I talked about a cat photographer called Mr Lee in a previous post and have now stumbled across a cat pianist called Nora. A truly talented feline, this piano playing cat knows her ivories. This YouTube video is the sequel to the original Nora The Piano Cat. Watching this cat play the piano is one of the most enjoyable sights I’ve seen in a while and the piano play off that Nora has with her owner/tutor is lovely. If you need a laugh then watch Nora practice the piano.

Now I want to get a piano…

This week I got a flat tyre on the motorway on the way home from work. I drove over a chain that had fallen off a truck. Not seeing it in time, I connected with the hook on the end of it and blew a tyre. It didn’t feel like I had a blow out, but a car levelled up next to mine and the passenger frantically gestured towards the back of my car. So I pulled over and saw it. Bugger.

I’ve only ever changed a tyre once before, years ago. I managed to get three of the nuts undone before my back gave out and the tears started brimming. And then, I was saved! Someone pulled over to help me. My initial reaction was relief, immediately followed by consternation. But this man was very kind and helped put on the spare tyre. No doubt my rising hysteria was a worry for him! So, two new tyres, a wheel alignment and $295 later, I’m back safe on the roads.

The kindness of strangers does exist. You can get so ingrained with the distrust, violence and crime that you read everyday in the paper or watch each night on the news that, without realising it, you have lost faith in people. Because of a flat tyre, mine has been restored. Thanks to the passenger and driver in the gold car and thanks to Eduard.

Have you ever been rescued by a stranger?

I was driving home from work the other night, watching the sky transform into a colorful canvas of orange and pink. Before my very eyes the rays of the sun were caught up in the clouds and shooting off into all directions. It was gorgeous! From the cursing about the fact that I was driving until the moment I was finally able to pull over to take a photo the sky must have changed shades of orange at least ten times. The sun was almost about to sink behind the mountains by the time I took this shot.

What’s the best camera setting?

I had to capture this moment so quickly that I didn’t have time to change the settings on my camera. I literally turned it on and did the point and shoot thing. Often I try different settings and see what the best was on downloading the photos to my computer.

It turns out (luckily) my camera was set to automatic, which was probably a whole lot better than macro or a bright light setting. I would love to know what the best setting for a shot like this is, in case another opportunity, like this sunset, comes up again.

What settings do you use for sunset photos?

I’ve mentioned before that I have two gorgeous British Shorthair cats and thought it was time I introduced them properly.

But how do you describe your pet without being overly sentimental and
biased? Impossible! So here goes:

The two best cats in the world

Cordelia

Cordelia is four years old, chocolate-coloured, beautiful, curious with exceptional supervisory skills, likes to hang out (but not a lap-sitter unless it’s winter and a blanket is on a lap), confident, finicky, manipulative (but in a good way), bed-hog, tuna-addict, leaf-chaser and box-lover.

Lilah

Lilah is three years old, black, big, loves cuddles, hates grooming, bullies Cordelia but is otherwise a coward, bonkers, plays rough but loves to kick a toy mouse around with you, vocal, can leap tall lounges in a single bound, a total food-addict and a snorer. Oh and she’s a bit quite pigeon-toed.

Lilah has starred in a previous post.

British Shorthair Breed

British Shorthairs are larger than your average cat. They have a lovely round body with short, thick legs and a large head with beautiful round cheeks and eyes. Their coat is short but very thick. They are very good-natured and, although probably not the smartest breed on the block, they make very for very companionable pets.

» See more of Cordelia and Lilah on Flickr

I love ‘em. And clouds make great photographic subjects. Simply put – they are impressive.

Taking photos of clouds is a good way to practice using the various settings on your camera. The light can be so different from day-to-day that you will be able to flex those creative muscles and try out exposure and speed settings, and compare the available auto settings to manual modes.

Daydreams

Big, white fluffy clouds provoke day-dreams and whimsy. Lying on the grass and staring up at the clouds is a past-time I rarely make the time to enjoy these days. But how much fun did it used to be finding animal shapes in clouds? It’s also an incredibly easy – and free – way to de-stress from the daily grind.

Sunset

Clouds at sunset are gorgeous. The array of colours can be breath-taking. Especially at this time of year, with the soft winter sun setting. And with the rain we have finally had (yay!) there are countless numbers of clouds in the evening, all catching the colours of the setting sun.

This is my view on the way home from work each day during the winter months.

A thin layer of cloud produced a beautiful pink sunset.

A Queenstown, New Zealand sunset.

Storm clouds

Still a while to go until storm season…

Do you like to photograph clouds?