Nelson Bay - Peaceful Paradise

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You can read the full post here but in the meantime, here are a couple of the peaceful moments I captured this weekend at Nelson Bay, Port Stephens, NSW.



Location: Nelson Bay NSW 2315, Australia

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The Love Story Part 6 - The Sydney Arrival

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As diffused morning rays filter through my bedroom window, I stretch luxuriously, prise my eyes open and swipe my phone awake. I smile contentedly as I am greeted with a cheery, "Good morning, Nina. Sleep well? He will arrive today. I caress the space beside me. The time zone difference has been excruciating. It will be a relief to have him here waking up by my side. Sleep has evaded me often over the past seven months. I was restless thinking about what he was up to and only truly relaxed when I knew he was asleep. I caught myself glancing at my watch, calculating the time difference, pondering his whereabouts. Right now, he should be on the train into London to meet his daughter for breakfast at Dishoom or, this afternoon he'll be with his brothers bellowing expletives at a Charlton game. It's a tribal thing. The author of my anxiety was the disbelief that this love at first sight fairytale was actually playing out. This fantastical adventure was indeed happening to me. ...
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The Love Story Part 1 - A Chance Meeting.

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We met through friends and the attraction was instant. A tingling sensation aroused from its sleeping hibernation. A burgeoning sexual energy combined with a sense of knowing that together we would be compatible in every sense. He would quieten my uneasiness and I would feel safe. I would be the spark to his humdrum, the wisdom to his healing. He was recently separated, and I was a few years down the track after my own split and divorce. A horrific affair that ended up with lawyers and court hearings for over 5 years. It was an abusive marriage that lasted over twenty years and I was happy to be out of it. I had become a person that I no longer liked. Through it, my self-esteem around relationships had taken a battering. I had been on a few dates and quite frankly, was exhausted by the entire process. So you can imagine the exhilaration when this lovely man reciprocated my attention. He was safe too because he was an old classmate of my girlfriend's husband. I didn't have to do...
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The Love Story Part 7 - Our Adventure Begins

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NO, NO, NO!!! How can this be happening? How can I be rejected with such casual abandon? For the very first time in my entire life, I have allowed myself to be open and vulnerable, and now I have been shunned. At breakfast, I ask him what is going on for him and all he offers me is... "I didn't think you'd come away with me otherwise."  Right here. Right now. This is my chance to change the trajectory of my life. Should I ask him to leave and head off to New Zealand alone or should I carry on with the trip together in the hope that things will change? I decide to cling to the belief that this is only a fleeting setback. A momentary panic. I just don't want to let go. I refuse to believe that after over a year of messaging and calls and what I thought was our deep connection, our beautiful friendship, this could be it. We have our little love escape coming up. Maybe things will change for him. I should have paid heed to the weather as a prediction of how things wer...
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The Love Story Part 11 - The Final Breakdown

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"When Twin Flames meet there is a powerful recognition followed by an overwhelming intensity, as a forceful magnetism, draws the two parts of the same soul together.  A constant pull toward each other to reunite." We are inexplicably drawn to each other like dazzled-eyed moths to a fiery flame. As our messaging and conversations resume, we find new ways to bond. One morning on my regular walk in the National Park, I happen upon a pair of Superb Fairy Wren snuggling on a fallen log. Unperturbed by my presence, I continue to watch them. Observing them takes me out of my head and stops me from thinking about how alone I feel and how much I miss him. I resolve to use being present and birdwatching combined to set me on a path of healing. I take it one step further by bringing my camera along to record my journey. A journey along which, he becomes a willing companion. _________💙__________ "Your job as a twin flame is not to focus on your twin but to focus on healing yourself...
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How To Setup a Remote Triggered Photo Booth

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These are the most fun shoots! Even better than an actual booth because you get to use awesome equipment and hang out with fun people! To setup my Photo Booth, I used the following gear: Canon 1D X ProFoto B1 Octabox with grid 3 x Pocket Wizard Plus II's 1  x Flash Sync Cable 1 x Remote cable Lightstand Tripod 32GB Memory Card 1. LIGHTS - I setup my light or lights, depending on the scope of the backdrop and the look I am going for. I have previously used my Alien Bee Strobes and more recently, Profoto B1's. You could probably use Speedlites too. I've just never found them reliable or battery efficient besides, the quality of light from the Profoto or even the Bees, is infinitely better. Besides which, you would need two to get the job done nicely. 2. TRIPOD - I setup my camera onto a Tripod. A good sturdy tripod is useful, especially if there is going to be alcohol at the venue! 3. POCKET WIZARDS - I hook up my remote flash/camera tri...
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The Love Story - The Final Word

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THE FINAL WORD Present: As I prepare for my return trip to London, I flick through upcoming walks on Meetup hoping I might join one during my stay, when I come across a picture of him from a recent event. A woman, his latest girlfriend I suspect, leans into him smiling contentedly. She seems happy. He looks mildly distressed and lost in contemplation. I suspect he needs to tell her something but he is too afraid. He’s done it again. The Parisian Doctor and I didn’t work out. We did go for lunch and it was all very exciting but I don’t think I was quite ready and there was that niggling feeling that I was being catfished. After Paris, we met up a few more times for walks and drinks where he persistently asked me about “the Doctor”.  I wondered whether it was jealousy or zealousness to have me attached so that I might make a trajectory out of his orbit. I think the latter. Sipping Pinot Grigio at Gordon’s wine bar near Charing Cross station one afternoon, he confessed that ...
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Cambodian kids bring tears of joy! - Our visit to a remote school in Thailand

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Steps With Hope Desperately in need of funds to continue their support of this little school in Thailand, Founder of  Steps With Hope , Jen Spoor, hosted a Mother's Day High Tea. After her presentation, I said to Jen, "if you want to make a bigger impact, you need better photos".   So that was that and I committed to visiting the school on their next trip.   Meet The Kids If you're like us, you will want to meet the kids right away. There are about 70 children currently attending the school with three classes starting at Kindergarten age.  These children come from poor Khmer families, remnants of a recovering population that has endured one of the darkest times times in its history.  Around 3 million people slaughtered and many more terrorized by the Khmer Rouge has left a devastated people still clawing its way back to normality.  Families reside in makeshift huts just over the border in Cambodia. The children walk across...
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Beautiful Teen Girl Portrait- Funny Faces-Too Much Fun!

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After a few hours of shooting, set changes, outfit and hairstyle changes, we decided to blow off some steam. Just in the casual shirt she came in, Shelly sat for some fun natural shots. We were trying to get the fan going to blow back her hair but it was a mess and we just ended up laughing. The real fun started when Shelly began pulling some amazing expressions. It strikes me how beautiful she remained even when she contorted her face so!
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The Love Story Part 14 - The Paris Prince

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  Ah, Paris. The romance of Paris is not about romantic love. It’s the art it exudes in all its forms - paintings, sculpture, architecture. It’s in the history that seeps from its walls. The stories that echo in its chandeliered foyers. The appreciation of beauty. The leisurely pace. The love of living. What better way to celebrate Paris and all its beauty than through photography? I am very fortunate to have my great friend J, a fellow photographer, here living in the very heart of Paris, just a moment's walk from The Arc de Triomphe. We spend each day walking and photographing and sometimes just being tourists visiting iconic spots, and partaking in the great Parisian pastime of shopping for clothes, which J is surprisingly good at. We traverse the city scouting its best locations, where we shoot from bridges and great landmarks; the Eifel Tower at sunset, and the Louvre at sunrise. Pont Alexandre III Pont Alexandre III and all of its gold-gilded glory is the chosen location for ...
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The Love Story Part 2 - He Is My Destiny

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He kept on in my thoughts. I wished him well on notable occasions, Christmas and New Year. He shared photos from Amsterdam and reported on his visit to the Klimt/Schiele exhibition that he saw before Christmas. I sent him the articles I'd written about my Cambodian trip. We each share about our respective visits to the theatre, and he expressed his excitement and anxiety about moving into a new apartment, his Brave New World. By February, I was still unable to get him out of my mind. I tried dating as a distraction. eHarmony, speed dating, Bumble, even Tinder! No sparks, not even a fizzle. I went out with one guy that seemed OK, but he wasn't happy when I commented how he seemed to be dating quite soon after his wife had died. It wasn't a judgement: I was interested. Needless to say, I didn't hear from him again. Self-sabotage? Maybe. I tried to absorb myself in my work and daily life. I took up teaching the Photography Diploma at TAFE in addition to running my corporat...
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