Where are my Photos?

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Melbourne Street Walk

Street photography is not my strong suit. I don't like asking people for a model release and I guess I don't do enough of it to make a difference in my level of skill.

But none of these are reasons to not have a go. So at the encouragement from a mate and with the idea that there is safety in numbers we went into the Melbourne CBD where we both work for a street walk.

Had had ideas of the sort of shots we wanted and knew a few locations, but plans need to be fluid because the city is changing by the second.

We met at Federation Square on a Thursday night so there was plenty going on. It was a hot night in the low 30's (celsius) so lugging gear around was a bit uncomfortable.

I have a Lowpro slingshot which is fine if you don't fill it to capacity. So I lightened the load down to the 1D-X, 24-70 L 2.8, 70-200 L 2.8 II, 2X Extender III and the 16-35mm Wide Angle 2.8.

My mate had a spare Manfrotto Tripod so I used that.

We took some shots of Patrick Dougherty's Stickwork masterpiece but I couldn't get anything I thought was worth keeping.

From there we went to Hosier Lane famous for its graffiti. We spend 30 mins there lots of unique opportunities for photos. The lane is popular with photographers and can get busy - but we had the place to ourselves so we could take our time.

Here's a shot of the famous Joker. I like how the girl in the picture is lost in the graffiti, adding scale and mood. 
Melbourne City

Other shots of Hosier La can be found here.

Next we went to the corner of Lt Collins & Swanston where often you will see street dancers but there was nothing there that night.

We did notice the moon rising over the city so after clicking the 70-200 and 2X Extender on we managed some nice shots of the moon.

Melbourne City

A few metres further up Swanston St we came across some buskers who for two bucks were happy for us to take as many photos as we liked.

These guys were good fun.
Melbourne City

Time was getting on so we took some shots of the museum but nothing worth showing here.

It was a good night and something worth doing again some time.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

12 of 2012's favourite pics

So I notice a few photographer's putting together their best work of 2012.

It's a good exercise that requires a higher level of critique than looking through shots from a particular event.

You also get a chance to review how you have progressing in the craft over a 12 month period - hopefully to be encouraged by a growth in both the taking and the editing of images.

Because I rate each photo at the time of processing my job was a bit easier.

I wanted to reduce my choice to 12 of the best but also maintain diversity in the images.

My choice of 12 also tells the story of my year.

So maybe not my best work but my favourite images of 2012

Here they are in chronological order.

View from the Top - Mt Haleakala, Hawaii pre-dawn 

This photo was taken on a trip to the Melbourne Zoo with my mate Mark who sadly died in 2012. We shared a love of photography and he is sadly missed.

From my backyard with a Canon 7D and a 100-400mm f4-5.6 L IS lens and a 2x Extender III. ISO 200 at 1/80th f20 - The image is cropped.

A lucky shot on the first outing with the Canon 1D-X on burst. Bird catching a fly.

A nice shot capturing a young musician at my daughter's school. Nice low light performance of the Canon 1D-X

I like this pic for several reasons. 1. It shows that photo opportunities are everywhere - this one in the middle of an industrial area near a railway underpass. 2. It tells a story of good and evil.

This would have to be one of my very favourites. The November 2012 Solar Eclipse at Port Douglas.

2012 Para Olympics - London
White Rhino at Werribee Open Range Zoo

I just like the light in this shot and it was a move away from my normal editing which tends to bump saturation up. This one backs it off to nice effect.

Cradle Mountain Tasmania

At The Bay. Dawn pic of the Hazards at Coles Bay Tasmania. A beautiful part of the world.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Tasmania - Photographer's Heaven

OK not exactly heaven but given that both Tasmania and the real thing were created by the same being maybe its not as much of a stretch.

My wife is from Tassie so we get back there a bit. This was the first trip with the 1D-X.

Tassie is busy during the summer break, tourism being Australia's smallest state's largest industry.

... and why not. Tassie has simply wonderful and diverse scenery all in a relatively small package.

I like to think of Tassie as a mini version of New Zealand. It has everything New Zealand has except the glaciers all on a smaller scale. The mountains are not as high, the rivers not as wide and the towns not as big, but in its own way Tassie is almost as spectacular as its easterly neighbour.

This year it was so busy that we seriously couldn't hire a car. We tried all the companies and were happy with any 3 door hatch or even a ute but nothing. Finally Mrs Gazza finds a vehicle which we just had to make do with.

a BMW Z4
Pic Specs: Canon 1D-X / Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L / ISO 200 / f2.8 / 1/125
So we were stuck with this little baby for a week and loved it.

Our trip involved a stay in Devonport where the Ferry terminal is and my Mother-in-law. I managed to slip out for a few shots. Got this nice one of the Spirit of Tasmania leaving for the evening voyage back to Melbourne.


Spirit Of Tasmania Leaving Devonport
Pic Specs: Canon 1D-X with 16-35mm f2.8 -- ISO 2000, f2.8, 1/15


And this one near a local Poppy farm.

House and Poppies
I like the desaturated look on this one giving it a slightly dated look.
Pic Specs: Canon 1D-X with 100-400mm L IS f4-5.6 -- ISO 200, f.5.6, 1/320
I love my Mother-in-law but we thought it would be nice to have break so we went the Cradle Mountain for a night.

On the way stopped to get  a few pics of Mount Roland.
Mount Roland
Mt. Roland.
Pic Specs: Canon 1D-X with 16-35mm f2.8 -- ISO 100, f5, 1/160 with Polarizer.


At Cradle Mountain we got some nice pics. Here. Both afternoon and morning shots but the morning was clouded in and I wasn't happy enough with them to publish.

Then for the next 2 nights we stayed at Coles Bay near the Freycinet Peninsular and equally picturesque part of the world.

There are a few views of the Hazards Here

All my Tassie pics from this trip can be found at this link

Enjoy - I did.