We have been blessed with some fantastic sunrises over the last few weeks. It makes getting up early for a run well worth it!
These images were taken with my iPhone SMAX from the public golf course overlooking City Beach, Wollongong.
I am not yet brave enough to take traditional style portraits but I really like the idea of taking environmental portraits. That is, taking pictures of people doing their thing in their space. These two images are from the photo shoot I talked about a couple of weeks ago in Photo of the Week 18.
Taken with a Panasonic FZ1000 and edited in Lightroom. Natural light.
This is one of my very first images from when I started taking photography seriously. It was taken on a Panasonic FZ250. Not a bad zoom for a little camera! I was at least 1 km away on the other side of the Habour at Lady Macquarie’s Chair in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. I don’t have any details on the settings.
I think it still stands the test of time
Nearly pro! This photo is from my first booked “photo shoot”. That is, someone asked me to take photos for them for their website! Yvette is a jewellery designer, and she runs workshops on making silver rings. Here, one of the participants is cutting a piece of silver with a jewellery saw. You can see Yvette’s website here, although soon it will be all sparkly new with some of my images!
Edited in Lightroom. On reflection, my depth of field is too narrow and the whole saw is not in focus, but I needed to use a wide aperture because it was a moving target and the ambient light was low.
Excuses excuses! 🙂
Once again continuing from last week’s botanical theme here are some more digitally altered gum leaves.
The original photo was taken on a white sheet of paper in the open shade of an awning.
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 f8 ISO 125 23.3 mm 1/600s
Edited in Lightroom and Jixipix.
Continuing from last week’s botanical theme. This time with some images of Grevillea flowers.
The original photo was taken on a white sheet of paper in the open shade of an awning.
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 f8 ISO 125 23.3 mm 1/600s
Edited in Lightroom and Jixipix.
I usually photograph “real” places, events or objects. I very rarely set up a scene with the intention of photographing it. I want to experiment with studio lights and created scenes. I have started with natural light and have used natural objects from native Australian plants. I edited some using the Jixipix suite of apps.
The original photo was taken on a white sheet of paper in the open shade of an awning.
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 f3.5 ISO 125 14.25 mm 1/500s
Edited in Lightroom and Jixipix.
The early morning sun backlights these small yellow mushrooms that have emerged after a week of rain in Wollongong Botanic Gardens
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000: ISO 125 1/1000s f3.6
The Royal Easter Show is THE biggest event in Australia. Held at Sydney Olympic Stadium over 12 days and with an average of over 850,000 tickets sold, it hums with activity. The show is run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, and the first show was held in 1823. The RAS’ charter is to support the farmers by acting as
“… a not-for-profit organisation, …committed to supporting agricultural development and rural communities in Australia by generating revenue through its businesses which is ploughed back into agriculture.”
Over the years it has changed and, of course, become more commercial. Show bags used to be called sample bags and were free. These days you have to pay a pretty penny for a bag full of plastic junk.
Despite this, the essence has remained the same. “The Royal” is the culmination of local and district agricultural shows which happen at various times throughout the year in country towns around NSW (and Australia). Farmers bring their best chickens, pigs and cattle to show, while others cook and vie for the title of best fruit cake. Old crafts such as knitting, crochet and leather carving are appreciated and kept alive by healthy competition.
In the various arena and pavillions, we city folk can watch tent pegging, show jumping, rodeo, dog and cat shows, and feel connected to those who provide our food.
In sideshow alley kids of all ages can ride on the giant Ferris wheel, the giant slide and the other noisy rides that throw them in the air in an eruption of squeals and shrieks.
I’m not sure how often I have been to the Show, perhaps 10? I remember going with my mum on Good Fridays because it meant the crowd would be smaller as people observed that public holiday more piously 50 years ago. In those days, it was held at the Showgrounds in Moore Park, and we needed to catch two trains and a bus to get there.
I’ve been to the show three times in the last 6 years. It’s an excellent place for a photo safari and while I don’t look at everything I stick to the less commerical areas but make sure I check out the chickens!
The collages below show some of my shots from this year.
Tomorrow (23/4/19) is the last day for the 2019 show. It’s Children’s Day and there are special offers. If you are visiting Sydney in 2020, I’d recommend you add it to the calendar of events. The glorious autumn weather and the feel good vibe, are bound to impress.
