12 months in review....

...I'm back!

So over the last 12 months a lot has happened - most of it 'life' related. Last year ended up being rather hectic as I found myself completing my last uni placement (and hence finally finishing my studies), finding gainful employment, and having new and exciting adventures. The bottom line - even though I never stopped taking photos, I found myself with much less time to set aside to specifically go out for the purpose of 'finding' photos. The photographical adventures were replaced with vocation and vacation.

The good news for me is that since I posting last I've upgraded my gear substantially (for the photographically savvy I'm shooting with a Canon 7D, and I finally replaced my telephoto with an awesome 70-200 f4L IS lens. I was quietly excited to get my first 'L' series lens!). So, what does this mean for my blog? The original idea was to post my best 6 photos each month. Because it's been so long, I've decided to put up my best 6 for the year - 12 months dating back from when I last posted. Enjoy :)

Pacific Ocean
(F8, 1/1250s, ISO400, sigma 17-70 @50mm)

There were a lot of awesome photos while whale watching on the Red Rocket outside of North Head(thanks again Croppy!). Being so close to the water made for some amazing shots of the whales, but this was my winner for the day. The swell was ridiculously flat, and the dolphins were out to play! No doubt the kids were having an awesome time :)




Bondi Beach
(F8, 1/1000s, ISO400, canon 70-300 @300mm)

This little guy was snapped at Bondi while Eric, Jodie and I were lunching. I've always thought seagulls made for fun photos, simply beacuse you can easily get up close to them. But obviously it's the timing of this photo that really 'makes' it...

Elephant Conservation Center, Sayaboury (Laos)

The first of my holiday snaps (and my first blog photo with my 7D), taken in the Sayaboury province in Laos. When we travelled there in December last year, we organised to go to the Elephant Conservation Center. It was great to see elephants being looked after - unlike a lot of the more mainstream tourist places, their itinerary is based on the elephants rather than tourists (ensuring they have a proper diet, as well as medical treatment). I took this photo one morning as we walked into the surrounding jungle to fetch the elephants from where they slept. The whole thing was an incredible experience - I strongly recommend it to anyone planning on travelling through S.E Asia....

Hanoi, Vietnam
(F32, 1/2s, ISO200, sigma 17-70 @70mm)

Taken in Hanoi, a local woman selling her wares of teapots and vases on the side of the road during peak hour. Being such a fast moving city, with a lot of motorbikes, I had a lot of fun experimenting with longer shutter speeds. This was of course my favourite :)




Lebua State Tower, Bangkok
(f2.8, 1/5s, ISO1250, sigma 17-70 @ 17mm)

The Lebua State Tower - home of some amazing cocktails and part of the set for the Hangover Part 2 movie. This is a panorama shot of about 10 individual photos (hooray for 'photomerge' in photoshop!). This goes against my normal rule of panoramas, as I shot it at a wide angle (and hence it is a little warped), but it was the only way I could fit in from the top of the tower, all the way down to the Mekong. Ideally I would have walked back about 10-15m to take it slightly zoomed in, but that's not always possible when you're on a rooftop bar.......

Circular Quay
(f2.8, 1/4s, ISO1000, sigma 17-70 @70mm)

My last photo was taken during the Vivid Sydney festival. As was the case last year, the installations were all very impressive, but none of them really spoke to me in terms of being photographical subjects. So once again, my camera turned to the crowd, and it got a lot more interesting. I saw this couple trying to line up their own shot in front of the MCA, and managed to catch them right as their camera flashed.



So these six photos were the product of thousands of photos (if I had to guess, in the range of 10,000 photos) that I've taken over the last year. Time permitting, I am going to try and go back to posting regularly. I'm hoping to to muster up another six from July soon, while at the same time trying to fill a quota for August... Finally, a big 'thank you' to my friends who, at some point over the last 12 months, simply let me know that they enjoyed my blog. It's always more inspiring to do something when you know you have an audience - no matter how small it may be.

Creative June

It feels like forever since I last posted, simply because so much has happened over the last month. Uni is finally nearing the end as well, and a full-time teaching position is looking likely around October. In regard to my photography, the Winter Magic festival in Katoomba proved to be a photographic feast - costumes, characters and gozleme as far as the eye could see! There was also the Vivid Sydney festival, which to be honest I had mixed feelings about. It seemed like such an event - the lights, crowd, atmosphere... But it was kind of hard to feel inspired when hundreds of people are taking photos of the same subject. After a while I came to the conclusion that the most interesting photos weren't going to be of the opera house, or the light shows, but rather the crowd and the atmosphere. So, here are my six best from June:

Location: Circular Quay
(F10, 30sec, ISO 400, 17mm focal length)

Taken during the Vivid Sydney festival, as is sometimes the case with photography this was more of a happy accident. I was taking photos of the projection light beaming across to the Opera House when a ferry started to approach. I thought it might be fun to get the blurring of the ferry, but I didn't consider the shutter speed I was using at the time. Luckily the photo finished exposing before it reached the Opera House.

Location: Circular Quay
(F3.5, 2.5sec, ISO 400, 46mm focal length)

Photo number two of Vivid Sydney. it kind of goes back to taking photos not just of the artwork, but of the atmosphere. A group of children were exploring the 'blue egg' (or whatever it was called), but because of the extended exposure it was difficult to get people in focus. So for this photo I forced the flash to capture the image of the people, but still got a blurring movement pattern that comes with a longer exposure. A little bit ghost-like :)

Location: Circular Quay (again!)
(F25, 30sec, ISO 100, 25mm focal length)

I haven't taken very many of these photos at all, I managed to slow the exposure down to 30 seconds by reducing the ISO to 100, upping the aperture to 25, and using a variety of filters (from memory I had an ND4, ND8 and a circular polariser on!). Anyway, after adjusting the tone and some levels in photoshop (as well as correcting a few small spots that were on the window), and using the burn function in photoshop to bring the exposure of the sky down a little, I think I've ended up with a pretty cool daylight extended exposure!

Location: Katoomba Station
(F8.0, 1/20, ISO 400, 46mm focal length)

After a long train ride, and armed with thermos' of mulled wine, Jacqueline and I were greeted at the Winter Magic festival in Katoomba by what I think is called the Heritage Express. I took a handful of the front of the train, with steam bellowing from the engine in all directions. Funnily enough, my favourite photo came of the crew who were manning the locomotive. And let's face it, steam-trains look awesome in black and white!




Location: Katoomba
(F4.0, 1/400, ISO 400, 70mm focal length)


With such a diverse crowd at Winter Magic, (and such a diverse range of hats and outfits), I think this photo aptly sums up the festival - someone in fancy dress, and someone taking a photo of them! Which is of course why I like this photo - it really is a snapshot of what the afternoon was like. Plus on a technical note, I'm just generally happy with the depth of field, and how sharp the subject turned out. I should also note the reduction in vibrance and saturation to make the photo feel a little 'colder' - it was in Katoomba, in winter after all!

Location: Katoomba
(F4.0, 1/250, ISO 400, 50mm focal length)

My final image for the month, and my third of the Winter Magic festival. This photo supports my 'diverse range of hats' comment in the description of the last photo!!! There were quite a few photos vying for the sixth spot, admittedly some were probably technically better than this, but the reason I like it so much is that it invokes memories of my own childhood. In particular, the decorated plastic dolls on the wooden sticks. At least for me, it brings up vivid memories of my primary school fete. I keep reading on how photography is dependent on the audience - while some people won't look twice, other people will struggle to look away. At least for me, because of the memories that it evokes, this is one of the latter.


So once again, another month - another six. July will represent a 12 month cycle (seeing as I started last August, and posted July in retrospect). My aim for July - shooting star trails. Or at least giving it a go! In fact, regardless of how successful it is, I'll post what I do and learn. There's only one certainty - it will be cold.

May-be some autumn colours

I had high hopes for photography this month. It started well with Chris and Dale's wedding, with some beautiful colours up at Kurrajong Heights in the Blue Mountains. Then there was Olympic Park for a night, then later in the month an evening out on Sydney Harbour. I was hoping to get a lot more photos of those delicious autumn colours, but as was the case last month I have been flat out with uni work again! In fact, on my way to work there are two beautiful deciduous trees, and they have slowly tortured me throughout the month - gradually losing more and more leaves as time passes. But I digress - this is what May did provide me with:

Location: Lane Cove River, Hunter Hill
(F9.0, 1/800, ISO 400, 95mm focal length)

A photo of Dad, rowing to shore to pick me up before we head of for an evening on the harbour. I had my camera out taking a few photos of the sunset while I was waiting, and it just so happened that the path he took while rowing ended up being very well framed. Plus he turned his head just at the right moment! Plus I have to admit that the sunset was enhanced a fair bit by the fact that there seemed to be a lot of backburning going on in the leadup to the bushfire season...

Location: Olympic Park
(F8.0, 5 sec, ISO 400, 23mm focal length)

One of my Olympic Park photos, taken from near the Homebush Bay Brewery looking back towards to railway station. I think the thing I really like about this photo is the fact that I wouldn't normally look twice at a park bench,  but with this one - the converging lines from the trees, some early autumn colours, the patterns of the tiles... I think it all worked really well :)

The first of three photos I took at Chris and Dale's wedding. I think there's still a sense of season with this one, the leaves are kind of wiltered, plus I reduced the vibrance and saturation as well to make it feel a little 'colder'. Like the park bench in the previous photo, I normally wouldn't look twice at a tap - but this one just got my attention. I think it's the paint which has dried on the handle - even though it's not exactly an old, worn-out tap I think it still tells a story. Granted it's probably not an exciting story, but a story nonetheless!

Location: Kurrajong Heights, Upper Blue Mountains
(F9.0, 1/250, ISO 400, 54mm focal length)

So I have to say that it is looking like this will be my best autumn photo this year - not because I don't think I'm going to take a better one of those lovely autumn leaves, but because I don't know if I'll get the chance before they're gone! Once again this was taken at the wedding venue - the Turpentine Tree at Kurrajong. The garden was scattered with hanging lanterns, mainly placed around the lake. In retrospect, I wish i had played a bit more with the reflection of the autumn colours in the water! That might give me something to do in the school holidays - look for reflection photos...

Location: Kurrajong Heights, Upper Blue Mountains
(F9.0, 1/320, ISO 400, 54mm focal length)

From left to right: Steve, Chris and Charles. Taken the day after the wedding during the garden party, with Chris sporting his brand new wedding band! It's far from a professional wedding photo, but I think it just really captured the moment. I think there's just the right amount of 'stuff' in the background as well - a couple of lanterns, some food and wine on the table, a hint of autumn colours...

The sixth image that scraped in this month was another one from Olympic Park. Funnily enough, I spend the majority of the time there taking movement shots - in particular zooming while the camera was exposed. I was letting it expose enough so that you could see details of lights, buildings, etc., but then slowly zooming in to get a pattern of light trails. I admit they looked good on the screen on the back of my camera - just not so much on my computer screen at home! I am however, quite happy with this photo - once again there are congerging lines which draw focus down the path, but I think the main subject of the solar panels and light frame keep bringing the focus back to the foreground. I think this was the only photo of the month that didn't really convey a sense of season?!


So as is custom, that brings my month to a close. Now it's time to get back to uni assignments! The only thing I know for certain this month is that I have a week away somewhere with school to look foward to (it's looking like the Gold Coast, despite earlier promises of a snow trip... But hey, being paid to holiday on the Gold Coast isn't exactly doing it tough either!), and then of course there will be school holidays at the end of the month. I will probably be lucky to get my camera out at all during the first half of June, but I'm looking forward to making up for it when I get a bit more free time to play with!

Fooling April

So.... My blog is a little behind schedule this month - we’re almost half way through May as I post my photos from April! But it has been an incredibly busy month - the wedding of two of my closest friends Chris and Dale last weekend, organising Chris’ bucks party the weekend before, National League Water Polo finals (my team ended up with the bronze medal - not too shabby!), university assignments, the list goes on. But on the plus side, I managed to get away to Rockhampton and Great Keppel Island for 4-5 days, which made me very happy! And it goes without saying that my camera came with me. In fact, if I hadn’t taken my camera with me, I would have been very light on photos this month!!! All that aside, (and before I start getting into the next lot of uni assignments), here are my best six photos from April:

Location: Cabarita Park
(F4.0, 1/125, ISO 400, 70mm focal length)

In addition to my normal job, I also occasionally drive wedding cars for our family business, (*cough*, Bonnie and Clyde Vintage Wedding Cars, *cough*). On this occasion I decided to take my camera along and take a few bonus snaps for the newlyweds - seeing as I’m standing around the cars all day anyway! There’s a lot to this photo, and I think it captures the moment in a lot of different ways - the photo is just as much about the bride/groom/parents sharing a moment in the background, as it is the girl watching them in the foreground. I should also note that post-production work include decreasing the saturation and vibrance, as well as applying a gaussian blur to the background to draw greater focus to the subject.

 

Location: Cabarita Park
(F5.0, 1/60, ISO 400, 70mm focal length)

 Taken at the same wedding, and with a similar idea to the last photo - except I have replaced the girl with a pair of shoes! Once again, the thing I like about this photo is that there is so much happening in the background, as the bridal party get ready for their professional photos on the grass. At the same time, there’s a lot which goes unsaid about the shoes sitting on the fence - it’s not exactly a mystery as to why they’re there, but the fact that they’re there says a lot!

Location: Rockhampton
(F9.0, 30sec, ISO 400, 17mm focal length)

The first photo from my Queensland adventure - one night in Rockhampton and this is where we stayed. I believe it was a converted railway office (it was opposite the infamous Great Western Hotel, and right near the railway depot). Anyway, I think this photo epitomises how traditional the hotel was. I really loved the detailing of the railing - unfortunately the converging lines don't lead to anything of great excitement (a fire hose!). But still, I do like how this photo came out :)

Location: Svendsens Beach, Great Keppel Island
(F9.0, 1/800, ISO 400, 17mm focal length)

This photo, as surreal as it is, was taken at Svendsens Beach, Great Keppel Island. The modest accommodation that we stayed in was run by Carl Svendsen and his wife (I don't think his surname is coincidence - I have no idea how many generations have to have lived there in order to officially name the beach after your family!). Anyway, it was entirely pleasant being on the 'quiet' side of the island. Of the 4 nights we were there, this was one of the two sunsets which we managed to catch. I have to admit I felt a little daft, as I wondered to myself why I didn't make the time to watch the sunset over the water while I was back at home. Bit hard to do that from old Sydney town.........

Location: Svendsens Beach, Great Keppel Island
(F5.6, 1/1250, ISO 400, 300mm focal length)

I just had to put this one in. I can't even put my finger on whether it is technically good or not, (I had to crop the photo just a little, after using my telephoto at full zoom), but yeah - I just love this little guy! We had a posse of these birds come by each morning at our accommodation. It was nice to practice a bit of nature photography from the comfort of my own balcony! I really like the detail of his feathers and beak, although I think there's a bit of chromatic aberration around his eye. I cannot wait to upgrade my telephoto lens to something which isn't cheap and nasty - but hey this one seems to be doing the job for now!

Location: Butterfish Bay, Greak Keppel Island
(F8.0, 1/200, ISO 200, 50mm focal length)

Taken just around the corner from where we were staying, from a hill overlooking Butterfish Bay. There was some rather unsuccessful fishing done from the point in the background of the photo - just catch and release stuff (although turtles did keep coming up to the surface to say hello, which was really cool!). Anyway, I just really like the composition of this photo, I think I got the depth of field right (the background isn't overly blurred, you can still make out a lot of detail).








Once again, that's the best I have for April. My aim for May is to get a greater range of subjects and locations, as my photos for April were pretty much dominated by two outings. Plus, I got myself a couple of graduated ND filters from ebay which I'm looking forward to experimenting with. Hopefully I'll have something worthwhile this coming month to show them off!

March-ing along...

Sooooo..... My March post is a little late - I'm blaming my uni work for that, which I'm slowly getting on top of. It's a nice change from last year! Plus the water polo season continues... But being in the thick of assignments right now I will keep my normal ramble short. March was fun, the highlight probably being mushrooming with Jacqueline out around Oberon. So many photos from that excusrion made my initial shortlist, but didn't quite make the final six. There were a lot of good photos this month - either involving incredibly scenery or interesting subject matter, but when it came to the crunch the photos weren't technically as good as the six I have chosen. Anyway, here they are:

Location: State forests around Oberon
(f6.3, 1/50, ISO 400, 70mm focal length)

The only mushroom photo that made it to the final six - a saffron milk cap. The poisonous ones (i.e., the ones with red with white spots, that look like they're straight out of Mario Kart!) are much more photogenic, but I love how the saffron milk caps push their way up through the roughage. At first when I looked back at this photo, I wished I had moved the pine needle from the front of the mushroom. But after looking closely it added a nice little touch, in particular the little bug sitting on the end of it!




Location: Somewhere along the M4?!
(f3.5, 30sec, ISO 400, 8mm focal length)


An extended exposure while hurtling down the M4. No, I wasn't driving at the time - that would be irresponsible... I tried a few photos while coming down the mountains with varying degrees of success, but when we hit the straight and narrow the movement of the car didn't really matter. I think this might be my first extended exposure with my fisheye.....

Location: Easton Oval, Rozelle
(f10, 3.5sec, ISO 400, 38mm focal length)

Taken next to the oval on Liliyfield Rd, there was a soccer training game on at the time, which I thought would make for some good movement photos. As it turns out, those photos just sucked. But while I was there, started to play with the shadows from the trees, underexposing and deliberately 'blowing out' the blacks. After spending a while framing it, I post-produced in photoshop (decreased saturation and vibrance), and this is what I got :)



Location: Rozelle
(f8, 15sec, ISO 400, 17mm focal length)



This one kind of caught me off guard, and was lucky to catch it as the clouds were moving quite fast. I used an otto bin as a tripod and overexposed by a stop. This was the first photo I took - the second came out blurry (I guess otto bins are far from ideal when it comes to using them as tripods), and by the time I reframed and took the third one, the clounds had almost completely moved out of frame. It all happened within the space of a couple of minutes, and while this photo wasn't exactly what I was after, in retrospect I think it came out better than what I was aiming for!



Location: ANZAC Bridge
(f11, 5sec, ISO 400, 31mm focal length)



This was the result of a few trial and error attempts at capturing movement during extended exposures. One thing I've learned - while it's obvious that the longer the camera exposes for the longer the trail of movement, but I had never really thought about how a longer trail of movement results in lower visibility of the trail. This was exposed for 5 seconds, I think that's about the longest exposure I'd use. Long enough to get a nice trail of movement, short enough that it is still quite visible...

My first panorama that has made it to my 6 images blog! Ever since I read how to do them properly (i.e., shooting on full manual so that the balance is the same in each photo, zooming in and not shooting at a wide angle, and taking each photo vertically instead of horizontally), I have taken them at every opportunity. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. This one definitely worked! Post production in photoshop include stitching it together (obviously!), increased vibrance, and I also saturated the blue hues a little to bring out the difference between the sky and the rays of light.

Well, that's me for another month! Hopefully I'll find some time between assignments to go out and take more this month... Surely being on school holidays should help that cause! Now to stop procrastinating and start writing!!!!!

Febtastic

Sometimes life gets in the way of doing the things you love. Well, not completely, but kind of. Sometimes there is a shift in focus when it comes to things that you are passionate about. As an example, last month I went looking for any excuse to go out taking photos; this month it feels like I was looking for any excuse to cook something new. Or if it wasn't something new, it was something delicious. Cheesecake. Blueberry creme brulee. Anything with honey. On the few occasions I went out taking photos, the emphasis seemed to be more on enjoying the company of the friends I was spending time with, rather than actively seeking out fantastic photo opportunities. Kind of a 'that pub/bar/restaurant looks great for photos!' attitude... But in saying that, despite work/study/sporting/social commitments, I've far from lost my passion for photography - this month I was trying to work on showing 'movement' in my photos, zooming in or out while exposing a photo, panning, longer shutter speeds, etc... Or when I wasn't aiming for some kind of blurring effect, I was trying to work on taking really nice, sharp images. Anyway, these were my six best from February:



Location: Sydney University Sports & Aquatice Centre
(F9.0, 1/25, ISO 400, 300mm focal length)

The National Water Polo League commences! This was our second game of the season, against the Fremantle Mariners. I learned a few things from taking these photos. Seeing as I get too much noise from high ISO photos on my camera, (which means it is near impossible to get nice, clear, sharp images when it comes to indoor sports), I decided to enhance the movement in the photos, rather than trying to minimise it. So I started panning the camera with the movement of the ball, the players, etc. Something I need to keep practicing...




Location: Chinatown/Haymarket
(F6.3, 1/3, ISO 400, 28mm focal length)

 I have been a little obsessive with practicing both panning and zooming techniques when it comes to deliberately blurring photos. It took me a few failed attempts to get this (trying different shutter speeds, rates of zoom, etc), but this was the point where I realised how handy the flash can be when it comes to zooming out while the photo is exposing. It managed to freeze the statue, while warping all the surrounds. I'll be remembering this come Chinese New Year next year!




Location: King St Wharf
(F11, 3.2sec, ISO 400, 50mm focal length)

I'm really happy with how this photo turned out -particularly with the framing of the background, but mostly with the clarity of the life buoy. Everything just seems to line up nicely - the circular buoy, the figure-eight rope, the straight lines in both the reflections in the water and the pole... To me it just seems like a very 'shapely' photo :-)




Location: Town Hall
(F3.2, 1/3, ISO 800, 25mm focal length

This photo came out much, much better than I had first expected! It did take a bit of photoshopping to get there - darkening the shadows and lightening the highlights and midtones, with a bit of sharpenning, but the difference it makes to the sandstone is really appealing to me. Plus I think the resulting noise/grain 'ages' the photo nicely - it definitely works well with sandstone... Something I'll remember in the future!




Location: George St, Haymarket
(F20, 1.3sec, ISO 200, 25mm focal length)

I'll admit this photo is a little out of the ordinary for me. While there are a few things which draw my eye, the photo doesn't seem cluttered either. There is of course the trolley and bin in the foreground, with the movement of both the cars and the people crossing in the background. Funnily enough, because the asphalt, sidewalk and bin were all rather bland, the photo was almost naturally black-and-white to begin with.

Location: Hickson Rd, Dawes Point
(F3.5, 1/3, ISO 400, 42mm focal length)

My sixth photo of the month is one of my favourites - a truck passing the steps between Hickson Rd and High Street, down from the King St Wharf. It was a pretty narrow window of opportunity, being hand held and waiting for the truck to go past, but I think the linear pattern formed by the stairs, the street light and the lights from the truck is pretty appealing. I originally just stopped to get a photo of the doorway beneath the steps - I think this one came up trumps :-)




Once again, that brings my month of photography to an end. Towards the middle of the month, I had barely taken my camera out at all, and I was beginning to think that I may not even end up with six photos worth displaying. A novel concept for me - the idea of only showing three or four photos on my 6images blog! But then I thought back to my original premise; one of the key ideas of this blog was to force myself to be more selective in my work. Perhaps it isn't such a bad idea - if I don't feel my work is up to scratch, simply not just putting my 'best six' up; just putting up what I think is worthwhile? Anyway, unless I become my own harshest critic sometime in the next few weeks - you can expect to see six more photos next month :-)

My six from January

Greetings all to my first post of 2011! As I mentioned last month, I embarked on a two-week journey with my good friends Chris and Dale, departing on boxing day. In fact I posted my photos from December literally minutes before I left my place! Anyway, I'll try a slightly different format and give a brief account of my road trip, accompanied by the photos which made my '6 images' this month... If you don't care for stories, feel free to just click on the pretty pictures instead!


Location: Fitzroy/Collingwood
(F8, 1/125, ISO 200, 31mm focal length)

Our journey began driving down to Melbourne. We caught Day 3 of the Ashes, partied on St Kilda beach (and at Luna Park), and toured some streets which were just teeming with street-art. Some of which was quite impressive, some were just freaking amazing! If you're in Melbourne and want to take yourself on a self-guided tour, google 'Everfresh street art' - they have a map of the hot spots. Or if you're bored at work and just want to check out what's around, hop on flickr and have a look through 'spinstertoo's photos. Anyway, this was taken around the streets of Fitzroy...

Location: Bells Beach, VIC
(F4.0, 1/400, ISO 400, 70mm focal length)

... So we moved on from Melbourne, and began our tour along the Great Ocean Road. We camped at Cape Otway with wild koalas, had lunch with the twelve apostles (or at least the remaining ones), slept under the wind turbines at Cape Nelson, and then passed on through to South Australia. This photo however was taken at Bells Beach, very early in the journey between Melbourne and Adelaide...

Location: Limestone Coast vineyards (S.A.)
(F3.5, 1/320, ISO 100, 34mm focal length)

... Next stop - wine country! Once we passed into South Australia we drove up past the Blue Lake at Mt Gambier, through the Coonawarra wine district, and then back towards the limestone coast. For more wine. We camped along the Coorong National Park, ate the most delicious lobster in Kingston, and took in picturesque Robe. This photo was taken at one of the vineyards along the limestone coast. Next stop....

Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide
(F3.2, 1/8, ISO 400, 25mm focal length)

...Adelaide! We made it in one piece, which is more than we can say about the plagues of locusts we drove through. I took a few 'locust graveyard' photos (i.e., my radiator), but they just didn't quite make the cut this month. So we made it to our intended destination long enough to shower, eat, sleep, and take photos. We stayed on Hindley St (opposite the 24hr pancake house... a wise decision), which meant I could take a few urban night shots around Rundle Mall.

Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide
(F3.5, 1/6, ISO 400, 34mm focal length)

So similar to my dragonfly at Bells Beach, the manequin photo doesn't really speak to the location it was taken in. But I just really like it - it's vague in the sense that the hair seems realistic, as in it could be a real person looking at a poster of a model. But it's not really until you look closer that you realise she's not 'real' (in a non-philosophical sense that is... What is 'real'? Are we really here? What is humanity?.... Arpeggio...). Anyway, the plastic arms kind of give it away ;)




Location: Mirazozo, Sydney Opera House forecourt
(Main image - F5.6, 1/4, ISO 200, 17mm focal length)


Anyway, that kind of sums up my road trip. My final photo was taken at the Mirazozo (Architects of Air) at the Opera House forecourt. I decided I would do something a little 'arty' with it - the digital version of a double exposure (although this was done in postproduction, as opposed to exposing camera film twice). The superimposed photo (the star in the middle, and the smaller stars on either side) were taken with a delayed exposure, and adjusting the zoom at the same time. So I came out with an image which basically looked like a computer generated desktop wallpaper image! So I layered it in photoshop on top of the main image, and reduced its opacity to around 20-25%. Obviously this is how it came out :)


So once again, that brings an end to the month of January. This month I did realise a few things - while I had the opportunity to take photos of some incredible street art, you can't really take a photo of someone else's artwork and claim it to be your own. If it is given context and becomes part of a scene, sure. But I didn't realise until afterwards that many of the photos I took weren't as fantastic as I initially thought; they were just photos of other people's fantastic work! Plus in terms of my own development, I've been continuing to balance aperture for a desired depth of field. On that note, we had a fourth member of our road trip, a mascot if you will: Dashboard Jesus. He had his portrait taken at many different landmarks along the way. I may decide to do a special-edition 6images post - my best six of dashboard jesus... It's an idea, I'll wait and see if it grows to fruition or not.... Other than that, once again I'm looking forward to the month ahead!