Melbourne City by Night.

In early May, I flew to Melbourne for my Mum's 80th birthday. I booked to return home 2 weeks later.

We had a great time but I didn't get out with my camera as much as I would have liked.

I did, however, get to Melbourne city for some night shots. 

Looking down the Yarra River from Princess Bridge...

Looking back the other way...

Anyone for a bike ride??

 The spire of the Arts Centre was dressed in pink.

St Paul's Cathedral

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Casurina Beach Reflections

"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature's simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard."

~ Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

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Skywatch Friday: Sunset at the Harbour

 “When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator”
- Mahatma Gandhi

And after sunset, there's Blue Hour.

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Wild Bird Wednesday: Great Crested Grebe

While out at Lake Samsonvale a couple of weeks ago, I spied a bird I have never seen before; a Great Crested Grebe. I was just a little excited.

These shots are heavily cropped due to this bird being rather elusive! Make sure you enlarge the images so you can see them better

Linking with Stewart's meme.

Autumn Beauty & Gratitude

Since buying my camera as therapy and as my "happy place", I have developed brand new eyes.

I have always seen the beauty in the world around me but I now notice and appreciate it even more so; both in the bigger picture,

 ... and in the smallest and seemingly insignificant things.

I've always noticed colours and textures but I now see those with new eyes. The gift of photography has further developed and strengthened my sense of gratitude and wonder.

This new found depth of focus is the positive amongst the negative of my chronic illnesses and the residual injuries from the car accident back in Nov 2009.

You see, gratitude can be found in even the most difficult of places. You only have to look.

More posts on the topic of gratitude can be found HERE.

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Tweed Valley, NSW

On my husband's rostered days off, we try to get out and explore places we haven't been before. Working in retail means he doesn't get a "normal" weekend.

As Brisbane is only an hour drive from the Queensland/New South Wales border, we often head south and explore Northern NSW. 

One of the areas of Northern NSW that I had been wanting to explore is the Tweed Valley. We headed down the M1 and, after crossing the state border, traveled on the Tweed Valley Way with plenty of "Pull over!!!" stops on the way.

Lunch stop at the small town of Tumbulgum on the Tweed River. That's Mt Warning in the distance.

This looks like a perfect spot to lay out the picnic rug.

Old Sugar Mill on the right... We are planning to head back down soon to explore this particular spot a bit more.

Finally at Murwillumbah we took a little side track to find a nice spot for sunset. I love the layers of mountains.

This looks like a good spot for sunset...

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