Pages of INK

This was taken right outside our room at the Pemberton Best Western Motel.

The most notable thing about our trip home to Singapore was how we were stranded at Perth International Airport for close to 10 hours, after 2 delays. The delays caused many passengers to cancel their New Year Eve plans, but what made it worse was that no one who had already entered the check-in area of the airport was allowed to leave until a few hours later in line with "immigration clearance laws". Needless to say, there were many many irate passengers that day.

See this calm and serene picture of a lone tree on top of a hill? Everyone was feeling the exact opposite!

According to the captain, who was very transparent about the whole thing, there was damage on the valve of an oxygen tank that supplies the masks that drop down from the overhead compartments in the event of cabin depressurization. As they didn’t have spare parts on hand, they had to fly one in from Sydney. After a few hours of waiting, to our dismay, we were told that the initial fix had failed, so they had to try again with another spare part that was to be flown in from Melbourne. Another few hours of waiting, and much to our relief, the fix worked and we were on our way back.

When bored at the airport, spend the time taking long exposure shots of planes landing, while practicing holding your breath at the same time…

We counted down to the new year over the Indian Ocean.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Pemberton, a few hours drive south east of Margaret River, is home to the majestic karri tree, the 3rd largest hardwood tree in the world. Not for the feint of heart, there are 3 climbable kerri trees that are over 60m tall which were formerly used as fire lookout posts. Only 20% of visitors ever make it to the top, with a majority turning back after reaching the halfway point. I tried climbing 5m, looked at the huge gaps between the makeshift steps made out of metal pikes and decided that I wasn’t so brave after all…

The tallest of the 3 remaining climbable kerri trees, the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree is 71m tall.

I was really really really worried when taking this shot… Look at how much space there is between steps and nothing to catch you if you were to slip.

Pemberton is a very small town and it is possible to drive from one end to the other in less than 5 minutes. It is a pretty popular tourist destination for Western Australians due to the fact that it is surrounded by 5 national parks. Unfortunately, due to Zhiyi’s size, any thoughts of trekking were quickly put on hold!

One of four remaining V Class 2-8-2 Mikado type Steam Locomotives left in service. This one operates from Easter to the end of October on tourist trains to Eastbrook Siding on Saturdays, and to Lyall Siding on Sundays.

Waiting at the Pemberton Station

Popularity: 29% [?]

Dunsborough is a small seaside town about a 2 hours drive from Margaret River and is one of the more popular holiday destinations for Perthites due to its beautiful surrounding beaches that face north towards the Indian Ocean.

Along the way, there is this “must-visit” place for ice cream lovers called Simmo’s Ice Creamery. It’s got ice cream flavours that can rival Ben and Jerry’s like Swiss Choc, Whisky Prune and Orange Choc Chip. There’s also a large lawn at the store where families can have picnics and a small playground nearby with an antique carousel. Good fun for the kids!

It was here that I also bumped into an old friend from Kuching. I must admit, I was slightly envious to learn that she migrated there not so long ago. Sun and surf, what’s not to like?

Just south of Dunsborough lies the town of Yallingup, which has bred many of the regions best surfers. We would have spent more time here but not for the fact that it was getting dark and we wanted to avoid driving after sundown.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Before Alicia was born, we were a bit worried about whether Ashley would suffer from jealousy. Jealousy because the new baby was getting all the attention. Jealousy because all new blog posts would be on the new baby. Ha!

Peekaboo – now you see me, now you don’t!

Much to our relief, Ashley has taken really well to Alicia. And, as parents, we have to be conscious not to neglect Ashley too and to always reassure her when she makes a deliberate effort to be nice to Alicia such as touching Alicia’s hand and kissing her on the head. Now, to get her to also change her diapers…

Aww… she’s smiling

~*Chu*~ !

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Alicia says thank you to everyone who visited her! She’s lost a wee bit of weight and had very slight jaundice but everything is a-ok now. Nothing that mummy’s milk and some sun can’t fix.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Date of Birth: 24 Mar 2009
Time of Birth: 13:39
Weight: 3.64kg
Height: 51cm

Yay! It was a very very smooth delivery compared to the first one. Alicia was out after only a few pushes in a personal best time of just under 15 minutes for Zhiyi!

Mission accomplished!

Alicia’s first family photo

Meditating about the meaning of milk.

Here’s where all the babies hang out in between drinks. Alicia is in the middle getting changed.

Visitors

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who dropped by and showered Alicia and wifey with gifts and well wishes. Also, apologies that I didn’t manage to catch everyone’s picture (Zhiyi’s colleagues, Allan & Hsueh Ting, Anthony & Canny).

From left: Guoming, Erwin, Thomas, Fendy, Zhiyi, Jowena, INK, Alicia, Doyle, Lloyd and Rajen

From left: Alicia, Zhiyi, Cryst and Gab

From left: Livi, Merv, Alicia, Zhiyi, Tze Wei, Hillary, Yee Leong, Virginia and Vincent

From left: Alvin, Charlotte, Cheryl, Zhiyi, Alicia and Ashley

Popularity: 35% [?]

As I’m typing this, Zhiyi is now lying in bed waiting to give birth, having fallen asleep after being administered with epidural. Just five hours ago, I got woken up by Zhiyi complaining of pains and how she felt like the baby was going to “drop out”. Barely five minutes after I crawled into bed.

“Maybe you ate something wrong.”
“But it hurts.”
“Yeah, try sleeping it off. That’s what I do.” I mumbled as I started drifting out of consciousness.
“There’s blood!!!”

Groan.

One hour later, after a shower and some frantic packing, we were at Mt Alvernia checking-into a delivery ward. This was followed by a nurse doing some preliminary checks and hooking up the baby heartbeat and contraction monitor. According to her, Zhiyi’s cervix had dilated 4cm. Once it get’s to around 10cm, that’s when the huffing and puffing and pushing will start. In other words, just a few more hours to go!

That’s the baby monitor on the right.

Photonut INK is up to something…

Thumbs up and good to go!

Here’s how I lit the shot: SB900 at 1/128 power zoomed in to 200mm and gelled CTO on a Gorillapod dangling off the surgery lights. I was really scared of getting caught by the nurse so quickly grabbed around 5 frames before she came back into the room.

Everytime is a good time to Strobist!

Dilation History

• 23/03/2009 5pm – 2cm
• 24/03/2009 4am – 3cm
• 24/03/2009 6am – 4cm
• 24/03/2009 8am – 6cm
• 24/03/2009 10am – 7cm
• 24/03/2009 12pm – 9cm

Still waiting…

Popularity: 29% [?]

One of the "must see" regions in Western Australia is Margaret River, about a 4 to 5 hours drive south of Perth. The Margaret River region, also known as wine country, is home to 200 vineyards and 90 wineries. It’s also famous for its many award wining eateries, sadly none of which we could try as they were all booked out every single day of the week!

Below are pictures taken around the grounds of The Voyager, one of the premium wineries cum restaurants in the area. And no, we didn’t get to eat here either.

View the full Margaret River gallery here.

Popularity: 45% [?]

This is starting to sound like a countdown.

Anyway, being pregnant isn’t easy. Not only does Zhiyi have to carry around an additional 14kg of tummy, she has to spend hours posing for her photonut hubby too. And this is all he has to show for it…

Here’s looking forward to 25 March!

Popularity: 24% [?]

Zhiyi really looks like she can pop any time now! We’re also getting close to a name so a big thanks to everyone who has chipped in with suggestions. All I can reveal for now is that it was one of those very nice suggestions that we received! See, it pays to ASK.

Zhiyi, Ashley and Baby in High Key

Ashley feeling around

Squeeze

Babies just bring a smile to your face don’t they!

Here’s the setup:

Photography Notes:

• Cloth (e.g. tulle) make for good backdrop material as well as makeshift, um, garments. You can get them from Arab Street at a fraction of the price compared to Spotlight. Bargaining is a must as most shops there give a very high starting quote.
• Putting a huge light source behind the cloth backdrop allowed for a high key look and, if controlled well, highlights the flow of the fabric. Notice how the lines lead the viewers eyes towards the subject.
• No f-stops numbers this time as this shoot was done 2 weeks ago. Note to self: make notes!

Popularity: 21% [?]