A mirage at sea


You may need to click on this image to view it at a higher resolution to see the mirage. It is close to the horizon and most visible in front of the headland (Cape Pattersom)

Old Lime Kiln Ruins

I liked the backlit tea-tree through this doorway, but to keep the photo interesting I spent some time framing the door off center in my view finder, and letting the light through the doorway lead your eye up to the opening.



Old ruins can make great subjects, but experiment with composition, move in close and take the detail, or find an "unusual" view, from below above or the side. Find the photo that describes the place.

The old Lime Kilns are situtated just of the beach at South Walkerville, Victoria

venus bay beach

Sea & Sky

Towards Wilson's Prom

Waves at Cape Liptrap


I have selected these for their strong almost abstart compositions. I lowered the horizon to emphasize the clouds and lost it entirely to focus on the patterns of the white water.

The horizon in the center of a landscape can really reduce the drama

Available Light Outdoors

Avaialable light, is a term usually applied to intimate indoor and/or artificially lit subjects. Normally you have to open up the aperture and extend the time of exposure. However digital cameras are pretty notorious for not doing well in low light, the long exposure usually introduces a lot of "noise" into the photos and strange colour casts.

Squall in available light


Some cameras (like my Olympus) do have preprogrammed settings, usually called a night scene mode, that try to get the best reults with extended exposure times. This mode normally turns on white balance filtering and noise reduction and adjust the cameras effective ASA rating, to give best sensitivity in low light.

Using this night scene mode, I've found I can get some very usual landscapes (and seacapes) by using this mode just after it turns dark. The resulting photos usually have very rich, but slighty artificial colours.

The above image was actually taken in the dark with only just a slight after glow in the sky, but it looks like an errie twilight. The other amazing thing about this photo is how the lines of breakers have merged into a contious boiling mass of foam. That is because the waves were moving and must have covered the distance between each line of breakers within the 4 seconds of the exposure.

Get My Drift

Western Port Sunset

Dusk on the Mudfalts, Grantville

Grantville Pier

Blooms in the sand

Full moon, Melbourne (5 minutes ago)

after sunset

Full Moon, over Andersen Inlet (yesterday)

After Sunset, Venus Bay

Tooradin Market Day

Mark & Renata's Engagement Party

Mark (my son) and Renata had their formal engagement party today at Beate's at the Studley Park Boathouse, Kew . It is a magnificent location for such an event.

And there were digital cameras a plenty (you'll be sure to see more later). From the frequently telltale "memory card full" beeps I estimate around 60 to 100 Mega bytes of photos were captured.

post modernist spider

This spider had found a broken piece of plastic and somehow haulled it up into his about to be constructed web. Being on the inside of my window I decided he should finish the web outside, but he just ran away.






I think this is pretty amazing, and I assume he is a "curve leaf" type spider with a more modern outlook.

The modeling power of low angle light

This is just a simple photo of a single footprint in the sand in late afternoon sunlight. Yet the low angle of the light and rich colour gives the impression a sculpture, like a strong bas relief carved out of stone.

Is this a depression or raise footprint?

sunset after-glow over Bass Straight

The Passing Landscape

Taking a photo from a moving car, is in generally not recomended. Especially with a compact or digital cameras because of their "delay" (the time taken to meter the light and get autofocused). By the time you press the button and wait the image you wanted to capture is 100 meters or so behind you. As you probably realise I like the challenge to break all those "well meaning" rules in the introduction to taking good photos guides & booklets. So here are a few photos I have taken from a moving car.





I was after the wide open spaces feels so I have cropped the photos above in a more panoramic aspect.



When you moving in relation to a subject, it frequently helps to pan the camera and follow your main subject (as in the group of trees in the distance). The part of captured image close to you may be a little blured or out of focus, but the subject should be nice and clear. I've also kept the horizon low in the frame again to enhance the feeling of open space.

What are the chances?

The other day I was taking some photos of the south Gippsland country side. When I decided a photo of my wife in profile as she drove against the backdrop of the meandering Tarwin River might be a good composition. I took about half a dozen, unfortunately none quiet captured what I was after. Thats the beauty of digital photography, its inexpensive to experiment and so you should.

BUT

Look at the reflection in the car's mirrors in this shot. What are the chances of getting seperate compositions in both mirrors from a moving car? I particulary like the fisherman. Maybe its time to buy a tattslotto ticket.

A sweeping bend in the Tarwin River

Yet another sunset

Faded memories

I think I've stumbled on a deep dark secret of digital photography. The permance of Ink & Paper maybe not be quiet as good as you may expect.I first noticed a few snap shots on the fridge seemed different. Then I noticed a print I made some time ago looked bluer and the shadows a little washed out. Then I realised, "They were fading"

Ink jet print test (note fading on right hand side after only 3 weeks in the sun)


So I did a little test. I had printed this photo as a test on standard paper, in the normal setting for my printer. This gives reasonale images for report but not quiet photographic quality. I cover half of the photo with a card and place it on the window sill of a north facing window (the sunny side of the house here in Australia). After only 3 weeks in a not so hot summer I was totally amazed at the results (the right hand side is the exposed side). I've since been researching the issue of fading of ink jet printers, and I'm unimpressed with the lack of information. Reading the product information carefully I'm discouraged that permanence is hinted at on the papers and ink literature, more as a disclaimer than helpful advice.

I can see some further investigation is required.

Not so faded elegance

The beach boxes of Brighton are in some ways a relic of the past and at the same time a vibrantly colourful part of the cosmopolitan modern Melbourne.





Fortunately there is only one piece of grafitti, and hopefully the last but somehow even that looks artistic.