Living With Our Wild Neighbours

My entry for the Brisbane Lord Mayor's Photographic Competition: Shifting Focus

Apparently I have to give a cheesy 50-word "artist's" comment

Humans manipulate their environment to benefit themselves. Consequently, urban landscapes are as foreign to this ‘Bluey’ as the moon is to man.

With increased awareness and concern for our local environments, wondrous backyard encounters such as mine will continue.

Shifting focus helps us see eye to eye with our world.

Clare Bowditch and The Feeding Set

Back in BrisVegas for her new album launch "The Moon Looked On", the first after having twins. I thought I'd splash out and take all the roomies with me. Unfortunately Miss T (also a big fan since our train trip to Alghero) was unwell so she relinquished her precious ticket to a Mr. Todd who being a long time fan (and who coincidentally introduced me to her) was very appreciative of.



We had seats front and centre in the Powerhouse Theater. When I say that I mean second row from stage at about eye level with Miss B's knees, smack bang in front of her. Felt like she was playing just for us (I wish!)



I was a big fan of "What was left" and I am now keen on the new album (featured on Triple J all this week). Pick up a copy and give it a spin, and then buy all the earlier albums too! Definitely one of my favourite female vocalists and musicians in general, just ask the girls... I keep playing her again and again!

P.S. IMHO I've come a way of a ways from the first time I took photos of her in July last year, always nice to visually see I've gotten incrementally better over time

Out the corner of my eye

As I went back up to the Hash House today (my granny flat) I spotted this little guy on a dandelion. Out came camera, flash+lightsphere and sync cord. Ahhh... set to manual of 1/500th @ f18 and let the i-ttl flash do the rest! Framing could have been better without clipping that bottom petal. Nikon's 85mm PC micro would have been cool to get the DOF plane to include more petals, but that's $1500 more than I've got. Anyone want to donate to Hash's photography fund?



Also here are a few that I took whilst at Girraween National Park (near Stanthorpe) last weekend. The inch ant I encountered was ferocious! Kept on jumping at the lens!

Yes still alive

Here, have some place holder photos to tide you over. Been a little flat out what with a friend's wedding, a trip back to Adelaide, portraiture work and not to mention a very photographically eventful 30th Birthday!

Tried to use the multiple exposure ability in the D200, though I think it would be just as easy to stack photos in PS afterwards. Had a lovely picnic with Therese on the lookout which was very crowded. I pushed the colours of the first one a bit much, and blew out highlights all over the shop. Ah well...



More photos SOOON!

Hash

BCG - Fort Lytton - Portraiture Workshop

Being always in the need for models to practice on, I was told of a portraiture session with the Brisbane Camera Group at Fort Lytton, down near the port of Brisbane. It was crawling with photographers and models. Cameras were jousting lenses to take a photo of the models. The poor things were faced with 20+ cameras clicking away at anyone time with shouts of "Look over here please!"






Leisel



Alysse

Overdue Lunar Eclipse

Probably been done to death in the past few weeks but here's my $0.02 worth. I attached my trusty D200 to Sam's Dad's Dobsonian mount XXXXmm reflector scope that looks something like this...



I couldn't completely get rid of the shutter vibrations from the camera so things came out a little blurry. There are better pictures out there but it still was well worth freezing my butt off for my own!

Sandgate Sunrise

Once again up at an early hour! This time I'm joined by fellow OCAU Photography compatriots Steve and Luke. We were hoping for better weather, but clouds were obscuring the horizon. Nevertheless we got what we came for.



I'm getting this feeling that, my landscape photography is really lacking something that makes the picture stand out. They feel hohum... I think I might indulge in a landscape composition course some time soon.



The Boys