Archive for May, 2007
Pinata! Pinata!
I’m in the process of planning my bday party and i’m thinking about having it mexican themed with lots pinatas!
As you can tell by the video, the last party I had with a pinata was great fun and so I want to ramp it up a bit and theme the whole party around them.
Here are some interesting pinata facts:
The Spanish word piñata comes from the Italian word pignatta[1], a pinecone-shaped clay pot (from pigna, “pinecone”).
In the Mexican Catholic celebration of Christmas, the piñata is traditionally shaped like a seven-pointed star which represents the devil and the seven deadly sins, while the contents are the goods or blessings he is withholding. Striking the devil with faith, symbolized by being blindfolded, releases the blessings.[citation needed] While hitting the piñata the following rhyme is sung:
Dale, dale, dale,
No pierdas el tino
Porque si lo pierdes
pierdes el camino.
Dale, dale, dale
Dale y no le dio
Quítenle la prenda
¡Porque sigo yo!!
¡Se Acabó!
¡Sigo yo!
which translates as:
Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
Don’t lose your aim
Because if you lose it (your aim)
You will lose the path.
Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
Hit it, He didn’t hit it
Take away his token
Because it’s now my turn!
It’s Over!
Check out wikipedia for more pinata facts
And here are some fun pinata photos at a pinata wedding party
And here is a rad video game called viva pinata on xbox 360 – Dan highly recommends this one!
I’m thinking about having the party on Saturday June 23 in the city – central for most people. I’ve sent an email to most of you, but if you didn’t get it can you email me and let me know if you can come?
I’m also wanting to find a venue in the city that would allow pinatas to be hung and hit, so i’d love some help finding a place 
Hit it!
A Happy Mother’s day dinner at E’cco bistro in Brisbane
As I had a wedding to film on Sunday, I didn’t get a chance to catch up with Mum for Mother’s Day. Instead, I took Mum and my youngest sister Amanda (who is a mum-to-be), to E’cco bistro for dinner.
It was an amazing menu they had there, definately one of the best restaurants I’ve been to, if not the best.
For entree’s, Mum and I had soup and we all shared…
Sautéed prawns, celeriac panna cotta, crisp prosciutto, shimeji mushrooms & hazelnuts.
and
soy-braised wagyu beef cheek, thai herbs, crispy shallots & garlic.
Then for our mains we had:
Amanda:
1824 grain-fed sirloin, pomme wellington, sauce soubise& wilted spinach.
Mum:
Margaret river lamb loin, roast jerusalem artichokes, baby carrots & garlic cream.
Me:
Grilled white fish, potato écrasée, watercress, fried white bait, preserved lemon & sauce gribiche.
We didn’t have room for dessert, but next time we know to not get carried away with too many entree’s.
The plates were all presented beautifully and the service and atmosphere is great. I highly recommend E’cco for anyone looking for the highest quality food and service in Brisbane City.
Prices: The entree’s were $21.95 and the Mains were $36.95 – definately worth it if you appreciate fine dining.
Happy Mother’s Day Mum! and you too panda!
Beautiful Romanian Wedding in Brisbane
On Sunday, I filmed the beautiful Romanian wedding of Sorin & Persida. Held at the Romanian Penticostal Church, we then did the photoshoot at Roma Street parklands and UQ St Lucia. The reception was at Victoria Park Golf Complex where they had more than 200 guests in the ballroom there.
It was a long day for me, starting at 7:30am, I didn’t finish until 11:30pm. As I was only contracted to film, Sorin’s brother Emmanual from Truly Yours Productions is doing the post production. Emmanual did an amazing photo slideshow, which was presented during the reception, I have no doubts he’ll do an amazing job on his brother’s wedding video. I got about 6 hours of acquired footage.
The photo above was taken with my new Nokia n95 smartphone which features a 5 megapixel digital camera. I don’t think its going to replace my digital slr kit just yet
This is the third Romanian wedding I’ve done, at all three they were extremely hospitable which makes the length of the job less of an issue. I look forward to my next one.
My First Ever Podcast – Yay! Featuring Anna Weatherup
I’ve just spent a day with my close friend in Anna Weatherup, I helped Anna with setting up her website, her myspace page, audio clips and image conversion.
As it was a rare day off for me, I took the opportunity to also do something I’ve always wanted to do and that is create and setup a podcast. I’m using a plugin for WordPress (this blog platform) called PodPress. Like most plugins for WordPress it is open source and works seamlessly with the WordPress admin control panel.
Anna recently launched her first CD in Townsville and my last post about this promised a podcast so I’m happy to say, i’ve finally got it here live.
I recorded on video our conversation for you to view, i’ve provided both the video and audio here for download, please feel free to make any comments, criticisms or give feedback about my first take of podcasting.
Here are the files for you download or play – You may either stream or download the AUDIO version or you may download the VIDEO version. Let me know what you think!
Feel free to check out the site I setup for Anna at annaweatherup.com and add Anna as your friend at myspace.com/annaweatherup.com
An Ethical Fashion Showcase – Jorge, Brisbane
Last night I was invited to shoot at the Ethical Fashion Showcase at Jorge in Brisbane.
This event was a showcase of some of the hot Australian fashion designers such as Maiocchi, Romance was born, Limedrop, Poke, Mother Mania, Two Beat Tremble, One Colour and more. Demonstrating that making ethical decisions in fashion doesn’t mean you can’t create amazing designs. Organised to provoke the thoughts of consumers, designers and manufacturers alike the idea that using humane methods of production and environmentally responsible products can be quite innovative and stylish.
With Channel 9′s Melissa Downes presenting, this was an event organised by the Queensland Fair Trade Collective as part of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Once again I got to shoot the beautiful Diana (Dee-anna) Rodriguez, whom i’ve worked with quite a few times now. Diana is part of the Viviens Models agency.
How I actually found out this event was from meeting another beautiful girl in Tarquin whom I met at the Southbank markets after she tried to sell me a headband. She sent me the invite and after getting the ok to shoot from Kelly from the Queensland Fair Trade Collective, I was on my way. So once again proving that networking opportunities are everywhere!
I had a quick look at some other designers who are working both ethically and concious of the environment I found this post about Nudie organic denim jeans on the kitmeout.com fashion blog. Check it out, there are some interesting posts and articles on there.
If you have any other links, resources or some general comments about my photos or this topic, register now to comment on my blog. Click on the “register” link on the bottom right hand side.
Check out the photos for the Ethical Fashion Showcase
About these photos, I was using my external flash as it was quite dark. Most shots were taken at ISO800 at 1/200sec and f5.6 However that first 5 or so shots taken were taken at f2.5 but my flash position (bounced off the roof) caused unwanted shadow which is why I changed to bouncing the flash off the wall instead.