The joys of a new toy

Recently bought a smaller camera as a more accessible camera for walking around and doing some street photography.  Love my large full frame Canon 5Dmk11 but it's heavy and cumbersome and I often find myself thinking about whether or not to take it on short outings.

I sold my older Canon 400D and a 50mm Canon macro that I wasn't using and picked up one of the new smaller micro four thirds cameras.  I bought the Olympus OMD.  A beautiful little camera.  Does take some getting used to though.  So different to the big old Bertha I've been lugging around.   The balance in my hands still feels strange but the lack of weight and aching shoulders makes up for it.

I've been researching and wondering about what lens or lenses.  Just bought the basic 14-42 as part of the kit but am wanting a couple of primes I think.  My first buy was the beautiful Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4.  It arrived today!!!!  Haven't had much of a chance to do more than look and dream but I did get a couple of quick images outside in the garden.

I'm off the the US and Canada in a few weeks and as I've booked some photography lessons while there need to take the big camera as well but I think that this might be my last overseas trip with heavy carry on gear.  Hoping that the new Oly will do just nicely for all my travel wants.  I do take my photography seriously on trips so it's a big ask but I think I might be onto something.

Enjoy these couple of images shot today.  I'm sure I'll improve!

I just looove bookbinding

Those who have been following here might remember that I enrolled in a bookbinding course at Enmore earlier this year with Rosemarie Jeffers-Palmer from Amazing Paper http://www.amazingpaper.com.au/


Rosemarie runs a beginners course on behalf of the Sydney Community College but she also has her own bookbinding business.

I loved it so much I came back for seconds.  My only regret is that I will be a way a bit later in the year so will have to wait until 2013 before I get my next dose of tuition.

In the meantime, as well as learning about bookbinding, bookrepairs and book design I have been experimenting with some of my own designs using my photographic images.

My very first fledgling prototypes are ready to take in to Rosemarie for this week's class and await her critique??  Compared to the beautiful work I see in her studio/workshop, mine are a pale comparison, however, they are so much better than my early attempts.  And I do love the "create" part of the process.  I also love that I think I can enjoy some of my images as covers on my handmade books for gifts for family and friends.  I might eventually sell some at our market stall.  Just need to get the technique perfected.

Here below are a couple of my first attempts.  My designs are using an almost square format.  I like it more than A5 and A6, although I have a couple in that sze in the making.   These "almost square" designs vary,  but are approximately 5.5sq".  (or roughly 14-14cms) square.

For these books I have used a Japanese stab binding, linen thread, beautiful Canson Montvale Aquarelle paper for covers and cartridge paper (about 100gsm) for text pages.  I'm attempting to use a "re use, source local, offcut) model.  Not perfect, but I'm certainly watching my footprint.


This first book features an image from a Turkish Bazaar.  (front and back)

This Black and White cover book (below) features one of my maple images from my tree at home.

Recovery Mode

In the process of recovering from a small health problem and being forced to stay home and remain quiet for a few days I've discovered the joy of reorganising and re editing some older images.  Some not that old, but they were images I'd had a bit of a go at when I first took them and put them aside for a rainy day.

I'm also in the process of slowly moving to Lightroom 4.  Still not entirely happy with the metadata that I can bring in as I upgrade.  I'm keeping versions of LR3 so if (when) they sort it out over at Adobe or when I discover "how"?? I can have another go.

One of the things that always intrigues me when I open an image that I haven't looked at for some time, is the way I see it with new eyes and often I think the 2nd edit is much better.  I always have to be disciplined when I'm in the middle of a major block of time editing work.  I can make an absolute idiot of myself, good judgement right out the door??

Why is it that when completely ensconced in your own world, you can lose all perspective.  My little rule (that is quite often broken) is to not upload anything immediately - and if.... no ...  when I do, to make sure that I head right over to that site the very next day and rescue myself.   The readout on my computer actions these past few days would make interesting analysis as I've pretty much ripped everything I have uploaded off again and started all over.  I think that's one of the things I love the most about the digital world of photography.  Nothing has to be definite and most things can be dressed up with a new look for a new idea.  The trick for me, of course, is to make sure I publish all the versions and don't just write over each one as there is a wonderful treasure trove of my days and my life hidden away midst my photography.

So now for a snippet of what I have found - just a small look.


This gorgeous fellow (below) was in Turkey, not for from Van when our mini bus spotted a wedding party being followed by their friends and family along a main road.  Cars everywhere, horns blaring, red scarves being waved by young people leaning out car windows.

These guys (below) were also in Turkey in a very historic town, Sunliurfa.  We'd been enjoying some street photography in the local meeting place and this snap was taken when these fellows were inspecting the image on my friend's camera.

A tiny village (below) close to the city of Van in Eastern Turkey.  This youth was busy in the workshop.  I've processed this a few different ways and it looks good as a B&W but when I used a different process with a blue tone and stronger contrast I got a completely different impression.

And finally, a pic from western NSW (below).  The old woolshed @ Kinchega, near Menindee bathed in late afternoon light.

Crazy

Sydney and much of the coast was hit hard yesterday with high winds, rain, branches and leaves everywhere.  I had to drive to the city in the early evening.  Crazy?  However, because of the severe weather warnings, people actually stayed off the roads so I had the "crazy" good trip into town. Who would have believed it?

Don't know why I thought about putting my old camera in with the lensbaby on??  Good idea!  The bookbinding class I have been attending @ Amazing Paper, http://www.amazingpaper.com.au/ was called off because others couldn't get there.

Good fortune occasionally shines in bad weather.  I was then able to spend a great hour wandering the back streets of Redfern, lensbaby in hand, dodging the weather, umbrellas flying across the street, looking at a sort of ghost town environment as traffic on usually busy streets stayed away.

This guy ran out of a terrace with his dog lead in one hand and his scooter in the other.  Caught a couple of fun shots as he set sail down the street on his scooter and dog running behind.

Edited in Nik - do so love Nik Silver!!

Enjoy!

Mixed Emotions

I have a few things on my mind but really being inspired by the change in weather yesterday where we had rain and lovely mist over the last of the autumn leaves.
Today the sun is out but there is also wind and I am sure that some of the beautiful leaves I have had my eye on may not be there much longer.  So, inspired by some work last weekend with my lensbaby and imagining the effect of bright blue sky (today's weather) gusty breeze moving the leaves and glorious colour I've just zipped outside, taken a few lensbaby shots with my 5Dmk11 (I usually just pop it on the smaller sensor body) because I can see some magic happening so want as many pixels as possible to play with.
AND I wasn't disappointed.  I'm going to find another 30 minutes later today to have another go.

Here is my meagre offering that's had a fast and furious edit in LR4 and Nik Color 4.0.


Enjoy!!  I certainly did.

Creative Energy

I often wondered where artists and musicians got their inspiration.  I have always been in awe of these creative souls whose productivity often astounds.  Not only do they produce beautiful work but they seem to do it so regularly.

Gradually over the past few months I've begun to realise that I might have finally discovered a few tricks of my own that help me to sift through the thoughts and ideas, the visual inspirations, the deeper tracks that run through my mind each day.

For me it is all quite connected.  Thoughts, images, ideas come and go but somehow the "dreamcatcher" or the "ideas basket" has to be with me at all times and if I'm smart, I'll lock away these small moments for a later time when I can sit and dream and imagine.  However, as a photographer I can't just pull out a pen or paintbrush and paper and "create."  It's not often that I will photograph from a setup.  My work is usually outdoors and on the go.  So it's become even more important to me to have a way of managing my creative side in photography.

So, how does it all happen??  Notebooks, notebooks and notebooks! Or maybe the notepad on my iphone ....  maybe my iphone camera to get quick snap of an idea to use at a later time.  On my computer I keep a word document that I just copy and paste into from websites when I see something that I want to keep.  My notebooks often make little sense, they are somewhat disorganised ... new headings, new pages, repeated headings, repeated ideas.  BUT .. they are all recorded in some way and as I open the notebook I carry in my bag and I open to write down an idea, I see the words from the day before and the circle of connection begins.

So, why this ramble today?  The other very important part of my creativity is being able to hang around other photographers.  They inspire me and I learn something every time I do.  It is often the time when I make the big connections in my head about new pathways and directions to take.

Last weekend my local photography club shared a weekend away just devoted to photography.  We looked for places to shoot, we talked about what we were doing, we commiserated when we missed good opportunities and we all seemed to try out a few new ideas.  And we had lots of fun!!

So maybe that's why artists often hang around other creative people???

When I returned and began to upload my images I was initially a little disappointed that I didn't seem to have that "amazing image" that we all aim for.  I had too many pelicans - I just couldn't resist??  I had too many of the same sunset - I just loved hearing the shutter click as the sky lit up??  But encouraged by another photographer I pulled out my lensbaby and used it for the first time in quite a while and between the intentional blurred images that I love to take, I bagged a couple of lensbaby shots that I quite liked.

Thanks to the group who ventured away last weekend.  You added to my enjoyment but you also added to my "creativity" and artistic intent.

A couple of images that I have been able to edit.... Enjoy!

Late Autumn Light

It's Mothers' Day and it's been glorious.  Blue skies, crisp clean air, cool enough for a coat but warm enough to enjoy being outside.

I've recently been discovering some of my older images and looking at them with clean eyes.  It's so easy to get immersed in some newer work that you lose a bit of perspective - are they really that good?  maybe not? or maybe they are.  However, I find that when images are put aside for some time, fresher eyes are often a better judge.

So what have I been enjoying?  I've really loved finding some of the older images from the local area here in the Blue Mountains.  I'd completely forgotten that some of them even existed.  One of the joys of this sort of reminiscing is that now my skills in editing are far better than they were even a couple of years ago.

I've loved working with Nik software and have made a real effort recently to dig a bit deeper and learn more about the tools on offer.  Nik Silver Efex is a great B&W help.  Because I was never a darkroom person I avoided a few of the film effects that are hidden in the palette but recently I did a couple of webinars and have found so much more that I had been using.  Color Efex is my other current favourite.  Version 4.0 allows so much more than the earlier version so I've been working my way through it slowly and finding the ability to use multiple filters in an image quite beautiful.

So, today, with the last of the sunshine lighting up a couple of my maples, I grabbed the camera determined to take a shot for posterity.

Here are a couple of my favourites - real quick and dirty shooting and a bit of lick and polish thanks to Nik.


Enjoy!!