Photography

When I was a child, I wanted to be a photographer. All you needed was a TAFE qualification to get yourself up and running but my father was bent on me gaining a degree in a field that was more 'academic'. Little did he know just how visual our world was to become due to the emergence of the internet, the power of visual imagery, the globalisation of communities and the onslaught of capitalistic branding. My father wanted me to be a journalist--one of those upfront people seeking out the news. Although I am very good at asking questions, and would have been suited to being a journalist, lawyer or detective (this trait of question-asking drives the people in my life to distraction), I am actually a rather reserved person and feel more comfortable 'behind' the camera.

I am finally considering investing in a decent camera as I've never owned one despite loving taking photos. The pic above was inspired by a recent walk I did around the base of a mountain. I noticed that a particular tree had recently dropped its leaves and the colours were just amazing. I love leaves; their intracacies, designs and shapes are fascinating. I picked up a few and snapped a couple of shots. I stuffed the leaves in my pocket and two days later they were completely brown and dry!

Although I classify myself as an amateur (obviously), I have sold a number of my photographs over the years. I would like to try to widen my audience in 2015 as it is really rewarding when someone appreciates a well-framed shot (albeit lacking the level of clarity that a top lens can achieve). My photographic cards currently sell for $2.50 each, plus postage. Packs of 8 are available for $27.50 (including registered post). Please drop me a line and I'll email you the current link for purchasing them.

Hope is all I have right now...

Long time, no posting. The reason being is that I had a simple, yet unfortunate, fall about 4 months ago which has limited by ability to make things. Above is a card I made a while ago using a vintage greeting card. A lovely lady from my markets gave me large quantity of these 'cards from the past' and it has been a joy to 'upcycle' them. They sell for between $2.50 to $4.00 and each card is one-of-kind.

In regards to my injury, it was a joint-based fracture of my left radius (non-dominant hand). I don't know how I would have coped all of this time if it had been my right wrist. I had surgery and the post-op x-ray is concerning when compared to the pre-op x-rays (the fracture isn't even discernable on those). The current x-ray shows a piece of bone (either a slither or something more) and the surgeon did not allow me to get a CT scan at that point (4 weeks after the surgery) to find out what is going on. He played it down and sent me on my way for an agonising 8-week wait before the next check-up (approaching soon). I am hoping that it is not a piece of bone from top volar corner of my radius (with a ligament attached to it).

The pain has been terrible and is only just starting to settle down. I will try to get the bottom of this because my wrist is still feeling very sore and weak around my ulna and the regular sound/feeling of my ulna hitting the radius is disturbing and painful. I am hoping that my wrist is not out of general alignment due to this displaced bone. I don't understand why I couldn't get a CT scan at the time. I even begged my treating GP for a referral and he wouldn't agree because the surgeon told him everything's fine.

The pain has been worse than that of the initial fall and fracture but it has lessened of late and I feel a little better overall. I am still worried about the future of my wrist. The surgery was supposed to prevent early arthritis but I won't really know the outcome until I see the next CT scan. I am hoping that the imaging place does a fantastic job and that everything will be clear to see. It's my only hope to finally find out what is going on...