Another Stunning Sunset

I haven't taken a landscape/seascape image for a while and have to get it out of my system. I have been so busy with Weddings and Sports that I haven't physically had the time. Driving to the location I can see the wispy clouds and I can see the trees blowing in the easterly wind, perfect conditions. It was a great sunset and I have had my fix.
Enjoy your weekend!

Nic Naitanui's Dunk at Wildcats game.

Westcoast Eagles player Nic Naitanui took up the challenge at the NBL Perth Wildcats game last night against the Breakers, he proved he has skills other than AFL by executing an awesome dunk!
I love this image...

WA Sunset

This sunset was taken in Two Rocks WA, one of those unplanned shoots that sometimes pay off. I usually do a fair amount of planning for a shoot, find a location, see where the light falls a different times of the day/year and return time after time until mother nature provides just the right elements. On occasions just turning up to a location you know and crossing your fingers does work.

WHICH CAMERA SHOULD YOU BUY?

A question I get asked fairly often is "I want to get into photography, what is the best camera to buy?" usually they are deciding on Canon, Nikon or some other brand.

I am a Canon shooter, but I could just as easily have been a Nikon shooter. I purchased a Canon years ago and my lenses are canon, so I have essentially brought into a lens system. The technology in cameras these days is amazing and it is getting better all the time.

Photography is more about vision and light than megapixels and camera manufacturers. My opinion is don't spend too much on your first DSLR, get something YOU feel comfortable with and can afford. You will get more out of photography by just getting out there and practicing regardless of your camera, maybe take a lesson or two.

Don't get me wrong, there is a difference between say a Canon 60D and a Canon 1d but believe me if you give a good professional photographer a point and shoot and a non photographer a top of the range Hasselblad, the better image would come from the experienced photographer.

This image below was taken with a Canon point and shoot (G10).

Quick Tip: Creating a sense of SPEED.

CREATING A SENSE OF SPEED = MOTOR SPORTS
When photographing motor sports it is all too easy to set your shutter speed to just freeze the action. This is a safe setting as there is very little skill involved, you will end up with a sharp and boring image, you might as well of taken a photo of a parked car.

Try lowering the shutter speed and panning the camera while taking the shot, it takes practice and the success rate is lower, but what you end up with is a shot that shows motion by the way of blurred backgrounds and wheels.

Sports mode on a camera generally just means it will use the fastest possible shutter speed, try switching to Manual or shutter priority and give it a go.

Happy snapping!

Photographer + Fire

Met up with a few fellow Photographers for a bit of creative Photography. We used steel wool in a cage then lit it and spun on a chain (or cord). These are some of the results...

Using Google Earth for scouting locations

In a recent trip to the Stirling Range which is a 5-6 hr drive for me, I decided to use Google Earth to "scout" the area. I have been here before (about 6yrs ago) and got a great shot but for the life of me couldn't remember where I took it from. By using Google Earth I found it which saved me a lot of time when I got there. Scouting an area is a very important part of Landscape photography and tools like Google Earth make it that much easier. Of course you cannot beat getting out there and physically scouting an area and seeing how the light hits the land, but it certainly helps to have an idea of what you could see if you have a fair way to go and a narrow time frame.
Here you can see the image taken and the Google Earth image of the same vantage point.