Ruth Spitzer

Spring in the Blue Mountains

“Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day”.  
W. Earl Hall

And who am I to argue with that...

On a glorious perfect spring day, I found myself in the Blue Mountains on a photography workshop.  Once the full day formalities of class were over, you take that step outside and realise the rest of the day is yours for the taking.  The air is beautiful, the sun feels incredible on your skin, my camera is practically shouting at me to get going and snap some beauty.

Saturday late afternoon, we took a hike en route to the Wentworth falls lake.  Hiking through beautiful vegetation, deep into the forest. Words could barely describe the wonders of nature.  I couldn’t get over the smell of the earth, that beautiful deafening silence followed by the crunching of leaves.  The array of green tones and textures and bark.  My excitement probably something akin to a kid in a toy store, wanting to touch, inspect, smell, but sadly had to limit my explorations and keep up with the group.

Sunday morning, I decided to break away from the group and venture alone at my own pace to explore the town.  First stop, the National Park for a 2 hour hike up to the Wentworth Falls. And it got off to an interesting start with about 150 stairs.  Which took you to the first look out point  (below).  For a sneak peak looking out directly at the falls.  Nothing spectacular by far.  But the feeling of standing there looking out to amazing vastness was just incredible.  And so the hike begins along the left side all the way to the falls.

  

Over boulders, under fallen tree trunks, squeezing through overgrown paths, fighting with spiderwebs.  It was sublime. Painful, hot, tiring with all your camera equipment, but so wonderful.  And that feeling when you arrive, standing above the falls, that elated gust of water that almost blows you over with such incredible force. That jolt of aliveness that kicks in was truly amazing. As you're standing there on the edge of the cliff taking photos, every few minutes, a vortex of wind would rise high above you and kick up a mass of water to come showering down on you.  There's no where to hide and so you shield your camera into your body and brace yourself.  And it's wonderful.  Freezing cold, but wonderful.  

Eventually I had to tear myself away and make my way back, so I never finished the hike that would essentially take you directly behind the falls.  I had a whole town to still explore, but it was an amazing experience.

Next stop the Norman Lindsay Gallery at Faulconbridge in the lower Blue Mountains.  I was told that the gardens are beautiful and defiitely worth a visit.  And what better time to visit than Spring.  Upon arrival, you feel like you're stepping back in time.  It's a beautiful old estate, completely hidden by the main road. The old stone walls, immaculate gardens and a little path that takes you down to a cozy cafe and their delicious freshly baked scones. 

After lunch I took a stroll through the gardens.  You're in awe at the beauty around you.  Lavender bushes stand out against the blue sky, the wisteria paths calling out to you, beautiful statues litter the grounds, wonderful old trees with wooden benches beneath them, inviting you to sit down and admire the scenery.   It's perfectly picturesque.

 

I remember getting caught up near the lavender, mesmerised by the constant activity of bees. And naturally hoping to get a really good close up his face, hopefully looking at me, but no, this little bugger just wouldn’t hover long enough for me to zoom in and focus. Notice, he's never quite looking at me,  the only constant view I kept getting was the beautiful rear end of this little one.  Yes, he probably knew I was standing there all that time, with my lens practically shoved in his face, patiently waiting. Getting back ache in the process, bending over in a not so comfortable position.

Sydney Living - a Happy You!

A friend recently steered me in the direction of a snippet from Bill Bryson’s book titled “In a Sunburned Country”.  Here he describes people who work in Sydney and commute by ferry …

“An air of cheerful industriousness suffuses the scene.  These are people who get to live in a safe and fair-minded society, in a climate that makes you strong and handsome, in one of the world’s great cities – and they get to come to work on a boat from a children’s storybook, across a sublime plane of water, and each morning glance up from their Herald’s and Telegraph’s to see that famous Opera House and inspiring bridge and the laughing face of Luna Park.  No wonder they all look so damned happy!”

I couldn’t think of a more apt description.  Even those who don’t travel on the ferry, but have ventured down to Circular Quay and sat on the bench to ‘people watch’, or simply relax and marvel at their surroundings, have front row seats to our famous landmarks.  

 

Expedia 'Turn to Me' Campaign

Expedia.com.au  recently launched their first TV and Cinema campaign in May 2010, to coincide with our brand overhaul, complete with a new tag line, something we haven't had to date in the Australian Market.  Now there's something to be said for the anticipation that grows, the expectations and a little bit of excitement in waiting to preview our new ad, which aired for the first time on Monday 4 May in cinemas across Australia and New Zealand.  It was filmed outside Goulburn, country NSW, about 2.5 hours drive from Sydney.

Whilst I can honestly say it was nothing close to what your mind conjures up, working for an on-line travel company, you would undoubtedly expect to see something representing action, fun, escaping to some exotic location, vibrant music, crystal clear waters, breathtaking landscapes, ancient architecture, everything that signifies the hidden treasures this world has to offer just waiting for the unsuspecting tourist to enjoy... but not this time.

This ad was totally different to any previous marketing we've engaged in.  Serene - evoking peace and calmness.  It was beautiful in its own right, just not what you'd expect for travel.  But I guess that's the beauty in it - we all have different expectations and perceptions.  I will admit, I completely fell in love with the song. The full version anyway. 

 

Expedia - SmartCar Campaign

Expedia.com.au  ran a SmarCar Campaign in 2008, securing a fleet of SmartCars, enveloped in our signature colour; with advertisements representing various amazing locations across the world - hard to miss.

Leading up to our campaign launch date, we decided to involve the office in a little outdoor fun, an exercise whereby testing our ability to cram as many staff as we could into one of these little wonders. We headed down to the water and one by one, slowly piled ito a SmartCar,  bodies contorting into unusual angles, filling up every square inch of space. In the end, squeezing in 12 bodies, hence the SmartCar Squeeze. Watch it in action below:

 

 

Following that, our official launch date, held in Bondi, along Campbell Parade.  A yellow SmartCar parked into every conceivable parking space we could find.  The beauty of these cars being so small, you could squeeze almost twice as many into a strip of parking than normal. It was a sight and defintely attracted the locals.