Lunch with Michael and Sue's friends

It's always so lovely to catch up with this beautiful group of people.  We had the most delicious lunch at the Little Snail in Pyrmont.  It offers a three course menu and I chose mushroom and spinach crepe, kangaroo steak and chocolate mousse.  Absolutely delicious!

Balmoral lunch with Michael

 Grilled calamari, prawns and fish with Michael at Balmoral. I got some snaps of Balmoral but forgot to get a photo of Michael and I.

Slideshow for Michael

I did an end of life slideshow for Michael, Sue's wonderful brother, for when he eventually passes, hopefully a very long time from now.  It was really fun immersing myself in his favourite memories and photos.  Really soul enriching. At, the end of the day, we are all stories wrapped in skin and it was lovely getting to know his story.

Lunch with Michael and Sue's friends, after pottering at Wendy's Secret Garden

Michael's 80th birthday

Michael held his birthday celebration at the Macquarie Cemetery for which he was mercilessly teased in the speeches. I had a super time and had some great conversations with people I hadn't met before including someone who, like me, had recently returned from Antarctica.

Lunch with Michael and Sue's old friends

 

Email to Michael after getting back from Cape Town

Hi there Michael

I've just got back from a wonderful month in South Africa. It was so great to spend quality time with my family. I also got to do lots of hiking with my sister and friend, Russell, including an epic hike in The Cedarberg.

One of the most exciting things for me was getting back into my bird photography in a big way. South Africa has incredible birds. I was yet again bowled over by my new camera and how easy it made it to get wonderful shots of birds in focus. I wanted to share one specific highlight which you can see it here.  It was a priceless experience for me and one that my camera allowed me to capture easily and immortalise. Once again, I'm so thankful to you for making it possible.

It would be lovely to meet up for lunch or coffee sometime if you are free and catch up. I do so enjoy our conversations.

By the way, Antarctica is happening now in March. We're doing it a bit later because we're going on a longer trip including South Georgia and the Falklands to.  A dream.

Talk soon

G

Letter to Michael

Sorry I haven't been in contact like I said I would.  Life has been unbelievably hectic for really wonderful reasons I wanted to share as it involves you directly!

You'll remember Sue went to both the Arctic and Antarctic on her travels and they were the best travel experiences of her life. Her eyes would light up whenever she spoke of her adventures there and her photos were unbelievable.  I got to edit her photos from both places and dreamed of going myself one day.  However, the cost of getting on the ship  is very, very high and I wondered if I would ever get the chance.

Then, out of the blue, an educational company who a good friend works for contacted me and asked me if I'd like to go on an Arctic expedition with them as  their nature photographer and researcher - totally for free!!   If the trip is a success, there will be the chance to go to Antarctica too and several other destinations around the world.  An absolute dream come true!!

The only challenge was that I needed to have the latest, mirrorless camera and my camera and some of my lenses are very out of date.  

So, thanks to your amazing generosity, I was able to go out and get all the photographic equipment I need. Without it, I would really have struggled to afford it. The process of deciding which camera and lenses to get has been unbelievably exciting.

I've had a chance to really get to use the new camera and lenses over the past few weeks and it's blown me away with what it can do. It somehow knows when you are photographing an animal and focuses on the animal's eyes without you having to do anything. It's total magic and takes all the stress out of photographing wildlife.  Photographing polar bears is going to be a cinch with it.

So I just wanted to thank you again for all you've enabled . I appreciate it more than words can say.  I know Sue, wherever she may be, will be absolutely and thoroughly delighted too.  I really have a wonderful sense of that.

I leave for the Arctic tomorrow and will be away 3 weeks or so.  When I get back, I'd love to take you out for lunch and regale you with my adventures and show you some of my photos.

I hope you are doing really well.

G