I took the day off of work and joined up with my family for a quick birthday celebration Monday night. In preparation to see His Holiness on Tuesday in Cedar Falls, we went to bed early knowing we still had a 90 minute drive in the morning with the doors opening at 8:15.

The drive went quickly, but as we got closer to the university of Iowa, we noticed a long line of cars and time started ticking by and the cutoff for closing the doors got closer and closer. It seemed everyone arrived right when we did. I opted to go the sneaky route and hopped in the quicker moving right lane. I was able to sneak in further ahead after getting through a yellow light that got us to the turn for the parking much quicker. I let Tiff hop out to get in the quickly growing entry lines and I went to find parking. I somehow lucked out and found a super close spot in the lot right next to the building – not sure how everyone else didn’t figure this out but I was ecstatic!

I eventually find Tiff in line and we start working our way forward. It was fun noticing the variety of people attending – young and old, hippies and conservatives (at least conservatively dressed), all colors and religions (we were guessing). There were a few tv crews there and tiff made clear her opinion of Fox…

The lines moved pretty quickly and we made it through the metal detectors with no problems, even with my camera and tiff’s purse. (this was much better than when we saw His Holiness in Chicago of 07 – that was crazy!) We found our seats and watched as the 1,000s more people filled in the stadium.

Eventually the festivities began and the panel, along with the Dalai Lama, were introduced. He informed us that he was late due to a discussion with a chinese journalist (which it sounds like that was interesting) and giggled as he always does. He then got comfortable on his cream loveseat by taking off his shoes, sitting indian style, and pulling out an Indiana visor from his matching robe (which is maybe why he chose that specific visor in the first place).

Discussions started by each panelists giving a quick introduction and talk on their focus whether it be the university’s activities, religious focus, protection from violence, or thoughts on violence and education in general. After each the Dalai Lama would give his thoughts on the discussion topic which most of the time reverted back to his usual message of compassion, respect, and kindness.

A few things i specifically remember were his emphasis on de-emphasizing specific religions but instead focusing on the more basic need of moral ethics in both education and in life. He said do not disrespect religion but rather respect all religions. He said “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Later he continued with “Respect a citizen, respect entire member of society” and said to ignore money, gender, race etc we are “one human family.”

In regards to education he said we have “education for brain” but need “education for heart”. That was one of my favorite quotes of the day and I think that is something that everyone can take away. As always he made jokes, though I think sometimes just to himself and giggled and laughed throughout. His laugh always makes me smile as does his openness to everyone. We left with light hearts.

And lighter wallets… haha! Outside were vendors of various tibetan goods. A few postcards, bumber stickers, scarves and figures called to us. Our stomachs argued and eventually won out – so we left to get a quick lunch.

As part of the festivities a sand mandala was created and put on display during the visit. A sand mandala is a temporary piece of art created out of tiny granules of colored sand intricately laid out to create complex designs typically on a table or flat surface. Tibetan monks train for a long time to design these and 3 Tibetan scholars in the US came together to create this one at UNI. Traditionally these are destroyed shortly after completion as will this one on the 19th.

We were amazed at the design and wandered around it multiple times to catch the small details… the pink people, a tiger, a large lotus, mountains, trees… just awe inspiring. Outside stood a Tibetan tent of some sort so we hopped inside. Tiff showed off her yoga skills while i took a nice break and enjoyed the breeze.

It was a great day to be out and about and we headed home with thoughts on the world, religion, and peace in our minds.

It’s a beautiful time of year with flowers blooming, trees with blossoms and fresh leaves, big hostas already grown, and rain showers at night which left wonderful drops of water over much of the flora. In other words the perfect time to be taking photos in the gardens.

Our weekend started off with an orientation on Friday night where we met Nels, Anna, and most participants. We talked about the plan for the next 2 days then took a quick tour of the gardens with a light rain misting on us and what would have been perfect conditions for photography; but alas it was just a walk though. Our real fun was to begin at 5AM on Saturday, which meant a 3:15 wake up for me! So after a short night’s rest I was back in Rockford ready for some great photo fun with tripod in hand.

Now i know most of you will be like what? heidi used her tripod almost exclusively?? I know, hard to believe! But there were many wonderful waterfalls and water features and we were out at sunrise so I took advantage of the great light and location and took some nice long shots for my fave velvety water.

We had 4 hours each morning to explore the gardens and see what we could find. Many of us hit the main “money shot” areas: main falls, the south falls with the lantern surrounded by blooms and maples, and the 2 big ponds with koi and bridges. But what was more fun was looking for the small details – the drops of water on the hostas, the inchworm on the Japanese maples, the patterns of rocks and stone gardens, or the textures of the maple leaves or reflections in the water. The small details ended up being my favorite images from the 2 days.

Each morning after our shooting time we’d head back into the basement of the Visitor Center where we’d start downloading our images. Nels and Anna would give a short lecture either on the basics of editing/ file management or give us a demo on Lightroom. This is where i got in trouble (not real trouble I don’t think, but i can be a smart ass)…

Our classroom was set up before we got there and it just so ended up that the 4 nikon users were all in the back row, i have no idea how that happened but i found it quite ironic seeing as how Nels is a Canon user… so some fun was had with that fact … then we go around and find out who are Mac users and who are Windows users… and of course I get strike two with my Win 7 machine… and to finish off the trifecta, i mention that i’m a Bridge user. (Gasps were heard)

So the whole weekend a friendly banter went back and forth in regards to all of my “evils” and a “we’ll convert you to Lightroom just wait”! Of course when something went wrong with the canon/mac/lightroom i was sure to pipe up of course the same could be said for whenever i had issue… like when Lightroom decided it wouldn’t work for me on sunday. (I figured it knew i really wanted to use Bridge so it just helped me convince Nels since i couldnt get it even open or the beta version either and ended up having to use Bridge anyways.)

I don’t think i’ve completely convinced them that bridge isn’t truly evil but at least i was able to show them that it does match lightroom for the basic functionality that they were showing the group (so stop badmouthing Br you Lr users hahahah!!!). And no i’m not sold on Lr yet, yes it’s prettier, fancier and has a nice WB picker but i’m not digging the fact that everything is tied into the library – like when LR wouldn’t open and i figured i’d just use Br – well all my ratings and edits were tied into Lr so I’d have to start all over. I like that Br ties it to the file so no matter where it goes – the ratings and edits go with it! I need to see of Lr has that option but until i find that option i’m sticking with my beloved (and FREE with PS) Br

Ok i digress! after our lectures we’d have time to edit our photos and submit them for a group critique and slideshow. This ended up being the fun part (besides actually taking the photos which of course was the best part of the weekend) – I always love seeing what everyone comes up with at workshops. I am always asking myself – where was that photo taken? Why didn’t I see that? It helps to broaden my horizons and constantly reminds me to look closer, wider, up and down, and look beyond the obvious photos – try to get creative! Ok, and i steal photo ideas too – on sunday i tried to recreate a few that i’d seen on saturday as well as try to do some shots that i hadn’t seen.

I’d been using my 18-200 lens (i know not the best lens in the world but i love it so) and my 50mm macro. But on the 2nd day i ended up breaking out my ultra wide 11-16 tokina so i could do some hand holding. With the bright skies later in the morning, not a ton of them turned out great but i did end up liking a few of them – it gave a totally different feel from the previous photos. One thing that i did see in the slidehow that got me interested was some ultra violet photos another woman had taken – I’m quite tempted i have to admit – they ended up being beautiful and super fun. just another option in the never ending world of photography!

So overall I’m super pleased with my weekend at the gardens. I got some shots that i’m proud to call my own and made a friend or two in the process My only hope is that Nels and Anna don’t ban me from attending more workshops haha!

For a few more images please visit my picasa Anderson Gardens album

So we’re sitting at LAX and already thinking fondly back on our trip. We’ve been debating which parts were our favorite and we’ve dwindled it down to 1 day at each location… canyoning in the blue mountains (which might actually take the gold), diving/snorkeling the great barrier reef with the heli ride back, and off-roading on Moreton Island. You’ll notice our faves tended to be off the beaten path – literally

While reminiscing we were also remembering some of the fun (or not so fun) things from our trip… starting with the unlimited movies on the V Australia flights (a 6 movie marathon on the way back), the “Virgin Loo” at the Brisbane Airport, the 18% grade hills going up to Tamborine Mtn (with the flood detours). We thoroughly loved the people watching and have determined we are definitely not in style, but don’t necessarily want to be.

We also determined that if you are planning a visit to Australia make sure you are early for everything! Even our flights were early… for our return flight from brissy the info boards all said boarding in 15minutes – which in the states means it actually might start boarding 15 minutes from then… NOPE! We get up to the counter and almost all 400+ people are already boarded and they were making final call! Similar scenarios for shuttle pickups and most things in general, always plan ahead!!

While making our final way through security we also were thinking back on the inconsistencies of the security in all airports. Shoes off, boarding pass in hand, no boarding pass in the bin, no wait shoes are ok, no dumbbells (i had a weight similar to a dumbbell), no water or other liquids, water ok (or at least it made it through), umbrellas out, umbrellas in, under 7 Kilos, no weight limits (think goodness they didn’t check this for us). Nothing was the same, but it definitely made it interesting!

And finally our casualties… my waterproof camera that stopped working but might now be functioning again, my 18-200 lens that fell apart (warranty to be checked), my SD card that failed (recovery TBD), and the flat stanley that never got placed…  nothing that couldn’t be dealt with, just makes the trip more interesting!

In summary, a super trip! Thanks Jess for being my “partner” – in crime of course    Now back to reality, real shoes, sweaters, and our hubbies – now that part was nice to come home to

We continued our walk over to the south bank to see the South Parklands, which included pretty walkways, a fun waterpark for kids, and even a saltwater swimming area.

We passed a Nepalese Pagoda and just took in the sights as we continued our walk back towards our hotel.

We ended the night with a final stroll over to Queen St. Mall for a light dinner and cider (Bulmer’s on tap!).

A quick note – my camera card apparently has died from this day’s photos, but luckily Jess took video so i did a few screen shots so at least we have some pics to go along with the text!

We start out the day very much like the day before with a brisk walk over to the transit center for a 7 AM pickup (at this point though we’re waking up each day around 5:30 or 6 so it actually wasn’t bad). A Toyota 4WD pulls up and we all start piling in. It has a front seat for the driver and (we find out) 2 passengers, though it looked as though just 1 person would fit. And the back has 2 rows of seats along the sides that fit about 8 normal sized people. We just so happened to have a monster English dude which made it a bit tight all day long. On the first leg of the trip Jess and I got to share the front (I think mostly because Nev might think we’re “partners” due to a comment jess had made the previous day and i’m pretty sure he thought she was hot and when you are stuffed into the front of a 4wd there’s a lot of changing gears going on hahhaha).

Our destination was Moreton Island, which involved a hour plus ferry ride (which included trying some meat pies, not bad actually!). While on the ferry we were told that the other american couple had problems – they were a bit older and the woman had knee issues so one of us had to move to the back. I thought i’d be smooshed with this lady and left Jessica to enjoy the front. Nev of course requested Jess sit in the middle

Moreton is a relatively small island (compared to the much larger and more tourist infested Fraser), and is sand based so 4WD is mandatory. There are no real roads, just ruts and beaches to drive on (view while driving below). It really was spectacular and I sincerely would have loved my Jeep. i thought it was pretty awesome that the ferry pulls right on up to the beach and drops its ramp – you drive off onto the beach and off you go – cruising along Moreton Bay with waves crashing outside your window and dodging the occasional rogue wave that comes a bit too close.

We take a turn and now are into the hilly sections and work our way up a bit through trees and deep ruts until we end at the “Desert”. We all grab some boards (literally 1′x4′ pieces of particle board) and made our way up to a sand dune. We then learn the basics of sand tobogganing and each of us takes our turn once we wax up the boards. “keep the elbows up!” and we did, so no sand in the mouth! We lucked out in some ways, with all the rain the sand was still a bit wet which meant we didn’t go quite as far or quickly down the dune but it also meant much easier hiking back up and less sand in every crevice. The younger couples tried doubling where the woman sits on the man’s butt and leans forward. The asian couple tried it first and i think she was a bit scared and slowed them down with her hands and feet, but the german couple got it right and they got some good speed and she thrust her arms in the air screaming the whole way down “Whoooo hooooo!”

We all hop back in, now sand is everywhere and we all just accept it – no shoes and we all land on each other as we jostle around. I got quite friendly with the american man as he could never do his seat belt so I’d help him (i preferred wearing mine as the jostling was lessened with it) and then end up landing on him since there were no handle bars.

We make our way over to the eastern side of the island, miles of beaches where the waves are really coming in due to the storms. Not so great for swimming, but awesome to just take in the view. The water was fairly clear (and oh so blue!) but too rough to see any animals. We all take a quick dip in a calmer area and have lunch right there on the beach. The weather was holding out for us with some beautiful blue sky – we were soaking it all in (and i have some burns to prove it haha).

Off to the lighthouse on the northern side of the island, with another spectacular view of the island from a bit higher perspective. A dolphin was sighted, but I didn’t see it. Jess and I decided to try to do a quick geocache right at the lighthouse. Unfortunately i had deleted a few caches from the GPS and Touch (with the info on each cache) so all we had to go on was a printout i’d made. Needless to say we didn’t find it – tho i KNOW we were in the right area dang it! My Flat Stanley travelbug would have to wait a bit longer.

We continue on to the Blue Lagoon, a freshwater lake on the northern part of the island that supposedly has medicinal properties. The tea and eucalyptus trees along the shoreline drop the leaves and branches into the water, slowly drifting to the bottom providing a liner and barrier helping to retain the water. As the pieces break down the oils in the leaves and branches eventually get absorbed into the water. We were told that if we swam in the blue waters our skin and hair would feel super soft so we decided to brave the slightly chilly water and go for a swim. (My hair was quite soft that night!)

With the ferry’s set departure time of 3:30 we started working our way back to the ferry landing back on the western side of the island. Partway through the drive Nev remembers something an aborigine worker had mentioned to him on landing – that the flooding had taken out a few tracks. One of which we were currently on, so we turn around and head back another way – more beach driving and why we give extra time for the return

We arrive with a few minutes to hang out before getting on the ferry. Right where to the side of the ferry landing resides the wrecks of Tangalooma. The wrecks include at least 10 ships sunk intentionally to create a reef and breaker for better snorkeling and giving boats a place to anchor during rougher water. This is also where the dolphins come in the evening for a nightly snack from the tourists. They claim they aren’t dependent and it did give us a chance to see them….

I also notice that there is 1 more cache we can try to find – up a sand hill that (supposedly) gives a great view of the bay with the wrecks and ferry below. I convince Jess to come bushwhacking with me and we go. 15 minutes later i’ve worked my way up the huge hill, Jess opted to hang out about half way, and still no cache to be found. The ferry is preparing for departure so i give up and work my way down… the stanley’s will have to make it their mission to come back australia instead of starting there.. oh well, we tried!

The ferry ride and drive back brought us back to reality. We’d lost first gear right before we got on the ferry and as we were driving back we lost 3rd as well. Made for an interesting drive let me tell ya! Specially as we hit massive traffic and have to do stop and go with 2nd gear…. we made it but we also let out a sigh of relief as we pulled into the transit center (partially due to arrival and partially due to being able to stretch our sand covered feet!)

Our night ended with a cider and beer and retiring early – a long day meant lots of sleep for us that night