The Bride Wore Blue & Giveaway Update

















Here's Hoping The Bride Wears Blue


As luck would have it my television finally gave up the ghost.. Well colour that is.. I have a lovely black & white screen with a hint of blue.. So here's hoping black blue and white are the colours of the day. If not I'm sure I'll see plenty of posts tomorrow to fill me in on the real deal.






Giveaway Update

In the spirit of the day.. or at least my telly's day.. I've included another print choice in my giveaway options.. Rainy Day in Sydney.. Conveniently in black, blues and a touch of beige.. [OK breaking the rules.. my telly doesn't have beige] If you haven't already entered.. My giveaway post can be found [here]






Have fun all you Royal Wedding Watchers














IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
Bride in Blue: www.weddingsimple.net
Rainy Day In Sydney: [beingRuby©]





Come Rain or Shine






















Sunshine


Hi Everyone.. Just popping in to say hello .. Well it's been raining kats & kittens here in Sydney. Rain for days on end with just an occasional burst of sunshine.. so I thought I'd share a little Sydney sunshine with you.. Shots from last summer and walks around the bay..  Would you believe all these gorgeous colours are the real deal.. no photoshop editing here.. just nature at it's best. 




Hope you are having a lovely week
Come Rain or Shine








Giveaway Reminder
Closes May 6 [Sydney Time] [click here to enter]











IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
All Photography, Text & Artwork [beingRuby©]

I Want To Be In Pictures















Shirley


For today's Texture Tuesday Challenge, I thought I'd play around with this photo of my mum,  as today would have been her 80th birthday..  Impossible to fathom really as for me she will be forever young. This is one of my favourites of her..  lovingly restored by my brother.. and spruced up a little more by me using various photoshop techniques and subtle layers of Kim Klassen's beautiful textures.. 'Luminous' [top shot] and today's texture challenge 'Serendipity' [2nd shot]..  Textures effects need not always be dramatic to make a difference.. In both these cases.. the subtle application of texture add light and sparkle to an already glamorised image..  and give it that 'lift' I was looking for. 


Perhaps taken in the 50's, the original photo has a hand painted finish as they were apt to use back then.. [the 'vintage' version of photo textures and layering]  resulting in that glamorous feel evocative of film star portraits of that time.. Of course as a child I just thought my mother had been a movie star in her youth.. and I guess.. for me she was.. [the Claudette Colbert hairstyle helped too!!]


My mum's birthday and ANZAC Day fell side by side in the calendar and were jointly celebrated in our family. Perhaps ironic now, my memories of both entwined, the ANZAC Ode seems to speak of both.









So before I go..


Please pop over and visit  Kim's Texture Tuesday Challenge and see what others have been up to..



I'm also joining in on Touch Up Tuesdays over at Paper Camera..
More photoshop fun to be had there




Giveaway Reminder

If you missed it.. I'm having a Giveaway of one of my prints. So far there are two to choose from but I have in mind a third which will go up in the next few days.. To enter.. visit and comment on my Easter Giveaway Post




Have a lovely Tuesday everyone
Especially my fellow Aussies who are celebrating a day off!!








IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
Vintage Photo from the family library of [beingRuby©]




Easter Giveaway: Give Me Candy























A Candy Coloured Giveaway



Hi Everyone.  Hope you are having a lovely Easter..  Just to sweeten the celebrations, I thought I'd give out the candy a day early ...   Yes the long awaited blog birthday giveaway is here... and as I had such lovely feedback on the candy colours in my Easter Show post [here] I decided candy colours would be the flavour of the day. The winner gets to choose from any of the three prints below.  
























Changing My View


As you can see in the top images,  I've been playing around with my favourite Palm Tree.  It's been a rainy day here in Sydney and set to last the week.. so if I can't change the view out my window, then I'll just create some new ones via photoshop.. I think they have a sort of Missoni Beach Towel Stripe thing going.. In an odd candy coloured Limony Snicket kind of way. All variations of my Palm Tree you see above.. That's the great thing about photoshop... it allows me to unleash my mind onto the unsuspecting public. haha [cue wicked laugh].. NOW. onto the giveaway... 




Giveaway Rules


Don't you hate rules!!! Well they'll be simple


For 1 Entry:     You only need to leave a comment on this post to enter the draw

But if you would like more chances:

For 2 Entries:   If you are a follower .. Leave a  2nd comment letting me know
For 3 Entries:   Mention my giveaway on your blog or sidebar & leave a 3rd comment to let me know



Entries Close: midnight May 6 [Sydney Time]





        





Meanwhile



Thanks a bunch to all of you ... commenters ... followers & lurkers alike!!


Hope these palm trees have brought a smile to your face
For more smiles head over to  Sarah @ A Beach Cottage  for Feel Good Wednesday

Also
I've added an additional print to the giveaway choices..
Rain Rain Go Away.
Couldn't help myself!!








IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
All Photography, Text & Artwork [beingRuby©]


To The Moon Alice: Wishing Moon












My love of Bella Luna began as a small child. Awoken by her brilliant light.. I would tiptoe to the window, draw back the curtain and gaze upon her face. This was my quiet time.. my time to dream and travel on imaginary journeys..  My time to wish upon the moon.

I'd wonder where she had been this night, what places had she seen & if I sent her my wishes, would she take me on her travels, off into the night sky, across the the aquas and blues of the endless oceans, to arrive in lands where rooftops held mystery and chimney pots magic. In my dream world, streets were paved with glistening seas and floating carriages to transport me on my journey.. Buildings were adorned with jewelled tiaras and soft swirling gowns dipping their hems in the water's edge. I'd wonder if such places could exist. Were they only products of my luna vigil? Perhaps one day I would travel. With my moon to guide me, would I meet others too, who looked upon her beauty and dreamt of wonderous lands?

As I left childhood behind Bella Luna did not forget me. She kept my wishes in her pocket and carried them with her throughout the years and across the dark night skies. Each full moon, she would visit my dreams and sprinkle some of those childhood hopes into my nightly slumber. Just a little each time.. just enough to spark a memory of that child, looking out the window, dreaming of worlds to discover. 



As fairy Tales Go..  
I did travel out into the world to find ...






























Welcome


To The Moon Alice
April 2011



This month begins my third year of posting 'To The Moon Alice' so I thought I'd provide a linky tool  and would love for you to join in and share the moon from your corner of the world.  If photography's not your thing, maybe there is something else you wish to share; art, poems, facts.. fables..  [if not your own work please credit the original artist].. That's it.. I think!! Let's just give it a go and see if there is any interest. 



But most importantly, get out there and see the full moon and


Make A Wish








PS: Giveway WILL be coming soon [promise!!]
& THANKS for the lovely comments on my last post
As you can see I'm still mad about the stripes!!









IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
All photography, text and artwork [beingRuby©]
Rooftops: Paris, Venice and Sans Souci Beach, Sydney














:I hope you'll join us: Please link to your post in question and provide a link back to this post .. and.. have fun!

Roll Up Roll Up It's Showtime in Sydney


























Easter In Sydney


Hi Everyone. As autumn starts to settle here in Sydney we are once again blessed with what I like to call Easter Sunshine.. [in between bouts of rain that is !!] A diffused dappled light much kinder than the harsh glare of summer and apt to trick my brain into thinking spring is arriving.. Blame the sunshine.. Blame Easter! 

Being brought up with a confusing mix of English traditions and American television .. my thinking can't help but fall in line with our northern cousins.. Thoughts of spring, ducklings and those faux faberge candy eggs. You know.. The ones that came dangerously close to chipping a tooth or two. Yes those and all the other trappings of a Springtime Easter come to mind... 

So when armed with the task of creating  prints for a friend, I found these  springtime candy colours influencing the outcome.  It did get a little addictive [or should I say OCD] ... I created more iterations than you could poke a stick at.. Andy Warhol himself would have been proud.. Problem now is I can't choose.. and every new image is also getting the 'candy treatment'..  [and the multiple iterations].. So forgive the repetition ... And..




Let's get on with the show!! 








The Royal Easter Show



One Easter tradition that is pure Aussie ... is a visit to the yearly agricultural show .. or as we call it.. 'The Royal Easter Show'. People from all over the state gather to display their agricultural goods and livestock. Originally a trade show 'bringing the country to the big city', the event was housed within the grounds and historic buildings of Moore Park and the Hordon Pavillion.

My memories of this childhood event are partially my own.. and partially some imagined world populated by stories and images passed down by my mum.. A phantom fairground populated with the mums and dads of the 40's era. Hawkers plying their trade on Sideshow Alley, antiquated merry-go-rounds singing some long forgotten warbled song and freckle faced kiddies greedily savouring the remnants of fairy-floss smeared across their dust ridden cheeks.

All my memories include a soft hazy light which in truth were dust storms created by the footfalls of the ever moving crowds. A constant procession to no particular place, but seemingly always in search of the next exciting moment. At days end those same procession of show goers would quicken their pace, rushing to the grand arena, in hope of securing a place in the stands. For nightfall would be bring the best spectacle of all.. the fireworks!!!  Perhaps that is what the hazy glow of my memories was.. the  phosphorous scented cloud of a spent fireworks display.

Sadly, all too soon, the business called show business, would shut up their shopfronts and the tired and disheveled show goers would join the even longer procession making their way back to the family Holden. No one remembers the drive home.. well at least not we kids.. I sure hope my dad did!

The show now resides at Sydney Olympic Park.. Filled to the brim with displays, thrill rides and sideshow alleys... It is now bigger than ever... and as you would expect.. so is the entry fee. However it has lost it's charm for me... Perhaps it's the lack of grit and dust, but those sentimental memories are now nowhere to be found.. My memories are left to roam alone through the grounds of Moore Park  and our childhood laughter to echo in the empty halls of the Hordon Pavillion, searching for the perfect candy ladened showbag.













Have Fun This Weekend









And Don't forget 

The Full Moon is Monday, 18th April [Sydney Time] & 'To The Moon Alice' goes global.
I'll be including a linky tool for anyone wants to join in








IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS
All photography, text and artwork [beingRuby©]
Photos of Royal Easter Show are from my visit 2010
[ya think!!]


FOOTNOTE: 
In response to Susan [Giulia]: Moore Park is now the home of Fox Studios and Markets.  Some of the original structures still stand today and never fail to bring back these lovely memories for me. I'll try and get some shots for a future post.