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 :)

Lotus Exige HDR

Since the birth of our little girl, I've had bugger all chance to get out with my camera. I'm trying to remedy that... it's hard though, I really like being around her!

Anyway we took her to Queensland the other week and I got out a little Not so excited about the results as my timings and prior recon work were non-existent especially because I had no Idea when and where the opportunity to get out would occur.

I also bought myself a Nikon 50mm F1.8 prime lens while in Brisbane as well. Thanks to www.d-d-photographics.com. Man this thing is sharp. Noticeably better than the kit 18-55mm lens I currently have. Time for some serious upgrading.

I did, however, manage to get a serious of bracketed shots of a Lotus Exige. Again not very well planned, but better than nothing. I love HDR and this one is OK.

Only one month until I find out...

Well, I've ticked all the boxes, crossed the t's and dotted all the i's. So now I only have just over 1 month to wait for an answer.

I hope to find out just after the long weekend. Actually, I hope I don't find out before that because if it's not a good answer I'll be shitty for my entire 4 day weekend. I'm also competing in a 4wd competition that weekend, so I don't want to be cranky for that. HAHA.

Hmmm... this is a fairly short post... oh well