A giveaway for you to play with...

One of my clients, #3LeggedThing are having an epic giveaway! 

You can enter via the form below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's what you could have won.... [or, will win if you're lucky!]

Day One Bundle Drawn 16th December

3LT Dave with Blue Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
Capture Pro Camera clip (Arca)
Cuff wrist strap
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
1 year SmugMug Power Account $60 value

Day Two Bundle Drawn 18th December

3LT Eddie with Black Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
Pro USB 3.0 card Reader
16GB 600X SDHC card
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
1 year SmugMug Portfolio Account $150 Value

Day Three Bundle Drawn 20th December

3LT Frank with Blue Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
1 year SmugMug Business Account $300 value
Capture Pro Camera clip (Arca)
PROpad for camera clip
Leash camera strap
ThinkTank Retro 30
Elemental Cryro LED 600
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
Tiffen Filter Bundle

Take a camera everywhere - Sony QX100

You all know I like to take photographs, I guess that may even be why you're here, on my blog... I'm not "cameraist" and I don't care how I capture - obviously if I'm shooting for someone, I need to meet that client's needs, but if it's just for me - hand me something convenient and easy to wrangle... 

Sony DSC-QX100 for under Five Hundred big ones..

Sony Australia sent me the QX100 to use and abuse, I've had it for just over a month now and, despite initial "will this fit my lifestyle / workflow" I've come to love it enough to take it everywhere with me. 

I tend to pop it into a thinkTank "Little Stuff It" and slip that into whatever bag I'm taking on the day - I always take a bag. That's just me. 

It's a funny size in that, if you're not taking a bag it can be a bit annoying unless you have something like the Peak Design Cuff, which is mostly permanently attached to mine, means you can just have it on your wrist, or with a Leash, you can sling it / whatever. Use 'pollock' at checkout for 10% off... (Or don't, that's cool too) .....but when do you ever leave the house with some kind of bag?  

One thing I see a LOT of on the www is people posting photographs of people with larger, pro cameras, but taking a photo with their phone... There's a reason for that folks - it's because we all want to share - immediately - if we're inspired by something or want someone to see something right away... The QX100 bridges that gap effortlessly...

Do you need to use it with a phone? No, and that's one of the things that "ups the game" for me, with the QX100... I can turn it on and use it as a camera without the phone - I can control zoom and shutter and that's it... There's a little window to check the battery level, too. Sorta refreshing, actually... Like my old Pentax but without any viewfinder at all - just what your eye and hand think, and you add that 'anticipation' back in - what shots did I nail, what did I muff... You won't know until you get home!

You stick the QX on a tripod / boom / light stand via the standard tripod mount and you can stick it wherever you like... Including above the trampoline...

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Seb and his toys on the trampoline - birds eye via Sony QX100

The QX has really upped the quality of images I can use instantly on my iPhone, too... I can ask the QX to import a 2mb file into my phone as it shoots, leaving the full res (20mp) on the camera's babySd card. 

It has a great movie mode, too, though this is reduced to 720p from the 1080 resolution possible in camera.

The Sony QX has turned into something I use daily and happily suggest people add one to their digital arsenal.. What I'd like to see in future updates - RAW image processing and a little more control over manual modes (or, the addition of a manual mode) though, the auto modes included are pretty good. 

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You can WIN your own Sony QX 100 HERE - Closes in TWO DAYS!

Win a Sony QX100 in a thinkTank Citywalker bag

The awesome team at Sony Australia have supplied a Sony Cyber-shot QX 100 for me to give away to one lucky winner. The little camera that turns your phone into a very functional camera, will come with its own thinkTank Photo camera bag. 

Massive thanks to Sony Australia for their continued support!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Head over and find out more about the QX series camera HERE

Click the photograph below for more... 

Phase two...

The second chapter? I don't know... All I know is that now, I have a four year old (sans 14 days) and a 2 day old... Many people have commented that my life is about to change - again.  

Finley Sinclair Pollock  | November 3rd, 2013 

He may cry, he might wake me up a few times - I'm not the one with boobs, so I just have to keep Seb asleep and we're all happy. 

Pollock : Baby of...

Seb is quite taken with his little brother, he wants to hold him and carry him and kiss him all the time - instead, he just wakes him up and stresses us out trying to keep him semi-quiet. Not possible, I know.
 

Seb holding his little bro...

It will be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks go, I'm sure they'll go just fine... I can't see beyond today right now. Still, that's fine...  

Mr. Eyelashes giving his little bro a kiss...

The Centurion - Dr. John William Connell

I had the pleasure of photographing a 100th birthday party for Dr. John William Connell. 

John William Connell was the founder of John Connell Consulting Engineering Group, which is now known as Connell Wagner. He has worked as Chairman of Allthill Beef Enterprises; Director of the Gas and Fuel Corporation Victoria, Overseas Projects Corporation Victoria; Vice-President and later board member of the Austin Hospital; President of the Freemasons Hospital (1986-1988); Member of Faculty of Engineering at the University of Melbourne; Scientific Associate of the Zoological Board of Victoria; Life Governor of Ivanhoe Grammar School; and Elder of the Presbyterian Church. Connell was educated at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Hon Deng) and at the British Institute of Technology (CEng). [Via the NLA]

If you live in Melbourne, there's almost no doubt that John and his company have been a part of your life - the MCG? The Melbourne Underground Rail Loop? -- Or indeed over most of Australia and other parts of the world.  

Capturing people's emotions and expression is really exciting and I'm always thankful for the chance to photograph these gatherings. 

Thanks, Dr. Connell.. Happy Birthday..