long
I’m not sure all the way
But my heart it asks just one more time
Are you still a mess

One day a rain will come to wash away
The earth that held us was no island
I have become ingrown inside this skin
I’ll find a way out through those eyelids

And all the days become a cast away
I seem to think I don’t belong here

[Chorus x 1]

I don’t belong here
I shouldn’t stay
What falls inside me grows empty
The wall between us will never break
Just seals it shut
It grows empty

Since we’ve been wrong
I’ve been part awake
Since we’ve been wrong
You will never ever know me
What took you so long
I’m not sure all the way
But my heart it asks just one more time
Are you still a mess

“Since We’ve Been Wrong” – The Mars Volta

I scored three bits of “merchandise”. One was given to me for free by a friend who runs a stall – it’s a wrib that says “Caution: Idiot” in English and Japanese. Very amusing to me and a good addition to my collection of wribs. Also bought a little badge showing a game of Tetris and the demo CD for my friend’s band. It’s actually getting hard to find new badges for my bag and my cap. A lot of the badges I see at cons now are not very witty and I’m finding less that speak to me as a geek. I need to find a few more to fill up the blank spaces on my cap in particular, but I’m guessing it will take a little while now.

I was lucky enough to be walking past the entrance when *this* walked in:

Too awesome!

Nevertheless, the last weekend was pretty packed. I went to Jamberoo with EY social club, my friend’s 30th and then the next day went go-karting. Here’s a photo from the race track, pity we didn’t take any of us driving, or in the karting gear, but no photo will translate the adrenaline rush that you get from zipping around the race track. We had two 15 min sessions. The first one I was really tame – didn’t want to push the cart too hard and was a bit wary of spinning out of control or something. Plus, I was wearing my rings and they were digging into me when I was gripping the steering wheel so after a while my hands got really tired. I had to stop holding the “wheel” part and use the inside spoke thing instead. Second time round, I just gunned it. I figured, the boys were driving like hooligans and they didn’t seem to have any problems so I may as well give it a go. And boy, was it fun!!! It’s quite expensive ($85 for 30 mins) but definitely worth the experience.

And here’s a photo from the night of my friends’ joint birthday thing… where it decided to pour down with rain while we were at karaoke and flood the foyer!

I hope to write more soon, but been sick and want to sleep early(ish)!

Last Saturday was the Big day Out! It’s been 3 years since I last went to the Big Day Out. Last time was fun, but not overly amazing. However, this year’s lineup was so good, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see those bands live. And I’m really glad I did! We planned out our day from 11:30am to 11:30 pm so it was pretty hectic, but we managed to fit it all in and them some. It was incredibly hot (I swear it was 40 deg C) and I don’t think I’ve never drank so much water in my life!

In order, we saw the following:

• Sugar Army
• Silent Disco (not a band)
• Kasabian
• Passion Pit
• The Decemberists
• Dizzee Rascal
• dj Sam La More
• Calvin Harris
• Muse
• Groove Armada

So the silent disco isn’t a band, it’s where you put on headphones that tune into different channels and they have several DJs who play on those channels. The music is only played through the headphones, so when you walk in you see hundreds of people wearing them, shouting out these songs. But seeing as they may be listening to different songs, it really just sounds like a rabble of people shouting. Very amusing!

Kasabian were surprisingly good, although the crowd became increasingly rough. This was also during the middle of the day when it was hottest. Kudos to the BDO organisers for making sure that we were well watered (both cups and spray!) A girl right behind me actually fainted from the heat, which was pretty scary. But as we were right at the front, they got her out quickly and easily which was a relief.

Couldn’t see Passion Pit as we got there a little late, but we did hear them, and managed to get a good view of The Decemberists on the stage next door. Both were really good and I really enjoyed seeing the lesser known bands. Possibly the most surprising act of the day for me was Dizzee Rascal. I cannot believe there were so many people who turned out to see him! Considering I hadn’t heard of him (although I had heard some of his songs without knowing it), I was quite impressed although I think it would’ve been good if he had played later in the day. I like to think of his music as “techno rap” and it’s very suited to clubbing, so it’s kind of weird to dance to during the day.

Muse, on the other hand, were totally awesome. I really liked ‘Absolution’ and ‘Showbiz’, but I didn’t really listen to them properly again until ‘The Resistance’ came out. I’ve become quite obsessed with them in the past few months, listening to their albums over and over. My fave album is definitely ‘Blackholes and Revelations’, but I’m developing a soft spot for “The Resistance” and all its unusual songs. So yeah, Muse are great performers – they’re real showmen, and compared to other acts just had this real “pro” vibe to them. Unfortunately, we didn’t get into the front moshpit in the “D” section, but we did get right up the front of the fence, in front of the screen. So we could see Muse in the distance as well as the screen really well. I do this thing when I go to concerts where I have one song that I’m dying to hear, and if the band plays it then I can go home happy. For Muse, I had five songs: Uprising, Supermassive Blackhole, Plug In Baby, Undisclosed Desires & Knights of Cydonia. They played all five and ended on my fave – Knights of Cydonia. I don’t think I could have asked for any more than that! I was so pumped afterwards, it was totally crazy. Also, kudos to them for performing with Nick Chester (?), lead singer of Jet, and doing a cover of AC/DC’s “Back In Black”!!

On a completely different note, the weekend before this, I went to the finals of the Medibank International tennis tournament. Got to see Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva, followed by Marcus Baghdatis vs. Richard Gasquet. I’ve never been to a live tennis match before, and the mens was definitely much more exciting than the womens – the sheer power that they can serve the ball and the way they cover the court is just amazing. We were in the second row from the front and even managed to get on tv (albeit very briefly!) during the women’s match! I think what impressed me the most though, was that during the mens match, I did actually turn my head left and right to follow the ball LOL. It was quite amusing watching the people on the other side of the court doing the same – it just made it feel just that little bit more real.

Wrap me in a bolt of lightning
Send me on my way still smiling
Maybe that’s the way I should go,
Straight into the mouth of the unknown
I left the spare key on the table
Never really thought I’d be able to say
I merely visit on the weekends
I lost my whole life and a dear friend

I’ve said it so many times
I would change my ways
No, nevermind
God knows I’ve tried

Call me a sinner, call me a saint
Tell me it’s over I’ll still love you the same
Call me your favorite, call me the worst
Tell me it’s over I don’t want you to hurt
It’s all that I can say. So, I’ll be on my way

I finally put it all together,
But nothing really lasts forever
I had to make a choice that was not mine,
I had to say goodbye for the last time
I kept my whole life in suitcase,
Never really stayed in one place
Maybe that’s the way it should be,
You know I live my life like a gypsy

I’ve said it so many times
I would change my ways
No, nevermind
God knows I’ve tried

Call me a sinner, call me a saint
Tell me it’s over I’ll still love you the same
Call me your favorite, call me the worst
Tell me it’s over I don’t want you to hurt
It’s all that I can say. So, I’ll be on my way

I’ll always keep you inside, you healed my
Heart and my life… And you know I try.

Call me a sinner, call me a saint
Tell me it’s over I’ll still love you the same
Call me your favorite, call me the worst
Tell me it’s over I don’t want you to hurt
It’s all that I can say. So, I’ll be on my way
So, I’ll be on my way
So, I’ll be on my way

Shinedown – Call Me

That’s right – it’s funny how you can find the most mundane (and trivial) things exciting when you have to study things like FBT and CGT. But unfortunately, if I keep up studying the way I currently am, I’m probably going to have to study every module twice just to pass.

You’d think that, 2 years out of uni I’d actually have learnt to appreciate that time is precious and that if you’re given a chance to do something, you really should just do it right the first time. But no – I really haven’t learnt this at all.