Self-doubt is incredibly corrosive.

“Make new mistakes.  Make glorious, amazing mistakes. 

Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. 

Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough ...” 

~ Neil Gaiman

A gorgeous morning in our bay!  That's Sheree and Cooper on the edge of the waves.

As a photographer ... and one that’s trying to gain recognition and make a living 

by what she does  ... that quote resonates with me.  

The closest I got to the Kingfisher today was when he perched on the lamp post next to the beach.

I’m ALWAYS second-guessing myself.  

Despite the best of intentions and the strongest of beliefs in myself, 

there are times when doubt creeps in  .... insidiously and without warning

 ... and fells me in one foul swoop.

Prince, a retired Guide Dog we met in the bay this morning ... 11 years old ... and he's owned by
a real estate agent Jimmy, who's offered to get more of my collection tins into another few shops.

I am my own worst nightmare. 

Self-doubt is incredibly corrosive.

And then I take a photo that just talks to me.  

It epitomises everything I want my photography to be and I KNOW I’m doing what I should.

I think I owe the Shag a vote of thanks.

It’s expected on a gorgeous sunshiny day that there’ll be an abundance of birdlife on the mudflats and in the rock pools ... especially as the tide was running low mid morning.  

That WASN’T the case today though.

The sunshine DID bring out the ramblers, the sunbathers, the toddlers ... but not the Kingfishers and the Herons that I’d been looking for.  We EVEN found breakfast for the Kingfishers but very few Kingfishers to catch it.

Kingfisher food!

Fossicking in the rock pools with the oldest lemming and the noise was great fun.  They were both BAREFOOT ... great for the mud and wading in rock pools but not so great for walking over barnacle encrusted outcrops.

Happy AND muddy lemmings!

My shoes are made for walking ... in mud, in rock pools AND over barnacles.  

A Hermit crab ... he disappeared into his shell when he got picked up.

We found hermit crabs, teeny weeny fish, barnacle encrusted fish skulls and lots of the little crabs that the Kingfishers like ... but NO Kingfishers.

The Shag we came across MORE than made up for not finding Kingfishers.  He was a Pied Shag, one of the 8 species of Shag endemic to New Zealand.  Not an Aussie import for once!

They’re notoriously shy and are very quick to take to the water when threatened.  

I seldom get close when I’m on the rocks but these two were drying their wings on the rocky outcrop in the middle of our beach.

They’d been fishing and, contrary to popular belief, a Shag’s feathers are not waterproof.  

They catch their food by chasing it underwater ... it’s called pursuit diving

... and need to rest and dry their wings before being able to fly. 

One took off and I thought the other would follow in quick succession ... but he didn’t.

He had the most magical blue eyes and totally changed my perspective on these birds. I've always thought them to be a bit bland and boring ... he was ANYTHING but.

He quite MADE my day!

Me taking photos of the Shag ... captured by the lemming.

“I am convinced that most people do not grow up.

We find parking spaces and honor our credit cards. 

We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. 

I think what we do is mostly grow old. 

We carry accumulation of years in our bodies and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are still as innocent and shy as magnolias.” 

~ Maya Angelou

Oh yes .... An Eastern Rosella popping down to say good morning!

A "Fergus" on the beach yesterday ... he's taken quite a shine to the rugby ball.