Ripley

Thank you for clarifying this. I wish I hadn't clicked on that link as it made my cry. Still a very sad end to a horse that made his owners a reported $2M or more in prize money. eta: I'm glad I stopped going to the races many years ago and don't even watch the Melb Cup on tv. It started to not sit well with me so I stopped going, only enjoyed the social aspect of dressing up and drinking with girlfriends anyway and we can do that in a bar.

Popping back in to thank you again for your lovely thoughts. I miss her greatly. This was the last photo I took of Mille in early February. Just with my phone. My parrot had decided to fly down and help himself to the brown rice left in her bowl (she'd eaten the meat thankfully). I spotted Millie sitting still and a long, green tail poking behind the door. I think the look on her face says how gentle she was and how even though she's not happy about having her food raided, she was ok to share. Of course, I removed my bird so she could continue with her dinner! We don't have our dogs long enough. Millie was probably over 12 but I've had my parrot for 18 years this year and he will live until about 30 if he stays healthy.

Thank you for you kind words. Wendy, it was lovely to chat to you last week and share our stories of your gorgeous Brianna and my Millie. You think you are fine until something reminds you of them and then the tears start again. If it wasn't for a good friend of mine dragging me out of the house for a few drinks to toast the memory of our dogs (she lost her old boy last year), I'd still be moping about at home. Millie was fine the evening before she passed away, she was playing with her toy and spent the afternoon out in the front yard, sitting on her mat in the driveway while my husband worked on the car. She said hello to a labrador who lives up the street and was her usual happy self. The next morning she was panting a bit. We decided to take her to the vet. Her lungs were full of fluid and the vet gave her two injections, kept her there for observation and said we could take her home and give her the medication he had for her. A few hours later, her tongue went blue, we rushed her back to the vet, but it was too late. She had a very faint pulse when we got there, they did everything they could to save her but her little heart just gave out. The diagnosis was chronic heart failure. Millie had been up the vet twice last year and we had no idea her heart was bad. She'd last been to a vet in October and they had taken her temp and listened to her heart and told me she has a heart murmur, but not serious enough for medication. DIfferent vets told me that over the last few years but they all said it wasn't a major cause to worry, but I made sure she didn't exert herself. She used to sleep a lot during the day but I just put that down to old age. She didn't cough or any of the other symptoms associated with it and that was why it was such a shock. My neighbours have expressed their sympathy that she's gone as she was quite popular with them, always stopping for a pat or letting their dogs say hello. If a dog was rude or pushy towards Millie, she'd walk away, She never growled but showed she just wasn't interested in engaging with them. You go through the 'what ifs' and wonder if you could have done anything. Our vet assured us we did everything right by her.

RIP Millie - 2000(?) to 21 February 2013. Goodbye my darling little dog. Taken so suddenly from us a little over a week ago. I didn't even get time to say goodbye to you or be prepared for the physical and emotional pain that washed over me. I adopted you straight from the pound in 2002. I had the intention of fostering you and rehoming you to a suitable home, as I had done with a few dogs who came before you. I didn't want a permanent companion just yet. I soon realised I couldn't part with you and you stayed with us. You have been such a wonderful companion, charming everyone you met - even those 'strange' people who don't like dogs. You had the most wonderful temperament. Gentle with everyone, young and old and also with every dog and animal you met (you did bark at a cow for some reason, but you loved horses and birds). You loved to play chasings with us and a few special doggie friends you had and how you loved doing the gardening with my husband. So many smells and things to roll in! When I came home from work, we would play hide and seek and you would try and find me. As you grew older, you weren't as good at that game as you were in your younger years so I let you find me more easily. You were a very well travelled girl. You even flew on a plane when we decided to take you to Byron Bay for a holiday one year and you loved your holiday up the Blue Mountains just over a year ago where you got to sleep all day, for several days, in front of the fireplace during winter and come for short walks in the village. Nothing phased you. You were such an easy going pooch. You weren't scared of thunderstorms or fireworks. You never ran off when I let you off lead and you were such a gentle soul. You enjoyed your sleep ins on weekends with us. I am trying to remember the rare times you were naughty. There was the time we left you indoors while we went out, only to come home to find a trail of chocolate bar wrappers leading up the stairs. You had pulled down my backpack and helped yourself to a number of snack size chocolate bars. We rushed you to the emergency vet where you were given something in your eye to make you throw all that chocolate back up. You cost me a bit of money with your sweet tooth there. Your short little legs meant you couldn't get into the garbage bin but you did try a few times. Now you are gone and we don't want to get another dog. I have packed away all your toys, leads and beds and now I stare at the little wooden box engraved with your name that holds your ashes and wonder what to do with them. A few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard your happy barking. It was as if you were in the room with me. I'm crying again as I type this. I will remember you forever and no other dog could ever take your place. Goodbye sweet Millie girl xx Millie in our front yard, helping with the gardening - 2012 Millie and my parrot, Lewis

I was very saddened to hear of Brianna's sudden passing before you posted here and I'm so sorry for you loss. She was a gorgeous girl. I am glad you have the support of family and friends as you truly need it when you go through such a tragedy like this. Hugs to you.

I have one but never use it. I'm lazy but find I don't need one. My 300mm has IS in it and I have very steady hands. My shots are sharp enough, but if they weren't I would def use a monopod.

It was very misty and it's the first time I've tried that app. It was 1.9km of steps. :laugh:

This afternoon we headed to West Head and did a walk down 1km of steps through the bush and back up 1km of steps - pausing on way up to rest as we were stuffed! It was great exercise and worth it. We had the entire little beach to ourselves. It was a misty afternoon so I used the new iphone app I downloaded called 'Vintage B/W'. We made it back to the top just before the thunderstorm hit and it bucketed down. Vintage B/W app A colour one of the same place - steps back up from West Head beach

They are, tlc. I could live there and hope to do so one day. Amazing hiking too.

Nice pics, Anne! Switzerland looks beautiful. I really love the apps you can download to your iphone. I downloaded one I haven't used yet called Vintage b/w. I'll have to take a pic with it next time we venture outdoors. Here's one I took last week. It's Perry's Lookdown in Blackheath (Blue Mts). I snapped this one a bit of the way into the walk down all the steps to the bottom. We walked about 3/4 of the way down, a few hundred steps up and down was enough on a warm day. Hipstamatic app.

No idea, I just love shelties so I took the photo. It was about 3 years ago. I was at the show with an ex member here (jbbb) who was showing her dobe. Possumcorner, I happend to be going to the Easter show when I was told Freya was there so I took some pics. Her owner has them. Couple of years later she goes on to win BIS at the Collie Nationals. Yes, Rosie is her mother.

I have no idea about dog shows or the perfect shots of them running around the ring, I guess it's when their feet are aligned and they look fluid? Be gentle, I really have no clue. :laugh: I went out to the Sydney Royal (the Easter show) about 3 years ago to see a friend who was showing her dog. I used my 70-200mm non IS (which I don’t have anymore). Being the Easter show, there were many people watching the shows and so the railing was erected in a way you couldn’t crouch to shoot through and the dogs would run around in shade as well as full sun. I shot in AV mode and made sure the ISO was high enough for the conditions. I used the continuous mode on my camera, which was a 30D back then. I soon realised some of the handlers of the working breeds move pretty fast. It was the first time I’ve taken photos of dogs at a show and it was pleasant enough, I prefer photographing things that fly and swim though :D I’ve deleted most of the photos in a recent tidy up, but still have a couple left on my computer. Here are a few photos from The Royal back then. This is the gorgeous Freya, a smooth collie who, I have been informed, took our BIS at the Collie Nationals last weekend. As she's such a stunner, here are a couple of photos from the Sydney Royal Easter show mentioned above. being judged (judge on the right) The only other photos was when I went out to a local show to see monelite from DOL and took some photos of her then puppy, Furia for her (this was the only dog I took photos of). Furia is now all grown up and won runner up BOB at the Sydney Royal this year. Hope you enjoy yourself and post some pics if you wish!

Some years ago, Princess Anne received a dangerous dog warning from the council after her bull terrier attacked another dog and bit someone. She was taken to court over it from memory. ' dog boy' lol. Reminds me of Mel Brooks' 'piss boy' to the French royal family in History of the World

Alexandrines live about 30-35 years! I've had him since he was a baby. Generally speaking the larger the parrot, the longer they live. Fortunately he's a very quiet, well behaved bird.

Thanks - that was snapped while he was in the aviary. He's 17 years old this week, darling boy he is! It's a 4. Got it for Christmas so all those pics snapped this year. I love it.

A few more iphone photos Hipstamatic - John S lens, Ina's 1969 film: My Alexandrine parrot London Bridge, Port Cambpell, Vic Snapped these usiing 'Instagram' app on the phone. Catherine Hill Bay, NSW This is a normal, SOC iphone photo with no effects or apps, taken at night, no flash. Smashing Pumpkins concert last month at Ent Centre.

Wow, some lovely photos. I use Hipstamatic and Instagram mostly if I take an iphone photo as it's a bit of fun. I always take my iphone if we are out somewhere scenic, because I don't always want to lug a DSLR with me on a hike. Here are a few I have, uploaded straight out of phone Hipstamatic using 'Ina's 1969 film' Ben Boyd National Park, Eden, NSW (note the orange vignette light leaks the application gives the photos). This is my favourite iphone photo and the wallpaper on my phone's screen. This pic makes me smile as we'd done a 4 hour hike to this deserted little bay, had a swim here and it was a stunning summer's day :) 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road - 'Ina's 1969 film, Jimmy lens' Friendly Ducks - Waring Gardens, Deniliquin NSW - using 'Blanko film' in the Hipstamatic app Pierce's Pass, Blue Mountains Nat Park Pierce's Pass, Blue Mts at sunset - 'John S Lens, Kodok XGrizzled' Dog on the Tuckerbox, Gundagai 'Blanko film' Mum's poodle, Max (all taken using Hipstamatic app)

Gorgeous photos, lovely light in a lot of them. Amazing continent isn't it? The leopard is just beautiful. Chimps scare the crap out of me though. :laugh:

It is very irresponsible and downright dangerous to rehome a dog like this to pass the problem on to someone else. If you moved to the suburbs and your dog killed a pet rabbit, chooks or any other animal I owned (I don't own pet rabbits)in my own back yard then yes, I would want your dog PTS and would definitely report it to council. People and their pets have the right to enjoy their own backyards without the fear of a some neighbour's dog jumping the fence to attack.I'm so sorry Rozzie.

Often there are nesting shore birds on beaches such as sand plovers, who nest in the dunes or other parts of the beach, camoflaged from people but easily sniffed out by dogs. Many times people let their dogs off leash on beaches to run around when they feel they aren't being watched or nobody else is there. Dogs kill nesting shorebird chicks, destroy eggs and nests and frighten the parents away from their nests for good. In NZ last week roaming dogs wiped out an entire colony of endangered fairy penguins. Dogs are not allowed on some beaches to protect wildlife or for other very good reasons.

Hi Kirislin, just wanted to add, did you sharpen up the third one? If you are sharpening a subject in PS, it's best to make a copy (Ctrl J) and apply the sharpening to the subject only using a layer mask with a soft brush. It's really quite simple to do. You can also adjust the sharpening effect for different parts of the bird. That way the background does not become noisy from the sharpening which I think has been the case here. What ISO were you at? Also, I'm not a fan of centred subjects and IMO it looks better if the bird has space to look into. Here is another link which is very informative from the wonderful Arthur Morris' site which is all about bird photography. http://www.birdphotographers.net/ezine/mar08_01.aspx

I cut and pasted from the other thread where I spoke about what I will probably never get the gist of. :laugh: On the positives (this only applies to nature photography as I'm not interested in taking photos of people and I know this isn't what most people on here are interested in, but over the past couple of years: I can read the light. I'm confident using exposure compensation now, it's been an eye opener as I can become more creative using it. I have learned some 'field craft' and found I can get a lot closer to wildlife, sometimes with a wide angle lens to get a different photo. Having steady hands and good balance means I can hand hold a telephoto on a boat rolling about in a swell without holding onto anything and get a sharp shot. (I think years of kitting up in dive gear on a moving boat helped with this).

You'll need a 300mm at least for bird photography, depending where you go. If you go to your local pond you can get much closer, same for backyard birds as they are used to humans. If you want to photograph the more skittish bush birds or wild birds of prey, you'll need longer than 200mm. I have the Canon 300mm f/4 prime and a Canon 1.4 teleconverter but I rarely use the teleconverter as it adds extra weight and I hand hold this lens (it has IS). The Canon 300mm prime is so sharp, I love it. If you get to know some field craft on getting closer to birds and wildlife, you will find a 300mm is perfect. I bought a neoprane cover for mine from Wildlife Watching Supplies in the UK (they also have tips on photographing different species on their website). I bought 'dry grass' here. http://www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk/retail/acatalog/Neoprene_Lens_Covers_1.html They look a bit wankerish but who cares as the cover actually works when approaching I've found and that's what matters. Plus they protect the lens and you can remove different sections so most times I just have half the bits on. I find the cover helps as you aren't approaching wildlife with a big white thing that looks foreign to them (don't wear bright colours yourself either. You don't have to wear khaki but stands to reason you'd avoid wearing red for example). If you want a less expensive option, I think Sigma do a 150-400 lens that has an optical stabiliser in it?

Lovely shots of a tern in flight, CC! Don't you love how seals just sleep all day? :laugh:

Sadly zoos may be the only place to see rhinos in the future. Nearly 200 wild rhinos were poached in South Africa alone last year, it's out of control over there now due to the demand of rhino horn from Vietnam this time as well as China.