I’d had my eye on the Nikon 1 range since they were featured in MasterChef last year but they were very expensive on launch and it has been near on impossible to get details of the updated models J2, J3, V2, and S1. Nikon’s website suggested interacting with Twitter but I got no reply via email or Twitter.

With most camera suppliers low on information about if and when the new Nikon models would arrive, and prices varying wildly between the single and dual lens kit, I did quite a bit more research, and ended up with the EOS – in red.

Having used a smart phone, iPhone or point and shoot for the better part of the six years, this has been a steep learning curve and I have a long, long way to go.

My first photographic subjects were assorted family dogs (you can see in the flickr feed, right).

Then I set off to Fremantle to the Street Arts Festival. Snaps below.

Words are my livelihood, not images, but I am snap happy at the best of times. The big question is – what to do with all the photos? There’s only so many you can stick on Twitter and Instagram.

A recent backup of my camera cards and folders revealed hundreds and hundreds of holiday photos I had forgotten about.

Perhaps it’s time to go crazy printing the next time there’s an 8c photo offer.

Logged into Twitter.

Added some connections on LinkedIn.

Reset the password on a Yahoo account that had 400+ unread messages…why do I have four email addresses again?

This blog in particular is long overdue for a post.

It’s not like I have been idle. I’ve had all the actual work writing to contend with…often requiring interviews at odd hours. Oh, and a family…kids parties…life…etc etc…

Anyways, here are some links to pre-written ready-made content and photos!

Recently I got the chance to chat to Daniel Dae Kim whose work I have been following since the days of Angel.

Read about his time on Hawaii Five-O here:

Earlier in the year when I was at the TCA Winter Press Tour in Los Angeles I attended the session for the new Shonda Rhimes drama Scandal starring Kerry Washington.

The lovely Annabel Crabb was happy  to chat about her new season of Kitchen Cabinet - she has high praise for the cooking skills of WA Senator Louise Pratt. Not so much so for poor Joe Hockey‘s barbecue prowess and the fact his oven still had plastic on it!

In an ideal world, I’d have posted the links to the kids’ movie reviews in the school holidays, not several days after they finished. Yes believe it or not, I watch TV every day and still go to the movies too!

Mwahahaha here’s Hotel Transylvania with the voice work of Adam Sandler “blah blah blah” , and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days with general silliness.

And let’s call it a wrap with Perth’s Mandy McElhinney aka Rhonda the safe driver soon to be known as Nene King.

However if you have read this blog lately, you may have noticed a slight obsession with the redevelopment of my old workplace, Newspaper House, formerly of 125 St Georges Tce.

Well, if you take a stroll past the revitalised buildings (Newspaper House, WA Trustees, Royal Insurance) that house restaurants The Trustee and The Heritage, plus assorted pop up shops – you will find there is no longer a 125.

So I did what any good journalist would do, and Googled for the answer.

It would appear that 125 is now the address of the Brookfield Place redevelopment featuring the City Square tower, home of BHP Billiton.

It will also soon be home to The Print Hall restaurant and bar complex which I simply cannot wait to visit, partly for the food and partly for the view of the Swan River which we never truly appreciated from our old canteen.

Somehow I doubt I’ll hear anyone calling out “salmon sammich ready” or that any restaurant will be serving chips and gravy.

St Georges definitely looks like it will be the place to be this spring and summer.

Reaching for the sky…towers on the Terrace…Perth is growing up every day!

Today, I decided it was time for a trip into Perth, not having been into the heart of the city for a few months.

I was surprised a few weeks ago when my hair dresser told me she hadn’t been to town for about three years.

Three years! So much can change in three months!

Perth’s track record of failing to preserve its heritage buildings has long been of disappointment, so the new Brookfield Place development in and around the original Newspaper House building at 125 St Georges Tce has long had my interest.

Although it appears only the facade  and perhaps a small segment of the building (and the adjoining Royal Insurance and WA Trustees) remains, it is a far more attractive proposition than the gaping hole in the ground that ran from the Terrace to Mounts Bay Road for many years.

Having started my journalistic career at 125 St Georges Tce I can’t wait to take a look inside restaurants The Trustee and Heritage (thought they opened seven days for breakfast – oops – closed today!) and to dine at The Print Hall when it opens later this year.

The dining and coffee options are so much more sophisticated than 1987, when the Newspaper House arcade had from memory, perhaps a tea room/shop and we had our much maligned cafeteria. “Salmon sammich ready!” If only we’d taken more time to appreciate the views.

So, here are a few snaps of the changing face of the Terrace. If only I had some old snaps from my days at 125…possibly in a box in the shed!?

Three days into winter in Perth and it is still feeling a bit like spring.

In fact our weather in the past few weeks has reminded me a lot of California.

So, time to crack out some more holiday snaps, this time, from Yosemite National Park where it snowed on us quite unexpectedly, in spring.

My mouth is watering just looking at these photos. My favourite dish – a tie between the squash (zucchini) flowers and the arancini.

We took a risk visiting a pizzeria/Italian restaurant with Ms11, who has life threatening dairy allergies but our server went out of his way to allay our fears, even ordering new bread to go with her mussels.

For the record she ordered a second serve!

Ms11 usually misses out on dessert but Mozza even had dairy and egg free sorbets – so she rocked three courses that night. A great feast to farewell LA and the USA.

I for one, think there’s much beauty to be had and found in and around the City of Angels – not to mention good food.

When the sun came out the weekend these photos were taken it was impossible to get anywhere near Griffith Park Observatory, which was a shame, as the previous visit it was closed, and the city was clouded in fog (as opposed to smog, I think!)

Not wanting a several mile hike from the car, we parked and took photos from afar. And soaked up the views. Of LA.

This was my first attempt to post using the new WordPress for iOS. Well, not that new really just never used on my iPhone due to password forgetfulness issues.

Accidentally posted it with no words and no caption!

Who knew Venice Beach had a series of canals running perpendicular to the beach, as in, real canals, like Venice, Italy? Complete with canoes. And ducks (that’s another photo).

Well, not me. It was a pleasant surprise. Very European and tranquil compared to the craziness that is the Venice boardwalk!

By the way my second post turned out to be an unwanted page, now deleted. I’ll keep trying!

San Francisco’s famous sea lions at Pier 39

Sunset over Manhattan Beach, California

One of life’s simplest pleasures, watching the sun set. Beautiful anywhere in the world. The first photo was taken on our first day in San Francisco at the famous Pier 39.

The second  was taken while racing the clock at Manhattan Beach south of Los Angeles.

I had visited in January and spent a day on a sound stage nowhere near the beach so getting to see the sun set in April was a bonus.