That thing when...

... you click on your child's school Twitter feed, hoping to see a picture of them enjoying themselves on their week away doing Wholesome Outdoor Activities, but knowing it's something of a fool's errand because previous experience has shown that they are clearly working on their camera avoidance skills (perhaps they have a great future ahead as a spy?), as they NEVER appear on photos on these trips. Every other child in the class seems to appear with impressive regularity, but yours?  No.

Yes - I know all about that.

But this year, bloggie mates, I made Arrangements to Deal with It.

This year, I bought said child a red baseball hat, and ensured that not one but two red fleeces made it into the suitcase.  Not only would he be visible - if he DID make it into the shot - but based on my admittedly limited understanding of what teachers look for when they point and shoot, a child in a bright colour makes a much better subject than one in navy, black or dark grey.

I know - it's a long shot.  Truthfully, I never really thought it would work.

Today, however, I clicked on the school's feed and there he was; Boy #2 in a starring role kayaking, on climbing walls, hanging out with his mates whilst waiting for another day of Wholesomeness Outdoors, and so on.  All the while in red hat, fleece, or both.

Well, friends, that did it; I got cocky and decided that if Boy #2 was so highly visible then his older brother - far less camera-shy - must be visible in at least a couple of photos of HIS school trip.

But no.  Not a whiff of him, kayaking, climbing or otherwise.  And you know why?  No red baseball hat, no red fleece, that's why.

Lesson learned.

The Photo Gallery 231: Landscape

This post is for Wk 231 of Tara's Photo Gallery over at Sticky Fingers (click here to see the other entries).  The prompt this week is 'Landscape'.

At the beginning of last year, we were lucky enough to visit New Zealand; what a magnificent place.

I've been fortunate in my life and have travelled through all sorts of interesting landscapes, but I have to say that New Zealand currently holds top billing for me - and here are a couple of examples why...

Lake Gunn, Fiordland National Park, South Island

Mitre Peak at Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, South Island

The view from Te Mata Peak, North Island

The mountains behind Kaikoura, South Island

A geyser pool at Rotorua, North Island (and no - those are not my children swimming in it...)

I could go on, but I think you may have got the picture by now...

On the 5th Day of Advent...

... this was my walk home after dropping the Boys at school.

And, most likely, it will look almost identical when I walk them home after picking them up this afternoon...

The Gallery Wk 125: Colour

This post is for Wk 125 of Tara's Gallery (click here to see the other great entries), and the prompt this week is 'Colour'.

A couple of weeks back I was given the opportunity to exhibit some of my photographs at a small event in my neighbourhood.  I was nervous - putting yourself and your interpretation of images out there for criticism is never easy - but went ahead with it and to my amazement, even made some sales.  Most of those photographs I've already posted on this blog at some point, so won't repeat them again here - despite the fact that they perfectly fit with today's prompt.  But there was one lady who wanted a photograph that I didn't have, of a specific building in downtown Moscow to give to some friends.

I promised her I would do what I could to get the right image and a few days later travelled into town on a bitterly cold grey November day to give it a go.  The light was terrible.  The cold was so raw that there was practically nobody around as I walked across Ploschad Revolutsi (Revolutionary Square) to the Bolshoi - the building she was hoping I could photograph for her.  My hands were freezing; I had forgotten to bring glove warmers, so within 5 minutes of starting to take photographs my Reynaud's Syndrome had kicked in and my fingers resembled a dead person's.  (Don't worry - that's not the photograph I'm going to show you).  But I took as many photographs as I could before my camera battery went on strike from the cold*,  and hoped for the best.

I wasn't totally happy with the results and went back a few days later when the sun WAS shining to retake some of the shots.  But guess what?  My customer preferred one of the photographs from the grey and overcast day.  And here's why...

* Another lesson learned is that camera batteries go flat very quickly in the cold.  My thanks to Heather at Not From Lapland, my guru on all things cold-weather related, who has told me that the answer is to keep a spare battery cosily tucked into your bra for this very situation.  Who knew?

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

So I've committed to showing some of my photos at a very low key art fair in a couple of weeks time.  You know - the type where people might actually pay money to buy pictures that I've taken.  I must be bonkers, putting myself on the line like this but I suppose it's one way of keeping myself entertained...

Interesting how having that kind of deadline can focus the mind on just how few images you actually have in your portfolio - so yesterday I went out and took some more.  I still don't have enough - but it's a start.

The Gallery: Everyday

This post is for Wk 104 of Tara's Gallery; click here to see all the other entries.

The prompt for this week's gallery is 'The Everyday'.  I toyed with showing you photos of exercise books and musical instruments (I'm attempting to impose some kind of structure on our long summer holidays by ensure that 5 days in 7 the Boys do some kind of school work, boring mum that I am), or even just showing you a bowl of Weetabix but really, there is no question what a photograph of every day life in Moscow should show you.

It's not pretty, I warn you.

Even in the relatively quieter summer holidays, this is what you will probably encounter on any trip, anywhere, on wheels in Moscow.

You develop coping skills, obviously.  If you're lucky, you have a driver to take the pain (we don't).  You choose your music carefully; there's no point listening to heavy rock or nerve-jangling jazz when you can only inch along at 5 kilometers per hour.  You always make sure to have a bottle of fresh water with you, and that everyone has used the loo before you leave the house.  You build in a hefty margin of extra time; if you get there early, great.  Essentially, you prepare for the worst, so things can only be as bad as you expected or better.

Then, you climb in the car, do everything possible to maintain your cool, and you set off.  In Moscow's defence, being stuck in traffic is for some reason nowhere near as stressful here as it is back home.  People allow you to change lanes, for starters.  More often than not, those you let into traffic in front of you acknowledge that fact with a flash of their hazard lights.  Everyone is in the same boat, after all - no point getting aggressive about it (a fact that for some reason seems to escape many drivers caught in jams back in Western Europe, who take things all far too personally).

But however you handle it, this - sadly - is 'the everyday' for anyone who needs to get anywhere by road* in Moscow.


*Since Moscow is huge and the metro - whilst fantastic - has long distances between stops and doesn't serve large sections of the outskirts of the city, that's pretty much everyone...

Silent Sunday

And this is why I don't post photographs of my children...

I admit it; from time to time, I check the stats for The Potty Diaries.  I try not to, really I do, but every now and again* curiosity gets the better of me and I take a peek.  I know you're not supposed to, not if you want to maintain any sense of perspective, but I can't help myself.  Not that a good or a bad answer changes what I write about, or the way I write it, it's just... good to know.

I'm not making excuses for this, mind you. Any blogger who wants to be remotely professional about their online presence should probably be aware of their approximate number of readers etc.  In any case, I'm only sharing this information to explain how today I happened to come across a search term that somebody out there used to land on The Potty Diaries recently.

It was a collection of words, all of which I had used separately and perfectly innocently at different times, in different posts, but which strung together made my blood run cold.

And that is why I don't post pictures of my children.


* For which read 'at least twice a week'*.  Yes, I'm a numbers wh*re...