Squeakaz Squawking's ....

Tis the time of year for Christmas parties. I attended my partners Christmas party at Le Montage at Lilyfield, which fronts on to the Iron Cove. I took this panorama which consists of 4 photos. I wasn't sure how it was going to look as I have not taken photos of too many sunsets, as I am not normally awake at that hour. 

On the afternoon of 16/12/2010 a Severe storm warning was issued for the Sydney Metro. I thought this was a run of the mill storm including a little thunder, lightning and rain. I was wrong. I was watching Twitter and Facebook and I was reading various report of rather decent sized hail coming down ranging from marble to golf ball size. Oh crap went through my mind. I passed the word on to several people to put cars away and bunker down. When it hit, it hit hard. it was 15 minutes of solid hail down pour. If it was a week later we could of had a white Christmas. Here are some photos. A pile of hail approx 400mm high in my driveway Approx 3 inches of hail along the fence New type of garden mulch 

Even though my wedding was in March I will never grow tired of looking at my wedding photos. Recently one of my best friends Drue (who was one of my groomsmen) uploaded some photos that were taken using his camera on the day.  Even though the professional shots were good, I think nothing beats the other angle. I think that is the right term to use. (please correct me if i am wrong) I refer to what is happening in this photo. Whilst we are looking towards the professional photographer a photo has been snapped to capture the moment from a different angle. The photo captures exactly the same things as the professional shot such as our smiles, background and the pose but how another person is seeing it.  Thankyou so much to Drue for these photos and being a part of our special day.

Time for a little catching up. Its been 2 weeks since I last posted and to be honest nothing really major has happened. Let me see... I am really enjoying my job and I am loving the shifts. It is mainly night work as we do the majority of the testing when the other trains have finished their runs for the night. This means I am sleeping during the day and surprisingly I am managing to obtain 7-8 hours sleep, even with my inconsiderate neighbours. On the new home front everything is moving along nicely at the moment. I shall have an update for my building blog http://www.squeakbuilds.blogspot.com this weekend. Our little puppy is growing fast and is currently in the rebellious teenager stage of his life. This is proving to be a lot of fun as he is choosing to ignore alot of the ground rules that have been set down for him. Here is a pic: In my previous post I mentioned that I am struggling on the night photography front. It had been a few...

I long to be able to take a night shot such as this. My attempts to this time have been unsuccessful, but I am not going to give up. It is quite obvious that the train is the focal point in the photo, but capturing the beautiful city/Harbour Bridge in the background, really makes it. I know this section of track and it is not exactly the best location lighting wise. Gunzel412 has done a great job to use the limited lighting available to capture the colours of the train and the stainless steel body has been brought out with a little assistance from the LED lighting emitting from on board the train and the street lights from the road deck. Only thing I can pick on here (which is no fault of the photographer) is the Harbour Bridge could of had a few more lights on. This would of been the case if the photo was taken earlier in the night before Sydney goes into "power saving mode" overnight.  

Tuesday night was my first night of testing on the Waratah train. We ran between Penrith and Springwood. It was a VERY great night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A few things happened and I learnt alot from the other drivers and crew on board. Tonight (Wednesday) is my first night solo. Can't wait! A02 in Penrith Yard during Testing

Monday seen the beginning of a new chapter in my career at my employer. I have commenced working in my new position as a Driver Trainer/Test Crew on the Waratah Train Project. This is an exciting time and something that I have wanted to do since the project was announced a few years ago. I am currently undergoing training and learning all about the new trains, which means working day work. This is normally a bad thing for me as I am not a big fan, but so far it's not been to bad. I am very excited as to what the future hold for me in this position. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

As mentioned in my previous post below about the Camera plus iPhone app, Photos that have the miniaturize effect done to them are best take from above. IT gives the effect of a Model. As I don't get many chances to go into high rise buildings, I was searching for pics from friends that I may be able to use as one more example of how the effect works. Thanks to Neil Gardiner for use of the pic. (Photo of NSW Police Force Officers Lining up on George Street, Sydney for a march to commemorate Police Remembrance day.) The pic on the left is the original and the one on the right has the effect applied.

Original After using Camera Plus It looks like a model, but its not. Its a pretty cool feature of an iPhone app called Camera Plus. It works really well on shots taken looking down from a great height. It also works on shots taken close up but not as well. It also depends on what is in the image as to how good it works. Here is another example. My train at Clyde

Over the past few weeks I have been attending sessions and interviews for a job I have applied for at work. It is a trainer/test crew position on the new Waratah trains.  I can happily say I was successful in achieving the position and at this stage a start date is TBC. Thanks to all my friends for their support and kind references during this process.

I recently purchased a Mini GPS recorder from eBay on the advice of some friends that it would make geo-tagging my photos easier. This I do not doubt but the problem is, is it does not work. The item purchased is a photoMate mini GPS Recorder 887 Lite. It was pretty much DOA. It does not save any data when it is tracking. To rectify this situation I must now send it back to Taiwan, and await the seller to send it back to the manufacturer, then receive the verdict. I am quite sure it is broken as I also had a friend who has the exact same device test it out for me, and it failed. To add to the hurt the seller (navi-world) is a piss poor communicator and it takes days for them to respond to any communication. I should just start a case with eBay and let them deal with it. It is going to cost $20 to send it back. The unit is only worth $30. Question is: Do I cut my losses and buy a new one or follow this through?

The past 2 weeks has seen a lucky streak for me. I just hope It doesn't end, even if the saying goes "All good things come to an end". It started 2 weeks ago when my hanging basket that I made at floriade won the weekly competition in the lindemens hanging basket competition. This was followed by winning 2 tickets to the Sydney International Motor Show in a Honda competition. Next was winning free pizza in the #crustfreepizzafriday competition on twitter. I initially only got 2 free pizzas but later in the evening when they called to confirm my order I ended up getting 5. A few other little good things have also happened but they will be shared later. This good mood may changed depending on how today turns out. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The first time I have featured a favourite photo that I did not take. This excellent night shot was taken by Woosang. I like the effect of the steam with the lights behind it. I would love to take night shots like this. Only problem is I have to find the time, as I am generally in bed before its dark because of the shifts I work. It will happen one day so stay tuned!

Should I be worried that I have a worry list? Some people say no, as everyone has one. I have only recently had to develop a worry list as I have a few big things happening at the moment and its all snowballing thick and fast. Some of the things on my list include - home, land and work. Nothing bad at work, I am just waiting on something that I am dying to know. A quick note that you can join us on our building adventure at our building blog - http://squeakbuilds.blogspot.com

I have decided to create a completely separate blog for the building of our home. It can be found at http://www.squeakbuilds.blogspot.com.

There is an app for that! Woosang told me about an app for the iPhone called iTimeLapse. I tried it out this morning at work and I like the result. I will make a longer video soon but for now here is my first attempt. You can also view it here on Flickr

I was bored one afternoon and thought to myself that I should have a play with my camera and test out some things that I have learnt so far. I took this photo along with a few others, posted them to Flickr and asked everyone to comment on them. Thankyou to everyone for their great comments, I have taken all of them into consideration. It is amazing how something so simple can look so good. I love photography.

Sorry I have not posted in a little while but the last few weeks have been a little bit of a roller coaster. However there is some big breaking news that I would like to share with you. I will be adding a new page to my blog called Welcome Home. Mrs Squeak and I are embarking an adventure and building a new home. So for all the details head on over to the new page. I will also still be doing my favourite photos and little stories. Enjoy!

Floriade is on again in Canberra and I finally ventured down to it after 3 years of saying "I'm going to go". It was a fantastic day and even for a person who has no real interest in flowers it was a alot of fun. Lots of colour and activities to do. I got to make a colourful arrangement in a Hanging basket and I got to keep it, all for free. All the pics (well the good ones anyway) are here . Here are two photos from the set on Flickr.

This was taken with my iPhone 4. It is a shot I hope to get one day with my camera but in the afternoon in the "glory hour". It was taken one morning at Macarthur Station in Sydney's South West. I was testing out the iPhone's updated software including the HDR photo's. It turned out exactly the way I wanted and I am still  shocked that my phone took this photo.

It was a weekend where there was nothing scheduled to do. So we hopped in the car and headed out to the auctions at Windsor. With them having nothing to offer us it, whilst thinking of things to do I remembered they were testing CityRail's newest train "The Waratah" or "A" set on the Richmond branch line. I made a phone call and found out it was at Clarendon. So off we went. I snapped up a few shots and had a few words with the crew and protection officer and played a little game with a power tripped SNP security guard. The evening was a pleasant one. We attended a BBQ at Drue's house and I had an exceptional time. All I will say on that is "boobies". 

Yesterday was my employers annual safety competition in which I was lucky enough to compete. The morning started of with a hearty breaky of bacon and egg rolls. Over Breakfast with D and Woo, Woo showed me her new lens and explained how it works. An impressive piece and, some excellent shots were captured throughout the day by her. After that the day went into full swing! There were various displays from all the different areas of my employer and also some of the suppliers/ companies that my employer has alliances with. The idea of the day is to put our skills into practice against other people in various competitions and also to broaden our knowledge on safety. The day also allows us to have a chat to others that are from many different areas and learn about how their job has an impact on mine or vice versa. I can say I came out of yesterday more knowledgeable. The competitions I entered into were : Train Faults and Failures - T Set Waratah PP...

I have 2 Favourite's this time around, and instead of doing to separate posts I shall include them in the one. Photo - Please daddy, can I have some more? Click to view photo on Flickr It took me some time to set this shot up because of 2 things. The first being trying to get the puppy to stay focused and still, and the second getting the right lighting. The sun kept going behind the clouds every time I attempted to take the shot. When it finally came back the puppy had moved. In the end I like the result. Mainly the soft background I think sets this photo and well the puppy makes it cute! Photo - Sheldon Click to view photo in Flickr This is a shot I didn't know how it was going to look when I took it. It looks completely different on the computer than it did on the LCD on the camera. At first I thought it would look like a puppy's face with the body hidden behind. then I thought it would look like a puppy laying on the grass. Instead I got w...

Our puppy has reached 12 weeks or 3 Months old! and boy hasn't time flew!! When we first got him he looked like this: 6 weeks old To this: 12 weeks old He has almost tripled in size. We had a few little things happen on the journey thus far including a reaction to the vaccinations which seen him spend some time with the vet. He is attending puppy pre-school and I may be bias but he is the best puppy there! Thanks to all our friends who have sent their wishes along the way when he was sick. They all helped in his speedy recovery i'm sure :) We have now started training the little fella and he is doing remarkably well. he is learning sit, stay, fetch, drop, look, and jump. Once he learns these he will learn a few tricks.

Click to watch video on Flickr As seen at Central Station in Sydney at 420am one morning after completing testing on the City Circle. This Video was taken on my iPhone 4 and edited in imovie on my iPhone 4

Left to Right - Me, Damien, Leigh and Eric Congratulations to one of my best mates Leigh who got married on Sunday 29/08. It could not have been a better day for it. The sun was shining and the day was set. His Bride is one of the most beautiful people I know, and looked absolutely stunning!!  I had 2 things to do that day. First one was to get Leigh to the wedding on time or early. The second was not to forget the rings. I can say that I successfully completed both, even getting Leigh to the wedding early!! After getting ready we headed off to the venue and en route we stopped at Revesby Station to get some photos. The photo above is one of them. We don't actually scrub up that bad :-)

With the fire burning and the view of the Blue Mountains slowly disappearing, A NSWFB firefighter has a drip torch ready to put in a controlled burn to contain a grass fire burning in Cranebrook. I was going for a "moment" shot. to capture the point in time at which the decision was made to contain the fire using a controlled burn. In the end the drip torch was not needed as the fire made its own way up the hill and died down at its own accord.

Last week was even quieter than the week before. not many things to look forward to except one. A good friend of mine was to be married. I will talk about that in another post. Apart from this being the major highlight of the week one other thing stands out. I was listening to my radio and heard NSWFB attending a grass fire at Cranebrook. My ears pricked up and I grabbed my camera and took off to the location. I had wanted to grab some fire shots for a while and was pretty happy with the results. See my post Grass Fire Cranebrook for the details.  Oh our little puppy started Puppy preschool this week and he is currently top of the class. He was the most well behaved and obedient dog there and got high praises for being a quick learner. WIN! 

A quiet afternoon at home after work listening to my radio, I heard NSWFB head out to a grass fire at Cranebrook. After a few messages were passed I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some shots of fire, firefighter and fire trucks. I jumped in the car and headed out. The fire lasted a few hours and allowed me to get some good shots. Here are a few from my Flickr set. Click here to view the rest.  

Click the photo to view it in Flickr This photo was taken before I attended lunch with a new found friend Chris. Chris is a rather excellent guy and I enjoy the pleasure of his company. I took this photo hoping to get exactly what I got. A monorail disappearing into the bush. From some angles it looks like it has been photo-shopped to look like that but I assure you it is 100% legit! Colours are good and the focus was in just the right spot for me. this photo really brings out the coming together of the city and the bush.

The last week has been rather dull and boring for me. A few things here and there happened but nothing to outstanding. I wonder if this is what my life is coming to..dull and boring! I hope not! The highlights of the week were Lunch with Drue and Ben and Lunch with Chris. The puppy is doing well after a little incident of me trying to make pancakes out of him and squishing his internals. A quick trip to the vet found he had a bruised liver and spleen, which has healed up nicely. I felt so shit when this happened and started to freak out. I turned to twitter to vent and chat but that was a bad Idea, so I just dealt with it myself. I would like to say thankyou though to those who expressed concern for our puppy.

A mate of mine has gotten his hands on a phone. What type you ask, well its called a phone. It is an imitation iPhone from china and cost him all of $80 including postage. As you would expect it was no where near the iPhone standard but it was pretty good considering. It held dual sim cards and had a removable back cover and battery. One other thing it had was a removable 2gb microSD card as well as internal memory. Here are some pics. Without the back cover Back Cover Front

Last Saturday was my good mate Leigh's bucks night. The evening started off with a few games of laser skirmish followed by an excellent dinner at Outback Steakhouse Nth Strathfield, a game of bowling and then another round of laser skirmish. The dinner at Outback was exceptional, as it always has been from that particular restaurant. Service was 10/10 and the food was 10/10.  Most of us had the Razorback Ribs and there were a few of us struggling to finish them. I had to give up with one rib left over. The first time i have failed eating the ribs. As full as I was Desert was still an option. the two bes deserts on the menu at Outback are these: Cheesecake with Raspberry sauce Chocolate Thunder The end of the night had Leigh leaving with a memento! We all signed it as a reminder of the good times had by all.

My Millennium train standing on the platform at Liverpool. I wasn't sure what result I was going to get when I took this photo, But I am please with how it turned out. Its an angle we don't get to see thing from on a day to day basis so a camera is a the perfect thing to capture and experience the different views that can be had.  The yellow of the yellow line, doors and hand rails and the brightness this night photo needs to get the point across. Just the right amount of light as well without a flash. 

Our little puppy "Sheldon" has had 2 puppy play dates over the last week. His first was with Yoshi and Koopa, a beautiful pair of Miniature Pinschers. Here they are all playing together. Yoshi, Koopa and Sheldon - Photo by Druey His second was with Marley. An adorable beagle owned by friends.Although Marley over towered Sheldon, alot of fun was had! Marley and Sheldon

A friend of mine arranged a lunch time gathering at the Outback Steakhouse at Penrith. The lunch was arranged so we could have a "Rib Off" or rib eating competition. It seems that every time we have one of these events the rules seem to change. If they are going to continue, I think we should come up with a clear set of rules and the winner get their drink paid for by the looser or something. It is a great atmosphere and great food. For the "Rib Off" the people who are competing order the Razor Back Ribs. Except for leigh ho orders the Baby Back Ribs which are a smaller version of the Razorback shown below. Both come with chips. Razorback Ribs A good time was had and the service was great 10/10. To top it all off it is unlimited refills on soft drinks to make it easier to eat and wash all the meat down. One of the people who attended (Josh) started to build a rib bone pyramid It turned out looking preety sweet in the end. Tower of ribs Can only put Ou...

Can anyone see a cockatoo? This photo was taken in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney at the Scenic Railway at Katoomba. The birds all flew in a few moments before this as they are normal fed here by the staff of the Scenic Railway. Along with these birds there were a group of Rosella's around for feeding. I like this photo because of the white of the birds really stands out but the dash of yellow on their crest breaks them up just enough for them not to blend into each other.