Big ol' trunk

I processed this image after a walk through a rainforest last year. I’m loving this conversion in particular having already worked this image with Nik Silver Efex. This film sim though, provides a look I was not able to see in the first attempt. It’s Ilford’s HP5 and gives a beautiful 3D look into the background where the highlights are well maintained.

Separation anxiety

One of the reasons you may not want to convert your image to BW is because you may not be able to achieve the separation you want of the elements in your photo. The leafy plant in the foreground is an example. Although the highlights do draw your attention somewhat, the majority of the plant disappears into the background. In some images that may even be desirable but it’s a danger if there are too many similar tones that the image remains a little too two dimensional. I played around with the colour a bit in this image - it’s a combination of one of Fuji’s sims (maybe Classic Chrome) plus Fuji Pro 400H and Porta 400. Sounds more of a mish mash that it probably is but I suppose that’s the beauty and flexibility of PS. Everything can be ‘salted’ to taste. I’m also liking the colour reflections in the water.

Close enough?

Previous posts have shown several X-Pan images taken on the Fuji GFX 100S. These elongated or pano images show a unique view of the world taking in so much more of the environment - apparently. Dedicated Hasselblad X-Pan cameras do this naturally. The current crop of ‘medium format’ cameras have this format as an option in a 65 x 24 aspect ratio. Older film cameras like the Pentax IQ Zoom include that option. Blowing up a portion of 35mm film however came with it’s limitations of size and quality. That’s obviously not much of an issue with medium format as there is plenty of pixels to play with.

If you’re willing to work with your framing skills, there is another option if you don’t want to fork out for such an expensive setup. Some years back, when looking for a street photography option (lightweight) camera system, I bought an Olympus EM5 MKIII (available on the Bay for around US$700) and a Sirui 35mm f1.8 Anamorphic lens (also available on the Bay for just over US$300). Both of these are gear in very good condition.

Results? Olympus colours OOC are excellent especially for nature images. The examples above have been another of my favourite film sims Fuji Pro 400H. This is a beautifully sharp lens. The final image size is a very decent 60MB. Its not exactly the same dimensions as the X-Pan, coming in at 65 x 28. If you’re being picky, you could crop the short side by a bit to get your 65 x 24. If you wanted to go wider, there is also the Sirui Anamorphic 24mm f2.8. Both are excellent choices. Although these lenses have traditionally been used for cinema, they produce excellent still images.

Replaced image. This B&W conversion preferred.

Beachscape #2 & Photoshop story

X-Pan images from the coast on a recent outing.

Scarcely a week ago I swore off PS and other Adobe software due to ongoing costs and not making much use of some of it like InDesign ($35/month). I could live without ID as there are viable alternatives. PS however presented more of a problem partly due to not being that familiar with other programs on offer. There are mixed reports about Luminar Neo for example. I want bother giving the details here but as it turned out Adobe offered their whole suite for the same price as I was paying for 2 apps that I needed. I noticed this on the final day of the sale. Thus, I went back for a second bite at the cherry. PS has a lot of refined elements that are not available even in LR. Small things that make life in the editing chair a little bit easier. Things I was very used to. So, the deal is only for 12 months. I’ll worry about it again in a year.

Santa's helper

Christmas decorations made from surfboard foam. Adding some character to the neighbourhood. Much nicer than K-Mart don’t you think?

Dino Santa going back to his lair for a quick snack.

Leaping Santa about to execute a tackle to save little Santa

Unfinished work

Local artist Harley with his unfinished work. The point of the visit was not to highlight his work but to engage him in conversation - about life, death and other matters. Harley’s wife passed some months ago and adjusting has been a challenge, understandably for a relationship of over 50 years. Rarely have I known a person to have lived as large as this man. Perhaps a book of short stories may be in order to properly document his life. A project to be considered for the coming year.

A view of the coast from Wombarra cemetery grounds, themselves a source of interest with fallen gravestones and outlandish decorations. This would be another photo project to give this place new life ; )

A pleasant view from the edge of the cemetery. You can view the antics of the ocean from the safety of the rock pool.

Even headstones die.

Many of the residents may be feeling a little queazy due to the lopsided view they now have of the ocean. The land has subsided in places causing many graves to tilt and their edges to crack and break apart.

A shady location for one of the oldest residents.

Bush #2

An area I have been to for photography many times. On this occasion, after a bushfire. Some regrowth can be seen on the trees and patches on the rocks show where moss and lichen has been burnt off. This image taken with the iPhone 8 plus.

Bush #1

Looking forward to another extended period roaming through bushland. Especially rocky areas like this one in Tenterfield near the Queensland NSW border. High contrast bright light situations can sometimes provide good photo ops.

Mt Wilson

The title of this post could be different. I’ve ditched Photoshop and Lightroom for the moment. Instead I’m using Luminar Neo and NIK Silver Efex as a standalone B&W converter (which I already had). Not sure how long this will endure. I’m trying to escape the claws of these companies using the subscription model. Luminar Neo isn’t yet intuitive for me but I will persist until any shortcomings start to restrict my ease of use.

Kolkata, India

Photo: 2010

I’ve made quite a few trips to India over the last 50 years. There have certainly been some interesting characters I’ve come across in that time. Carlton, the guy pictured in this photo filled in for a friend’s grandfather who played in a jazz venue in Kolkata. Carlton was a lively personality, shown here with his Yemaha guitar.

Brachina Gorge, SA

This is one of those images I’ve always kept as colour. It's also one of those images that has a very painterly feel when printed as a canvas, especially large. Although the original exists somewhere on a hard drive which I prefer to work from, this is a conversion from a tiff file. I’ve been through the conversion process several times now but have never been really satisfied with the results. Still, I’m relatively happy with this one. Should the Raw file turn up - I’ll have another go.

Australian Landscapes

You count yourself fortunate when you set out on a photo trip and the weather chooses to cooperate—something that rarely happens, at least not often. This particular tree was the reason for the entire journey; I even mentioned it in a post on November 1. Yet, on my first attempt to find it, I drove straight past the tiny sign pointing the way, a marker so low to the ground it was easy to miss. The weather wasn’t encouraging either—grey skies, scattered showers, the sort of day that can dull a photographer’s hopes.

But then I paused. Sitting for a few minutes, watching the sky shift, I noticed a break in the clouds forming. Soon enough, as I lined up one of the few frames I’d get, the sun slipped through at just the right moment. By mid-morning I didn’t want the harshness of full sunlight—just a touch, enough to give the scene some drama without blowing out the highlights. The upper canopy of the tree was still thick with leaves, and including it would have thrown the composition off-balance with too much empty sky.

Here’s the original photograph for reference: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/134.1975/

You can see how the tree earned its name. The Australian outback can be unforgiving, but on this occasion, I was lucky.

Back to China Part 3.2

How the other half lives! Wife and child riding unsecured on a pile of boxes. Brake suddenly, get knocked by another vehicle or some other random event - humble people doing it the hard way. I really don’t have any reason to complain. Some people don’t benefit from ‘progress’ as much as others. Makes you aware - sorrow is just a moment away.

Back to China Part 3.1

Whilst by and large I was ignored on my trip through China, I did find that children had a natural curiosity. This little boy approached me while I was crossing a bridge and , obviously doing photography. I was very grateful to have an auto-focus lens back in those days. There was something very endearing about his open character.

Back to China Part 3

I spent a couple of weeks in China sometime around around 2005. I wass fortunate to get access to a deepwater port some 32kms from Shanghai across the ocean which was spanned by the newly constructed Donghai Bridge. As it wasn’t fully completed there was virtually no traffic and I could stop the car and take a few shot of the bridge with only the one other truck crossing at that time.

Build up of activity on the wharf with passing boat.

Before the port opening.

Donghai Bridge linking Shanghai with a deepwater port.

Woman looking through hole in Great Wall

Guangzhou - perhaps

Meandering down the Li River through Guilin

A Banzai display in a small town with Canals running through it - Blacktown

Tiananmen Square in the evening - long exposure.

A lake with a park somewhere…

Back to China Part 2

Portrait of a young monk

Young monks adopted doing their best Kung Fu movements

Family in the Dai community

Young kitchen staff happy to pose in the air-conditioned section of the restaurant

Someone said the bus is coming

Gypsy cart

A friend and myself hired a couple of scooters and rode out of town - somewhere outside of Udaipur. A gypsy family and cart. An interesting structure with great detail though it didn’t seem like it would travel any distance. Around 2007.