Were you interested in science at school?

Were you interested in science at school? I was!

Recently I was asked by a friend on Google+ if I would mind if her son (in Year 7) could interview me as part of a school science project. The project involved speaking with with someone working in science. I was chuffed to be asked and I received a sheet of 12 questions. I had fun putting the answers together and I thought I might share them.

1. What is the best thing about your job and why?
The best thing about my job is that I get to colour in. OK, there’s the cool technology and the high-end computing gear and the conversations with bright people who really understand their scientific specialities. That and the thought that you’re doing something useful and in a way that will be helpful to the people that come after you.

2. When and how did you become interested in science?
I think I’ve always liked science. I have always been interested in the way things work but as I got older I became more interested in the way things work together … the relationships things (and people!) have with each other … the way they interact.

3. Were you interested in science at school?
I was! I was very lucky to have teachers* who were not only interested in science but helped to teach me to think scientifically. I learned that science is not a thing you learn, a subject for memory but a way that you learn … a method if you like. Sure, we did simple experiments at school but most importantly it taught us how to think. You asked if I attended a private school? I did not … public education all the way.

4. Have you won any awards for being a scientist & if so what were they?

Not for the science or research. I have won awards for the contributions my team’s work has made to much larger projects. A lot of what I do is create block for other people to place together to create something else.

5. What qualifications did you need for your job?
I required university qualifications in natural sciences and many years of information technology experience to do well in my job. I have a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University. Another important part of my work is explaining to others what my area does and I’m a skilled communicator.

6. What is computer mapping and remote sensing?
Gosh … how long have we got?
Computer mapping (or GIS (Geographic Information Systems)) is making database recording not only what something is (tree, light pole, drain, road, house etc) but where it is in relation to something else (on top of, next to, 100m away from, north of etc). Measuring the where of the object and how it relates to the where (or spatial location) of another object is very time-consuming and fiddly. Computers (and GPS (Geographic Positioning Systems)) enable us to make those calculations very quickly and so representing & mapping those relationships becomes much easier.
Remote sensing refers to measuring the nature or properties of something from a distance rather than directly. There are many remote sensing platforms and sensors … some slung beneath aircraft or helicopters or mounted on satellites. These sensors measure all sorts of things; light, reflectivity, radiation, magnetics. The information they collect is filtered and processed and then overlaid over data and information to again look at the relationship between things. Not only the relationships but, perhaps more importantly how the things measured change over time.

7. What type of discoveries have you made?

I haven’t made any discoveries per se. I have helped to document and report relationships between ecosystems and natural resources (eg forests and water and salinity)

8. Are you passionate about your work or is it just a job?
That changes. Mostly I’m passionate about it … I do care about the quality of the work I do and ensuring that it’s useful to others to include in their work. Other times the repetitive nature of science based work (using the same tried and true technique over and over again to ensure consistent results – there is a lot of that in science-based work!) seems a drag and it becomes a job. That said, I believe what I do is important and makes a contribution.

9. Why does this type of science interest you?

I think I mentioned colouring in. The natural world is everywhere and we really don’t understand it … sure, we get bits and pieces of it and there are lots of people studying separate pieces of it very intensely but overall we don’t know how and why it does what it does. That we don’t know is what interests me.

10. Do you do experiments as well or do you just do research?

Not experiments in the ‘test-tube’ sense but we do put forward hypothesis, develop methods, test them, analyse results and then report them … so I guess we do :). Research? Always researching.

11. Have you done other types of science before?
No, not really … it’s all kinda scientific. I just want to say again what I said earlier … that science is not something to be learned but much more a way of thinking.

12. What do you want to achieve in your career?
It’s not a career more than a lifelong journey of discovery and (hopefully) understanding what goes on around me.

*thank you to teachers Lavers, Quodling, MacFarlane, Roxby, Scown, & Roseby :-)


Links:

Australian Science Communicators

Questacon - The National Science & Technology Centre


With These Hands I Will Make The World

wpid531-20120218_NIKON-D80__DSC7958.jpg

With these hands I will dig

and hold

circle

and fold

shape

and grow

caress, create

with these hands I will make the world

wpid540-20120218_NIKON-D80__DSC7953.jpg

Out in the backyard, playing in the dirt ... the simple joys of finding a creature alive in the soil. Then crushing it and loving it until it's alive no more ... I hope that if there is some kind of spirit guardian of the invertebrate realm that they perhaps look the other way when small children play with their kin.


don't forget to smell the flowers

Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers

don't forget to smell the flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't recall the very first time I heard the expression 'Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers'. I have always loved flowers and blooms, their myriad colours and forms ... and scents. My love of flowers has stayed constant while the way I look at them changes constantly. When I learned about plants and what flowers are for, the way they entice and mimic ... the way the look different under ultraviolet or infra-red. The way we use flowers to say things ... from red roses for love through a whole spectrum of colours to black roses for death ... 'say it with roses' indeed! Flowers as symbols of the transience of life. Fake flowers ranging from the trashy to the profoundly elegant. I learned about flowers as genetic markers, indicators of weed species, the passing of seasons, their rarity and their basic commonality. The sound of bees in trees in Springtime. The carpets of riotous colour beneath flowering camellia. I learned their smells ... I'd like to retire somewhere where I can smell the scent of frangipani blossoms ... the heady scents of Spring and warm breezes. Native Australian flowers whose scents pass into honey, bulbs, trees, bushes dripped with rain or dew. And then I started to take photographs of them.

And sometimes I don't see them, or smell them, or sense them ... I'm busy doing something else, preoccupied. Sometimes I sit and just watch them and think as I'm doing now about all the different ways I see them. The day I saw my children learning to sniff their first flower nearly made me cry. My advice ... don't forget to stop and smell the flowers :-)


'Sparklers'

2012 Royal Canberra Show - Clean Sweep

The Royal Canberra Show is held every year to celebrate and showcase the very best that the region has to offer. I have been entering photographs into the Canberra Show Art Prize for the past three years. There are four classes in which to enter photographs;

  • Open
  • Landscape/Places
  • People & Portraits; and
  • Black & White

I always try to enter a photo into each class and I have picked up several 1st places over the years in various classes. This year though something quite remarkable happened: I won every class! I still have not quite gotten my head around quite what this means but really it's an excellent result! The photos and their classes are presented below;

'Sparklers'
id="attachment_471" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="'Sparklers' (Open)"

 

Spring Storm (Landscape)
id="attachment_472" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Spring Storm (Landscape)"

 

Accordian
id="attachment_473" align="alignleft" width="214" caption="'Accordian' (People/Places)"

 

Passing TRain
id="attachment_366" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="'Feel The Wind' (Black & White)"

Organ donor? I have decided. Have you? Does your family know?

Donate life LogoI was reminded by Ally over at her blog everyday miracles that it's Donate Life week - an initiative by the Australian Government to promote awareness of and (hopefully) increase the number of people willing to donate their organs. Organ donation in Australia is low. In fact, Australia has one of the lowest donation rates in the developed world.

I have always rationally believed in organ donation ... although I admit to finding the subject a little disturbing at first. I found that if I turned it around... if I thought about how I would feel if someone had donated to me and given me what amounts to a most precious gift ... then signing up for my card would be a lot less disturbing. So that's what I did. I figured if I'm not around to require it any more then someone else would be free to use it. I signed up, I had my discussion with my family who thankfully agree with donation and are (for the most part) organ donors too.

Some facts about organ donation in Australia (from the donate life website)

  • One organ, eye and tissue donor can save or enhance the lives of 10 or more people.
  • Australia is a world leader for successful transplant outcomes, yet has one of the lowest donation rates in the developed world.
  • Around 1600 people are on Australian organ transplant waiting lists.
  • On average, people on the transplant list can wait between 6 months and 4 years. 4 years!

With a majority of Australians generally willing to become organ donors it is vitally important that people willing to donate their organs have a memorable discussion with their family about their wishes. In Australia, the family will always be asked to confirm the donation wishes of the deceased before donation for transplantation can proceed. Less than 60% of Australian families give consent so it's again vital that your discussions are had and that they are memorable.

I carry my card, my family knows.

Organ donor? I have decided. Have you?

 

http://www.donatelife.gov.au/decide


Princesses Aplenty - Riverfront Theatre Company

 

wpid423-lushpup_.jpg

Towards the end of last year I received a lovely email from Paul Coleman at the Riverfront Theatre Company in Windsor Ontario, Canada. He was putting together a youth theatre production called "Princesses Aplenty - A Fractured Fairytale". Paul had seen a photograph of mine and thought it would be great to help promote the production and asked if he could have my permission to use it. Here's a part of Paul's letter...

"I work with a group of kids at a non-profit organisation called the Riverfront Theatre Company in Windsor Ontario Canada. We provide theatrical art programming to over 80 young people at absolutely no fee for the  participant. We are entering our 8th season we are spreading our creative wings to present an original production entitled Princesses Aplenty. There is a dragon in our play and we would love to use part of your image in our poster. Attached is a rough draft of what I would like to use. (with your permission of course) If you are willing to allow us to use it could you send me a higher resolution copy. We would gladly credit you on the poster and on our website."

I was chuffed and not least because it's nice to be asked. I said yes and provided a high resolution copy of the dragon image below to Paul. Anyways, time passed and every now and then I'd receive an excited email from Paul letting me know how things were going and how everyone loved the image and it looked great and then yesterday I picked up a parcel from the post office. Inside (see top picture) was a t-shirt, two tickets, a program and two posters ... cool! I was especially impressed with the t-shirt. Thanks mate, it made my day.

Dragon Tail
Dragon Tail

Now it transpires that Paul, as well as running graphic design house Creation Design is a photographer too and has some nice photos up on his website. Go have a look and tell him I said 'Hi'.


Summer Break - back on track

Not that I can believe it's February (or 2012) for that matter. I've been busy and had a lovely time over the Summer holidays being busily doing not much.

Over the summer break I had a 3-week period in January where I didn't even switch on the photo workstation! My processing has piled up and inspiration is coming back online. In a way it has been nice to not do any photography ... to just let it go for a little while, to regroup and reassess my focus so to speak.

Here comes 2012!


Flying foxes with lightning - Elizabeth Bay Sydney

Here's a lucky catch! A crop from a 30second exposure during a twilight thunderstorm at Elizabeth Bay in Sydney.

I didn't see until post-processing that I'd caught two flying foxes. Cool huh?

So ... Flying foxes with lightning - Elizabeth Bay Sydney :-)

Here's a lucky catch! A crop from a 30second exposure during a twilight thunderstorm at Elizabeth Bay in Sydney. I didn't see until post- processing that I'd caught two flying foxes. Cool huh?
Here's a lucky catch! A crop from a 30second exposure during a twilight thunderstorm at Elizabeth Bay in Sydney. I didn't see until post- processing that I'd caught two flying foxes. Cool huh?

In the Garden: jumping spider

Found this little one on the curled leaf of a lime tree in the backyard. A cutie huh? Very inquisitive critters ... I'm not overly fond of spiders (the larger ... the less so) but I like these ones.

wpid-20111128_NIKON-D80__DSC6910-Edit.jpg

D80 - Tamron 90mm SP Macro

In the Garden: jumping spider


Happy New Year 2012

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2012 ...

This is one of those pictures best suited to some quiet time pondering ... like the beginning of a new year ... or the quiet patch of a garden which is where I found this :-)

this is one of those pictures best suited to some quiet time pondering ... like the beginning of a new year ... or the quiet patch of a garden which is where I found this :-)
this is one of those pictures best suited to some quiet time pondering ... like the beginning of a new year ... or the quiet patch of a garden which is where I found this :-)

Family Portrait Session: R&T

From a family portrait session I did just before Christmas. These guys were great fun to photograph ... four families, 12 people including three littlies. There was much running around and chasing and everybody played. This is why I like taking pictures of people :-)

If you're watching ... thank you.


Tidbinbilla Trip

Took a trip out to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, near Canberra on the weekend with some friends ... always love going out there. This was a quick trip to get out of Canberra for a while and one of our favourite destinations is The Sanctuary - a large wetlands ecosystem surrounded by bushland and protected by a predator-proof fence providing sanctuary for a range of native animals in a natural setting.

 

A pair of Red Belly Black snakes basking on a log in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra. Aren't they beautiful!
A pair of Red Belly Black snakes basking on a log in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra. Aren't they beautiful!

A pair of Red Belly Black Snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus) basking.

On one of our first visits to the Sanctuary, a volunteer guide showed where a colony of Red Bellied Black Snakes - Pseudechis porphyriacus or 'red bellies' for short. On that day there were perhaps 6 snakes in two groups nestled amongst the tussock grass by the side of the pond. On Saturday there were maybe 9 snakes in 3 groups including this pair basking in the sun. I think they must have shed recently because their skins and colouration were beautiful. I took this with my 18-200mm and was about 5m away from them. Black snakes are generally placid if left undisturbed ... I likely wouldn't try a shot like this with a brown or tiger snake. Just quietly walk away ... quietly walk away :-)

Read more


Gallery: wall works - more images from the ANCA Show

'wall works' - a show opening tonight at The Australian National Capital Artists (ANCA) Gallery in Dickson, is the final show for the 2011 season at ANCA. Here are some more shots from the session I did in there last Friday while the artists were setting and creating their works.

An earlier post with more images from this session can be seen HERE

ANCA Gallery is located at 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson.


'wall works' (a preview) - ANCA Gallery

'wall works'  7th - 22nd December 2011

Last week I was given a heads-up by friend and artist Nicci Haynes about an exhibition on at the Australian National Capital Artists (ANCA) Gallery in Dickson. Apparently ANCA are repainting the gallery over the new year period and have invited a select group of artists to use the walls of the gallery as their canvas. The show is called 'wall works' and I went along on Friday afternoon to take some photographs and was impressed by the scale and quality of work going on in there and I present a selection of images below. I highly recommend anyone interested to do the same.

The show opens officially on Wednesday 14th December but is open to the public now for anyone interested in the creative process. Of particular interest to me were the wall size works by Byrd and Hanna Hoyne, the intricate musings of Paul Summerfield, the 'there but not there' figures of Nicci and the vibrant etchings of Tesss Horwitz.

From the ANCA website "Six local artists transform the gallery by working directly on the walls. Byrd with Hanna Hoyne, Mariana del Castillo with Gus McGrath and Alex Asch, Nicci Haynes, Tess Horwitz and Paul Summerfield. Curated by Narelle Phillips"

A second post with more images from this session can be found HERE

 

'girl on the floor' by Nicci Haynes

 

Hanna Hoyne

 

Byrd applying some fine detail

 

Entry Designs by Paul Summerfield

'fire extinguisher surrounds' by Paul Summerfield

 

'white crouching figure' by Nicci Haynes

 

Artist Byrd

 

Hanna Hoyne

 

Tess Horwitz


Art documentation: Fran Ifould - 4 Folding Books

Fran Ifould has produced a series of folding books using handmade papers she found in Montreal, Canada. Using natural found pigments Fran has coloured, dyed, drawn and painted the paper to create wondrous art books with a myriad of forms and textures. The folded paper is bound by hard cover or encased in a custom paper satchel.

I documented 4 of these books for Fran last weekend at my home studio as part of my art documentation service.

Fran is the owner of Braidwood Arts, an artists retreat near Braidwood, NSW and she has a blog too.

'Enviroroulette'

 

'Global Warming'

 

'Time to Think Globally (Prototype)'