This garden is less than a 5 minute drive from where I live, smack in the middle of Australian bushland. Its in the mountains where a winter look can be achieved in April thus giving it a very European feel. Due to weather conditions here a mist can develop and create a magical feel and soon we are back to sunny weather and clear skies.
Birds over delta
There are still a few images (perhaps more than a few) from Iceland that I haven't as yet published in any form. Compositionally, they may lack something but yet tell enough of a story to warrant further examination/appreciation. This image is from 2012 during a trip to Iceland and features a flock of birds flying low over a delta at the southern end of the island. It was taken through a side window of an old Cessna. It wasn't particularly cold on this occasion but I could imagine this excercise being quite painful as the weather turns. Holding a fairly heavy DSLR /lens combination steady with some buffeting from the window proved to be testing as well. You don't want to miss anything either so the creeping pain level has to be ignored to get the range of shots you want.
Part of the process of landscape photography is looking for patterns - repetitive lines that give an image strength and 'direction'. Sometimes the eye is drawn to to a portion of the landscape that has a lot of detail but you only make sense of it retrospectively. In this case, flying over the land at a rather fast speed, its best to capture as much as possible. This image is a crop albeit a fairly large one. Parallel, yet oppositely textured diagonal lines create interest.
Its not often you get to fool around with an image to this extent. It makes the creative process of photography that much more engaging and entertaining. The twin line effect has been removed in this crop and the image re-orientated. And finally, the uncropped image - equally satisfying. The dark lines now gaining more prominence, adding some extra life.
Business and pleasure
Its not that often you get to mix work with pleasure. So I was counting my blessings at a job I did a little while back (only processing the photos now). This particular job was a dusk shoot for a property. These types of jobs benefit from a rich evening sky and are especially impressive if the sunset combines with dramatic cloud formations - as it did on this evening.
Since my main camera was already in the business of taking exposures from a tripod I grabbed the Olympus (EM5) which was handy and took a few shots as the sky went through its transformations. Processing these cloud images always provides more options than 'regular' images in that shades and brightness are so variable and may be less accurately remembered especially if they are processed some months after they were taken.
Back to cool
After some more late summery weather, the all too familiar but not unwelcome cool and misty weather has made a sudden appearance. So that means a trip back to Mt Wilson where they celebrated the arrival of autumn with the opening of the local gardens to visitors (for a small maintenance fee). The region was well attended by visitors who obviously saw the change of climate as a plus. I revisited the Wynnes Rocks area nearby and photographed a previous subject with a different lens.
Taken with Nikon D800E/14-24mm
Lifestyle
No, I haven't become a food photographer. However, the image itself says a lot anyway. Those stretched gluten strands through the 'burst' section of the crust are a characteristic of a tasty sourdough offering. This shot was taken with an EM5 but otherwise I haven't done much photographically recently. Several years ago, I imported an array of sourdough starter cultures with the aim of producing breads with a variety of tastes and textures. I wasn't so successful in that endeavor and finally after a month or two decided to throw out the six or so bottles I had accumulating in the fridge. For some reason, I decided to give it another crack - this time armed with more research. I had made bread previously for quite a few years (yeasted variety) with good results so my foray into the world of sourdough was somewhat disappointing.
So what does all this amount to? Persistence and discipline including attention to detail returned a very satisfying result ( that I could eat! )
Vista Vs...
A discussion about what 'type' of photographer are you made me think about why I like or choose the subject matter for my photos. I've always been an outdoor kind of person. Having spent many years by the sea and coastal areas made that environment a natural subject for my photography. In the early years I looked, as many photographers have done, at the work of others who were prominent in the field. Its natural enough to want to emulate the work of those and even try to see some similarity in your own efforts. Then you hear stories of how they spent days under trying conditions waiting for the right light before making an exposure. But I had enjoyed the experience of nature too much to go through any kind of penance to get those shots. I rather developed an interest in the detail and smaller scenes that presented themselves. Seven months in Tasmania allowed me the luxury of walking around coastal areas and observing the intricate forms and colours that were served up. The imagination was stimulated to a higher degree. As with any genre of photography the results are open to interpretation and I often see people glossing over images which I find engaging and vice versa. However I still find more meaning or perhaps relevance in an 'intimate landscape' rather than a richly coloured sunrise or sunset.