Reimagined Images: Blog

Visual Serendipity - A weekend at Crescent Head

(Reimagined Images) — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 20:45:04 GMT

Shall we take a little visual walk ..

There we were just two tired biz owners heading away to take a moment or two to contemplate that we had been loving each other for 10 years. We didn’t have time to head off in the camper so as a treat we booked a room at a local accommodation venue. It was called The Med - we will be back it was such a delight to stay at, the vibe in the rooms was swoony, the near by food so tasty and just a little saucy (wink wink) and do not even bring up the Margarita's oh my lord! The pool was a total minx and had so many pockets of enchantment that are still playing on my mind.

What a treat we got, the room was so beautiful, simply styled and very relaxed ..or was us that become relaxed because we got to stay in the room. Anyway here is a little of the visual delights in the forms of light, texture and colour that I found while on our stay at Crescent head.

The light on the hill just played over the curves, the man on the hill walked then paused and said his prayers, then he walked some more, both flowed over and with the curves of the hill like they belonged together.

Oh the delight on seeing this beautiful texture and contrast between smooth and sharp surfaces, a little like life really, you have smooth moments and you have a few jagged bits that make up one amazing life of texture.

This image is going straight to the pool room aka my texture library for my mixed media artworks.

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.... if by some chance you are interested in the mixed media I create with the gathering of such textural delights then please join me on my creative Instagram page by clicking here I must warn you though there is also a fair wack of crafting on the same feed.

It was the light and shadow, the solid angular lines of the Surf Club against the bright blue sky with the softest almost not there clouds.

Busy going somewhere that is just a moment of being nowhere but at peace.

The way the morning light created shadows on the edges of the texture was drawing me in ...

I like the soft glow against the hard, angled bricks.

Its little elements that often pull my eye, I have no control over it sometimes. I just keep coming back looking at it until I take a photo, sometimes if I walk away and don't take a photo it sits with me for ages as unrest.

All the lines created chaos but the colour ..ohhh my!

As a colour palette it had me! Those bikes against the warm timber tones behind them and the warmth in the seat colours - it was visual delight.
Again the texture and colour of the walls was teasing me with potential then the palm frond dancing on top of it just tipped me over the edge, I had to have it.

ohhh my gosh the light that played with this cactus making it pop against its background was to good to leave behind - can you feel it ..the light that is?

Can you see the similar angles within the cactus that repeat what is painted on the wall behind it, do you think they did that on purpose ..oh I love those moments of visual serendipity.

Ohh I just had an idea - I think that I should call this blog Visual Serendipity ..mmmm yep that feels good, almost exciting within my whole body, like an energy that is zipping from my head to my toes, tell me you have moments like that too.

So much repetition here and light that was just tantalized me the way it fell across the scene it just made my soul sing, I wish Id had a tripod to get a better exposure, but sometimes you just have to make do to catch the feeling otherwise you may miss it. I mean this was just taken as we walked to our dinner booking I had to remember that it was a weekend of being connected and not about my photography...I will HAVE to go back at some point and make it about my craft.

These two tanks and our two shadows, both there but separated, connected yet apart.

I could have spent quite some time getting something magical here but again I had to keep reminding myself I was not there for photography, it just pulls me in, like an addiction to light, colour and texture .. I did get a couple of sweet snaps I will into my Mid North Coast Image Library later this week I hope. If you want to know where that is Then click here

If you want to see pics of things like our room and the food we ate, some of the sites and treasures we found then head to my "personal" insta by clicking here

Now its time that I get going, did you enjoy our virtual visual stroll, its been nice putting a little of the feeling behind why the photos have ended up within my collection of visual serendipity moments (I really have fallen in love with that term now).

Till next time we stroll, Peace, Love and Happiness Cherie

Life On The Mid North Coast Via My Lens - Transitions

(Reimagined Images) — Sun, 15 May 2022 23:58:41 GMT

Lets walk a while ..

Oh game of life how you do like to spin the wheel and play your cards with surprise!

On the 22nd of March we received a termination of lease notice due to some major foundational building repairs that had to happen to the house, like many on the Mid North Coast we had to get on the home search, to say it set us in a spin would be an underestimation! We got lucky our leasing agents wanted to keep us as tenants and they had a house that worked for our brady bunch crew and on the 14th of April we got approved for a home.

My father-in-law made this chess board from pallets, pretty clever I think.

Handmade chess pieces and board

So began the game of moving pieces!

But first we coffee (naturally right)

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Have you come across this local treasure yet? Its nestled under the trees of Roto House they have some wonderful events and groups, wish they were around when I was a new Mum with bubs that loved to be outdoors.

_ALI2841 copy 2 From a distance - so cute!

Somewhere in the start of moving we had morning tea with the in-laws, coffee from Round & Round and tasty treats made with love by my M.I.L, we are so lucky to have such a nurturing and maternal M.I.L as she is always keen to help, host, cook, drive or provide any help she can to the whole crew.

I'm a farm girl still at heart right so when there is left overs or a big event going on ..what do you do? You cook up enough food for an army in preparation!

Step one in the prep food cook up- breakfast. So i cooked up a big batch of frittata to pop into the freezer at work so we have some good fibre and protein filled breakfast that I don't have to think about while we move.

Next on the list was a Slow Cooked beef and pumpkin curry.

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This was pretty good, threw it into some take away tubs, on beds of turmeric rice and bitter greens for extra goodness and into the freezer they went for "heat n eat" meals.

If you want the recipe for this one I got it from the Taste website and its got a good health rating - mind you I did ad extra spices and chilli because we like it with plenty of flavour bang in our house. You can get the recipe right here.

Next up was Chicken Lasagna a family fav, I cant tell you what went into this other then plenty of grated veg, chicken mince, philly cheese and lasagna sheets because its always different ..oh I know with this one I never made a proper white sauce as some of us in the house are avoiding flour at the moment so instead I made a mix of ricotta cheese, sour cream and parmesan cheese instead and it was delish...this one certainly went faster then the other frozen meals made. I think we ended up with the beef curry, lasagna, chicken casserole and beef stroganoff.

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Now the last food related photo was these bad boys for the moving weekend, I cooked of some snags, chopped them up and popped them into some silicon muffin trays, cracked an egg over the top, sprinkled a little cheese on top of the egg then baked them at about 180 until the eggs were mostly cooked then i took them out of the oven and let them finish cooking from the residual heat.

Then when it comes to eating just zap it in the food fritzer (the microwave) for 20 seconds, wack it on a toasted english muffin and tada you have breakfast, even the removalists enjoyed a couple of these between loads.

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In between packing and moving we went to the Dawn Service and showed our respect to those who did what they had to do, with no mindset of agreement or disagreement just a show of respect. My father wore his fathers medals and my Godfather word his own and together they stood in solidarity and support, both where young men at the time of the war and both felt it in different ways, one went to war and the other was to young and was not drafted but both along with so many other young men from what I understand had no real idea what was in front of them.

I am proud of both these men, they have both been rocks for me at different times and to see them standing together on such a sad, yet proud day was very emotive.

Two very hard working Australian men who I am proud to call family.

The father & the Godfather

This little guy was so devoted to his owner, eyes only for his human, I could not resist a photo.

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Then as the speeches fell onto our ears and into our hearts there was something really moving about the way the sky started to soften and the birds started to fly about, contrasted with the old bricks, the new lights and the Hotel sign that again I had to "snap" not a technically correct photo however the feeling is still there.

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Again another technically incorrect photo but I don't care because sometimes its more about the feeling then the structure. As we stopped for a quick coffee from another local fav, Breakwall HQ. The softness of these clouds complimented and opposed the rocks of the breakwall and it had me all whoo whoo and my camera was out and up to my eye again.

It seemed to reflect my contrasting and mixed feelings of moving, it was a bit yaay and a bit bummed out all at once, yet overall for the best.

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This is my Mums beloved Pavlova plate, she was renowned for her pavs, the things you find when you move. I love the shade of blue in it, this was going to be the colour of my dream car - a VW convertible beetle.

ohhhhh lala the textures that had me completely side tracked while I was meant to be packing, I use texture images in my digital mixed media art, if you want to check a few out here is a quick link for you, see if you can spot this texture in any of them

Mixed Media Artwork Gallery

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...and back to moving ..ohh wait I found more textures ..honestly I may have A.D.D!

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This glassware, the light and me had some quality time together while packing, shhhhh dont tell the family ;)

Then after all the food prepping this is what I had for dinner on ANZAC day, slice made by my MIL and a glass of wine...no I didnt eat all that slice, most of it disappeared when I was not looking. Meanwhile how is the cool light play between the shadow and reflection of the wine in the glass and the texture of the paper ..whoops distracted again!

As I walked into our new home with box after box this beauty gave a supportive hug, my body is booked in for a little overhaul (we found out the date mid move after waiting for so long and having injections for months and months) as the course of life has left it with a few scars that have been giving me grief for several years now and every now and then when the pain was getting to high and yet I couldn't let on to the family or they would have made a fuss, this amazing and wonderful tree filled with life gave me a moment to pause and breath then keep putting one foot in front of the other.

In a few weeks this tree and I are going to spend some quality time together as I recover from an op that may slow me down for a week or it may slow me down for 6 weeks, we wont know till the surgeon makes his cut.

On that note I must say farewell as I have a months worth of work to get done just in case. Hopefully you have enjoyed the images, maybe you have read the words with them and maybe not but either way thanks for being here, thanks for allowing your gaze to pass over a few of the things that found themselves in front of my view and my lens.

Till next time we stroll, Peace, Love and Happiness Cherie

Life on the MNC Via My Lens - A Reflective Walk On Shelly Beach

(Reimagined Images) — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 23:03:18 GMT

Shall we talk a stroll then ..

Oh the delight of a sky that holds blue.. a bit like a heart that stays true!

Here is a little cloud gazing for you, what can you see?

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As we walked along the beach ravaged by big seas and flood debris we found ourselves in a game of eye spy .. the bountiful and sometimes unexpected visions kept us in a state of both shock and delight.

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Our lovely Shelly Beach with soft sands and long clear stretches of clean sand has been brutalised by the force of the ocean recently, all the soft sands just gone with chunks of grass areas also gone .. this part had us in shock... like so many others taking a stroll on a Sunday afternoon.

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Its amazing how the beaches change with weather cycles and life, the rocks come and go, the sand shifting with tides and seas.

One of the beauties was all the textures, colour and pattern left in the sand as water passed over it, both the ocean and the run off seeping out of the hillside. Natures abstracts are everywhere.

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This water trickle came out of the rocks at the Northern end of Shelly Beach, it was like magic ..it just trickled with a determined pace and then the sand swallowed it right there, its journey no longer visible to the eye. _ALI2556 copy 2

It just kept coming like a never ending supply fighting for its way sometimes it gained further distance and sometimes less a battle of elements, it just kept disappearing into the sand, as the flow and volume changed the trickle path moved from left and right leaving nothing but little feather like marks to hint at its existence. A truly magical little moment with nature and my tall, dark and handsome. _ALI2557 copy 2

Do you ever feel like you could just hide and blend into the background of life so you can just do "your thing" without judgment or being questioned? Well this little gut did a wonderful job of doing just that, I think that his presence was sensed before it was seen and then he was just scurrying here and there trying to get away from my lens, from my view so that he could just get on with what he was doing. _ALI2549 copy 2

Such a busy and fast little creature and so easy to miss if you are not aware.

Another statement of contrast by nature, the sand pale and soft in its appearance, so tiny if seen by the single grain yet put together becomes binding and strong and encompassing holding forward the dark and strong in sight piece of seaweed attached to the hard rock, sitting beside the wood that was once hard and grounded in earth, the seaweed, rock and wood all at some point sturdy, strong and fixed in their original settings have all been displaced by the force of nature, now lost and sitting exposed to all and any.

We can learn so much from nature and its elements.

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These clouds held us for several moments, leaving us wondering what was creating the shadow that was cast across the sky, the sun was behind our backs no longer touching the water and this angle of changing light appeared to hold our gaze and thoughts.

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Leaving you here just where we started, with clouds to gaze at and see what you can see.

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See you next time for another stroll through the delights found in front of my lens.
Peace, Love & Happiness Cherie

Life On The Mid North Coast Via My Lens - Sunday Chill

(Reimagined Images) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 00:55:50 GMT

Shall we take a visual walk then ..

A blissfull way to start the day is watching it wake with the sounds of waves sliding into shore.

A mix of local produce and pantry/fridge items thrown together on the BBQ while chatting over the balcony as neighbours walk by talking of the sunshine meanwhile the sun is caressing my soul.

Nothing like a chilled bottle of ginger beer on a warm Autumns day, we found these ones at the Know Your Producer Festival, basking and waiting for us at the Grumpy's Ginger Beer stall, the tall and handsome man of the house may of had one with his bourbon later the same day and was very impressed.

_ALI1866 copy 2 We found ourselves at a delightful Patissiere at Flynns Beach with the funkyiest wall display, the contrast between the soft green plants, the round metal vessels and the rich wood paneling was a delight to my photographic eye.

_ALI1868 copy 2 This little delight was screaming to be taken home to a certain 18 year old foodie. Thanks Cocoa Cartel the coffee was delish and the Lemon Meringue muffin was very photogenic and delightfully enjoyed.

Mag + coffee + muffin + lush throw = Sunday chill

New cup feels This new cup feels like perfection in your hand, and the flat white that got poured into it tasted like delight in my mouth, thanks again Cocoa Cartel at Flynns Beach, Port Macquarie.

See you next time for another stroll through the delights found in front of my lens.
Peace, Love & Happiness Cherie