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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Windiest Day Ever
We have been meaning to take the kids whale watching since our failed attempt in Kaikoura just about a year ago. Since it has been pretty hard to not see whales from shore for the last few months, I naturally assumed seeing them from a boat would be even better. Unfortunately, Nico chose to make a reservation during a small craft advisory. I should take the opportunity to point out that just because a business (even if it's a non-profit) that makes its money by taking people out on the water says it is safe to go out on the water does not mean it is a good idea to do so. Zooey was seasick (or perhaps just regular sick) before we even left the dock. Jancie waited a few minutes to start complaining. Fortunately (I guess) they both fell asleep and missed most of the really rough parts.
Rainbows, on the other hand, are always difficult to photograph.

On a flat day, whales are pretty easy to see. On an exceptionally windy day, they are not so easy. 1) White caps look a lot like whale spouts when they are both being blown around and 2) The waves tend to hide any whales that might be coming up for air. On a flat day, photographing whales is pretty easy (or at least I think it must be). On a windy day 1) Holding a telephoto lens steady is difficult 2) Salt water keeps spraying your lens if you face in the wrong direction.

Windmills and a rainbow.




















I shot well over 300 pictures. Most of them just look like waves unless you really zoom in, and then they look like blurry rocks mostly underwater. I hope to try again sometime when things are a little more level.


Tail sequence








A few others








Friday, February 05, 2016

Renewed

Some of you may remember 12+ years ago I started this blog with a promise to update it more often than once every 6 months. Or something like that...it was so long ago I don't really remember. Sadly, it has now been over 6 months since I last posted anything. What can I say? I've been busy, nothing exciting has been happening, and I've been trying too hard to write the perfect post. Actually, I think Facebook is the real culprit. All the drivel that I used to write here so it could be read by 6 people can more easily be put on Facebook where 400 of my closest friends are instantly bombarded. Anyway, I've just spent $20 renewing takealotofdrugs.com, so perhaps that will inspire me a little. Also, I believe I have finally figured out how to post pictures from my phone. Here are Nico and I with the Jeep (and sleeping children) at La Perouse Bay.