Today he wanted to set it up a bit and get his little blue heart pumping … and there’s no better way to do that that a little adventure sport – bush walking, rock climbing, and a little trapeze over the canyon below.

What’s next …. you’ll have to keep watching the 52 Weeks:2012 Edition group to find out.   One thing I know is the little guy has still got a bit of Brisbane to see in the next week or so.

The lorikeets LOVE this flower – I have absolutely no idea what it is, so if someone can tell me, please leave a comment – I think they lick up all of the nectar and pollen of the bottom of this.  It doesn’t look all that appetising up this close, but it must be tasty to them.

This is part of the ‘Extreme Detail’ theme for this weeks image from the Flickr 52 Weeks: 2012 Edition group.

If you can help, here’s the tree it comes from:

This didn’t really come out like I was planning, but such is life.  While I would have likes the ‘liquid’ to be in focus a little more, there is something that I like about this shot.

Where do these amazingly talented people get the time (or for that matter, the budget) to make things like this.  Maybe I’ve got to stop thinking like an accountant ?

[If you have time, be sure to check out the Behind the Scenes video as well]

This shot is part of my 52 Weeks project … and was inspired from the 52 Weeks:2012 Edition flickr group’s weekly theme “fashion” … i’m trying to push my ‘strobist’ skills, using off camera flash to improve the lighting of my shots.  There are a lot of amazingly talented photographers who shot some incredible shots with basic speedlights off-camera.  One of them that caught my eye during my 365 Project was a guy called Rick Nunn, who shot a great series of images for 50 days straight using a 50mm lens (see his Fifty of Fifty project here), and posted each with a lighting diagram, and often a video, showing how he took them – a great help for absolute novices like me – so thanks Rick.

And so I can come back to remember & learn from what I’ve done … here’s my lighting diagram:

So here I go …. here is 1 of 52 …. Marshmallow Cupcakes.   And they are delicious, sickly sweet, but delicious – a vanilla cupcake, hollowed and filled with melted marshmallow, topped with marshmallow laden vanilla frosting.  Yummy, and a good test of my new cooker.

Marshmallow Cupcakes

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
120ml milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 pink marshmallows
1 quantity of Vanilla Frosting (see below)
100g mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 170C
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in an electric mixer (using whisk attachments), beating on a slow speed until everything is combined.  [it will look like sand]
3. Gradually add half of the milk and beat until just incorporated
4. In a small bowl, briefly whisk the rest of the milk, the egg and the vanilla extract together
5. Pour milk into the flour mixture and beat for a couple of minutes only.  Do not overbeat.
6. Spoon the mix into cupcake cases (1/2 to 2/3 full) and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes.  They are cooked when lightly golden and slightly spongy when touched.  A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
7. Leave in the tray for a few minutes, and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. Hollow out a small hole in the middle of each cupcake
9. Melt the pink marshmallows in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water until melted, and quickly fill each of the hollows before the marshmallow cools
10. Make the Vanilla Frosting, mix in the mini marshmallows and frost the top of each cupcake.

Vanilla Frosting

250g icing sugar/mixture
80g unsalted butter at room temperature
25ml milk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together using an electric mixer on medium-slow speed until incorporated well
2. Combine the milk and vanilla in a separate bowl
3. On slow speed, add the milk to the mixer a spoon full at a time
4. Once all the milk is incorporated, turn up to full speed and beat until light a fluffy (at least 5 minutes – the longer the better, it will become fluffier the longer it is beaten)

It’s truly been a memorable experience – and a great challenge.  I set out on the project to improve my photography skills (which i’ve definitely achieved) and to enhance my creativity (which I achieved some of the days … others there was no creativity at all !).   I knew it would be a challenge … what i didn’t realise is how much of a challenge it would be some days, while others it just seemed to all fall into place.

Personally it’s been a bloody tough year, and doing this project has certainly been a useful distraction at times.   And it’s been wonderful to tune into flickr each day and see what other 365′ers have achieved with their latest shot … so to all my flickr contacts, thank you !

Here’s to the next challenge that lies ahead … and may 2012 be a wonderful year for all.

Lighting info:
Canon 430Ex with DIY drinking straw grid pointing up & slightly behind the mirror ball, full power
Canon 580ExII, in Westcott Apollo, partially collapsed, camera left,   full power
YN560, bare, camera right, 1/8th

So, here’s to 2 days to go.