Octoberfest

So October has been an incredible month for photography for me. I've taken a lot of photos at a lot of different places, and in general - I think I'm improving. I bought my first new lens (canon 50mm F1.8 - allows for an incredible depth of field!), and I have my eyes set on some new equipment over the coming weeks (another new lens, filters, etc). All of which will hopefully make for some better photos for November :)

I have learned a lot this month; about balancing the aperture and focal length to get the desired depth of field, using smaller apertures, higher ISOs and neutral density filters to allow for a longer shutter speed, how to take better panoramic shots, the list goes on. But I have also learned a lot about post-production techniques (i.e., Photoshop). I've learned that Photoshop can be an incredible tool which can greatly enhance your photos, but a friend of mine (thanks Frances!) uses the analogy that using it is much like cooking with salt - using a little can really accentuate what you have done, but if you get carried away and use too much, it can ruin what you have done. In saying that, these are my best 6 images for October!



Kite-surfer at Scarborough beach, W.A.
(F4.5, 1/1000, ISO 200, 34mm focal length)


This was taken early in the month while I was in Perth. I spent an evening out at Scarborough Beach for some rest and relaxation after a wild week at the Australian University Games. While the kite-surfers made for some good photos, I think the photographical highlight was definitely the sun setting over the ocean - something which we obviously don't get on the eastern coast!




Cahill Expressway, Circular Quay
(F3.5, 1.6sec, ISO 400, 18mm focal length)

This was taken late one night, obviously when there wasn't much traffic around. I think this photo appeals to me because of the converging lines from the street lights, road markers and walkway railing that all lead to the headlights of an oncoming car. I found myself on the walkway with the intention of taking extended exposure shots of the harbour bridge and circular quay, but in the end it was the expressway that grabbed my attention.



Spring at Parramatta Park
(F1.8, 1/1250, ISO 400, 50mm focal length)


My first '6 image' with my new 50mm lens! Taken at Parramatta Park as the bees were pollenating flowers (I'm not exactly sure what type of flowers thay are? Anybody?). Hooray for Spring. This photo kind of shows off the depth of field possible with a larger aperture (F1.8, compared to roughly F5.6 if I zoomed in using my standard lens). The other thing I really like about this photo is the rosemary.... What can I say, I just really love rosemary....



Glebe Tram Sheds
(F4.0, 1/60, ISO 800, 21mm focal length)

I only recently learned about the tram sheds in Glebe - I had no idea that they existed until I heard about them from another friend (much appreciated Steph!). The sheds hold several abandoned and graffitied buses and tram carriages. It is apparently a popular location for photo and film shooting (they have filmed several things here - the most prominent would probably be an episode of So You Think You Can Dance). In fact they were filming a music video on the day I was there (or at least the 'story' part of the video, rather than the music), so unfortunately there was a decent portion of the shed which was taken up by film crews. I'm definitely looking forward to going back and exploring the rest of it!



The Footbridge Theatre, Sydney University
(F22, 10sec, ISO 100, 18mm focal length)

For me, this photo was a culmination of a few photographical lessons: Firstly there was balancing the ISO and the aperture to allow for a prolonged exposure time, which allowed me to capture longer trails of lights from the cars going past. Secondly, I have learned not to always trust the light meter inside the camera - I deliberately underexposed it a little to enhance the colours of the sky, rather than balancing the photo as a whole... I'm definitely happy with how this one came out...




Mort Bay - 'Panosphere' shot!
(F6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, 24mm focal length)

This photo definitely requires some explaining! I recently read in a photography magazine about how to create 'panospheres', and this image is the result. I took a panoramic sequence of 40 photos from the tip of Mort Bay, which covered a 360 degree view. I let Photoshop stitch the panoramic series together for me, and from there it was more creative techniques of distorting the image to look like a miniature globe. So while this image obviously isn't something I have taken with a single click on my camera, I'm still happy that it has been effectively been produced with my photos. I took them with a specific post-production technique in mind, and it worked! I may do more of these in the future, it was definitely a lot of fun seeing it through :)

 

So once again, that is my month in review. I am hoping to invest in another new lens sometime this month (I have already done a whole heap of research into what I want to get - it is not nearly as straight forward as I would have thought!). But regardless of whether a new lens makes it into my camera bag or not, I am definitely looking forward to the month ahead...