Bookworm Heaven

5 composition tips to better photographs

1. Get your horizon level. whilst it can be creative to shoot on an angle, in most cases, a level horizon will make for a more appealing photo. I use a bubble level in my hot shoe to help me keep the camera level.

2. Use the rule of thirds. The basics of this rule is to split your frame into 3rd’s both horizontally and vertically (you will end up with 9 squares). You will line up your main subject or focal point where the lines intersect. If you’re not clear on the rule of thirds google it… you will find lots of info on this one!

3. Frame your shots. You could use a tunnel, a window, an archway or even branches on a tree. Use anything you can to create a ‘frame’ within your shot framing your point of focus or interest.

4. Get down low. When photographing kids and pets… get down on there level, a photo will always look better when you get down to their level.

5. Break the rules! Rules were meant to be broken. Have fun with it and try new things. In this digital age, you won’t even be wasting film so click away and see what you come up with!

Bookworm heaven

I went wandering around Sydney City to see what buildings I could get into to shoot. Unfortunately, most don’t allow photography. This is the Old Sydney Library and I had to shoot it through a glass door. I thought it still made an interesting shot… enjoy!

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Panorama

Medium Format

For some of you, the words ‘medium format’ will mean very little… and for the rest of you, it will excite you with thoughts of high pixel count and high quality prints. Most pro photographers have relied on medium format cameras over the years. Photographers such as Ken Duncan definitely use one… when I was at Long Jetty earlier in the week, fine art photographer Matt Pearson let me have a look through the viewfinder of his medium format camera, it is a 16×7 film camera, this is the size of the film area that captures the exposure, and once scanned, allows a print to be printed on a HUGE scale…

As a photographer, it made me go gooey at the knees looking through  the viewfinder of his panoramic film camera. I had never seen a medium format camera up close and personal… it makes me want one!

the daily pic – Panorama

Panoramic pics have proven to be popular and I for one, love a good Pano! It is getting easier with modern day cameras and software to create a panoramic image. Here is one I took from on the Cahill Walk in Sydney, I took 6 shots and merged them together. It will never be as good as looking through the viewfinder of Matt’s panoramic medium format film camera but will have to do for now… and maybe, just maybe, one day it will be the viewfinder of my own piece of panoramic photographic history I find myself looking through!

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Forever Jetty

A night at Vivid Sydney

Last night I headed into the City to check out the Vivid Sydney light display. It is very cleverly done and I am sure someone has spent hours and hours to design and develop it. It was actually really hard to capture in a picture as everything about it keeps moving… fast (not great for sharp night time photography!) Having said that, the modern camera is a very capable tool and I did manage to get a few great shots… keep an eye on the blog in the coming days as I process them.

the daily pic – Forever Jetty

A jetty makes a picture… without it, this would just be the sun setting over the lake… with it, it is transformed into the never ending jetty that leads you into an amazing sunset… enjoy!

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Savage Dog

Matt Pearson Fine Art Photographer

It is always cool to meet other photographers when I am out and about taking pics, as for landscape photographers, we are creatures that usually gather at two particular times of the day, sunrise and sunset. I was at Long Jetty after planning a trip there for a sunset shoot. I was patiently waiting for the sun to set when another photographer rocked up, nothing unusual, as it is sunset, and it is a nice spot… then, he sets up 2 tripods and one of them had a medium format 16 x 7 panorama film camera on it… now I know he is really serious (well he looked like he is!). Being me… I introduced myself, it happened to be Matt Pearson, a fine art photographer from Sydney, he had a gallery in Rushcutters Bay that he had just closed to go on the trip of a lifetime. He had been planning for years to spend 12 months travelling around Oz taking pics and will open another gallery when he is back. Long Jetty happened to be his first shoot, we were treated to a sensational sunset… (pics to come in the next few days!)  if you want to check out Matt Pearson’s work you can by visiting his website here. Safe travels Matt and thanks for your time… it was great to learn a few things from you!

the daily pic – Savage Dog

I think my wife wants me to be eaten alive by a savage dog! A couple of weeks ago, my wife suggested a really nice tree lined driveway for me to go and shoot… so I decided to check it out. I wasn’t game to venture too far up the driveway after I spotted the sign! enjoy….

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Chrome teardrop

google +

It’s interesting to watch the evolution of the internet. When g+ was first launched it really didn’t seem to take off, and for months I saw hardly any activity on google+. These days it is more lively than ever, and especially if you’re into photography it is a great place to share. I encourage you to check it out for yourself…

the daily pic – Chrome teardrop

When I first stumbled across this sculpture I thought ‘what the heck it that?’, for a second I thought maybe we were being attacked by big birds with big chrome poo’s…. I think it is a water droplet, it is outside the Sydney Water building in Parramatta and I thought it made a cool photo… enjoy!

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Bridge over murky water

I think winter has arrived!

Wow…. that wind is ICY! From everything I have seen on Facebook and google+ it is snowing in the mountains. No wonder it is so friggin cold in Sydney! I was going to go into the city tonight for the start of Vivid Sydney, a festival where they light up the Opera House and other areas of Sydney’s foreshore, but had a better offer to go out for dinner… that of course I took up! I am likely to be in the city one night next week for some pics of Vivid… I will also be in there for the official g+ photowalk,  you can keep up to date on the official google+ Vivid Photowalk using the following hash tag #vividsydneypw on g+.

the daily pic – Bridge over murky water

Parramatta river in reality is a storm drain… so it lacks points in the beauty contest. I think the council has done well to turn an ugly area into a less ugly area… Anyway, I went for a walk around the Parramatta area to see if I could get into and shoot a couple of the older churches, it seems they keep them locked up! As I was wandering around I came across this spot and liked the composition… I hope you do too!

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Sails

Firmware update for the Nikon D700

If you happen to own the Nikon D700 there is a firmware update available for you… Your current firmware version can be checked by going to the ‘Firmware Version’ item in the cameras set up menu. The upgrade is for A and B and will take A to ver 1.03 and B to 1.02. Apparently this will fix an issue that was on very rare occasions was causing images to be extremely under exposed. Personally I haven’t had any issues but my recent repair by Nikon ensures I have the later firmware anyway.

If you want to find out more and download the update for your D700 then you can do so by visiting the nikon site here.

And by the way, I take no responsibility for anything you stuff up if you try to update your firmware and it goes pear shaped… got it!

the daily pic – Sails

This is a pic of the Sydney Opera House I took one morning when wandering around. I like to challenge myself to find a different perspective on these famous landmarks, and in this case I got right up close to capture the detail in the sails. It is quite an impressive building and I have often wondered how I can get inside to explore and take photo’s… security is pretty tight!

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Grey Dawn

It’s hip to be square!

When cropping a photo, a square crop is always kind of cool, I don’t know why… but it just is!

the daily pic – Grey Dawn

Sometimes I get up real early to head out for a sunrise shoot, and sometimes, the weather has a different idea to the weatherman and the sun is unable to make an appearance. I still like to capture the mood regardless of the weather, and this particular morning at Observatory Hill it was GREY!

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Harbour Vee

Get down low and go, go, go!

You have probably heard the saying ‘Get down low and go, go, go’ as good advice when you’re stuck in a building fire, whilst I can only assume it is good advice in case of fire (I have never personally tested the theory) it is also good advice for photographers, although, you may not need to go, go and then go again, things are a little less urgent and definitely less life threatening in most photography situations! However, if you want to improve your photo’s, try and take your photo from different perspectives. I see too many photo’s that were taken at eye level, and whilst they’re not all bad, sometimes a photo can be improved out of sight by getting down low. Try next time you take a shot, try standing, then kneeling and see the difference in your pic… I think you will be surprised. I have been known to lay on the ground to get a better viewpoint… it doesn’t matter how silly you look, as long as you get ‘the shot’!

the daily pic – Harbour Vee

It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I visit Sydney Harbour I always enjoy finding different places to take pics. Trying to shoot something as popular as the Harbour Bridge differently is difficult, so I try and think outside of the box… enjoy!

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Cloudy Mountain

Vivid to light up Sydney

Vivid Sydney

This Friday the 25th May, the opera House Sails will come to life with the work of the German design team URBANSCREEN, they will use their talents to light up the sails of the Opera House and this will mark the beginning of Vivid, an annual event where parts of Sydney’s foreshore are lit up for a couple of weeks, during this time, I will make sure I capture it and will share my images with you!

If you’re planning on heading into the city to take photo’s of Vivid, I recommend a good sturdy tripod and a comfy pair of walking shoes. You might even need a beanie and some gloves considering how friggin cold it has been! I am not sure what night(s) I will be there, what I do know, is I will go on a week night as I think this will be quieter an easier than trying to check it out on a Friday or Saturday night.

the daily pic – Cloudy Mountain

I took this last February when touring the NSW country on my BMW R1200RT, there is so much of this beautiful country side, but not many safe places to stop, even where I had stopped wasn’t very safe but I needed to capture this cloud brewing… enjoy!

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