skaterboys

While bike riding yesterday, I stumbled upon some great skateboarding teenage boys, who were kind enough to let me take their photos for a while. They were all adorably kind to one another, very supportive, very dedicated, very responsible (except for the complete lack of protective gear), and very talented. I had a great time watching them.

These are some of my favorite photos from the afternoon, not because of photographic/artistic merit, but because they capture a bit of their spirit. Almost all the photos here are of the same shirtless boy, my muse for the afternoon, but the whole gang of them were great. And yes, there's some teenage-boy photoshopping on some of the photos, as presents to the boys:



more of the boys on http://picasaweb.google.com.au/photo.erika (my new page for photos for strangers) Lisa, you'll love the figure studies in the complete album -- took a bunch of them for you.

And don't worry, Ma, they were all in one piece at the end of the day. Missing some skin here and there, but no permanent damage done.

spring + spines + stingers

We visited the Dandenongs Primeval again, now that it's spring. Warmer! Flowers everywhere (even on evergreens)! Flirty parrots parading in pairs, etc. And the rain forest is even greener, which I wouldn't have thought possible.

We spotted two interesting members of the local wildlife population. The first was an adorable echidna, who trundled along beside the path for quite a while before it noticed us. The second was less adorable: an evil Bull Ant, more than an inch long, which bit and stung Erika's ankle in an astoundingly painful manner. Even that couldn't detract from the loveliness of the day, though. Check out the photos below!