A riot of colour, and the quest for a simple life

After a satisfying weekend of gardening and filling up the trailer with a huge load of surplus memorabilia I'm left at least feeling part way to a more simple life. Travel lightly seems to be the motto of late, and I do get satisfaction in throwing out stuff that has been with me for years. The criteria goes something like: hmmm.... a tin of assorted bolts and screws, and they've been shifted how many times!? Have I needed them in the last x years [x being a variable, based on the value monetary and otherwise].... usually the answer is "no". Then I ask myself : if someone had thrown them out or stolen them, would I have known or cared? Usually the answer in all honesty has to be a "no"!

OK, so having used words above to shed even more baggage [in the mind now eh - or am I doing self affirmation!] lets move on:

It felt like a reward for the decisions all the rubbish in life brings up when Dougal and myself went for Sunday stroll in Wanaka Station Park and the light was perfect, so out came the camera for the shots accompanying this dispatch.

With my photos of late I've eaten a little humble pie: I used to think that modifying images in PhotoShop [apart from cropping and contrast and removing the odd blemish] would not let me be in touch with my inner purist - my need for realism. However I've learnt a couple of techniques of late that have changed my mind, especially as I've realised that they actually help us see the image more closely to how the scene was. You see whatever device we use to capture an image, it not being as sophisticated as our mind and eyes, excludes information. And then it gets worse when we look at the image on a screen [with back light] or on paper [reflected light]. The image below is one I've "adjusted" so that the shadows throw up some of the detail in the camera image [that I never knew was there], and likewise with the inverse - the clouds are not so burnt out. The end result, and it's got a lot to do with tricking our vision, is that there is more detail in the tree. I've gone a bit extreme you may also sense a halo effect which helps highlight the tree and make the eye travel further to take in the back ground.

Have a good week dear readers.