Instagram – My Week and Tips

This week (last week) started with me in Mackay, visiting with my family (mum, dad and little brother). Towards the end of the trip, we decided to take a drive to our home town of Sarina – a small sugar cane farming town. I had spent some time with relatives talking about the old days and I’d found myself unable to remember certain details and locations in my little old town. So we decided to take a drive and take a look.

This first photo was an iPhone snap out the window of the car on the main road south (it’s about a 30 minute drive). I love the way the clouds are billowing over the canefields.

We found a lovely little cafe called Third Ground Coffee where the advertised “Soup of the Day” was coffee 😂😂

It was a great cafe, with excellent coffee and great food. We sat outside, which in Winter, is always a wonderful thing to be able to do. It was thoroughly enjoyable. This little guy was drawn on a hanging near the counter. He’s drawn into blown Kraft paper on a big roll. I like the idea that they can tear him off and draw a new picture any time. They also had a charming cup rack, where locals can leave their own mug or cup for future coffee breaks. 

This next photo is my favourite. It’s an iPhone photo of sugar cane bins, lined up and waiting for the locomotive to come and take them to the sugar mill. I remember, as a kid, going with my dad to the siding (that’s what this is called) to check the bins. Each bin has a ticket in a slot to identify who owns the cane in that bin. The farmer gets paid based on the weight of cane and the sugar content in the juice once it’s crushed.

I am nostalgic about this shot, but I also love the composition, lines and tones. 

On our return to Mackay, we dropped off mum and my brother at the shops while dad and I went off to visit my aunt for a quick hello. She is a hairdresser and her shop is on the river, which is an area that has been vastly improved over the years, with decking, apartment buildings, and places for families to gather and have a barbecue.

This is a shot taken with my iPhone, down the river. I just found it to be an appealing vista. 

Sadly, my holiday had to end and I had to leave. It was very sad to say goodbye to my family and I know they felt it as much as I did. I hope that they can come to visit me in Mebourne sometime soon. But I will also be back for Christmas and I plan to take Gidget with me next time.

These two shots are taken from my iPhone, out the window of the airplane.

A big bout of rain was heading in, set to last 3 or 4 days and dump 300-400 mm of rain in the area. These clouds were gathering just to the south as I was flying home. And certainly the rain followed. 

Back in lovely Melbourne, it was cold and crisp and beautiful. I spent Friday getting re-aquatinted, doing some grocery shopping, picking up some office supplies and collecting dear sweet Gidget from the minder. I noticed this particularly pretty image out the car window and had to snap it, again with my iPhone. 

When I first moved in to my apartment, I was bothered by one main thing – no roof on the terrace. In summer, it meant that my floor-to-ceiling windows let in so much light and sun that it was almost unbearably hot in the apartment. However, what I love about it, is how I can so quickly see what’s happening in the sky. As I’m on the fifth floor, I can see nothing but the sky right outside my window. It’s so easy to see when there’s a gorgeous orange or pink glow of a fabulous sunrise or sunset. I caught this one on the weekend and it was gone in a flash. Just enough time for me to dash out with my iPhone to get this shot. 

Finally, these last two images were taken with my Olympus OMD EM5 and I posted them to promote the corresponding blog posts. 

So, on to this week’s Instagram tip. Take advantage of the built-in filters. Instagram comes with 23 filters that you can apply to your photos. It’s fun to play with them to give your photos different looks or vibes. 

For example – my shot of the cane bins above. On Instagram I applied a filter that gave it a golden glow and a slightly older feel. 

Filters are really good fun. They are similar to “presets” in Lightroom and are a quick and easy way to work out how various editing techniques will affect different styles of photos. 

Also, they can help give your whole profile a cohesive feel. Many of the very popular IGers have a consistent look to all of their photos. All vibrant colours. Or all muted/washed colours. Only black and white. Only landscape. There are so many options. I hope you enjoy checking them out!

Have we connected on Instagram yet? Come find me @desleyjane 

x desleyjane