15th January 2005

We used to take a back road home between Woodside and somewhere not far out of Longford. It is a beautiful little single lane road that meanders through lots of corners, dips and rises.

Sometimes we’d leave the car on the side of the road and head off through the bush for few kilometres to the beach. We always had it to ourselves. No people, no houses, no people footprints. Just us, the wallabies, pacific gulls, and occasionally a solitary seal tired and resting.

We used to give the seals lots of space so that they could relax -Ella was considerate like that.

Often a pacific gull, especially the juvenile grey ones, would hover along with us, just a one or two metres away. I think they, like dolphins, enjoyed the company

We could walk for hours. It was usually windy and cold.

Popularity: 21% [?]

4th and 5th November 2004.

For a while in Sale, I used to work in town. During this time Ella stayed at home, or with a friend (thankyou June). In earlier times, her friend Saffy used to stay over.

If she’d been home alone, and it was winter (short days), we’d walk around the streets, or go for a run, or take the scooter out for a quick spin (the cause of many injuries), or walk into the supermarket and do shopping. These pictures are from one of those walks.

I can see the similarity to my grass shadows photo taken not so long ago. I seem to work on styles, or types of pictures, and this has been one of them.

Popularity: 16% [?]

24th February 2005, and 12th January 2005.

I see these pictures of Ella, and I know her.
I remember her.
Not the memories of what she did, but of who she was; her presence.
Of what it was like to have her around.

As though she is here, now.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Andy’s phone line is down, so I am taking advantage of his absence by putting a photo of him on poohduck today. This was taken whilst we were on holidays at Foster in September 2005. It was one of the sunrise excursions. Usually we took a week away each school holidays and at least one morning would aim to photograph the sunrise.

Andy is very still, quiet and patient when he is taking photos. He seems conscious of what he is doing and uses all the knobs on the camera and the tripod. He considers everything. I am random and get 50 shots of which one may be decent if I’m lucky. It’s not my thing!

I don’t think I’ve seen a sunrise this year!

Popularity: 25% [?]

9th February 2002, Sale, Gippsland. 

Saffy, the one nearest the camera, used to stay over when Kathy was working or playing. Ella (aka ”the weasle”) used to stay at Saffy’s when I was working or playing.

They had a strange relationship - Ella always chasing Saffy. Saffy was a social girl, Ella was discerning, and other than Saffy, didn’t associate with dogs. Saffy taught Ella to jump things, and use her sense of smell, which came in handy when I used to hide from her on walks. Ella taught Saffy road manners; not to cross the road until I was with them, not to walk in front of me, to stop when I stop, stuff like that. I could ride my mountain bike with them, fast, stop so hard that the rear wheel would lift off the ground, and they would stop with me.

Ella had a sense of humour. If I was riding on the road, she had to run along the footpath. One of her favourite tricks was what I called the flyby. If there were people ahead of her on the footpath, she would pick up speed and zoom past them, usually brushing their legs. I used to wince, seeing innocent old ladies throwing up their arms in fright, or kids yelling out in surprise then laughing. It was really funny if we were in town, where there were lots of people on the paths along the shopping strip. I would be riding down the road with parked cars between me and her on the footpath. She would keep up, catching glimpses of me between the parked cars. I would see the reactions of all the people as she ran through their legs, with purpose. It was kind of like a Mexican wave moving down the shopping strip.

The above shot is of them sitting on a huge median strip, at night time, with a car driving by. It is blurred because of a slow shutter speed. I used a canon two megapixel point and shoot; I still use a more recent offering of the same model.

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 16% [?]

“31st December 2005. This one was taken new year’s eve on lake Mungo. It was a scorcher. Forty degrees Celsius in Sydney, forty eight at the nearest town of Menindee, over fifty on the open sands of lake Mungo when I took this shot. I used a tripod because it was windy and I was getting grit in my eyes - I burnt my hand on the camera when I grabbed it after the shot. I could feel my feet burning through the soles of my boots. Every one of the small trees had birds in the
shade, burying themselves in the sand. I tried to avoid getting too close so that they wouldn’t fly and cook. We saw distressed kangaroos that wouldn’t get up as we passed. I’ve lived in the Kimberly’s and other places in the North for years, but never experienced heat like this. At least it was dry heat. ”

(c) Andrew Calder

Ella and I stayed in the air conditioned car for most of the visit to Mungo, whilst Andy braved the extremes.

Popularity: 17% [?]

“Another one from that photographically productive weekend at Phillip Island. I remember taking this and thinking it wouldn’t be a good shot - the shot was more of a half hearted effort. I really like it. It used to make me think it could have been a scene from pre European occupation (just the people in the foreground, standing in the water). After cropping, I decided to make it wider; it didn’t seem to work at the smaller size. It was March 12th 2005″

(c) Andrew Calder

I remember Andy took some beautiful photos on the pier that weekend too. I hope he will send some of those soon, I loved the light and sense of movement in them.

I also remember that weekend, we couldn’t take Ella and she missed Andy so much. Every time I rang my kids (who were babysitting her) they sounded frantic, trying to make her happy.

Popularity: 23% [?]

“25th Sept 2005. I think it was the September school holidays; I was working in schools then. This is a sunrise over Corner Inlet. We (Joh and I) were staying in Foster. We found this amazing and isolated beach about 30km (magic distance) out of Foster. I remember it was a cold morning, and we had to wade through a knee high creek. Ella (the comfort loving whippet) had to be carried, of course. I will have to find a picture of Ella soon, because she is mentioned so much.”

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 21% [?]

“This was taken 5th Oct 2003, about 30km from Sale in East Gippsland. I lived in Sale at the time. Ella (my whippet) and I would go exploring around the area: through Summer, we’d often go after work. This picture is from one of those trips.”

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 19% [?]

 ”This was the first and only attempt I’ve had at photographing fireworks. I used a tripod. It was in Traralgon and the fireworks were put on by the Lion’s Club - I don’t know what their reason was, most likely to raise money. I remember, as usual, Ella my whippet was with me. I was so focussed on the photography that I didn’t realise she was in distress from the explosions of the fireworks. A good person who was behind me and noticed her, held her close and covered her ears. She was the sort of dog who could bring out compassion and caring in most peopleJ; she would use this skill to her advantage in her everyday life usually to improve her comfort, or to get a dog chocolate or shame you into playing with her or taking her for a walk. It was taken 26th November , 2004.”

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 23% [?]