Decemberlicious

Greetings and salutations! I'm getting in early this month, for no other reason than the fact I am heading off road tripping for a couple of weeks! I have added to my arsenal of lenses: a manual 8mm fisheye lens (which is incredibly fun), and a new 17-70mm Sigma F2.8, which is replacing my really old 18-55mm kit lens. So while my bank account is now as bare as my fridge, my camera bag is now as full as Santa's sack on Christmas Eve. On that note, Merry Christmas! :)



Location: The Strand Arcade
(F3.5, 1.25, ISO 400, 8mm focal length)


Fisheye fun number one! I took this while venturing around the city, trying to figure out exactly how my new lens works (i.e., discovering what works well with it, how to make things warp and bend, etc). The Strand arcade was looking very Christmassy! Come to think of it, a lot of places were looking Christmassy, but they didn't necessarily work well with my new lens.... That was a fun evening - I'm pretty sure I spend most of the time looking straight up at skyscrapers through my camera - that's one way to look like a tourist in your own city!









Location: Wahroonga
(F4.0, 1/125, ISO 400, 54mm focal length)

This was taken while I was working with my brother Jason - there were two adorable shaggy dogs where we were; the kind of dogs where if you give them 30 seconds of affection you are automatically friends for life! After he had settled down (a couple of hours) and began to rest on his dog-futon-bed-thing, I got my camera from my car with the intention of taking his photo in black and white. He is just as cute in real life btw....




Location: South Head
(F5.6, 1/320, ISO 100, 120mm focal length)


This is the first of three photos taken around South Head. Just putting it out there - it is an incredible spot for weekend photograhy! This photo happened rather quickly - I was taking photos of the pylon, then i was taking photos of the boat, they came together for a brief moment, and then they were gone. So I'm pretty happy with the composition of this one :)

Location: South Head
(F3.5, 1/320, ISO 100, 8mm focal length)

Fisheye fun number two! I didn't know much about the lighthouse at South Head, but when I discovered it was striped like a candy-cane I was pretty intent on warping it as much as I could! I've come to conclusion that if you 'bend' a red-and-white striped building, it will give the illusion that it is actually edible... It's not though....

Location: South Head
(F3.5, 1/320, ISO 100, 8mm focal length)

The third fisheye fun photo, and the third from the South Head series... The fact that this location has dominated my six images for december speaks volumes as to how photogenic the scenery is! There's a lot that I like about this photo; for the most part it is that there is a definitive, physical line where the weather is wonderful, followed by the dark overtones of the impending storm...

Location: North Sydney
(F4.0, 1/25, ISO 800, 63mm focal length)

A cat after the storm... I thought I'd try and make a new furry friend while I was walking past what was quite clearly the cat's window. It sniffed my hand, and subsequently decided it had no interest in me. I'm pretty sure it was looking at me and my camera just to make sure that I kept on walking...


So once again, that brings my month of photography to a close. I am very, very excited about the opportunities I'm going to have in January, especially while I'm on the road. Canberra/Melbourne/Great Ocean Road, here I come....