Smoke Machine

Just bought a smoke machine from Aldi for $50. Can't wait to see how I can use this. It has heaps of potential...

Anyway this is just a quick one and here's a test shot... of all things a remote control 4X4!

Westcott Apollo Softbox

I just received my Westcott Apollo 28" Softbox in the post today from www.imagemelbourne.com.au. This is a great store, Leo's (the owner) dedication to customer service is almost unmatched, as are his prices. They have a good range of products and are worth a look.

Anyway, back to me. I'd seen this thing in action a a Strobist meeting and was blown away by the light. Unfortunately at that time they weren''t availiable in Australia and had to be imported through B&H or somewhere similar in the US for a ridiculous amount. (Shipping's about $50!!)

So I had to use it straight away. A simple self-portait. Just gotta get a little practice with it before I unleash it onto the world.

Free Photo Guide

So when you go somewhere, out of town, for work or a holiday, do you take your camera?

Of course we do.

But when you get there, what are you going to shoot? Are you going to wing it and head to the beach? If you're in Sydney are you just going to head to the Harbour and shoot the bridge like everyone else? Where are all the awesome pictures you see on Flickr taken? Want to know?

You need to look here. Open Source Photography guides is an ambitious project which is gaining momentum around the world. It allows you to look up an area where you live, or near to where you live or where you are headed and get information about some of the great spots in those areas to shoot.

The best thing about this project is it's Australian made. This is the baby of inspirational photographer Brent Pearson. Brent's an amazing photographer based out of Sydney, who's made a name for himself due to his awesome seascapes and light painting photos. He's also very generous with a lot of the secrets to the success of his photos through his blog. Locations, settings, techniques & post processing are just some of the things you can pick up from going to his site. So check out his blog here and his Flickr stream here.

A little news...

Well it looks as though all the hard work has paid off.

After 18 months and 2 attempts, I've been accepted as a photographer for the Australian Navy.

What's that mean? 9 months training at RAAF Base Sale. Everything from going right back to the basics to some advanced and challenging techniques. Then roughly 2 years of continuation training (hopefully) in Sydney.

I can only imagine the things I'll get to do and the places this job will take me. There'll be things I can't wait to share and things I can never speak of. But until then, I'll continue with my sporadic posting and updating.

Just Jack

A little while ago I was asked to do a portrait sitting for a one year old. I had taken some set shots of my daughter before who is the same age, but never a dedicated sitting... maybe I should have practiced with her a little more.

We started off at the park, I got there about 30mins beforehand just to check on some areas I had been scouting out earlier. As it turned out I was about 1hr early because the family and I had mixed up where we were meeting and we were at different parks...

Lesson Learned: Always ensure both the client and yourself are clear on where you are meeting.

By the time we had got there, the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped and poor little Jack was getting miserable. We sat him down and I quickly set up 1 bare strobe and started snapping and cheering, whistling, clapping, whatever to get his attention while the parents tried to bribe him with toys, but he'd had enough after about 3mins.

We set off back towards my place where I had set up a plain backdrop just in case of exactly this. It was warm and after 10mins of me setting up we were ready.

Jack still didn't want to play nice, but we got some good shots, we used heaps of props - A red laundry tub, a slide, a chair, leaves, bubbles, books, etc.

All in all a success, but hard work. Here's one of my favourites.

Scott Kelby World Wide Photowalk

I had the honour to be accepted to lead one of Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalks. The location I chose was Sydney's iconic Kings Cross. Choosing this darker, seedier area of Sydney was a no brainer as not many photographers get their cameras out here and there are definitely more than a handful of interesting subjects to shoot.


The day started and finished at the Kings Cross markets, then went around the back of the Cross before coming back and heading down the main road, Darlinghurst St. Once we reached the big Coke sign, we turned around and headed back down the the other side, heading past the Wayside Chapel before finishing up.


It was a glorious day, unfortunately, it was so bright. On the upside it was really nice weather and a fantastic temperature. The whole day was a lot of fun, I had the chance to meet some fantastic people and it was an experience I would be interested in doing again. Trying to pick one winner from all of these great photos is hard work.

Check out the shots taken on the day HERE and HERE

Here area couple more of my shots:



If you live near Sydney, would you be interested in doing one or another of these? Or joining a group where we would meet on non-regular occasions with a smallish group for lunch or dinner and a photowalk? Let me know.

Wollongong Strobist Meet

I just attended a local Strobist meet in Wollongong.

If you don't know, Strobist is a name coined by American photographer David Hobby, it refers to the use of flash off camera. Not the pop up flash on top or flash attached to the top but separated completely from the camera. For more info follow the links at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, this was a reasonably big turn out. Nearly 20 photographers, 5 models and 2-3 make-up artists. The idea was to make this a learning experience rather than a real portfolio builder, and while most of the lighting setups were fairly safe, the shots turned out great and I learnt a lot. I was made aware of this event via a flickr group I am part of (link at the bottom).

Here are some of my photos... enjoy! Clicking on the Photos will bring up model details too.


These are a few of the links I look at for info and inspiration:

David Hobby's Strobist Blog
World Wide Strobist Flickr Group
Australian Strobist Flickr Group

More HDR

Man I really like HDR. There seems to be no limit to the creative possibilities. I am really in awe of the light HDR work that some photographers use. You know the lush landscapes that are just that bit too perfect. I also don't mind seeing some of the edgier stuff that is almost to the point of overdone.

Anyway, here are a couple of shots I've taken & have been pretty happy with the result of my tone mapping!

First Model Shoot

Just did my first model shoot. What a buzz!

I went to a studio in Chatswood (Sydney, NSW, AUS) with 4 other photographers and 1 model. The models name was Annie Xie and she can be found @ model mayhem #848586.

It was an interesting experience, as the title suggests, I had never photographed a model before, but it was going to be a learning experience right throughout the night.

When I got there I was greeted by Dejan form Phantasee Photos. He was already aware of my limited experience and got straight into teaching me about setting up lighting and using a light meter to get exposure right.

Then Annie and the other photographers arrived. Annie was very professional, she came straight in and started on her makeup and asking us about clothes choices. She was very laid back and easy to talk to. I think she had a fair idea of what sort of photos she was after for herself. She grabbed a full length mirror and posed herself for long enough to look down the lens of all the cameras. Annie came prepared with an assortment of wigs and costumes so we never got tired of the one look.

You know, I always wondered how I would be photographing scantily clad women. In all reality, you don't have a lot of time to think about it. There's lighting, posing, clothing, lighting, background and lighting to worry about. In case you haven't worked it out, lighting plays a big part in how your photo turns out. You could have the hottest woman in the world in front of your lens, but if you can't nail that light... then it's not worth taking the shot.

So for my first model shoot, I got a decent mix of fashion, glamour, lingerie and nudity. It was great fun and very rewarding.

Here's a couple of work safe shots to show off, just a selection from over 400 :)