[shuttertalk]

Hey, just thought I'd ask to see how everyone is doing... work... play... life in general... anything interesting or significant happening? Anything you're working on? How are you spending your free time these days? What occupies your waking thoughts? Feel free to share!


This past couple of weeks have been really busy for me and my wife - she's been doing a part time uni course, and all her assignments were due in this week. Good thing is, she's handed them in, and she's finished for the year! No more studies till March next year.

I've been playing the dutiful husband and trying to help with the cooking (yum) and been preparing for my tax returns and stuff like that. Work's been quite busy too - major rush to get things done before Christmas, so it's busy busy busy. I also started a new job midway through the year, and have been occasionally having to work between 12 and 5 am, which is quite interesting.

In the midst of all this, I've been working on a online bible project in my spare time (publicbible.com). I know, I'm a geek, but it's plenty relaxing and fulfilling to me. I'm enjoying playing the electric guitar as well, and been doing that at church too, but I must admit that I don't practice nearly enough. I must have "performer" genes in me - playing by the seat of my pants and "winging it" so to speak.

You might have heard recently about my new acquisition too - my Nikon D50 - which I aim to put to good use this long weekend We're going camping with some friends at Halls Gap - mountain country - so really looking forward to that. I haven't been camping since I was a teenager, and it should be interesting...

Oh yeah, it'll be my 2nd wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks (wow, I remembered!), so I'll be planning a surprise. It's so surprising that I don't know what it is yet...


Anyway, enough about me, what about you?

[muzza]

Twins...need I say more! They are certainly keeping my wife and myself busy. Combined with the older two general day to day life is hetic at the moment.

As for work it always slows down coming into the Christmas period so at the moment it is steady. I'm a computer programmer BTW, working for an independant telecommunications company. We run 'Big Brother' type audits on larger companies with some interesting results!!

When I do find some spare time it is usually filled with helping run a bodyboarding club out in Perths northern suburbs or trying to shoot which I just dont get enough time for at the moment.





Congrats on the big 2 years coming up Julian. Our 2nd anniversary is still 6 months away!

Who is next?

[EnglishBob]

Works busy for me, my inlaws have been living with us for the last month so home is also busy! But they got an apartment today so they will be going soon.

Congrats on the upcoming Anniversay Julian, it'll be 5 years for me and Anna in February.

The big thing in my life though is that after Monday I will be gone for 2 weeks..... I'm making my first trip home to England

The Camera club are also trying to talk me into being president next year!

[slejhamer]

:|

Bottle, diaper, sleep 3 hours. Bottle, diaper, sleep 3 hours. Bottle, diaper, sleep 3 hours.

:|

[Toad]

New job - much road work - gallery showing - kitchen totally torn apart for renovation - waiting patiently for d200...

[matthew]

I'm busy simultaneously trying to find decent photos for my club's clinics & competitions -- and failing miserably -- and trying to get other people to submit photos for an on-line challenge -- and failing miserably. That's taking up most of my time these days.

Tomorrow I get to pull up and re-lay a section of interlocking brick for my front path. It's settled, and I need to raise a section where water is pooling before it turns into a perpetual patch of ice. Perversely, I'm looking forward to doing it, and winter itself.

Next weekend my Editor-In-Residence is running a half-marathon, and in february we'll be visiting family in California where she'll run her first full marathon. She's training a lot for it, and I'm really proud of her.

[adam]

exams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
study study study!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EnglishBob]

Matthew: I find with the shots I enter in my club competitions that it helps to have a friend look through my rejects and tell me the ones he would enter... I've actually picked up some good scores from rejected images. We are always the hardest on our own images.

[Petographer]

Last may I crushed my right hand at work under a bundle of rebar steel. Luckily it didn't break any bones but all the tendons and ligaments are damages and torn in my fingers. It's been 6 months now and things are healing slowly. The damage is permanent. I've probably lost a permanent 20% use of my fingers. Not too bad. It's just that it is a very long healing process.
I've been training hard at the gym otherwise and shed some weight. Our company hockey team has gone 6-0 and is receiving radio recognition. I guess it helps when the company sponsors the morning radio show hosted by John McKeachie. http://www.mojoradio.ca/home/index.cfm

[matthew]

Craig; I'm lucky in that I'm not my worst critic. I finish my favourite images, and then show them to my EiR as a slideshow. If I can get a half-hearted endorsement from her for any of the images, it's a keeper. It also doesn't happen very often. Generally I just get a shrug.

[Wedding Shooter]

This is a hectic time for me at work as we have large back to school orders we have to get out to retailers. We also had a big trade day recently and have all the orders to process from that.

On Saturday I did a fundraising Portrait shoot for a local Toy Library - got to try out my 85 1.8 on the 5D all day. It is a fantastic lens. I spent an hour and a half ironing the backdrop that I bought second hand a while ago (6 metres x 6 metres in size) for the day :/

Preached at our church the last two weekends - went well. I had a look at the Public Bible Julian - looks good. I often use Matthew Henry for background research into the text I am preaching on.

As for weddings - it is going along nicely. I have three more to photograph in November and December. More than that and I am too busy.

Cheers,

Chris

[jericho]

3 month old kid.

Enough said.

[Petographer]

3 month old kid.

Enough said.

I suppose you could take a page from Mitch's book or visa versa.

[Schellamo]

Mitch and Jerry,
as the mother of a 17 month old, who used to be a very sleepless baby, let me just tell you...
it won't last forever! (in fact it'll be over in the blink of an eye!)

A good nights sleep to you both!

[Petographer]

Update!!!

I just received word that I am going to receive a pensioned payout from Workers Compensation over my hand injury. Seeing how there is permanent damage to my middle and ring finger. Shutter finger is fine (thank god). It will be 10% of my yearly earning from the time of injury until I'm 65. That's 25 years. Can anyone smell new gear in the air? Fingers crossed. Nothing huge. Maybe just a 20D with a 70-200mm L and a good fast portrait lens.

[shuttertalk]

Hey, sorry to hear about the hand, Peto, but good to know you're getting compensated for it. As they say, every dark cloud has a silver lining... and some shiny new gear wouldn't go astray either, I bet!


Wow, Chris, you preach at your church? That sounds pretty awesome... Do you do that often?

[Wedding Shooter]

Peto - looks like things are turning out ok. Still - sorry you had the accident happen.

Julian - I am the assistant pastor at my local church. Non paid positiion. Just trying to help out more than anything else - preach two to three times a month.

[Cailean]

Well, 3 weeks into this Daddy thing and I'm actually getting more sleep than I anticipated!

As I've mentioned elsewhere, since March I've been working as the UI Developer at TrueLocal.com which has been challenging and a ton of fun.

In my spare time (!) I've been re-working my church's website... it's not quite finished yet, but feedback would be appreciated... www.centralchurchcambridge.ca

[Toad]

So many babies at Shuttertalk these days!! Welcome back Cailean and congrats on the new job.

[shuttertalk]

Hey Colin, I really like what you've done with your church website. The template is awesome!

Just a suggestion - perhaps a few more links to content on the front page (menu bar? / site map?) would be good...

[Cailean]

Just a suggestion - perhaps a few more links to content on the front page (menu bar? / site map?) would be good...

Yep, that'll come once there's more content to point to!