I'm the Guest Photographer of the Month over at "A String of Pearls"!

Yes, that's right - the lovely @JaneofAustralia asked me to be Photographer of the Month over at "A String of Pearls". Click on the above image to go and check out my first post :)

Week 6 ~ From a Low Angle

There is so much scope possible with a theme such as this week's 'low angle'. For me it all comes down to the safe option or the out of comfort zone option. The safe option was to stick around the house and look at life as it is from a low angle; both indoors and outdoors. 

The Safe Shot - 100mm IS f2.8 @f4.5 ISO160, 1/60

It's been raining  - still - and there are plenty of spider webs that could have been shot from a low angle, and dew drops on clover is certainly within my comfort zone. When you're starting a project, if your aim is to improve your skills and have fun along the way, it always pays to avoid the safe option and to go, instead, with the one that you always put off for another time. Not this week. 

That's how I found myself at the Blue Mountains National Park, in the rain and with very limited access due to flooding in the area. I had in my mind a particular image and the weather conditions - low mist and heavy cloud cover - was what I was after. The problem was the road closure to the area I needed to get to, and so I changed plans and made the best of it. It would have been easier to get back to the car and drive home - after all, I already had my safe shot done and edited. Instead, I headed over to Blue Pool hoping there would be some access and from the rushing of water, I could tell there was certainly a decent amount flowing. The problem was the lack of safe access to the rushing water. There is a difference between stupidity and pushing your boundaries...and I didn't feel like a helicopter ride out of the National Park. Reluctantly walking on, I did come to a safer location that afforded me with a more open view to the water. I had my  tripod with me and two lenses - 100mm and 70-210mm and the images I've included were shot using the latter of the lenses. Of course, they're not the sort of lenses you would normally use for landscapes, but I wasn't after a wide expanse sort of shot. I was after a narrow and low slice of nature. 

I had the tripod and camera set to perhaps 40cm from ground level and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful reflections in the water. The thick cloud cover meant the reflections were richly coloured and created an impressionist feel to the slowly moving water. The first one is actually a 3 shot panorama which I purposely framed with more water than greenery - firstly it suited my purposes and due to the litter still caught in the trees, I didn't want to have to spend time editing out the litter.

3 shot panorama stitched in PS; 70-210mm @ 210mm f4 @ f13 ISO100 0.8sec

The second two images I really couldn't decide which I preferred - the vertical or horizontal - the reeds and their reflection were something that really caught my eye.  Something that I've learned that is a huge advantage with digital imaging, is you can shoot both then decide which has the stronger composition when you get home. After you've showered. And changed into clean and dry clothes. And had a much needed cup of coffee. And perhaps a biscuit. Ahem...

The vertical shot - 70-210mm @210mm f4 @ f13 ISO100 0.8sec

The horizontal shot - 70-210mm @210mm f4 @f13 ISO100 0.8sec

So, how did you go this week?

I'm Sorry, But What Season is This?

I'm a little confused. My calendar tells me that this is mid October, yet I'm still wearing winter woollies. Normally at this time of year, I would expect soaring blue skies and temperatures in the low to mid 20's. Yet today, like many days this week and last week and the week before, the temperature struggles to get to 20 degrees and it's bleak and dreary.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the mist and fog, but it does get a little tedious. I can really only recall a couple of fine Spring days so far this season, the rest really have been quite blergh. This afternoon I ventured out and about and went for a bit of a bush walk. There are only so many hours you can spend indoors.

I used the Lensbaby Composer with f5.6 aperture disk then converted to black and white in PS. The abstract colour images were various grasses and bushland, and the effect was achieved in-camera.

I hope that wherever you are in the world, your weather is a little brighter, sunnier and cheerier than the weather I'm currently experiencing.

 

   

   

   

   
 
   

   

   

   

 

What lens do you use when photographing waterfalls?

I tagged long with photographers Tatiana and Peter this past weekend and I thought I’d share some photographs I took of some waterfalls located in the Leura area.  I’m not certain of their name, but they are below the Bridal Veil Falls. Please feel free to leave me a comment if you happen to know the names of the waterfalls below.

I used three very different lenses: Sigma 10-20mm, the Lensbaby Composer (with Soft Focus Option) and 24mm Tilt-Shift Lens, borrowed from Peter who has a wonderful tutorial on tilt-shift lenses just a click away. You can see by the examples, that some very different results were obtained. I have included the camera and lens settings for you.

So, what lens do you like to use when you shoot landscapes such as waterfalls?

Canon 50D, Sigma 10-20mm @14mm, f11, ISO100, 30 seconds, Cokin ND filters x 2

Canon 50D, Sigma 10-20mm @ 11mm, f14, ISO100, 15 seconds, Cokin ND Filters x 2

Canon 50D, Lensbaby Composer, Soft Focus Optic, ISO100, 1 second,  Cokin ND Filters x 2, own textures added in PS

Canon 50D, Lensbaby Composer Soft Focus Optic, ISO100, 0.6 seconds, Cokin ND Filters x 2

Canon 50D, Lensbaby Composer Soft Focus Optic, ISO100, 1/13 seconds, Cokin ND Filters x 2,

Canon 50D, 24mm tilt-Shift Lens, f11, 1.3 seconds, no filters

Autumn colour in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia

autumn colour I, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

Autumn in the Blue Mountains is the best place to be to see amazing deciduous colour that changes with each passing day. Depending on where in the Blue Mountains you visit, this riot of autumn-toned colour can start as early as April, in the upper mountains and extend through to June in the lower mountains. There’s a wide variety of deciduous trees, from liquid ambers, Chinese Tallowood, Japanese maple, crepe myrtle, all have their own rich autumn tones. If you’re a fan of autumn colour and you enjoy a certain briskness in the air, then come along to the Blue Mountains – or your favourite autumn location – and marvel at the spectacle that is what makes autumn so awesome!

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba

Sunrise at Echo Point, Katoomba, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

It's not very often that I find myself witnessing a sunrise with a camera in hand. Not very often, as in, ummm, never. So it was with a little apprehension that I tagged along to a sunrise shoot at Echo Point this past weekend.
Now, I'm not one to be anal or superstitious about things, but as soon as I put on my shoes and socks in the incorrect order, I knew this was going to be one of those days. Sure enough, I wasn’t 200m from my door when I realised that I had forgotten my jacket, beanie and gloves. Although it’s October, these items are essential for the upper mountains, especially since the sunrise shoot would be one of two locations that day. In the process of performing a U-turn, I managed to spill most of my espresso into my centre console (why don’t they make travel mugs to fit centre consoles I’ll never know...). So with jacket, gloves and beanie now in hand I hurried, as best as the speed limits allow, up the mountains before the sun rose over the horizon. Did I mention there are major road works being carried out in various locations up the mountains, which I hadn’t factored into the time required to get from one end of the mountains to the other?
I could see the sky was getting increasingly lighter with each passing kilometre and I was possibly not going to make it in time. Not only that, but there were no clouds or mist to be seen. I was also 10 minutes behind schedule, and I was meeting two other photographers, lets simply call them P1 and P2, and I certainly didn’t want to keep them waiting. Taking advantage of a red traffic light, I took the opportunity to call P1 and P2 to ascertain their whereabouts. Imagine my surprise (read horror, shock, astonishment) to find they were actually about 25 minutes behind me and would certainly not make it in time...P1 and P2 are dedicated and passionate photographers who think it quite normal to get up at stupid o’clock, drive countless kilometres simply to shoot a stunning sunrise – had they put their shoes and socks on incorrectly that morning as well?
Needless to say, it’s just as well P1 and P2 didn’t make it in time. The sunrise, while pink and pretty, was also very plain, very quick and very ordinary. This wasn’t going to be one of those Kodak moments. There was no cloud. There was no magical Katoomba mist rolling through the valley. And it was over in a matter of minutes.
Remind me again why Cosy Bed Syndrome as mentioned in a previous blog posting is a bad thing?

Valley of the Waters - Wentworth Falls

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Valley of the Waters with two other photographers - Peter Hill and Tatiana R. These two are absolutely passionate about their waterfalls and landscapes and will go to all sorts of lengths to get the shot perfect (and by that I mean, getting up at a ridiculous hour even in winter in order to capture the scene in it's best light) . I was also fortunate enough to borrow a spare Canon 30D  - which, of course, I fell instantly in love with...sigh....

I'm in the process of considering an equipment upgrade, and after using the Canon 30D, I think the upgrade will be happening sooner rather than later. I'm looking forward to our next outing, and shooting some more of our beautiful surroundings.

To view more Blue Mountains and the waterfall images please go and view Peter's gallery here  and Tatiana's gallery here.  Their works are available for sale as greeting cards, matted prints, wall art and canvases through RedBubble.  when you view their gallery of images, I think you'll agree that getting up at "stupid o'clock" is well worth it if it means being able to achieve such wonderful results.

To view more in my series of the Blue Mountains, see my flickr gallery.

 

 

 Peter and Tatiana in action - if you've taken a look at their galleries, then you'll see that getting up at "stupid o'clock" is certanly vital to getting the perfect shot.  And yes, that means not only all the necessary camera equipment, but also good shoes, cap - rearward facing, flask of tea, chocolate and a beanie - preferably with a pom pom, good shoes, and a heap of patience and stamina. 

undergrowth 3, originally uploaded by Adriana_G.