Wednesday 26 December 2012

Back to the office tomorrow

after a few relaxing days of eating and drinking too much and walking too little. Can't imagine that there will be much going on- at least it is only 2 days until the weekend. Oh.... then it is almost time for New Year's Eve.

And by the way...... I have put on more than 2kg

Tune of the Day:  Rave On    by Cults

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Who Is Fat?

We have just had a wonderful Christmas lunch- roast goose, roast potatoes and red cabbage cooked with apples and cider vinegar. Not too much to drink and now it is time to take it easy and put the feet up.

Merry Christmas!


Tune of the Day: Midnight Man   by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Saturday 22 December 2012

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Christmas season is well under way and I'm starting to worry already about how much weight I have put on in the past 2 months. A great lunch with friends today (thanks Catherine) and I have my fingers crossed that we can get out the door tomorrow to go for a long walk and burn a few calories.
Took a few digital photos today (I have been shooting mostly film) and will try to share them over the next week or so.


Tune of the Day:  Gun Street Girl   by Tom Waits

Sunday 16 December 2012

The snow is almost gone down here

but I guess that they have had some more up in the hills. Warm and wet is not much fun after the cold, wintry days of last week.
Catherine excelled herself in the kitchen again last night and we all enjoyed a great salad with duck confit followed by pizzas with beetroot, goat's cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, tomato sauce, duck confit (again!) and a few salad leaves. Fantastic!


Tune of the Day: Time   by Pink Floyd

Thursday 13 December 2012

I have been enjoying my week of photography

and like most things that one does, a little practice makes things easier, quicker and better. Looking forward to lunch with the lads today- if the last couple of adventures are anything to go by, this one should be full-contact.
Tomorrow we will just need to sort the duck and the beetroot....

Tune of the Day: Satisfaction   by The Rolling Stones

Monday 10 December 2012

Now that Monday is behind me, it is all about

the few days off. I'm pretty happy with my first couple of shots for this year's Week 50 Challenge and I'm looking forward to making the next 5. Shooting film is a lot of fun and it is even more fun doing it with this big, old camera.


Tune of the Day:  California über Alles   by The Dead Kennedys

Sunday 9 December 2012

In the office tomorrow and then a few days off

and I am really looking forward to that. Appears as if it is going to be cold- that is not a big problem in itself, but it does make photography more difficult. I might even consider heading to the hills.


Tune of the Day:  Gold In My Pocket     by DJ Food

Friday 7 December 2012

Snow two ways about it

the white stuff came down by the bucketload this afternoon. I believe that there was a short-lived traffic chaos in the city, but I managed to get home without incident and was happy to do so. I'm starting a photo challenge on Sunday, so I will be out with my camera getting ready tomorrow whilst Catherine is putting some Champagne to the taste test.


Tune of the Day: In The Light    by    Led Zeppelin

Saturday 1 December 2012

I can heartily recommend

Restaurant Camino in Zürich. Had a great dinner there with Pete, Pipo and Scotty last night.
I was in the city for a little while today; took a couple of photos, ordered a print from a recent negative, shopped at Sprüngli and then headed back home. We are going out for dinner to visit some neighbours- should be lots of fun again.


Tune of the Day:  Four Sticks  by   Led Zeppelin

Wednesday 28 November 2012

It is very nearly that time again

and I'm not talking about Christmas, New Year or even school holidays. I'm actually talking about dinner with the lads. Since bumping into Pipo in town last Saturday, I have been thinking more and more about our get-together this coming Friday evening. Should be lots of fun indeed.
I have another NikonCafe Photo Challenge coming up- if anyone would care to become involved, feel free to drop me a note for details.


Tune of the Day: Flag Day    by The Housemartins

Saturday 24 November 2012

It is Saturday, the sun is shining and at this time of year


that is an opportunity not to be missed. Going to town to run a few errands and shoot some photos. As expected the Thanksgiving week was very, very steady and that doesn't bode well for the rest of the year.


Tune of the Day: Hold On   by Tom Waits

Tuesday 20 November 2012

As we approach the end of November....

I just wanted to check that everyone has purchased my Christmas gifts?! If you are unsure, please feel free to drop me a note and I can advise you right up to the last minute. I would hate to see anyone having Christmas shopping stress on my account.  :-)


Tune of the Day:  Ramblin' Rose   by MC5

Sunday 18 November 2012

It was a busy week

and I didn't get to post on our blog- lucky that Catherine burst out of the darkness to grace us with a visit! Did some shooting yesterday, watched the rugby and came home for a Mexican dinner. Tonight's duck was even more exciting!


Tune of the Day:   Day Of The Dead    by Mike Reed

Pekiiiing Duck...

Not tonight Floody; this evening we had Magret de canard à l'orange which sort of looked like this...











The pan fried duck was accompanied by potatoes roasted in the oven with duck fat (who's fat?).  I had read that potatoes roasted with duck fat are pretty good and tonight proved it, they are the best roast taters I have ever cooked  mmmmmmm.

I searched the cellar for a pinot that might have proved a worthy partner to the duck; I opened a 1996 Cote d'Or which David declared was 'bloody awful' then a 2002 Cote d'Or was proffered which was judged to be equally dreadful: back to the cellar and although we have lots of lovely Pirie Estate 2006 Pinot Noir David is not a fan so I returned with a Peter Lehmann 2008 Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz.  It may not be the first thing that comes to most peoples' minds when trying to match a wine to duck and orange, however I thought it worked very well.

Prost xxxxxxx

Sunday 11 November 2012

Pass him up to me Daddy...

I was inspired by a recipe in Gourmet Traveller Wine to make Lapin à la moutarde yesterday for dinner.

A very expensive rabbit was purchased (CHF 42.80), marinated in Dijon mustard and olive oil, browned and cooked in a pot and eaten with much gusto.

A bottle of 2007 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay went into the pot, & some in the cook, and a bottle of 2009 Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz accompanied the meal.

A better meal was not served in Niederglatt last night, in my humble opinion.  YUMMMMMMMM






Friday 9 November 2012

Man was I glad to get home this evening

this has been a seriously long week. Very much looking forward to The Chief's gourmet dinner tomorrow evening (don't say anything Hobbs) and hopefully getting a few photos when there is some daylight about.
My new coloured shoelaces are on the way too- looks as if I will need to clean some shoes on the weekend as well.....


Tune of the Day:  Gold In My Pocket    by DJ Food

Saturday 3 November 2012

Plenty of tourists in town again today

but at least they seemed to be carrying shopping bags! I won't complain if they are helping to keep our economy alive.
I enjoyed shooting a little film today, bought new shoes and new laces for my Timberland boots and was told by the guy at recycling that I will have to hang onto my used fixer for one of the special rubbish collections......

Tune of the Day: Mirror In The Bathroom  by The Beat

Wednesday 31 October 2012

After a busy month, I can head off this morning

without my camera or tripod. Oktoberfest was fun and a success as well (I believe) but today may just be a photo-free day. Looking forward to dinner this evening...


Tune of the Day: Gallow's Pole   by Led Zeppelin

Sunday 28 October 2012

A great lunch today after a nice walk in the snow

It certainly gets dark early now that we have changed our clocks to winter time. Shot a roll of film yesterday and this morning- very happy with the results and a couple of the pictures have made it into my Challenge thread for the month.


Tune of the Day: Heroes   by Kruder and Dorfmeister

Friday 26 October 2012

Timberland boots- check

Jacket-check
Hat-check
Film camera-check
Tomorrow should be a lot of fun out there....


Tune of the Day: The Pusher   by Steppenwolf

Wednesday 24 October 2012

They tell me that we may even get some snow on the weekend

so I have been busy hiding some shoes and I need to go to the cellar to dig out some big boots. It will be fun to take a few photos of, but after 4 or 5 months the novelty certainly wears off  :-)
Nice to see Mrs Moose firing up the blog again- it has been a little quiet on the Singapore front. Thanks!


Tune of the Day: Catholic Girls   by Frank Zappa

Sunday 21 October 2012

Josef was good (no real doubt there)

and the weekend has been quite relaxing. Why am I feeling so tired? I can't imagine that things are going to settle down in the next little while, so maybe I will have to sleep when I'm dead.


Tune of the Day: All And Everyone   by PJ Harvey

Thursday 18 October 2012

Sushi was great last night

and I really enjoyed tapas this evening. Josef tomorrow night makes the hat-trick. Just gotta love that.


Tune of the Day:  Get Some Go Again  by Rollins Band

Saturday 13 October 2012

Well, I guess

that I should have known that there would be too many people at the Nikon Day :-) They had some nice kit on display, but it was too hot in the hall for my liking and I only hung around for an hour or so before heading out to take some more photos. In the end, photography is all about getting out and shooting, huh?


Tune of the Day: Jazz Master by Kruder & Dorfmeister

Friday 12 October 2012

Nikon photo day tomorrow

which I am really looking forward to. The presentations should be interesting and fun and it will be nice to see a few keen photographers. If they ask me to sign a few autographs, I might even oblige  :-)


Tune of the Day:  Depth Charge Ethel  by Grinderman

Sunday 7 October 2012

Today was less stunning on the weather front

so it was a perfect opportunity to shoot some black and white film. A quick walk around in Zürich was pretty productive and I have managed to keep my Oktoberfest project rolling.
I will freely admit that it wouldn't bother me in the least if tomorrow were Sunday and not Monday already....


Tune of the Day:  Sunday Afternoon  by Black Angels

Saturday 6 October 2012

Took advantage of the sun, warm weather

and the fact that today was Saturday to get out and shoot a few photos. I'm happy with the way that things turned out and even though shooting in the half-dark and in black-and-white is maybe not quite so much fun, I'm looking forward to doing some of that as this month progresses.
I hear that there is a very well-fed kookaburra in the Lane Cove National Park area :-)


Tune of the Day: Murder In The Red Barn   by John Hammond Jr

Friday 5 October 2012

October is here

and I'm trying to shoot plenty of photos for the annual Oktoberfest photo challenge. So far, things are going OK and I'm looking forward to the weekend...... oh, Catherine will be arriving back home as well   :-)


Tune of the Day:  Vampire Cafe    by John Cale

Sunday 30 September 2012

Tomorrow is the start of October

and that means the start of NikonCafe's Oktoberfest! It is the biggest and best Prime Lens Challenge of the year and I am hoping to be able to shoot some reasonable pics and enjoy myself during the month.


Tune of the Day: Nocturne    by DJ Food

Friday 28 September 2012

Welcome to the weekend

it has been a fairly relaxing couple of weeks, but it still doesn't feel like a holiday. I have a few things to get sorted over the weekend and on Monday the Oktoberfest Photo Challenge kicks off. I'm looking forward to it very much!


Tune of the Day:  Diggin' My Grave   by William Elliott Whitmore

Thursday 27 September 2012

Another sunny, bright day and that means

time to grab a camera and go for a walk. I wanted to get some more colour photos before the inevitable start of the cooler, grey days and so it was digital all the way.
I might even go to Berne tomorrow to shoot there and have some lunch..... there would certainly be worse things to do on a Friday.



Tune of the Day:  Bigmouth Strikes Again   by The Smiths

Monday 24 September 2012

Dodged the rain long enough today

to shoot a roll of film in town and then ran into a couple of neighbours on the train coming home. Shooting was a success, developing went OK and I am pretty happy with the results.
Lunch at Lily's was a nice touch as well.


Tune of the Day:  All Along The Watchtower    by Jimi Hendrix

Sunday 23 September 2012

Mushy peas, Mary Poppins.... London

it wasn't a bad couple of days away but the highlight was definitely catching up with Lord and Lady Hobbs on Friday evening. It is scary how quickly you can get onto the same wavelength with a friend after many, many years.


Tune of the Day:  Karmacoma   by Massive Attack

Wednesday 19 September 2012

It's raining this morning

which makes me doubly glad that I was out and about yesterday and did a couple of things. Don't forget to talk like a pirate today!



Tune of the Day:   Factory Girl   by The Rolling Stones

Sunday 16 September 2012

The world is in a mess,

the major Central banks are printing money almost as quickly as they can in order to delay (or hopefully avoid) the Apocalypse. Where is this going to leave us all?


Tune of the Day: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)   Kenny Rogers  & The First Edition

Saturday 15 September 2012

Bye, bye Curly

the place will seem a little empty over the next few weeks. I hope that you have a great time in Oz and that all of the families are in good form and good spirits.

I was out today and took a few digital photos (something that I have done too little of lately) and had a look about in town after visiting the airport.


Tune of the Day: Celeste   by Isolée

Monday 10 September 2012

Happy Birthday to Campbell and Angus

it was great to speak with you both today guys and I hope that you had great evenings to finish off your birthdays in style. Aunty Catherine is looking forward to catching up with you both when she comes to visit in a few weeks. Yumcha anyone?


Tune of the Day:  Sympathy For The Devil  by The Rolling Stones

Saturday 8 September 2012

An almost perfect autumn day

with a little fog this morning which cleared to allow us a sunny and warm afternoon. I could put up with this all year!
I hope to get out and take some more photos with some friends tomorrow- should be fun.


Tune of the Day:  Movin' To Montana    by Frank Zappa

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Why not?

Yup, why the heck not?


Tune of the Day:  Cry Baby   by Janis Joplin

Saturday 1 September 2012

Thanks guys!

Another great evening in the Mövenpick Wine Bar last night. That place is such a nick! Today has been pretty quiet- dodging the rain most of the day but there was some excitement in collecting a package of tomato relish and pickles from the Post Office this morning.



Tune of the Day: Lie Down Here And Be My Girl    by Abbe May

Tuesday 28 August 2012

I have enjoyed putting this new lens to the test

and so far, it is a winner. Shot a couple of rolls of b/w film on the weekend and the results were good- it will be even more fun as I learn what it can and can't do.


Tune of the Day: Cripple Creek    by Leo Kottke

Sunday 26 August 2012

It has been a relaxing weekend

and I am sitting here scanning photos, listening to the Casino soundtrack and already thinking about heading off to bed.
Have a good week, Lefty- it was good to catch up this afternoon!


Tune of the Day: Working In A Coalmine  by Lee Dorsey

Thursday 23 August 2012

If for no other reason

than to get the good Lord Hobbs off the title page....  :-)


Tune of the Day: Mindfields   by The Prodigy

Saturday 18 August 2012

The Butcher Of Barcelona

When the Good Lord goes for breakfast, there is normally very little messing about. Nice touch in La Boqueria.
We are in for a hot weekend here- it might become very, very thirsty.....


Tune of the Day: Jigsaw Puzzle   by The Rolling Stones

Thursday 16 August 2012

Who's the fat guy and where's all the beer?

No, I'm not talking about Barcelona..... I'm talking about right here! I enjoyed shooting a couple of rolls of colour film and having them processed. Did some scanning last night but I need to do more on the weekend.


Tune of the Day: Freedom of Choice   by Devo

Sunday 12 August 2012

Did I tell you about my new t-shirts?

Having these arrive in the post was almost as exciting as hearing that Tom Waits was going to make another concert tour. Any chance, Tom?


Tune of the Day: Hell Broke Luce   by Tom Waits

Monday 6 August 2012

A pleasant evening on the terrace

when a photography buddy (and watchnut) came to join us for dinner. We ate well (thanks Catherine), drank well (thanks Barossa) and had an enjoyable time. Great to catch up Barge!


Tune of the Day:  Ay Papacito    by Eliades Ochoa

Saturday 4 August 2012

I took my F5 out today for a walk about

and was continually reminded what a great camera it really is. Still half of a roll of Tri-X 400 in there, so I will endeavour to get it finished and in the tank tomorrow. We even went for a walk this evening and dropped off something to some neighbours- I took my Hasselblad along and shot most of a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. Looking forward to these results as well.


Tune of the Day:  White Honey   by Graham Parker and The Rumour

Friday 3 August 2012

It's been a busy week and I have

taken far too few photos. With luck, I will be able to right that wrong tomorrow. We may even get out for a hike on Sunday if the weather is good enough to us.


Tune of the Day:  Panne Lieb    by Hans Reichel

Saturday 28 July 2012

The negatives look good but the film is still drying

I will go downstairs again shortly to check it out. It sounds as if Campbell is pretty chuffed with his new camera- just let me know if you need to know anything else, buddy!
Tomorrow should be a properly relaxed Sunday to follow on from a very relaxed Saturday. Isn't that what weekends are all about?


Tune of the Day:  Last Night A Cliche Saved My Life  by Coldcut and Grandmaster Flash