Have you written anything lately?

Well that's what my friend said.. and the answer is ... no! My prodigious output of fluff has dried up as we sort out a new home. At last we have a block of land in Hendra and a builder lined up.

At this point I must thank Aaron my local Bank Manager who has been fantastic sorting out all of the details for us to go ahead. I had not realised how stressful this would be.. and they haven't even surveyed the site yet. But this will be a learning curve for both Debra and me.

Our new home (basic plan) will be much smaller than this old rambling Armagh House, but it will be modern with lots of insulation and ducted air conditioning. even into the garage so I may tinker with the bike in comfort. A lot of floor space here is my studio and gallery/sales room.. so we will have a scaled down studio that will double as a home theatre, a client lounge area and a small office. Probably more comfortable for clients that what we have now!

And.. a toilet they can use without having to walk through our kitchen too! Bonus! Add to this a small pool, and a new shed (a bloke has to have a shed) and this should be neat. Of course all of this change will mean Deb needs to drive to work rather than walk... and we do have one slightly used 125 year old house to sell.. but there you have it.

How hard can all of this be?

Yes.. that's what I thought too! I was supposed to be at the movies tonight for a fund raiser with Debra.. but even though I have prepaid to see the Second Best marigold etc.. I just wanted some quiet time to be still!

That's it! I have seemingly forgotten to take time out to be still!

And just to be controversial... here in QLD we now have a Premier and her Government who didn't expect to win and an opposition who didn't expect to lose.

Watching the new government bringing down their budget while keeping all of the election promises of no cuts. no sales of assets and no new charges and/or taxes.. will be interesting.

Yes thats it.. this government may find itself in interesting times!

Lookout Queensland!

Life: 2014 and the EH turns 50. What else happened?

So as 2014's last grains of sand trickle through the hour glass, it is time for a quick look in the rear view mirror. My old dad used to say that you couldn't drive through life looking in the rear view mirror, but sometimes it made for a quick and pleasant view. To see where we had come from.

So first of all, to that iconic Australian car that all baby boomers wanted to own and hot up!

Yes the mighty EH Holden turned 50. And yep.. I had one. Lemon with a white top, 179 engine and Hydramatic 3 speed auto.

Still a good looking car 50 years on!

But what else happened? Well lots of things.

Deb and I got to spend a lot of time with our new pooch Chloe. Walks by the river, trips in the car and cuddles on the couch in front of the TV. Chloe gets totally spoilt by Debra.. all the time! What a life!

Deb and the rather spoilt Chloe!

We also went to Melbourne for cousin Cathy's marriage to Allan.. and of course, when you are the wedding photographer in the family.. well you get to take your camera.. and shoot the wedding.

As you do! Actually one of a few weddings we covered this year!

The happy couple.. and the hangers on! (Just kidding)

And it wouldn't be a great year without motorbikes.. so Max and I went exploring the roads less travelled again in the Great South East and Northern NSW too! Love that bike!

Catching up with Greg and Heidi on an ADV run!

The Lions Road.. what a place to take a bike!

I also spent the early part of 2014 on roof tops taking pictures for Roofmasters.. an interesting experience for an old bloke who has no head for heights. Amazing what you can do when you have to do it to earn a quid!

These guys make it look easy!

Also there were sheets of glass and all sorts of other things.

Debra celebrated 10 years of ownership of Spirit of Life Boutique. And 2014 has been an amazing year for the shop. Now the biggest post mastectomy store in Australia with the widest range. The customers love the variety and it shows in the figures. Clever girl my Debra!

Debra and me at the boutique with Glenda from Amoena. 

And then there was the trip.... it all started over a birthday dinner back in 2012. Our good friend Greg Cary asked if we had ever thought about a boat trip through the rivers of Europe...

I had always lusted after this camera.. got one for the trip!

And so it came to pass that late July found us Amsterdam bound on an A380 to begin what was to be the best holiday we have ever had.. with me being the "photographer" along the way!

Debra with Greg & Heidi in Amsterdam. Me behind the camera.

Me in front of a camera.. and with a camera in Amsterdam!

After 14 fabulous days on board.. it ended in Budapest. What a trip!

Of course other things happened throughout the year, sadly we lost some great acting talent and singers. James Garner always stands out for me. From about the age of 10 I have liked him as an actor and always harboured a silly idea that one day I would meet him. Not to be of course.

Debra has enrolled at the local gym since we came home from Europe.. she looks trim and terrific as usual. Meanwhile I am down to a trim fighting weight of around 150 kilos.. well not quite.. must enrol at the gym too! We also bought a new car, a Holden Calais V and it is one of the best cars I have ever driven. Well done Holden.. so sad you guys are leaving town!

Not ours, but the same colour!

And then we got the news that Deb's cousin Steven had beaten his Lymphoma and was in remission. What a top piece of news for the year. So great to hear Steven!

Steven, Debra and Cathy in Melbourne. Great news Steven!

And then are the memories... 2014 marks 45 years since a group of us all walked out the gate at Stanley Terrace, East Brisbane for the last time. The Class of '69 at Power Coaching College. I wonder where they all are now. (Well Selwyn.. I know where you are.. when do we do lunch again?) A time when we all felt our wings drying in the sun, the possibilities of tomorrow and what they would bring. I have to say it's been a good life so far with my friends around to share the sunny days and help me through the few rainy ones.

So to all of our friends and relatives.. we hope 2014 has smiled on you kindly. If it hasn't we wish you a much better 2015 and the fortitude to face and overcome any obstacles in your path.

And make plans.. they are important.. we have a box full for the first 6 months. A trip to Longreach, trips to London and New York. You can see that travel figures a lot in our lives.

And to shift house. In 2014 he tried unsuccessfully to buy 3 homes. The last one at auction a scant 3 weeks ago. But not to be it would seem!

I guess in the fullness of time.. the planets will align!

2014.. it was a very good year!

Happy New year to you all!

Magic Carpet Ride: Music, the time machine!

So tonight the bride decided she would like chicken for dinner.

A quick run to Poulet Rouge and they have no cooked chickens.. buggar.

So we settled for fish.

Well Debra did.. I had a Chicko Roll!

Remember what AC/DC said.. "it's a long way to the shop if you want a Chicko Roll!"

But on the long way to the shop.. I had the sound system running in the new Calais V.

And what should be playing but Steppenwolf, "Magic Carpet Ride".

So the time machine begins... listening to the 45 on my battery powered stereo record player in my bedroom 46 years ago in 1968. I thought then (as I do now) it was a magic piece of music.. if only my sound system was of a higher quality. Eventually it was with the purchase of a Sansui AU555 amplifier and some quality speakers.

Meanwhile back to today in the disco on wheels that the Calais had become, I thought about the past 46 years again and what had changed in those 4 decades. And as I was in the car, I considered the music itself and how I was enjoying it as I drove along. From a period when only Japanese cars had push button radios as standard, we have come to today....

Thundering along Bonney Avenue Clayfield listening to Steppenwolf being digitally streamed from my iPhone into the Bose sound system in the car and then played to me with such quality that none of my home stereos including my still working Sansui system can replicate at home to the same quality.

It's the same old song with a different quality since we've moved along.

Good one Dr Bose. And good one Mr Holden too!

I still have the 45 some 45 years later!

As my good friend Greg Cary says.. the songs you grew up with become the soundtrack of your life.

You are spot on there Greg old friend!

Let the music play on down the line tonight.. and for a good many more years yet...

It was 45 years ago .... September 26, 1969

And I remember it so well.

On that day, a musical masterpiece and the very last album recorded by The Beatles was released.

Abbey Road!

How many have made the pilgrimage to this very crossing?

At Stanley Terrace, East Brisbane where I went to school, the hot topic was this new album from The Beatles. Mike Ahern from 4BC played it so often that I reckon he must have worn out a dozen records. And as soon as it made its way to record stores in Australia... well, I had a copy.

In between studying for end of year exams and listening to the radio, I would play it over and over again listening to the lyrics, the music and above all enjoying the absolute audio feast for one's ears. And eventually.. I fell in love with side 2. All the unfinished songs that the boys from Liverpool had in their repertoire and would probably never finish. Under direction from the magician George Martin, these were all crafted into one of the best pieces of popular music ever recorded. On a hot summer's night I would listen to this musical compilation (I loved the sound of the chirping crickets) and for some reason it always made me think of being in a house on the river at Indooroopilly. No idea why. But I could see myself sitting in a chair looking at the river at dusk, listening to the Beatles, with a glass of Bacardi and Coke... and watching the sunset. Some sort of romantic fantasy I guess.

Or perhaps it was because Julie lived at Indooroopilly. (But not on the river.)

I guess our minds work in weird ways. At least mine does.

1983 came quickly, crept right up and almost hit me.... and I am in London as part of a long holiday break from MAX Instruments. So.. off to St John's Wood and I find that famous crossing. About where the old Bedford van is parked is right across the road from EMI's Abbey Road Studios. I sat on the fence and for about an hour the entire album played in my head.

An amazing experience. The Holy Grail pilgrimage for this Beatles fan. Even if I was 30!

And as for the photo.. well as a pro photographer looking back.. I really wished I had of been there the day this was shot. Imagine the energy in the air? The making of one of the most iconic pictures of the 20th century happening in front of you. I wonder how many 12-on backs of E4 were loaded for the Hasselblad to complete the shoot. We the public have been privileged to see many of the out-takes.. but have we seen them all?

Abbey Road plays nearly every day in my car through the magic of blue tooth and Apples amazing iPhone. I still love it.

In 2000 I took my teenage daughter to the same crossing and took pictures of her walking across it. She too loves the album and I smile to myself when I think about asking her to turn it down back in 1999 when I was interviewing a wedding couple and the entire studio was full of loud Beatles music.

Who would have thought that 30 years after 1969 when I was 16 and the album was released, I would be asking my 16 year old daughter to turn down the Beatles? Life is indeed wonderful.

And to all my old school mates with whom I would analyse the album.. thanks for the memories. I still remember most of you.. Tony Harrington, Ignatius Kalatzis, Julie Vanek, Greg Gibson, Robert Harbottle, Selwyn Hasthorpe (when do we do lunch Selwyn?) Louise Sweeney and the list goes on.

Oh long, lost, sweet halcyon days of my youth... vanished in the mists of time

But the musical soundtrack of 1969 plays on.....

Bikes: Why we ride ADV Bikes. (Because golf sucks - sorry Greg)

So if you are even mildly into motorcycles, you may have noticed from 1968 onwards, a new bike format arrived on the scene. The trail bike. When Yamaha released the then revolutionary DT1 250 two stroke, they said.. "Because one day somebody decided to take a shortcut on a motorbike."

Gregory Howard Sier's favourite bike!

Before that there were road bikes and scramblers. Basically a road bike with an upturned exhaust for higher ground clearance and a set on knobby tyres.

And then somewhere in the 80s... the adventure bike was born.

So just what is an adventure bike? Good question. On another forum there always is a hot debate going on between enthusiasts over just what constitutes  an ADV bike. Basically a fair description would be a bigger version of the original trail bike design; an all road bike, higher ground clearance, larger fuel tank and hence range.. and the ability to carry a fair amount of luggage.

So bikes like the Kawasaki KLR650  at one end up through KTM 990 Adventure to the Yamaha Super Tenere 1200 and topping out with the BMW GS Adventure.

Good all road tourers.. and with the exception of the KLR (single cylinder) all capable of comfortable high speed touring.

So now you know what constitutes an ADV bike.. so why do we ride them?

Well apart from golf sucking (sorry again Greg) the ability to see a different part of the world than where your car will take you and to be at one with the environment is part of that magic.

Take last Sunday morning.. breakfast at Woodford was calling. That old town and I shared some sweet history going back 40 years or so. How to get to Woodford?

Well you could drive up the highway and turn left at Caboolture and head inland.

NW/GF/FO as Doc Neeson used to say. Why not take the long way round and use some roads less travelled?

So with Cruz and Big Daddee (truly) leading onwards we navigated our way out through the old Pine Rivers Shire until we arrived at this road closed sign. Well, it would be closed to your average Commodore. Onwards and upwards we go on this incredibly rough dirt road.... that brought us out at Ocean View on Mt Mee.

What a magic climb... a bit of an adrenaline rush as it was the first time I had ridden Fat Max up such a steep hill.

Wow! This beats the living daylights out of golf! (Sorry yet again Greg!)

From here we hit the bitumen for a nice twisty ride down the other side (past the nice Policeman) and on to Woodford.

God is it great to be alive! And to have this fabulous freedom machine in the shed just waiting for me to decide where and when to go.. well life is a pretty rich feast.

The Super Tenere. Freedom machine extraordinaire.

I know what you are thinking, but no it is not all motorbikes in my life. The bride and I spend a lot of time touring around some weekends on 4 wheels too! She has her Z4 roadster and we have a family hack as well!

But having said that.... there is nothing like coming home covered in dust and feeling completely stuffed after a good day's riding with your biker mates.

So why do I ride an ADV bike?

Because life is short, golf is for pussies (sorry yet again Greg) and.. because I can!

And the buzz has to be experienced to be appreciated!

Photography: Last! At Last! I love it!

last1

[last, lahst] Spell Syllables

• Synonyms
• Examples
• Word Origin

adjective, a superl. of late with later as compar.

1.

occurring or coming after all others, as in time, order, or place:

the last line on a page.

2.

most recent; next before the present; latest:

last week; last Friday.

3.

being the only one remaining:

my last dollar; the last outpost; a last chance.

4.

final:

in his last hours.

5.

ultimate or conclusive; definitive:

the last word in the argument.

I have always been fascinated by the word "last." Now that may sound strange, but I think it goes back to the mid 70s and mid 80s when I was at TAFE and then Uni studying business management and marketing. One of the things we learnt was that the first line in the heading was the "advert" for the advert.

As in:

"At last, a way to get your floors clean with half as much effort!"

Or how about:

"At last, improve the value of your car by this simple trick."

And then in both cases the body copy went on to extoll the virtues of whatever the product was and then had a call to action in the end part. 

Basic rule of advertising: Attention, interest, desire, action. (Ring this number NOW or fill in this form NOW.. only 9 items available etc.

In my MAX Instruments days, I always tried to use "At Last" in my advertising. 

Then there was Warren And Gordon's song... "At Last" (my love has come along)

And what about my new Holden that is on order...  as it is arguably the most advanced car ever built here, one could say....

They saved the best for LAST!

When I was about 12 and we had our family holiday home on Bribie Island, we had a bookshelf full of books.. as we had no TV. I remember seeing a paperback called, "The Last Hurrah" and it said in a splash on the over, "Now a movie starring Spencer Tracy". There it is.. that word "last" again. Always popping into my life.

My mother telling I would come last in my class if I didn't study my maths. (Mother, there are 12 frames on my roll of 120 and the camera counts them for me. That is all I need to know and anyhow, I don't want to be a mathematician!) That bloody "last" word again.. but this time with negative thoughts attached to it.

But back to the word last and its other uses....

One day back in about 1980, I was walking up George Street in Brisbane City and I walked past a hifi store. Out the front they had a pair of big Peterson stereo speakers and they were pumping out ELO's Last Train to London. I stopped and listened in.. wow, what a romantic vision formed in my head. Late on a cold night, a young couple on a railway station somewhere in England (Three Bridges perhaps) and they are sharing one long last kiss as the porter calls last train to London. Imagine the thoughts in the head of the guy singing the song, telling the story. He knows he should go, but he has just met her that very night and it is sweet agony... hanging on to her as the seconds count down to the train's departure..

Of course being a visual person (I am a photographer) all of this is playing out on a screen in my mind to this incredible sound track. 

Naturally, that night those speakers are in my home, hooked up to my magic Sansui AU555 amp (still have it.. 1969 vintage) and are pumping out.. Last train to London.

So from 1980, fast forward to 2014 and I find myself on my last night in Budapest with Debra. Our holiday European River Cruise is over and tomorrow we fly to Munich in Germany on business. Budapest is a very romantic city and Debra and I along with our friends Mark & Libby, Greg and Heidi cannot believe our holiday is nearly over. On this, our very last night all together, like that couple on Three Bridges Station 34 years ago, we are all living very much in the moment, all deliriously happy and we all want this moment to last....

Forever!

And then...

Along comes The Last Tram to Budapest.

And I have my trusted Fuji with me! What visual poetry to finish the night.

Folks.. I give you... "The Last Tram to Budapest"

Last Tram to Budapest. © Mark Taylor BNE 2014

Let the music play on down the line tonight!

Life: Slow boat to Budapest, Fast Jet to Munich, Quick Mercedes to Raubling... leaves me longing for my island home!

So a couple of years ago, Deb and I were out for a birthday Chinese meal one Saturday night with good friends Greg and Heidi. Over the meal, Greg asked us if we had ever considered a holiday floating along the European river system. Well we actually had back in 2007, but ended up doing Europe in a high speed Audi A8 instead.

And in the fullness of time.....

We came to join Greg and Heidi and about 80 others on an Avalon Waterways trip from Amsterdam to Budapest on their newest ship (and largest in the river system) the Illumination. For 14 magic days we motored along the rivers and canals until we came to Budapest. Lots of good times, laughter, too much wine and food. Actually way too much wine and food.. my belt has shrunk.. a lot!

And we met some new friends along the way.

This trip I decided was going to be about making interesting images.. so lots of B&W shots of doors and street scenes. Not so many post card type images. And of course.. for these the studio needed another new camera. The Fuji X-Pro 1. A real piece of hardware and one that encourages those "different" pictures.

The mighty Fuji X-Pro 1

So we started in Amsterdam after a wasted day in Dubai. (Now that is another story!) Wandering the back streets and seeing people laughing as they wined and dined at street side cafes. Interesting place, not as much government in your face here. I like it. And I also like the meals at the Hotel America. Now if you visit Amsterdam try it out. We were last there with Gerry and Jeanine in 1990. Bitter sweet memories.

Evening meal with Greg and Captain Heidi in Holland

So eventually we board the ship, do a life boat drill and away we go. As the sunsets ever so slowly in the west we cruise into Germany for many stops along the way. The next 2 weeks were pure bliss. Lots of side trips, making new friends. (Hi Mark & Libby.. how's the new watch?)

Then eventually we sail into Budapest on our last day to a cold overcast morning.. but wow the buildings here are stunning. Simply the prettiest city I have ever seen. Since the fall of communism this place has come alive. No phones in your houses (unless you are part of the party machine) let alone mobiles under communist rule. Go and use the phone box on the corner .. and be careful what you say. Big brother is tuned in!

Our tour guide told us they didn't get a phone in their family home until 1994!

Even the trams look good in Budapest.

And then the day to go home came... and suddenly I realised how much I loved Australia. Standing at the airport to book in on Luftwaffe to fly back to Munich; being told i am 2 kg over.. that will be 50 Euros please. "You're kidding me.. 2 k over and it's 50 Euros" And the answer  came.. "Every K over is kerosene!" A new tag line for our speed camera obsessed government!

Still they flew us to Munich safely and then after a day's business we're loaded on an A380 for the long trip back to Australia.

And the thing about Australia and Europe is this: As Greg pointed out during our trip.. Europe has been at war with itself since Biblical times. And with the Russia/Ukraine thing at the moment.. well it still is.

But down here on our island in the South Pacific... well what a life style we have. And we need to keep it that way. After my 10th trip to Europe, I have never before appreciated coming home as much as I did this time.

Even if we did fly Emirates. (Dear Mr Emirates.. my 12th leg with you guys.. and the last. Lift your game at Dubai airport. Standing in the burning hot desert sun on the aircraft stairs while you try to offload 500 people into buses for the 20 minute ride to the terminal.. it's not good enough. You have 52 A380s... upgrade your airport to allow air bridge disembarkation  at the terminal before you buy any more new planes if you want to see us again!)

Now the time has come to process all of those images and make a coffee table book.

Thanks Greg for the suggestion of the trip.. thanks again for the company, you too Heidi and Mark & Libby and the rest of the cast and crew. Most relaxing holiday ever.

Now.. where's Weight Watchers phone number.. need to resign!