Rainy Days

Firstly let me introduce myself:  My name is Simonne and I am a wife and mum of two gorgeous girls Charli and Ashlee, (& a dog we rescued from the pound called Ralf and two guinea pigs.)  Charli is 4 going on 21 and Ash is 20 months.  These two cheeky monkeys were my inspiration for wanting to learn photography in the first place.

The girls - oh and that's not my house by the way - I like to keep some sort of standards haha...

I have started a few Facebook community pages because I love to connect with other photographers.
Here they are:

• Photographers page - a brand new page where you can get better at photography and get heaps of helpful advice, tips, links etc.

• Gold Coast Photography Locations - Sharing the best photo locations on the Gold Coast/Northern NSW.

• Camera Gear (buy/swap/sell) - Buy swap and sell your camera and related gear for free on this Facebook Page - get your friends to like the page for more exposure to your ad.

I am sitting at my computer and it's raining on the "sunny Gold Coast", I really want to get out with the camera but it's just too wet.  This rain is sending everyone a bit mad including my two kids (alright the cupcake didn't help either).  It's a good chance to go through some of my photos though and it's quite interesting to see how far I've come.  I remember the awful feeling of really not knowing what was a good image and closing my eyes and submitting it anyway for some constructive crit.  Sometimes I fluked one and sometimes it was a blooper but that's how we learn.

These days I am feeling pretty confident with it all and like to play with different things.  My latest gear has been simple and very cheap - filters.  I'm amazed what you can get from china on ebay and just how cheap it is.  Occasionally the quality is not so good (with zoom) but for those just wanting to have  play its a very cheap way to try out some things before spending much.  I have noticed some things are just as good though like remote triggers etc, and on top of that they are about 95% off the price of the generic I looked at in store.  From China.  Including postage.


Props are also very cheap and easy to make or buy from 2nd hand shops/ebay.  It's amazing what a pair of glasses or a hat can do for a portrait.


For me right now its all about taking the next step in my photography.  Thanks to the Graphic Design course I have good basic knowledge now in the Adobe Suite, which I think is important for photographers in this day & age.  I have started up my facebook page and am in the process of getting my website together which is very exciting.  I am looking forward to the future with photography, we have become quite close!