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Aussie Life Series: Darling Harbour on a Friday Afternoon

25 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Deep Thoughts, Photography

I’ve been tagging some of my photos #AussieLife in instagram which simply shows life in Australia. I’m celebrating my 7th year of living here next month and it still gives me goosebumps at the realization that I live in Sydney. I love this beautiful city. I love how laidback this country is. Life here is not without heartaches and struggles but I’m always be grateful for the blessing of being here.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a quiet afternoon at Darling Harbour. It is one of my favourite places in the city. It has immensely changed with the development of the Tumbalong Park and the new dining district Darling Quarter that boosts of several restaurants.

Here are few photos of that lovely afternoon. While things may have progressed in Darling Harbour, the laidback lifestyle still remains.

At Darling Quarter. This place is a mixture of business and leisure establishments. They made this park for kids and kids-at-heart. They have two tables for those who would like to play table tennis which proves to be a good diversion for professionals during break from work.

At another park of the park in Darling Quarter. People sitting on chairs, relaxing. Some are with friends chatting, some are listening to music or reading quietly.

The Beer O’Clock Crowd. Being a Friday, some people get off work as early as 3:30pm and have a drink with friends.

Relaxing by the Harbour. This is one of my favourite spots in Sydney. It’s just beautiful to sit here and enjoy the lovely little harbour and blue skies.

Blue Harbour. Australia’s got the bluest skies you’ll ever see. I never get tired of saying that as much as I never get tired of looking at the blue skies here.

The Seagull. He willingly paused so I can take a photo of him. You know the movie “Finding Nemo”? Those birds that kept saying “Mine, mine, mine!” were inspired by the seagulls in Australia. There are tons of them in Sydney and they like eating chips. And sometimes I do imagine them saying “Mine, mine, mine!” when we throw out food to them.

It is normal to see a stroller parked in front of a restaurant. Parents sometimes leave baby strollers in front of restaurants due to space concerns and that’s okay.

The Happy Hour Crowd. Happy clicking of beer bottles, wine and cocktail glasses are in full swing as soon the sun sets.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Sydney in my photographs. Till next time!

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Bathurst (NSW, Australia)

29 August 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Food, Photography, Restaurants, Travel, Wanderlust Wednesdays

Went on a day trip to Bathurst while my Mom was here. We gathered up our other friends and rented a bus for the day so everyone won’t have to stress about driving to and from. Bathurst is lovely and quiet town with pretty houses, vast wineries and friendly people.

Something about Bathurst:

Bathurst is a regional city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately 200 km west of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council.

Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia^[2] and has an estimated population of 34,303 people.^[1]Bathurst City is the 29th largest population area of the 135 regional NSW population areas in 2009. Residents of Bathurst are known as “Bathurstians”.

Bathurst is often referred to as Gold Country as it was the site of the first gold discovery and where the first gold rush occurred in Australia.^[3] Today it is education, tourism and manufacturing that drive the economy. Internationally known racetrack Mount Panorama is also a landmark of the city. Bathurst has a historic city centre with many buildings remaining from the gold rush period of the mid to late 1800s. {source}

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Bathurst (NSW, Australia)

What we did in Bathurst:
Sightsee. We walked around the town when we arrived in Bathurst. Took a lot of photos of structures made of beautiful architecture.

_MG_087Wanderlust Wednesdays: Bathurst (NSW, Australia)2

We saw the Mount Panorama Circuit, a motor racing track where the Bathurst 12 Hour race is held every February. There were a fair bit of bikers that waved hello to us when they saw me taking their photos.

We had lunch at a park on top of Mount Panorama. Together with family and friends we had a feast of home cooked meals.

P1170Wanderlust Wednesdays: Bathurst (NSW, Australia)567

Taste their wine. Our bus driver was able to find a winery company which accommodated us on a Saturday. The owners of Mt Panorama Winery (117 Mountain Straight Mt Panorama, Bathurst) welcomed us with happy smiles and lots of wine bottles to taste.

Even their dog was friendly enough to join us during the wine tasting. She even stayed still so I can take a photo of her.

The Husband had to pat her goodbye before we left.

Have coffee, pie and ice cream. When in Bathurst, visit Annie’s Ice Cream Parlour right on the corner of George and Church Streets. The restaurant’s theme brought us back to the 60’s as Elvis and other popular icons’ photos from the 60’s era are found on the walls of the shop. They make good coffee and serve homemade ice cream (must try!). And this was where I got to taste the best apple pie ever!

Their apple pie’s filled with chunky and sweet apple slices, it was sooooo good. Served hot and perfect with a sprinkle of icing sugar and cream on the side.

On our way to Bathurst:
I always enjoy the scenic routes of any travel in Australia during road trips. With the bluest skies and vast landscapes, I’m always in awe of the beautiful sceneries outside of my window.

We had a quick stopover at Echo Point, Katoomba in Blue Mountains. This was where we had morning tea so we took this opportunity to marvel at the fog surrounding the Three Sisters Mountain.

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Saturday’s Sunset

13 August 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Photography

Although I’m getting tired of winter already, I have to admit that, for me, this year’s winter is not that bad. We’ve been experiencing lots of sunshines and blue skies this season and it’s wonderful.

When you have good weather during the day, it may mean a great sunset at the end of the day. Saturday did not fail us. For a few minutes, the sky showed a spectacular ray of pink and blue hues. It was a beautiful way to end my productive but relaxing day.

Vivid Sydney 2012

28 June 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 6 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Photography, The Married Life, Travel

Hooray! This is my 1,000th post in this blog! I just have to acknowledge that because I never thought I’d keep up with this blog for a long time. Just a quick thank you to readers and people who pass by AWCL. I sometimes wonder why I still do this but knowing that there are people who read and learn from things I share is something that inspires me to continue and soldier on. So thank you. Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day browsing thru my articles, appreciating my photographs and joining me in my travel and food adventures.

Since this is my 1,000th post, I would like to share one of my favourite events, the Vivid Sydney.

Vivid Sydney is Sydney’s 3-week celebration of light, music and ideas. It is a way to promote art and encourage people to come out and enjoy the sights and sounds of Sydney during winter time. Every year, more and more people come to see Vivid Sydney. Even tourists visit the city just to see this.

Vivid Sydney has become a tradition for us. Since 2009, we’ve been coming to see this event so we can enjoy the city at night and revel in art. This year, we went twice. We had a bit of disappointment with the Lighting of the Sails (Sydney Opera House) because we found it a bit “un-vivid” and boring. However, the light projections on Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Customs House and Argyle Street Tunnel were stunning. There were over 50 interactive and immersive light art sculptures all around Circular Quay and The Rocks area which we enjoyed too.

The light projections on Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

The light projections on Customs House.

Light installations in Circular Quay and The Rocks.

This light installation lights up in some areas when you place your hands on a platform.

This reminds me of an onion.

This one’s a friend from the sea.

A giant Tic Tac Toe.

Hop Skotch, anyone?

The Colour Cubed which the kids loved because they can rotate it by hand.

I’m fascinated with lights. I remember when I travelled to Dubai and arrived at one o’clock in the morning, I looked out the window and saw sooooo many lights from above (Me: OMG! Ang daming ilaw!!! I want to live here!). I thought it was such a great welcome. That’s why I love Vivid Sydney–it’s about lights! I’m grateful that the Husband took photos of how much I enjoyed this show.

The Enough Ropelight (by Brian Thomson) installation above me.

This was my favourite. I liked it so much, I wanted one at home haha. Sooooo pretty. I forgot the name though.

Gelato on a winter’s night, anyone? Australia is ice cream country. Other than our passion for coffee and good food, we love our ice cream so much, the city is surrounded by ice cream shops. People wait patiently just to grab a cone or two of ice cream even on a cold night.

I had to get on this platform (which I think was for kids) so I could get the attention of the staff. That’s what you call determination.

The last leg of our Vivid Sydney adventure was at Argyle Street. This one’s called Light Breezers, a playful light show of colour and fabric.

It changed colours every few minutes.

The prettiest light installation was at the tunnel in Argyle Street. This one’s called Argyle in Bloom. I call this my Spring in Winter.

Related Posts:
Vivid Sydney 2009 – Sydney Opera House in a Spectacle of Colours
Vivid Sydney 2010 – Lighting of the Sails of the Opera House, Macquarie Visions
Vivid Sydney 2011 – Lights Up, Sydney!

Lighting for Studio Photography DECODED by John Fick

30 May 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Good Reads, Photography

Our photographer friend John Fick has released his first photography book “Lighting for Studio Photography DECODED” and we are so proud and happy for him.

John Fick is the first Filipino in Sydney to publish a book in photography. The book took him three years to finish and he’s very elated that reception has been very good. The plan was just to launch an ebook but due to emails and requests for a hard copy, John relented and had them printed (Good call, John!).

Inside the Book:

Uprising author John Fick has launched his new “Lighting for Studio Photography DECODED” book which is set to become the standard of studio photography.

John’s book has captured the eyes and minds of budding photographers ranging from beginners to advanced skill set. Lighting for Studio Photography DECODED is a well written illustrative book and teaching tool filled with images, illustrations and diagrams to enable any photographer to skillfully see, capture and shoot the light of a studio set.

GRAB A COPY via the book’s website http://studiolightingphotography.com/

and buy the BOOK or EBOOK.

Lighting for Studio Photography DECODED by John Fick

A day after the first printing of John’s book arrived, we got together at home for high tea and had a few hours of catching up. John is doubly busy now that he is also covering weddings and doing commercial shoots abroad. We seldom see him now. He is still based in Sydney but his photography takes him to different parts of the world.

It was thoughtful of him to give us a book which he claimed, “This is the first book I’ve given out and signed, ha? I even had to buy a special pen for signing.” At natawa naman kami dun.

At talagang mahaba ang dedication (parang slumbook!)
This was just the last bit of his message to us

Other our usual what’s-happening-in-your-life updates and photography tips, he shared with us his plans of having a second book which has a very good concept and we hope it pushes thru. For now, we are enjoying his very useful book and learning more about lighting for photography.

An Afternoon with John Fick