Mt Piddington cont'd

April 19, 2013 Peter Damo

A return to Mt Piddington a couple of days later produced a series of images from rock layers. The variations and colours were stunning (I was equally impressed with the black and white versions). Some were taken with shallow depth of field and one in particular creates an illusion (near/far) which can be frustrating and defeats most viewers when trying to see the image "correctly" - me included. A sobering lesson in how ineffectual the conscious mind can be. Even when you know something is not right, simply telling yourself is of no help at all. Particularly frustrating when you have seen the "correct" perspective already. Anyway, here is the image... see if you can view it as it was. Hint - the blurred section on the right hand side is the most distant part of the image. Specs: f3.5/1/30sec/ISO100/-.6ev

I won't be posting the whole series here but the next is a b&w sample from the same area. Specs: f13/.6sec/ISO100/-.3ev

From Mt Piddington

April 15, 2013 Peter Damo

Mt Piddington turnoff is to the left just before Mt Victoria heading west. I'd driven around the circuit drive that surrounds the peak but never took any of the walks from there. Last weekend I went with a friend and did the Cox's Cave circuit walk. It took us the best part of the day starting out around 10am. Its an interesting and varied walk. Steep in parts but plenty of leafy vegetation underfoot. As it turned out, weather was sunny and temp in low 20s. Ideal for bushwalking really. When you are walking through rainforested area a sunny day is not a bad thing with filtered light finding its way to the valley floor. Having said that, I'm looking forward to a return in more misty conditions.

Specs: f13/.8sec/ISO100/-1ev

Most of the time was spent on the first half of the walk only realising later how much time was spent in each place exploring the overhangs, fern groves and grottos.

Specs: f13/1/6secs/ISO100/-1ev

Fern branch. Specs: f5.6/1/6secs/ISO320/-.67ev

Rock overhang (above).

Sunset in the west

April 7, 2013 Peter Damo

This shot is a conversion of a colour file using only the red channel. It shows a good range of tones - a suitable softness for a sunset image. Colours were quite dramatic, ranging from pale green to strong pink and orange some of them just out of shot. Remarkable.

F13 1/13sec 100ISO -.67ev

Change of seasons

April 4, 2013 Peter Damo

I could post a shot of the mist and rain that has made the mountains home again. But then there is not much to see right now. No transition here to speak about - we're right into winter. Let's not muck about with autumn. Well its not that cold just yet. I thought I would post a shot from the world of film...

I have been missing some of the subtle colour palette that comes with film like Kodak Portra. Here is a shot taken during the last of the sunny weather we are likely to see for some time. In fiddling about with the Mamiya C330, I missed the delicate rays that slipped behind the clouds last weekend. Its been gone ever since.

This is one of the three sisters in Katoomba (hiding the other two). Just a little light left to illuminate the scene. I'll have to get back in the habit of taking notes about the film stock and shutter speeds etc now that I'll be posting some film`based images again.

A day in the valley

March 18, 2013 Peter Damo

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?

March 2, 2013 Peter Damo

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 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.

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.