A day in the valley

Well not a whole day but a few hours in the middle of the day to get some sun through the trees. There are several mini waterfalls in Coachwood Glen that provide good subject matter.​ A solid tripod and gumboots are pretty much essential. This shot is a converted colour image taken with a Nikon D800E with 24-70mm @24mm - f13 / 1 sec / +1/3ev ISO 160

​The colour image below has an almost studio lighting quality about it. That is to say, its evenly lit all over as if a huge softbox was used. If you take photos in the forest, you will either encounter situations involving high contrast where the suns rays have made an appearance and are shining directly onto an object or you will have reflected light which requires you to take longer exposures.

This photo shows the amazing variety of rocks to be found here. Colours appear rich and textures are detailed. ​24-70mm @38mm - f13 / 5sec / +1/3ev ISO 160

This shot gives a view of the surroundings. There are a few of these mini falls to explore. They provide good opportunities for some closeup shots. Some waterproof footwear is required for some of them. 24-70mm @24mm - f13 / 1 sec / +1/3ev ISO 160

Where to look?

Depending on your destination and why you are traveling there is a wide range of photo ops to look out for. There have been occasions where I would have preferred to have another more independent mode of transport than a train or a taxi. But even these methods can provide opportunities for a keen photographer. Its true you don't have the autonomy and can't just pull over at will. It does however free you from having to 'watch the road' or pay attention otherwise.

The following images are from travel in India. They were taken either from a taxi window or shot from a train.  

Journey from train station in Delhi

Journey from train station in Delhi

Journey from train station in Delhi

Journey from Delhi to Haridwar - taxi window

The above shot and the following were taken through a taxi window using a 50mm lens. A lot of life goes on in the streets. The shot below though appearing posed was taken before I was noticed. The instant he saw me, he moved away. Most people don't mind too much having their photo taken but are a bit shy and become more self-conscious when they see the camera. 

Journey from Delhi to Haridwar

Taxi from a train station in Delhi

Just briefly, For most of the street photography that I do the question of getting permission does not arise. You can see the complexity and really, impossibility of this while traveling. In any case the photos in this section would have lost their spontaneous quality had this been the case.

This shot surprised even me. These friends were standing on the footpath as I passed them by in a taxi on the same trip as the above shots (most of them). It was highly serendipitous that I could frame them in this way so perfectly and the expressions were 'perfect'. There must be a good story behind this shot! 

Taken from an open train door somewhere between Mount Abu and Delhi. Not such a 'Fairy Queen' scene.  Looking more like a set from a play.

Rainy day post....

Architectural shot - Sydney

Since its howling wind and horizontal rain at the moment, its a good time to post some images from the past. Many of them unrelated to landscape work but satisfying none-the-less. The first an architectural shot of Sydney - well, a skyward view somewhere near Phillip St.​ This was taken when I first acquired the Nikon D800E with a Nikon 14-24mm lens which can only be described as stellar. Specs: f8 / 3secs / 14mm / tripod

While I consider the Nikon to be superior (I also use a Canon 5DMKII), there are many instances where the availability of the Canon 17mm Tilt/Shift lens makes the Canon setup preferable. Nikon lacks a decent Tilt/Shift lens which is why I have opted for an unorthodox combination of a Mirex adapter (a German made adapter with a tilt/shift mechanism) coupled with a Zeiss Distagon 55mm lens (originally used on a Hasselblad camera). I love using this combination for landscape work. The catch being the lens can only be used as a manual lens.

Lucky lens test

This image was taken some years ago in a park near where I live. I just received a lens in the 'mail' - the Canon 100-400mm. Although I had broken my foot a week or two before, I felt obliged to test the optics. Putting discomfort aside, I made my way to the park and hobbled a few metres into a position where I was greeted by the scene in the photo below. The person in the image is well known in the area and walks dogs almost every afternoon for other locals. The photo itself won an award and has been sold several times over. I was in two minds about making the effort to get out with my minor disability. It was certainly worth the effort.

The background of this shot appears to have rapid movement but its more the blur (bokeh) created by the lens. It is the water of the bay however - an excellent backdrop without distracting detail.​

After this guy had a drink, the others joined in... except for one. This shot could have many captions.​

Beautiful light

A view to the west from Narrowneck. Very pleasing lighting as is often the case when ithe mountains aren't shrouded in mist.​

Not all all landscapes shots have to be 'literal'. A few hours in the Megalong Valley gave me an opportunity to play around with a combination of shots leaving more of the interpretation to the viewer...​

Even though I've been living here for a few years now, there still places I've yet to explore in the mountains. There are always favourite spots you tend to go back to. It was only last year that I went down the path along Leura Cascades.​

A wet and rather humid day produced this image. The curved bough appears to be interacting with the water flowing in the opposite direction. ​

Macro flowers

Don't own a macro lens at this stage but I borrowed one from a friend - results are quite pleasing, for me at least. I do appreciate the subtlety that you can achieve with a very shallow depth of field. These kinds of images seem to be popular as large canvases.

Another attempt at a macro flower shot....                        f3.5 / 1/125s / 400iso handheld