These last four days have been quite nice.  Nothing like a four day weekend to really unwind for a bit.  For those that don’t know, Australians get Good Friday and Easter Monday off.  Crazy, I know.

Friday was a gorgeous day; sunny and 30C.  We took out the paddle boards and hit the bay first thing.  The wind was calm, and we had a great time.  It had been too long since we had been out.  Originally, we were going to hit up Torquay to surf, but the two hour drive after flying back from Sydney the previous night didn’t sound that fun.  In prep for the relay, Kobe and I put in a good run.

Saturday we had a Mexican fiesta party at our place.  Nothing says Easter like Mexican, right?  Of course, we all drank and ate way too much, but the weather was still nice out, but slightly more chilly.  We had the doors open all day and night.

Due to the partying on Saturday night, Sunday was pretty much a wash of a day.

And then today, Yow-Yow and I got out for another run, but wow was it tough.  The wind is blowing at 42km/h with gusts up to 54…directly in our faces on the way out.  Oh, did I mention it was drizzling too, and only 12C?!  What happened to our awesome Friday weather?  To top it all off, it “snowed” (aka hailed).  When they say you can get all the seasons in one day, they sure do mean it!

Feel free to admire the hail on our doormat out back.

Another Tasmania picture.  This time it is of Wineglass Bay.  Sadly, it was an overcast day, and so there weren’t many great colors captured.  However, the beach there is absolutely beautiful.  We had lunch on some rocks and watched the dolphins in the bay.

This was comprised of 5 different pictures, and combined in Huggin.  I’m definitely liking Huggin for panoramas, just make sure you install the x64 version for an x64 machine.  Otherwise, the batch processor may not load.

I’ve held out for a long time to buy a new camera body. I thought I really wanted the D700, but then never actually made the purchase. I knew that the D800 was coming soon, which meant I’ve been waiting for that for awhile too.

Well, it finally was announced earlier this year, and I have pre-ordered it on Amazon.  I will be in the states in late April, so hopefully I am not so far down in the list that I won’t have it by then.

Here’s to increasing my images by 6x, having a full-frame sensor, and being able to use something other than ISO 200!

Shocker, it’s been awhile since I last updated…again. I’ve got tons of photos to go through, there are just a few network issues with the new place, oh and time.

Within the last month we went and saw some incredibly exciting semi-final Australian Open tennis action, along with visiting both the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania. All of which you should start to see trickle on to the site.

Today’s image is from Tasmania, and specifically along the 9-mile beach. The day we arrived there had been a storm and the bay was incredibly turbulent. That lead to many strange and colorful sea creatures being washed up on shore. This is the underside of a sea star and is currently my new desktop wallpaper.

I still can’t get over how incredibly gorgeous the water and landscapes are there. Can’t wait to get back!

In other news, the D4 and the D800/800E were announced. Based on the type of photography I am into, I’m definitely looking at picking up a D800/800E (probably the E, just because). I’m not sure how I’m going to transition from a 6MP camera to a 36MP camera, but I’m sure it’ll be yet another challenge.

Accurate…?  I love you guys!

Today, we went out for a bit of biking and boozing.  We have officially started exploring a bit outside of our normal area, which leads us to our first place: the mornington peninsula.  They brought us to the top of a lookout at the highest point, and then we biked to the beach, stopping at a few spots along the way.

• Arthur’s Seat
• Main Ridge Dairy
• Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm
• Shoreham Beach

From there we visited a few pretty nice cellar rooms (winery tastings).  And no, we did not drink and ride.  However, from the look of my arm (not pictured) may have you beg to differ.

• Tuck’s Ridge
• Montalto
• Merrick’s General Store

Oh yeah, the movers just came and have deposited everything.  It’s a great Christmas that’s for sure.  It’s also fun unpacking everything and realizing how thorough the movers are, and the things we thought we got rid of before moving and repurchased here (like the Costco-sized cling wrap).

Yay!  Oh and the image below is just the main room of stuff.  The two bedrooms and laundry room are full of boxes too…

In our back patio/garden area, we have a rose bush that is also inhabited by some bougainvillea.  It’s actually pretty cool because the rose bush just finished blooming, and now we have the red of the bougainvillea popping through various areas.  I just wish the rose bush wasn’t so thorny.  Talk about a pain to maintain.

We finally have some new furniture!  Granted, this is for the upstairs patio off the master bedroom,a.k.a. our sanctuary.  Today was the first nice day that we were able to use it too.  We had a run this morning, and then all of us (Kobe too) took to the roof and had a nap.  It was glorious.

Now to get some more outdoor furniture we can actually share with others!

With the launch of the new family food blog, I’m hoping there will be additional food shots moving forward.  I really like the colors and clarity of this photograph.  Plus it’s been awhile since I’ve actually used my DSLR (and I love me some food!).

Speaking of DSLR, man, the D800 is sounding like a sexy beast.  However, I think I need to replace my normal kit zoom lens as it has a lot of dust inside.  It’s quite frustrating.  Plus, having something at f2.8 would be nice, but I’d also love to get my hands on some wide-angle stuff.

Not a whole lot else going on right now.  Our stuff has arrived into port in Melbourne today, but we won’t see it for awhile.  We’re hoping to see it before Christmas.  As of right now, that would be the best Christmas ever: opening all the presents of stuff we’ve already bought!  Yay!