I give in ... Spring has arrived!

It's been too long since I last wrote on this blog.  I seem to have been busy.  Looking back I can't work out where my days have gone or what there is to show for it, but it's certainly time to get my fingers tapping on the keyboard once more.

I've been working hard on some photography projects and have finally finished a book of my mum's garden.  My Eastern Turkey trip of 2010 is next but I still fear that it may take even longer.  I've been writing a Lightroom 3 course that I'll be teaching soon with Len Metcalf and I've been planning a couple of photography trips with some photo buddies.  Dunne's Swamp next weekend and Mungo and Menindee Lakes in October.  Can't wait!

But back to today - or more correctly, yesterday.  I'm still in winter mode.  I looove winter!!  I'm less thrilled about summer.  Winter for me has it all.  I love the food, I love the low light, I love Sydney winters with their bright blue skies and crisp cold nights.  In winter, I can always put on more clothes to get warm, but once we hit the Australian summer, unless you are smart about your day, or overusing the earth's limited resources, it's near impossible to stay cool.

And that brings me to Spring, the topic of today's post.  Spring was once my favorite season.  I hung around waiting for the buds to open, the neighbourhood gardens to bloom, the streetscapes to colour up.  But not any longer.  To me Spring is just that time of the year between glorious winter and boring summer!  And it is the time for hayfever!!

I'd noticed a couple of days ago that one of the Japanese Maple trees in my yard had the start of the sweet green leaves that begin in Spring.  The Ornamental Peach beside the driveway also had a hint of colour.  Late yesterday afternoon I took the camera, my trusty 105 macro and a monopod and thought I'd do a quick hunt around and see what was starting to bloom.  I'd also been to the nursery yesterday looking for some veges etc to put in,  so the garden was front and centre in my mind.

I've included here for your enjoyment a random selection of what's out in my garden today.

I think this one (above) is my favourite.  The ornamental peach.  I tried to get a background that would give the impression that it was growing out in the open or against a river and NOT beside a roadway with a brown brick house across the way.  I've taken hundreds of photos of these blossoms over the years and have finally remembered to think about the background!!!  Yeah! There is hope for me yet!

We have a few vines covering a very ordinary looking colourbond fence.  This vine has a pinkish toned flower that was a little too high up for me to capture but this shot is of the spent flower and I actually really like the look of the dead flowers.

And like everyone else, I have a few geraniums that need absolutely no care.  This little one is just about to bloom.

The long side of our house with the big deck faces north and it is so very hot in summer that over the years I've experimented to find plants than can tolerate and thrive in the heat and in pots.  The last few years these daisies have been spot on!  Not possible to kill them and they bloom for months at a time.  I've played with the colour of this one a little in Nik Color 3.0.

Now this image (above) is of the same daisy family.  I've done it in a mono using Nik Silver and every time I glance at it I am reminded of the photo of Princess Di with the wet hair look.  At least I think it is the wet hair look one.  Whatever ....  it's the tones I think.  I'll go looking one time and check it out but I think the connection for me is the tonal treatment.  Interesting??

And this little one (above) is again, the same daisy family, but accepting the movement the breeze was making and accentuating it by consciously capturing the flower a little out of focus.  Well, perhaps I should have said, "quite a bit out of focus"?  By playing with the focus ring, in my mind I've accentuated the shape and the colour.  Perhaps to others it just confirms that I can't take sharp photos!!!

And when the bush is ablaze with flowers they crowd each other as if it's the children's song "Ten in the bed and the middle one said, roll over, roll over!"  What I attempted to do here with this arrangement, was to play on the crowded bush idea.  Wide open aperture (2.8) and therefore a muted background.

Another side view of the same daisies as earlier.  The light was magic late afternoon, in front of a dark brick wall.

Another example of "Ten in the bed" (above)

I had 2 very large diosma bushes in my small courtyard but removed one in Autumn so my lemon tree would do better.  This is the remaining bush and I never really thought much about it until some time last year when I looked at the flowers through the viewfinder and loved the delicate shapes and the patterns the bush itself made in images.

A small lavender bush (above) with the hint of blue coming form the painted window surrounds.

This quaint plant was one that came from Ron's mother's garden when she died.  It's a waxy sort of plant that just does it's own thing.  Again, like the diosma, it is very ordinary until you look at it thru a viewfinder, and preferably with the aperture wide open.

Now this bit of chaos is a native that I planted along the bush side of the house.  It is very fine and blows a lot in the wind.  Yesterday the movement looked amazing.  I haven't captured it to it's best effect but you do get some impression of movement in the background.  The light patch top LHS is blown out from the setting sun.  This image would be very lowly scored at a camera club comp but to me it speaks of this disorganised bush.

Another shot of the diosma.

The mono (above) is last year's chilli bush.  Bright red and green.  I've treated it in this way so the aging of the chillies are shown with their rumpled skin.

So, what do you shoot?

How often do you get asked this question when you explain that you are into photography?  It's probably the same for other creative arts as well, but it always puzzles me as to why I need to decide?  and what should I say? and who cares anyway?

I figure this question is a little bit like asking me what do I eat?  I eat what's there.  I eat what's in season.  I eat what I feel like.  So, what am I eating right now?  Oranges and lots of them.  Why oranges?  Because if I wait a couple of months they will be around but they will have been in cold storage or have been imported adding many food miles and losing lots of flavour.  I'm also eating apples for the same reason and watching the new season strawberries.

So, what's this got to do with what I shoot?

I've been thinking about my photography lately and it's impact on my life.  It's a very lovely world to escape into.  It doesn't have to involve other people but as I've written previously, it's so much more expansive when shared.  So, my tastes are a bit seasonal, they are influenced by the weather and the people I get a chance to hang out with and for this reason, my tastes and habits evolve and mould themselves around others.  Not so much in following the styles of those I get to shoot with, but it's more like making the most of every opportunity.  I have a few little projects of my own on the boil.  In actual fact I have many many tucked away!  They ebb and flow and are often richer for my absence so that when I return I bring a different perspective.  I have some pet themes, some styles I love to explore some techniques I work at on a regular basis and I have an enormous pile of books - getting bigger by the month!  And that bundle of books is sheer magic - ideas, inspiration, technique, critique, standards to aspire.

Just as important is the fabulous network of photographers that I get to hang with.  And in doing so, I am always open to possibilities of places and ideas to shoot.

So, what do I photograph?  Whatever is there!  This week it's been a relaxed portrait session, some table top displays and today, another early morning meander around the banks of the river at Yarramundi.  Looking at what I brought home it's interesting to understand what I saw.  Today, it was light and sparkle and patterns.

A few samples from a clear winter's morning.  Enjoy!!

How can you not fall in love with these neglected leaves and grasses covered in dew?

It was a dew drop sort of day and as I was intrigued by the light that I could see thru the viewfinder I knew I had to edit the image in such a way to show a little of the excitement I felt when I was there.

And here is another of the "ice creamery" type colours that were jumping out at me.  I have to fess up that they weren't quite this delicious, but Lightroom and Nik Color helped them along.

My long lens couldn't compete with the gear that a couple of other guys had - very serious lenses indeed - but I was able to catch a little of the action form afar.  I'm always intrigued by the black swans that are always so unexpected in these parts.

Oh, and why on earth do I shoot slightly out of focus planes on clear blue sky days?  To better see the dust spots so that when I return to Canon in the next week or so I have a clear image (well, clear except for the spots!) to show where they are.  I have pretty much tidied them up here for public viewing?

This could have been painted.

Another Monet

In days gone by I would have deleted this image.  However, I love it!  I love it with all its imperfections. Cut off oar, slightly blurry body, clearly caught on the hop with my focussing but it speaks of what I saw and what I felt.  These 2 canoeists were heading a little further upstream in search of some rare birds.  We'd seen the azure kingfisher a few minutes earlier and they were on the lookout as well.

Reflections from overhanging trees (above and below).

This little community of reeds and grasses is always stunning.  Each time I visit i wonder if it has survived.

Morning light.

Don't tell me you haven't done it too.

OK, I know I'm not the only one.  Confession time!  Who has also done it?  Arrived at a great spot inspired and excited that not only are you there, but the conditions and light look fabulous - maybe not magic but close to it.  What's more, you have the time (and your tripod) to enjoy some great moments.

So this is it.  I was down the south coast for a couple of days and managed to find a little time all by myself to head out and check out the beach.  It was late afternoon.  The sky was rich, the waves were magic and the place was reasonably deserted save for a few die hard surfers.  As I mentioned already, I actually had my tripod.  It was cold and I was ready for it.  Even had some gumboots to help getting over the rockpools.

Out they all came. Tripod, camera bag, gumboots ... spare battery, extra CF cards ... extra scarf even ... a couple of cloths to help with the conditions .... camera (no!  it wasn't the camera!) ...

Here I was at the beach, all ready and all I had in the camera bag was one lens!!!!  Not the wide angle or the next best thing even.  All I had was my damn 105mm macro!  This was not going to be a macro moment.  It was not going to be a 100mm moment!!!  It was supposed to be at the very least about a 40mm opportunity!!!  I'd also left my bag of filters back at the hotel!!!

Light is fading quickly.  My calculations were that by the time I returned and reorganised my kit the time would have passed.  So, needed to make the most of it....  At the beginning this also meant working hard to find some settings that allowed me to do something with the water.  I had no polarizer and no ND filter so initially all I could do was to work with my manual settings.  As the time moved on and the light was less intense this became easier.

What I'm including below is a few of the images I caught.  Quite honestly it was hard to remain irritated in this beautiful light so after a while it seemed like it was meant to be.  Just me, my trusty macro 105, a surfer guy who was also a photographer out shooting his mates with a towel over his gear and some glorious waves ....

Oh, and I realised a couple of other things.  My sensor is disgustingly dirty so off to Canon next week.  I'm working with Nik as a plug in to Lightroom at the moment and I haven't worked out why my workflow of removing dustspots in L/R first is not working.  So, double handling of the dust spot dilemna at the moment.  No prizes for spotting ones I've missed!

Enjoy!!!

Who said a macro lens can't do landscape???  Imagine how it could have looked with a nice wide angle!

The surfer guy photographer (above)

Just loved the late sun on the stone edges of the pool (above)

Yes, and there was a rainbow!  Who could expect anything less on a day like this? (above and below)

Hometown

Mixed feelings this past week or two.  Mum was really ill so spent the best part of two weeks up the coast. Didn't get much of a chance to use my camera but I caught up on some reading - a bit of homework and a bit of inspiration for my next project.  Am loving Linda Gordon's "Dorothea Lange A life Beyond Limits".

What I have been doing these past few years is documenting mum's garden and some of the general bits and pieces that make up an elderly person's yard.  It could be called invention and innovation.  It could be called necessity.  Whatever it is, it's certainly functional and all the odd lengths of cord, recycled containers, reused materials make for some beautiful images.

This last few days I mostly shot some flowers.  I fell in love with the early morning sun shining through and the late afternoon light hanging on.  A little heavy rain added to the mix.

I have a book in here somewhere that is trying to get out.

Enjoy these few impressions from Doris'  garden.

The last of the beans (above)

Passionfruit twirl surviving along the fence.

The old leaf against the yellow mop head. (above)  I think it is from the macadamia tree.  I must check as I took quite a number of shots of these fabulous leaves.

Morning light (above)

The camellia bush out the front is in full bloom.  Old Squeak from over the road stopped while I was using the tripod to tell me that these were the flowers he and Jean had at their wedding.

The jonquils (above) are also in flower and I am always amused to see the stem imitating a bunch of flowers with wrapping.  This time I took the time to capture them as I see them.

Photo Buddies

I've  always known my photography improves when I use my camera more frequently.  I also know my photography improves when I have time to clear my head and just live in my photographic world.  What has become more apparent to me over the last couple of years is the role "photo buddies" play in improving my photography.

Just knowing other photographers doesn't necessarily make a big difference although it does help.  Hanging around other photographers certainly makes a difference to me.  However, it is when I have a connection and a trust and respect for the photographers I am with, that my photography improves in spades.

I first learnt this a few years ago when I did my initial digital course with Greg Dickens (http://www.photosydney.com.au/)  The lessons were fabulous.  The regular schedule of learning and practice made a great difference but it was really after the course had finished and I realised what a supportive group I had grown to know and depend on that the penny finally dropped!  What we had was a group of like minded people of varying skill level who continued to shoot together.  That's when my work stepped up a notch.

A couple of years ago I finally had the courage to front up to the local camera club.  Surprise! Surprise!  Here on my doorstep was a whole group of fantastic photographers who had found a way to build networks and friendships with other people of similar interest and passion.  I was in awe of their collective skill and loved the way I saw them encourage each other.  It took a while and a few baby steps, but after a few months I too had found some "photo buddies" to hang out with, to ask for critique and to build friendships.

About 15 months ago, having retired after 40 years in education, I took a huge leap of faith and signed up for a full year's Master Class with Len Metcalf.  (http://lensschool.com/) If my beginner's course and my camera club activities had made a huge difference to my photography, this intensive mentoring allowed me to find myself photographically.  It challenged me in ways I had not been challenged before and it gave me the confidence to call myself a photographer, rather than a recent retiree.  Both are accurate descriptions, but it is my photography that owns me at the moment.  Retirement is the luxury that allows me to be a photographer.  Not a working professional, but an actual practicing photographer.

So now, a fair way down the path, I have some amazing photographers that I hang out with.  Each time I do I learn something.  When my "photo buddies" are around I have the luxury of time and opportunity to live in my photographic space.

In this last week alone I have had two separate opportunities and have returned form both with a new richness and new ideas.  The images I captured may not be hero shots, but they were a means to an end.  A way of experimenting, of trying new ideas, of seeking feedback, of sharing and of having fun!

The first opportunity was 5 nights down the south coast.  Thanks to Sue and Kay for their hospitality, good humour, red wine and encouragement.  The second opportunity was an evening shoot with Len Metcalf's group in the city near The Rocks.  Again, a great chance to practise a few ideas and to talk about what we were doing.

If you are keen about your photography and frustrated about where and what to shoot and how to improve, I can't stress enough the value of finding a group of like minded photo buddies.  Get along to your local camera club, enrol in a course, be proactive in taking every opportunity that comes your way, force yourself to be a bit social when you are with other photographers.  For every bit of effort you put in you will double what you take from it!


This post is among other things a recognition of the generosity of photographers and photography.


I've posted a few new images from last week.



Enjoy!