7 Super Shots…and what I think about them

Dear Gilly at Lucid Gypsy was having a ‘not so lucid’ moment a while ago. You see she got challenged to “choose 7 of your own photos for HostelBookers 7 Super Shots.”

You have to pick one for each of the following categories:

• A photo that…takes my breath away
• A photo that…makes me laugh or smile
• A photo that…makes me dream
• A photo that…makes me think
• A photo that…makes my mouth water
• A photo that…tells a story
• A photo that…I am most proud of (aka my worthy of National Geographic shot)

Fine so far…but here is where her lucidity come in to question…Gilly picked me as one of the 5 bloggers to pass it on to. So now – ‘I am taking part in HostelBookers 7 Super Shots‘.

But being a stubborn female and always one to TRY to answer a challenge – well here goes.

I am wondering as I post this…will some of these pass the bar ?

Will some of these surprise you ??

I recently ticked something off a list I have had ever since I broke my back the first time. To make it to the top of Mt Maunganui again. It is not high (232 metres -761 ft), especially when you think I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro…but it seemed an impossible feat while I was making my recovery and could barely walk to the letterbox. So it was a goal I set myself. On the 14th of this month I took this photo from the top…and in everyway possible, both when I took it and now when I look at it it is an image that takes my breath away. It reminds me that all is possible.

I’m a lucky woman. Luckier than most. This photo reminds me of that. And because it does, it always makes me smile if not laugh out loud with joy…for this view is what greets me in the morning. When I get up and about early that is. And when it is not raining in this land I now call my home.

Sunrises don’t get much better than this now then do they ?

Number three was so easy. What do I dream about ? Many, many things…including Brad Pitt’s arse. Did you check out the link ? I just know you wanted to !!!! One dream never changes though. To one day see this from my back yard…to walk out my gate and sink in to the soft sand with my toes. To hear the waves lull me to sleep and wake me in the morning. So this is the one that makes me dream about what is still to come in my life.

Oh – I can’t wait for your reactions to this one !!! A photo that makes me think just had to be this one. You see it reminds me what life is all about. The colours and reflections that are our lives. Mine has had so many. From the burning reds of Australia, the baked browns of the Serengeti plains, the icy white of The Netherlands in mid winter, to the overwhelming greens of New Zealand. But nothing is ever concrete. A change in light, a slight breeze and the colours change and mix and become a kaleidescope of all that we have been and all that we are still to become.

After tomatoes there is one food that – well eating it takes me to that place. Seafood !!! Oh how I love seafood. It comes from growing up in Australia where the seafood just tastes better than anywhere else. You know the stories – the tales fishermen tell of the one that got away. Thing is – they rarely get away in Australia. And they are big and tasty and quite frankly…usually more satisfying than sex. And of all the seafood, well these guys are what makes my mouth water.

I love faces. They are – after animals – one of my favourite things to try to capture. Especially in moments when people are unguarded. When their stories play with you. Draw you in and make you want to know more. This is one of those faces. I was fascinated with this man from the moment I met him. His face told not just one but a myriad of stories…with my camera I tried to catch a moment that tells a story.

So here we are. One to go…the photo I am most proud of. In 1984 I went in search of the Mountain Gorillas of the Virunga National Park in Rwanda. We tramped for hours to find them. Other than the birth of my children…no other moment has come close to how I felt spending time with these guys. If you want to know more about that adventure click here and have a read. This photo has never lost its magic for me. It was taken with a Pentax K1000 film camera with a standard 50mm lens. Their expressions always hold my gaze whenever I look at this image. The little guy on top of his mother later played with my hair.

So – that’s me I guess.

Now for the five bloggers.

Well, seeing as I am a pirate and don’t play by the rules anymore I am simply going to throw this open to anyone who wants to take it up.