Many times we take photos that just aren’t there. Meaning that some things haven’t aligned properly or maybe an object has got in the way and by the time I realign, the moment is gone. Or maybe we are spotted and the subject becomes self conscious and changes the pose. That may even work in our favour as I’ll show in the next post. That’s the spontaneous nature of life. We’ve probably all experienced it at sometime in our photographic journey - the missed opportunity. But if we get out there often enough and keep a keen eye, stuff happens in front of us. The woman in this picture was taking a break from her market stall in Guangzhou, China. The image is made a little stronger since the arms of the poster woman and the chair lady go in the same direction.
Old Man in Chair
There were many opportunities for street photography in China. This elderly gentleman sat outside the entrance to a building (Shanghai) and looked directly at me as a took this shot. It was hard to discern the thoughts or attitude of many people I tried to photograph on the street. I suspect I was tolerated for the most part but I was largely ignored by most as I traveled around, being a foreign tourist.
Selfie - Old school
At first I wondered why she was standing to attention. Then I saw the little compact camera placed strategically on the seat. Also on the Li River. More river shots to come. Probably taken with a Canon 5D and 100-400mm lens.
'Paintingesque'
Some images I’ve found, lend themselves naturally to appear quite painterly. It might be the textures or even the style - it looks like an image an artist might paint. Some look exotic and bring together elements that may not be recognized by the viewer as anything they’ve seen before. This scene for example is on the banks of the Li River in China, not far from Guilin. I still don’t know what species of trees they are. Most rivers are bordered by some kind of vegetation in the countryside but here we have rocks and pebbles. The mist contributed greatly to the feel or atmosphere as well, shrouding the mountains in the background.
Manali India
A somewhat eventful trip - healthwise. At least on the return journey to Delhi. This image was from around 2006. Manali is located in Himachal Pradesh - one of the northern states of India. Not far from here is Rohtang Pass - one of the famous truck routes frought with danger due to rain and rock slides. Air is also in short supply due to elevation (around 4000m).
Port Kembla
Most of the recent posts have been from this region. I haven’t spent any time yet in the town (Port Kembla). I hope to explore this whole area more in the next few months.
X-Pan Street
Industrial landscaping at it’s finest. Photographically a very interesting area to shoot. Narrow pavements (sidewalks) - I suppose because they don’t get much pedestrian traffic. This area is predominantly factories. I’d been wanting to visit this area for a few years now but never made the turnoff when passing through. Its close to the coast. It was a coal shipping area with a deep harbour that then developed a significantly large steelworks.
Including colour for comparison. Film simulation jpg: Nostalgic Neg.
Never to be released
Rock, shaped like a heart and trapped by branches somewhere on the Australian coast.
Old forest
If you’ve visited Australia as a photographer, in particular doing landscape photography, Tasmania is a must visit destination. Not sure why I haven’t looked at these images I took back in 2018. Old growth forests provide an abundance of opportunities for this type of work. So many intimate nooks and crannies that are not that difficult to access. Again, you can’t really tell which camera was used to take this shot. As is happens it was the Olympus EM5 III. One reason I liked to get around these places with the Oly is the IBIS. My D800 of course didn’t have it so a tripod was always carried along. But in wet weather it was much more convenient without it. Forest shots in low light and sometimes drizzle were no problem. And I’ve always enjoyed Olympus colours. Even otherwise, almost no editing on shots like these.
Dreamscape
Am I in another world now? Whenever go out for a photowalk I take the chance to use the xpan setting on the Fuji GFX 100S. Conditions for photography were perfect - a soft light due to slight overcast weather and in this image a conspicuous lack of people/tourists in the area. A timely entry of a man and his boy. The man happens to be pointing which in the context of this photograph give the image some extra weight or significance. What’s not so obvious is the ocean in the background due to the B&W conversion. Tonally the grass and sea are similar. You gotta be lucky sometimes! As always, click to enlarge image.
Industrial breakwater
Well it’s in an industrial zone anyway. These massive rocks form a part of a breakwater stopping surf from hitting the bay where there is both a marina and docking for larger ships to load their cargo. It extends for maybe a kilometre with huge concrete blocks either side of a disused railway track at a height of 30-40 ft above sea level. I think the walkway is open to the public most of the time with plenty of people fishing the quiet side. All images shot with Fuji GFX 100S and GF 32-64mm.
Is it obvious?
Not an award winning photo by any means. But it demonstrates a subtle use of tilt/shift. In this case, a Nikon D800 with a Mirex T/S adapter and maybe a Hasselblad 60mm (Zeiss) lens. I say subtle because it doesn’t have a strong ‘miniature’ signature. At first viewing something is fishy about this shot - the close foreground is blurred as are the clouds and sky. The image, to my eye is distinctive but not unnatural. The log certainly draws your attention. Perhaps that’s also due to the log being sat on a rock ‘island’. Replace the log with a model in a low profile pose and I think you would have in interesting image. Since selling my Nikon system, I eventually bought a Fotodiox T/S adapter for some Pentax 6x7 lenses on the GFX. Though not machined quite as nicely, the Fotodiox does the job. I’m looking forward to some more experimentation when time permits.
Large format fantasy
Remains of a wall that I like to think is from the Viking days. But, who knows. It sat on the shoreline on a quiet part of the Icelandic coast. Weather was overcast and somewhat drizzly. Lighting was subtle and very conducive for textural shots like this one. For several years I considered a move to Medium format. Based on what? I always appreciated the fine detail from having such a huge negative. A large print of a beautiful image might justify an investment in MF - if it was done over and over. The above image was from a Nikon D800. There probably remains a discernible difference between film and digital in highlight roll-off to someone with a lot of knowledge and experience in film photography. Which is another factor that drew me towards going back to film and the larger formats in particular. Alas, even many photo journalists and critics can tell the difference between film and digital now. And if you’ve become a half decent editor with the software that’s available now the differences and advantages have slowly dwindled so much as to become a matter of artistic choice… and convenience.
What took this?
Welcome to the crazy world of photography. I think it was around eight or nine years ago I felt that lugging around a Nikon D800 equipped with Hasselblad lenses (adapted) had reached it’s use by date. There were a couple of factors - weight being one of them. The very nice Distagon 40mm was subject to lens flare and I was looking to create a more compact system That’s when my interest was sparked by the diminutive Olympus M4/3 setup. A friend had bought a EM1 and produced admirable results. To cut a long story short, so did the EM5 and 12-24mm f2.8 which I bought shortly after. I sold one of the first photos I took from the location pictured above. Olympus colours for landscape are excellent. Another lens that proved itself with this system was the Sirui 35mm anamorphic lens. Over and over again, YouTubers are touting one or another camera system or lens. So what did I do? I bought into medium format. Hasselblad would have been my first choice with it’s incredible colour science. Financially though, out of reach. Next? Fuji’s GFX 100S. Colour science maybe not quite up there with ‘H’ but pretty darn nice. And yes, the all important IBIS. That was a must. Suddenly weight is not an issue ; ) Looking through the many hundreds of old images now I struggle to know for sure which system I used to take the shots. I won’t lie, photos taken with the Fuji are exceptional. Colours are great and detailed info in the 200-300mb files are very easy to edit (require little work). So, what’s the moral to the story? Well after more that 30 years of photography it’s to be expected that many systems will be explored. I’ve sold off 2 of 3 Nikons as well as the Canons I owned. I still have Sony’s predominantly for videos and well yes, A Mamiya C330 tucked away, which I’m happy to part with. I think most of the attraction of the various systems have romantic or idealistic notions surrounding them. They make us feel better about ourselves and our capabilities as photographers. Sony’s for example are often described as soulless devices but having technical excellence. At the end of the day the camera you love using more frequently is the one that will serve you best.
Serene or....
There were several images of the landscape in Iceland that were less dramatic and rather conveyed a sense of serenity. There can be a strong temptation however to accentuate certain elements such as the sky which in this instance has a very painterly quality about it. If it were to be made dramatic in post to bring the shape of the clouds out more, the whole feeling of the image would be changed and the sense of calm lost. Another habit which often shows up in post is to over saturate everything. Another natural balance would be lost. We can learn a lot through the great artists of the past who in many cases opted for the ‘natural’ look and didn’t want everything to ‘stand out’.
After the storm
This log washed up on the beach like a carcass of some big animal. It would have been good to visit this area during the ‘bomb cyclone’ as it was described. Big seas of course but damaging winds. And with constant rain photography becomes a nightmare. Next best thing - photograph what turns up on the beaches. An interesting project if time permits.
The Shape of things
Coastal areas provide an almost infinite array of designs and features. Photographers often spend a lot of money on travel and capturing scenes that can’t be found in their own neighbourhood. I’m fortunate to live not far from the coast. The cliffs and shores of these beaches offer up plenty of opportunities over the seasons to capture images or textures of an abstract nature.
a highlight
I enjoy the sometimes random nature of photography. The unplanned elements can be a nice surprise. In an effort to incorporate a little more exercise into my day I took a walk around the dam when the rain eased up. Still overcast, the sun forced it’s way through the clouds just enough to not to make this a high contrast image but at the same time providing a counterpoint to the darker subtle tones..
Close to shore
A study of nature in it’s variety of forms can lead to endless explorations of the imagination. It seemed for a while I was endlessly ‘seeing things’ in rock formations. It’s a play in dimensionality if there is such a word. Perspectives become very fluid and elastic. Shape combines with texture which adds to the feel. This could be a photo shot from above (which it isn’t).
Less ambiguous is this beach image. It belongs to a series of underexposed photos that came about through chance. As it turns out the B&W conversions are quite striking and this simple image has far more impact than it’s correctly exposed colour counterpart.
Another textural variant. Water weeds in a creek.
Back on land for a moment… a leaf that escaped from the group. One sits on the surface, the others are stains on concrete - sun does the rest of the work.
Combination of factors
Although this image looks OK in B&W, it has more appeal for me with the combination of darker tones and transitions. The deep green of the water and ‘blonde’ grass with the embedded brown ferns and exposed roots on the bank make for a nicely detailed image. There is extra texture from the light diffraction in the water adding more dimensionality. The muted lighting suggests it was somewhat overcast providing a more rich colouration and evenness to the tones.
