We love our local city and take any opportunity we can to share it with everyone else. :) A recent event on our local calendar, NASA: A Human Adventure at the Queensland Museum, was an incredible experience. It was produced by John Nurminen Events in association with the US Space & Rocket Center, Space Camp USA, & Cosmosphere International SciEd Center & Space Museum. Queensland Tourism & Events was the presenting partner. It closes on the 9th of October 2019; we highly recommend seeing it for yourself but, in the meantime, here are some from our visit. Enjoy!
Brisbane :: Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
We live in a beautiful, friendly city. Sometimes it is nice to just slow down - appreciate it - and then share. We have shared Mt Coot-tha through our eyes previously (here & here) but here are some shots from a recent visit. Enjoy and we hope that you can go along and make the most of this secluded Brissie spot, too, sometime soon! :)
Brisbane & Surrounds :: Bribie Island
Bribie Island. One of the most under-rated locations in our local area, in our opinion. It might be small but it is full of natural, tranquil beauty. We cannot think of a better spot to explore, relax, swim and enjoy fresh-from-the-trawler fish (& chips) while watching the sunset - all in one day. If you are lucky, you might see some dolphins, too! Plenty of suggestions at Visit Bribie Island. In the meantime, here are some photographs from a recent (memorable) day at Bribie Island with friends. <3
THE FAMOUS HUT Artist Ian Fairweather outside his studio and living quarters at Bongaree, Bribie Island.
Fairweather lived on Bribie Island from 1953 until his death in 1974. Those years were his most productive as an artist.
Born in 1891, Fairweather had a solitary childhood. He spent many decades restlessly traveling the world until he settled on Bribie.
Luminaries of Australia’s visual arts community made the pilgrimage to see Fairweather at his Bribie hut.
The site of the hut is now at Fairweather Park on the corner of First Avenue and Hunter Street, Bongaree.
Ichthyology: fish science
Ichthyology is literally the study of fish: ikthus meaning fish and logos meaning study.
As a scientific system, ichthyology began with Aristotle – just a small part of his quest to document and describe everything on earth. By 332 BC he had described and classified 117 species of Mediterranean fish.
The father of modern ichthyology, Peter Artedi, standardised fish classification under the system of Carl Linnaeus, his friend and colleague at Uppsala University in Sweden. Most of Artedi’s work was done between 1724 and 1728. Unfortunately his career was cut short when at the age of 30 he fell into an Amsterdam canal and drowned.
Artedi had been visiting Amsterdam to catalogue the famous fish collection of Albertus Seba, a prosperous pharmacist. Seba had formed, as a private individual, the richest natural history museum of his time.
Fish in bottles
From the earliest days of the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of Queensland, members collected, identified, and preserved specimens of fish to track the changing quality and quantity of fish stocks in Queensland waters.
More than 300 of these are still in the collection. On some of the jars can be seen the meticulous handwriting of the collection’s first curator, the renowned ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby.
In the years 1905 to 1912, Ogilby was working with the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of Queensland as a professional ichthyologist, publishing papers, attending meetings and even going on the Endeavour’s expeditions in 1909, from which 67 of the 280 specimens made their way to the collection.
The specimens at their peak probably numbered over 2000. In the bumper collecting year 1907, 601 specimens were added to the 456 already in the collection. In 1908, 295 were added. In 1909, at least 215 were added, probably more, and in 1912 another 345 were added. Just these recorded additions amounted to 1912 specimens in the collection.
This collection now has fish, crustaceans, seahorse, sharks, stone fish, one sea snake and even kelp. There are 9 flatheads, 10 gurnards, 10 leatherjackets, 12 eels and 15 cod. The specimens came from all up and down the eastern coast of Australia, from Cape York to Tasmania, but by far the most came from Moreton Bay and Bribie.
At least 30 were officially names and described by James Douglas Ogilby who was also the most active collector, contributing 53 specimens. Next best was EJ Banfield with 28 specimens.
What is a fish?
This question has probably caused more argument than any other. Are sharks fish? What about lungfish? Some eels have no fins, but they are fish. Some animals other than fish breathe using gills.
Only someone wanting to get thrown into the sea would quote Berra who wrote in 2001 that, allowing for exceptions, “we can define a fish as a poikilothermic, aquatic chordate with appendages (when present) developed as fins, whose chief respiratory organs are gills and whose body is usually covered with scales”.
Much easier is to point at a fish and say: “That’s a fish”. Unfortunately we don’t often have one handy when we are arguing about them.
As it happens, along with whiting, bream, snapper and flathead, which we all know are fish – whale sharks, manta rays, moray eels & seahorses are all not only fish, they are 100 per cent fish.
The best answer to the question “What is a fish?” is any animal a credentialled ichthyologist wants to call a fish. Unfortunately ichthyologists are not always handy either.
Fish all have backbones, but they are not always bony – shark have cartilage skeletons. Fish are cold-blooded. This rule is an important one as it excludes dolphins, whales and dugong. They are warm-blooded mammals, just like us.
The Norfolk – Matthew Flinder’s Sloop
This model of the Norfolk was built by Bribie Island resident, Kenneth Aldridge in 2010.
Christmas in Brisbane
We have been spoiled. We have enjoyed a European Christmas previously.
We spent Christmas itself in Dresden with wonderful friends. One memory (it has been five years, after all!) that we cherish, in particular, was perusing the Dresden Striezelmarkt, Germany’s oldest Christmas markets. That Christmas really set the benchmark for us.
Christmas in Brisbane is… well… hot. Humid. Steeped in commercialism
HOWEVER, Brisbane has a beautiful Christmas experience to offer in and of itself. To be honest, you really do not have to look too far for opportunities to make some lovely memories. As our Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is quick to point out: “Brisbane is a great place to live, work & relax - it’s a safe, vibrant, green & prosperous city, valued for its friendly & optimistic character and enjoyable subtropical lifestyle”. These characteristics & attributes are reflected in our unique celebration of Christmas.
FURTHERMORE, many of Brisbane’s Christmas events are free and family-friendly. You can find things to see & do in The City, South Bank and Roma Street Parkland. (If you are keen to see what we get up to in Brissie, jump on instagram and follow the hashtag #MerryBrismas.)
We have compiled some images below from our 2018 Christmas in Brisbane. We hope you enjoy!
There is something that is a quintessential part of Christmas for me (Em): Pete’s (very rum) Rum Balls. They are one of the highlights of my year. Pete has truly perfected his recipe. (One of the best things about them is that they are not geographically limited!)
We like to say that Queensland is “beautiful one day & perfect the next”. However, we experience extreme heatwaves & explosive storms during our summer months. One thing is for sure, though: if you are looking to escape the snow, Brisbane is a safe bet!
We indulged in a pizza cook-up at Northey Street City Farm. The catalyst was random musings during a community playgroup; everyone’s individual contributions came together perfectly. This will be a lovely Christmas memory for years to come - for both parents and children.
Brisbane Arcade usually looks pristine and welcoming but is particularly stunning at Christmas-time.
Queen Street Mall, including the Myer Centre animated Christmas window display, is worth looking at during Christmas.
Regent Theatre’s foyer is another recommended Christmas-related spot to check out.
The South Bank Christmas Gift Markets are quirky and inviting. You will want to stay for a while.
King George Square boasts The Christmas Tree and the City Hall Lights.
In conclusion, our city is beautiful and well worth a visit during Christmas. <3
Information :: Wedding Budgeting Tips (The Photography Version)
Wedding Budgeting. Two words that are almost certainly guaranteed to induce tachycardia in brides & grooms the world over. Where do you start?!
Figure out your priorities and budget accordingly.
Is it the dress? Is it car hire? Is it the honeymoon? Only you two as a couple can figure out what should be at the top of this list.
Of course we are biased. ;) We could regale you with all of our personal reasons for why professional photography should be somewhere in the top 3-ish but we will limit ourselves to just a few (please do not think that any mention of other vendors serves to minimise their contribution to the day - all vendors are equally important!):
You will have your wedding images/album long after you have devoured the last remaining slice of frozen wedding cake or sold off the (now) dust-collecting decorations; in other words, you will have a lifetime of tangible memories.
Who you choose - Uncle Bob or a professional - has a huge bearing on how those tangible memories are translated. As a general rule, price is proportional to talent &/or experience. As we stated previously, “A great photographer will make an ‘average’ wedding look stunning. A bad photographer will make a stunning wedding look average... or worse”. Cheap does not necessarily mean value-for-money.
Simply put: if you are going to spend months & months planning such an important day in your life, you may as well record it.
Plan for the event that the budget could be blown due to unforeseen costs.
We have listed the cost of photography with us on our website. If the numbers line up with how your budget looks, we’re happy to meet up and have a chat in person. The next step is to see if we’re a good fit personality-wise. Feel free to contact us here: