Day 243 of 365 Day Challenge

Another wonderful day in Kangeroo Valley. Yesterday night coming back from the town after supper we saw about 6 wombats on the golf estate we are staying at in the headlights of the car. I think my husband managed to get some photos on his DSLR but my iPhone photos just shows a brown blob.

We took a stroll around the course in the evening to make use of the good light. I managed to get a couple of photos of the kangaroos using my telephoto lens connected to my iPhone. This one had a little joey in it's pouch.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Camera+, Snapseed 

Day 242 of 365 Day Challenge

Australia: Waking up in Kangeroo Valley. Man, this is the life!

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed 

Day 241 of 365 Day Challenge

We are staying with a friend today in Sydney and then off to Kangeroo Valley. Thought this car was just a classic!

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Phototoaster

Day 240 of 365 Day Challenge

Queen Victoria Building, Sydney

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed

Day 239 of 365 Day Challenge

I'm in Sydney and it's off to see the Rocks and then to Manly for supper so time for another seagull photo.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, Formulas

Day 238 of 365 Day Challenge

Sydney! After the spic and span of Singapore, the CBD of Sydney feels like the old leather glove that I found in my drawer - worn but comfortable and a favourite.

I've done most of the tourist attractions in past visits to Sydney and decide that I will have a relaxed day just browsing the city and taking it easy. We arrive at 6am after very little sleep and I am with the fairies. So after a quick snooze at the hotel, it's off to visit the gems of the city. Today's photo is in the Strand Avenue. A photo of the lovely stain glass windows. One of my favourite shops here is the Strand Hatters (http://strandhatters.com.au/news/home/), a wonderful shop where you can get a hat custom shaped and I often think I should have one done! In this Avenue is where you can get one of the best cups of coffee in Sydney in my opinion and it's great to sit up to the long tables in the Avenue and watch the world go by.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Marksta

Strand Hatters

Strand Avenue

Day 237 of 365 Day Challenge

Roaming the streets of Singapore I quite by accident came across a quirky area that I discovered later was Little Indian. Beautiful old colonial town houses with the top floors in various states of repair - peeling, lovingly restored or often with an over-the-top Indian flavour. The ground floor a vibrant eclectic mix of Indian shops. I spent a good couple of hours wondering around and having lunch. For anybody who is gluten intolerant don't miss out on Jonathan's gluten free restaurant - a rarity in Asia for sure!

So I thought I would take one of the photos of a town house first floor and convert it into a arty painting

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, Stackables 

Some more photos of Little India:

Day 236 of 365 Day Challenge

Singapore - The Marina Bay Sands. Don't miss the evening light show.

Day 235 of 365 Day Challenge

As usually we spent our first day yesterday in Singapore walking ourselves to death. I should know by now that if my husband says the restaurant we are going to for supper is not far away, I'm in for a 45 minute walk - and that's after a full day of walking! 20 years ago I wouldn't have battered an eyelid but these days I'm probably looking at hip replacement!

So it's not surprising that when we woke up this morning he said I was looking a bit of a wreck. We decided on a nice peaceful day at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, with the Orchid Garden the highlight, one of our favourite places. And guess what, the taxi ride of 8 Singapore dollars each way was the best money we have ever spent.

I decided to make it a macro day as a bit of a challenge. I did take some ordinary shots but it was mainly macro with my iPhone Olloclip macro lens. I think what surprised me more than anything was that when I go macro in Hong Kong I enter the world of lots of little insects but here I found virtually none. I wondered whether it might be due to insecticides to keep the flowers in such pristine condition - who knows?

So another difficult choice for today's photo. I'm down to 8, but in the end it has to be the centre of a small orchid and the lovely green glow of the the petals. Enjoy a couple of my other favourites.

All taken with Hipstamatic on the iPhone. No edits apart from some that were rotated and the addition of the copyright in the Marksta app.

This one came a very close second:

Looking at this little flower below with the human eye, it looked a boring grey colour. We were both gobsmacked at the colours that emerged at macro level:

Day 234 of 365 Day Challenge

So where am I today...SINGAPORE! This is another place I would have loved my husband to be stationed. I know some people think it's a bit sterile but actually on a day-to-day basis that can be quite reassuring. It's also much easier for English speaking people. Finally, there is a lot more here than people realise. For example, the last time we were here we visited the wetlands and if you are into nature this is a very tranquil and relaxing place to go. The only downside about Singapore is perhaps the constant heat and humidity all year round.

So I worked out that I was last here in 2012 and I have noticed quite a few changes. On this last visit we went up to the top of the Marina Bay Sands and I saw these funny looking spiky things being built on a derelict piece of land. Well, this time I found out what they were for - The Gardens in the Bay! It's a pity I don't have my photos from this visit with me because it would have been interesting to post the before and after.

Oh my goodness! What an attraction the Gardens by the Bay are. An absolute must do if you are here. Apart from the lovely tranquil gardens, there are three major attractions - four if you have children. The Supertrees, the Flower Dome and the Forest Dome. If you have kids there is the Children's Garden - a whole area of spurting water jets under which they can play so bring towels and a change of clothes!

Where do I start? Which is going to be my photo of the day? So many choices. One of the flowers, cacti or driftwood sculptures from the Flower Dome? The amazing Forest Dome? Actually photos just don't do it justice. The scale and intricacy of this massive, almost steampunk type garden structure was incredible. Well it just has to be the Supertrees lighted up at night. Don't miss the light show in the evening. I shall have to give you a taste of the rest.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Camera+, Snapseed, Marksa

Day 233 of 365 Day Challenge

Another one of the little creatures found along my road.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Olloclip macro lens, Snapseed, iColorama, SketchClub, Repix, Aerograph, Marksa

Day 232 of 365 Day Challenge

I went with a friend of mine to Repulse Bay today to walk her dog and have a cuppa. I had no idea that at the end of the beach there is a temple with dozens of statues. Wow. I wanted to go bananas and take loads of photos but just took a few and loaded it into my memory bank as a place to return to to have a good photo session.

However, there was one female statue that really resonated with me. Peaceful and graceful. So I took a photo and when I got home I decided to make it look like an old vintage photograph. I used an app for this called My Sketch which I don't often use because it insists on resizing your photo which makes it frustrating to blend back with other versions of the photo. I must find a good sketch app that I like which enables the use of a square photo. I'm beginning to think the best way to do it is to blend a photo with a sketchy texture. Anyhow, I managed it and loved the result.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, My Sketch, PaintCan, Marksta

Day 231 of 365 Day Challenge

I have two parks that I walk through on my various journeys around Hong Kong and it is a while since I walked through the Botanical Gardens. Lots of greenery but not a lot of flowers that I haven't already photographed. However, there were some pretty red flowers that the sun was shining on so took a couple of pics and messed around with one of them while I drank my coffee at the peaceful Fringe Club.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, Enlighten 

Day 230 of 365 Day Challenge

Today I only came back with a photo of the inside of one of my regular coffee shops and frankly it wasn't very good so I had to do something to spice it up a bit so I cropped the photo into pieces, and applied grunge on them and then took them into a slightly annoying (because of the ads) but useful app 'Shake ur Life' and created a collage.

Apps: Snapseed, Shake ur Life

Original Photo

Day 229 of 365 Day Challenge

What can you do with just a couple of leaves on the ground?

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, Retouch 

Original photo:

Day 228 of 365 Day Challenge

This was the reflection of a building in a building!

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama

Original photo:

Day 227 of 365 Day Challenge

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed 

Day 226 of 365 Day Challenge

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama 

Original photo:

Day 225 of 365 Day Challenge

I am at home again today sewing and crafting. I have been trying a new clay and created a heart so I photographed it and of course completely transformed it using some of my recent manipulations.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, Brushstroke, Diana

Day 224 of 365 Day Challenge

Another blisteringly hot day and as I had to go into town to get groceries I decided to sneak to a little cake supply shop near Hollywood Road which is one of my favourite areas. Drat, the little shop has gone. Happens often here. The turnover of shops is just astounding. Oh well, an opportunity to get some photos of the wonderful graffiti you get in this area.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Retouch

Couldn't resist adding this one (not sure they are right - a funeral costs a bomb!)

Day 223 of 365 Day Challenge

Spent the day at home today doing sewing which is just as well because it's blisteringly hot this week. This past Saturday was 37.8 degrees, the hottest day since 1885! So it's a photo of my cotton reels some of which are more than 50 years old. I had to have a play with it as usual and gave it a bit of a Steampunk look in keeping with Saturday's record.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, SketchClub

Day 222 of 365 Day Challenge

Went for a walk along my road today specifically to take pictures. I love taking macro photos. I just marvel at what insects actually look like up close and I was hoping to strike it lucky today and I did. There was a long line of ants along one of the walls. The secret was getting a photo of them as they scurried along. They are biting ants so I was a little apprehensive of them crawling onto the phone but fortunately they didn't. I got a lot of photos where only part of the ant was clear and usually not the head but this one was ok. I put a faint outline around them in SketchClub to sharpen them a little bit more.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama, SketchClub

Day 221 of 365 Day Challenge

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Retouch, Repix, SketchClub, iColorama

Day 220 of 365 Day Challenge

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama

Day 219 of 365 Day Challenge

I've been trying to find texture sheets or cutters for my new pursuit of mixed media and decided that my best bet was the cake icing industry. Well online I found a cake shop in Yau Ma Tei called I Love Cakes so off I went on yet another art supply mission. The cake shop was rather disappointing but the shops around it weren't! The shop next door was excellent and the one up the road even better. All the shops on both sides of this section of the road were cooking utensil shops and I spent a fortune and could easily have spent more. They don't have the high tech stuff you can get in this industry like extremely fine and delicate lace moulds but they had a massive selection of cutters and some plainer but great silicone moulds. Also, they are much cheaper than you would pay at serious cake shops in the UK.

The congregation of similar very specialised shops is typical of Hong Kong. Great when you find them but a real mission. Still trying to find acid free tissue paper...

Anyhow, one of the shops where I parted with much well earned cash (no cards accepted of course), had this wonderful cat perched on a counter. Ha, love it!

Apps: Hipstamatic and Snapseed

Day 218 of 365 Day Challenge

Back to making collage papers. They are doing construction on my usual walk through the park to get to the MTR (subway) so I had to take a different route and came across an unusual plant that I just had to photograph. I got some great manipulations from this plant, one of which I have included plus the original plant.

Apps: Hipstamatic, Snapseed, iColorama and Repix

Day 217 of 365 Day Challenge

Many of the Mainland Chinese come to Hong Kong to shop and there are often some interestingly dressed people. I knew it would take a long time to extract these two people from the hectic background but it had to be done.

Process: 

Painstakingly cut out in Superimpose and export as a mask (choose a plain white or coloured background when cutting out).

Take original into iColorama and blur using Effects>Blur>2 reducing opacity then apply.

Choose Effects>Blend and bring in cut out. I kept some of the pavement they were standing on so to create a smoother transition of the pavement I choose the brush mask and masked out some of the cut out background.

I then took it into Stackables and grunged it up a bit but didn't want to lose the details.

App: Hipstamatic, Superimpose, iColorama, Stackables 

Original