Colourful City Abstract

WHAT

This is a detailed look at the side of the colourful 'Santos' building on Tank Street, Brisbane City. The grey/blue squares are the windows and the pink/red/orange colours mark each floor of the building.

WHY

On this particular day, I'd been searching for some 'abstract' style shots around Brisbane City. This building caught my eye because of the contrasting bright colours. I thought it was a perfect candidate image to add to one of the groups of which I'm a member on 'Redbubble' called "Abstract Lines".

It wasn't until I took at look at this shot on my computer that I realised I'd managed to capture 2 office ceiling lights on the right hand side of my image, which I quite liked.

HOW

For this shot, I was standing on the footpath a block over from the Santos building and at about a 45 degree angle to the side of the Santos building. I used a tripod and attached my 70-300m lens so I could sufficiently zoom in to the colourful features of the building and exclude the sky or any other nearby structures. I set the camera to manual mode and zoomed to 180mm.

Taken at aperture f/10 and 1/200s shutter speed

POST PRODUCTION

I used photoshop to slightly increase the vibrance of the building's colours

Time out before the rains

WHAT:
This is the pier at Shorncliffe, north of Brisbane City. Taken at about 3:30pm before a heavy downpouring of rain.

WHY
The Shorncliffe pier is a favourite hang-out of mine for both relaxing and for photography. It's always crawling with fishermen, walkers, joggers, cyclists and people like me.

This shot was one of my last for the day before I went home - I only took it on a whim and I'm glad I listened to my instincts as it was about the only one worth printing from the outing! I loved how the fading light was hitting parts of the white railings.

HOW
I hand-held my camera at eye-level to take 3 images at exposure values of (-2,0,+2). I stood in the centre of the pier. The man on the left was just walking into my frame and I swung the camera slightly to the left to include him in the image.

Captured using aperture priority, f8, shutter speed 1/640, ISO 200.

POST PRODUCTION
I used Photomatix to combine and tonemap the three images taken at the pier. Because the man on the left was walking as I took my three shots, he initially had a pretty awful 'ghosting' effect. I decided to re-create my HDR image and selected the 'attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts' option. This resulted in the man being nicely frozen in time without any noticeable ghosting effect.

After I'd played around with the various levels in Photomatix, I then opened the image in photoshop. I then increased the vibrance, contrast and clarity levels to really bring out the clouds and subtle differences in the grain of the wood in the pier.

Natural Arch

WHAT

This is a well-known tourist and photographer's haunt known as "Natural Bridge" or "Natural Arch." It's located in the Springbook National Park (about 90 mins from Brisbane).

The arch/bridge is actually a hole in the roof of a cave. That hole resulted from many, many years of a waterfall far above wearing away the soft rock of the cave's roof.

I took this photo from the concrete walkway which leads into the actual cave.

WHY

Most of the 'classic' images that I have seen taken at this location are shot from inside the cave and are very beutiful. I wanted to get me one of those photos for myself and had never been there before.

Apart from being a beautiful location, the Natural Arch is a very challenging subject to capture: the darkness of the cave interior combined with the bright light coming through the hole in the roof and from outside make it a interesting task for judging exposure times.

I was hoping that I'd get a great shot from inside the cave. However when I got home and looked at my pictures, I realised most of my shots from inside the cave had been taken with a light mist from the waterfall covering my lens.... Curses!!!

With regards to the image posted above, I liked the way the rocks nicely framed the water pouring through the hole in the roof off the cave, almost like you're peering through a window into another world. I happened to glance towards the waterfall on my way into the cave when I spotted this specific location and subsequently had to stop. Lucky I did stop cos it produced the only salvageable image of the day!

HOW

I used a tripod and set the camera to aperture priority and took 3 exposures taken at -2,0,+2. This resulted in the shutter speeds being 1/13, 0.3 and 1.3 seconds respectively. The aperture was set to f4.8.

POST PRODUCTION

The 3 exposures were tonemapped together in Photomatix to produce an HDR image. I made adjustments using the sliders in photomatix until I got a result I was satisfied with.

Abandoned train tunnel

WHAT

This location is an old abandoned train tunnel at the town of Mooloolah (about 1 hr north of Brisbane City). The tunnel was part of the original railway linking Brisbane and Gympie but fell into disuse in 1931. It's now part of the Dularcha National Park.

The tunnel is constructed of concrete and is quite spooky - it's dark, damp, has a resident bat colony and a massive echo effect.

WHY

I'd been to this tunnel a few weeks prior to taking this shot but failed to take multiple exposure shots on that first visit. This time, I returned with a friend (as I said, it's very spooky!) and took multiple exposure shots at -2,0+2 for HDR processing.

Prior to getting this particular shot, I had been taking photos a little way inside the entrance to the tunnel looking straight ahead to the opposite end. When I reviewed them, I discovered they just weren't all that interesting - yes, there was an old tunnel and yes, there was a light at the end of it...but that was about all.

I looked around for further inspiration and saw the arch-way (seen on the left of the image) further down the tunnel. So I picked up my tripod and marched myself further into the darkness and positioned the camera off to the right hand side and pointed it at the arch-way.

This new position resulted in light from the entrance behind me being cast onto one side of the arch-way, breaking up the monotony of the dark tunnel walls. Overall, a more interesting photo I thought.

HOW

Once in position, I set the camera to take 3 bracketed shots at -2,0,+2 exposures whilst in aperture priorty mode. I used a remote cable shutter and a tripod to ensure the camera was completely still.

POST PRODUCTION

Once home (and no longer in fear of being bitten by a bat on the back of my neck), I imported and tonemapped the three shots using photomatix to produce an HDR image. In photoshop, I then made slight adjustments to the contrast to really bring out the differences in the light/shadow areas.

Graffiti man

WHAT
This piece of street art was located on one of the walls of the Fortitude Valley Firestation, Brisbane City. I'm not sure, but it looks like something done by the notorious street artist, Banksy.

WHY
I liked the idea that the 'simpleton' holding the camera up to his face (most likely to photograph the nearby landmark Storey Bridge) is likely to get smacked in the face if the fire door suddenly opens.

This piece of artwork amused me because it reminded me of myself when I'm taking photos - a bit of a 'simpleton' and oblivious to what's going on around me :)

HOW
I used a tripod as this image was taken at about 8pm. I used an aperture setting of 8 and a shutter speed of about 2.5 seconds. ISO setting was 200.

POST PRODUCTION
This HDR image was created using a single shot which was then converted into 3 exposures of -2,0,+2 using photoshop. At the time of taking the photo, I'd been taking three shots at the previously mentioned exposures, however when I tonemapped the 3 images in photomatix I wasn't happy with the results, hence why I ended up using a single original image to create three exposures.

After creating the HDR image (which was originally in colour) I used photoshop to produce the black and white version and increased contrast and clarity.

The tree at Brighton

WHAT
This tree is located at the southern end of the Hornibrook bridge, Brighton. (About 40mins north of Brisbane). I took this photo at low tide and about 45 mins before sunset.

WHY
My husband took a beautiful photograph of this same tree about 4 years ago and I have always loved the image of the lone tree with the rocks in front of it. At the time, I'd just started getting into HDR and I wanted to try it out on this tree.

HOW
I set up my tripod in the soft sand directly in front of the tree at eyelevel. There were a few other mangrove type plants very close to my location, so I was careful to exclude them from my frame. I set the camera to 'bracket' and took three shots - one at each of the following exposures: -2, 0, +2.

If I had my time over with this shot, I probably would have moved the tripod and myself closer to the tree so that it fills the frame more.


POST PRODUCTION
Once home (and after cleaning the legs of my tripod!), I uploaded the images into Photomatix and tonemapped them to this result.

I like the colours of the sunset reflected in the water and the way the tree itself seems to glow.

What I've learnt so far

In the very first entry of this blog, I mentioned an article on digitalphotographyschool.com where the author posted a list of 100 things he had learnt about photography.

Although I've not been at this photography thing long, here's a list of what I've learnt so far (some of which are on the original 100 things list mentioned):

1. Ask for help – people who also like photography are usually only
too willing to talk to you and provide suggestions/tips to
improve your photography

2. Photography can forge friendships where previously not thought
possible

3. Many people think they have a good ‘photographer’s eye’ and will
suggest things they think you should take photos of

4. Clouds are 3D – sounds obvious, but when you start paying
attention to their colour, shape, height, and the impact they
can have on your photos you start to see them differently

5. Trawl the internet for photography tips, forums, and ‘how to’
tutorials- there’s an enormous wealth of knowledge to draw from
out there

6. Check the front of your lens for smudges before a shoot – it’s
heartbreaking to find a great big fingerprint or splash mark
from a waterfall in the centre of all your pictures afterwards….

7. If something catches your eye, there’s a reason for it – so take
a photo of it

8. Photos taken at eyelevel can be much more interesting if taken
from a lower height.

9. Things may appear sharp and in focus at the time of shooting,
but once viewed on a larger screen back home…they’re not.

10. Be prepared for all types of weather

11. Don’t wear your best clothes out on a photo shoot – you may get
dirty kneeling/leaning on different surfaces. Comfortable
shoes are a must also for extended shoots where you need to
hike to your chosen location

12. Take a jumper even if you don’t think you need it

13. Whilst photographing friends/family, take candid shots when
they’re in conversation or not directly looking at the camera –
it makes for more interesting photos

14. When you take a photo in a public place, nearly every passer-by
will try to work out what it is you’re photographing

15. Photoshop is not cheating – it’s about producing the best
possible image with what you’ve got

16. When you’re trying to get passers-by in your shot, they will
avoid walking in front of your lens.

17. When you’re trying to avoid passers-by getting in your shot,
they will walk in front of your lens.

18. If you set up a tripod, they will come. People assume that
because you have a tripod, you must know what you're doing and
therefore they want to take the same photo as you.

UQ Cloisters

WHAT
Cloisters of the 'Earth Sciences' building at St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland (UQ).

WHY
UQ was where I studied my science degree and I always liked the sandstone buildings that surrounded the grassy "Great Court" Area.

I selected this particular cloister to photograph because of the nice shadows cast by the arches and columns on the left wall . Looking into the photo, I find my eye is drawn to the end of the pathway and makes me want to see what's around the corner.

HOW
At the time I took this shot, I had just been introduced to the world of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography by my husband. Therefore, this in an HDR image. I used a tripod and remote cable shutter lead to prevent any movement of the camera for the 3 bracketed shots I took. The exposure levels for the three shots were -2,0,+2.

Usually the campus is bustling with students moving around, however I was there on a weekend about an hour before sunset and the place was almost deserted, hence I was able to take my time composing the shot without people walking through it.

POST PRODUCTION
I uploaded the 3 images into Photomatix (software used for producing HDR images by combining shots taken at different exposure levels). I then tone mapped and adjusted the resulting image using the available options in photomatix until I was happy with the results.

Number 48

WHAT

A close up shot of a house number screwed onto a brick wall at Redcliffe, Queensland.

WHY

This little ceramic number caught my eye for a number of reasons:

it was the only other colour on the orange brick wall and the bright blue made a nice contrast with the brick. The texture in the cracking/peeling paint also intrigued me.

I have read a number of photographer Ken Rockwells blog posts and he often talks about seeking out splashes of colour to photograph. I think his words had crept into my mind as I was walking past number 48 and saw this plaque. For some reason I just like it!

HOW

I think I may have actually used the macro setting on my camera to capture this one. I literally stood in front of it and pointed the camera at number 48, filling the entire frame with the plaque.

POST PRODUCTION

Increased clarity and vibrance in photoshop

Reflections of the wheel part I and II

Part I

Part II

WHAT

These shots were taken at the entry to Southbank Parklands - an inner City parkland complete with man-made beach. The ferris wheel structure is a tourist attraction known as the "Brisbane Eye", similar to the "London Eye."


There had been a sudden downpour of rain a few hours before I took these photos, producing the large puddle in front of the wheel.



WHY
The wheel has come to be an icon on the Brisbane landscape and I had yet to capture it with my camera. On this day however, the sky was a boring solid grey with little to no sunshine to be found. My goal of capturing the wheel with a brilliant blue sky behind it were dashed. I had to think outside the box about how to photograph the wheel in these conditions so as I still get a nice, interesting photograph. As soon as I saw the puddle, I wanted to use it.

In the case of the first photo, I especially liked it because it included a number of passers-by, but not in a way that they distract too much from the primary subject of the shot - the reflection of the wheel.

HOW (Part I)

Using aperture priority, I focused the camera on the reflection in the puddle so the wheel could clearly be seen. I hand-held the camera and took a number of shots. I shot in the camera's black and white mode as the terrible weather had washed away the chances of getting a vibrant and colourful shot.

HOW (Part II)

Using a tripod, I set up beside the same puddle as the previous shot but a few hours later so it was well after sunset. In fact the cloud cover had been so thick that there wasn't really a sunset to be seen!

I set the shutter speed to approximately 4 seconds and shot while the wheel was in operation, which resulted in the blurred appearance of the wheel - so much that the individual passenger cradles cannot be seen. The blue light on the wheel also added to the mood of the shot.

POST PRODUCTION

Increased contast using photoshop

Shorncliffe kids

WHAT

Shorncliffe pier taken at approximately 3pm. Approximately 40 mins north of Brisbane City.

The wooden pylons at the upper right of the shot are the same as those in Shorncliffe sunrise.

WHY

I love the whole beachfront area at Shorncliffe, particularly around this pier which is popular with locals for fishing and sea-gazing. This shot was originally going to be of the pier only- the kids (not mine!) ran into the shot just as I was about to take it. I prefer the scene with them in it as it gives interest to what otherwise would be a large empty space on the right.

HOW

I used aperture priority mode and because it was very sunny on this day, the camera automatically used a fast shutter speed to prevent over-exposure. The high speed of the shutter can be seen by the mid-air suspension of the water being splashed by the children, as well as their 'unblurred' movement.

POST PRODUCTION

Contrast was increased using photoshop.

Buddha 1 & 2

Buddha #1

Buddha #2

WHAT

These two photos were taken on my dining room table using a wooden Buddha statue and a red metallic tool box.

WHY

I love this Buddha statue and thought it would look nice contrasted against the shiny red background of the toolbox. I was happy with the reflections produced on the left side of the tool box in image 1 by opening the blinds of a nearby window.

HOW (#1)

I placed the toolbox and Buddha perpedicular to the aforementioned window. I opened the blinds slightly to let small streaks of light in which gave Buddha a warm glow.

I used a tripod and spent a fair bit of time composing the shot to ensure the edges of the tool box could not be seen. The camera was set to Aperture priority. Due to the relatively low light levels, the camera automatically increased the ISO and shutter speed (about 1-2 seconds, I think).

HOW(#2)

For this shot, I positioned my tripod directly in front of Buddha and placed him on some phone books to lift him above the surface of the table top so that it would not appear in the shot.

I closed the blinds to reduce the light coming in from the window and increased shutter speed to about 3-5 seconds.

To get the 'light beams' coming out of Buddha effect, I zoomed in and out with my lens after the shutter had clicked open. I played around with this technique, sometimes zooming both in and out while the shutter was open.

I particularly liked this photo as it appears that light beams were coming out of Buddha's heart.

Cocktail Time

WHAT
A martini glass filled with water and green food colouring

WHY
When I took this shot, I'd been doing a lot of reading about macro photography. I was intrigued and amazed at the efforts photographers go to in order to set up a scene for that type of photography! For example, using eye droppers to place glucose or oil droplets in other less dense liquids to create the 'suspended drop' look.

HOW
I used an eye dropper to place a single drop of green food colouring into the water in the glass. I took a quick succession of shots as the green dye bled out into the water. The background is simply the reverse side of a glass kitchen chopping board. I also shone a desk lamp towards the background to indirectly illuminate the water in the glass.

I found it quite difficult to focus the camera to produce a shot I was happy with - the auto-focus function would lock onto the stem or rim of the glass (or something else altogether!) which would leave the carefully placed food colouring looking less sharp than I wanted.

In retrospect, I probably should have used a tripod and switched off the
lens' autofocus function and manually focus on what I wanted - the pattern and shapes produced by the green dye in the water.

POST PRODUCTION
In photoshop I adjusted the tint to produce the pink colour of the background (which was white originally).

Shorncliffe Sunrise

WHAT

This shot was taken on my first ever sunrise shooting session. The location was on the jetty at Shorncliffe, about 30 mins north of Brisbane City.

WHY

I know the features and vantage points of this location fairly well and it's a favourite area of mine for bike riding, eating fish & chips, and more recently- photography. Therefore, I didn't have to go and scout the location prior to the sunrise session- I knew exactly where I wanted to take my sunrise shots.

I'm not sure what the old pylons in the photo were originally used for, but I thought they provided a nice silhouette and focal point for my shot.

HOW

At the time, I had been learning about the different white balance settings on my camera and took this photo using the 'flourescent' white balance option, purely because I prefer the blue/purple look this setting gives to a sunrise/sunset scene as opposed to the green/yellow tones produced by other white balance settings.

I now tend to shoot in 'Auto' white balance mode because I can always change the white balance during post-production to achieve a desired look.

The timing of this photo was important in achieving the colours and overall 'feel' - it was taken before the sun had actually risen above the horizon.

Therefore, there was little to no light available which meant I had to use a tripod to prevent a blurry photo caused by camera shake. I also had to use a shutter speed of (from memory) about 6 to 8 seconds in order to let enough light in.

Masonic Lodge Kitchen - one of my favourites

WHAT
This shot was taken during a recent 'Open House' day in Brisbane where buildings that are not usually open to the public threw open their doors for the curious to see what secrets and treasures lurked within.

The Masonic Lodge is the Brisbane headquarters for the mysterious "Freemasons" group. Seeing as the general pulbic (and especially women) are not allowed to enter its hallowed halls, I decided I must go.

This scene was taken in a general storage room which leads into a kitchenette.
While I was taking this shot, many people would poke their heads around the corner at the left of the shot trying to see what I was taking a photo of. I think many of them were disappointed when all they saw was a door leading to a
kitchen!

Even though I've learnt so much more since taking this picture, it's still one of my favourites and has its own dedicated page in my portfolio.

WHY
I was taken by the creep vibe of this scene and the many questions it raised for me- What's in the box on the table? Who sits on those chairs? Who rings the bell and for what purpose?

HOW
I shot this using 'black and white' setting on my camera. As previously mentioned, I have since learned to shoot in colour then change the image to b&w afterwards.

New Life

WHAT

This is a budding new leaf of a Crow's Nest fern taken at O'Reilley's National Park which is located in the Gold Coast Hinterland. The fern was growing beside a stream which led to a waterfall, which had actually been the intended photography target of the day.

WHY

It was a very sunny day, which as it turned out, pretty much ruined any chance of capturing a decent shot of the waterfall itself: the bright sunlight caused areas of the waterfall in direct sunlight to be overexposed while parts shaded by the surrounding rainforest were too dark. Even taking bracketed shots didn't really help much. I'm sure there would have been a way to still get a nice photo in these conditions, but it was beyond my level of experience at this stage.

In the end, the above photo is the only decent shot I got out of the trip down there but I was happy with it. I've always loved macro style photography and would have loved a macro lens to use at the time but budget constraints have thus far prevented this purchase!

HOW

This leaf was one of several new ones which were beginning to uncurl their way upwards. It was a relative dark location with a few small rays of sunshine able to penetrate the rainforest canopy. This meant I had to increase the ISO setting on my camera to increase the light sensitivity of the camera's sensor in the available light. I think I cranked it up to about ISO 500.

I didn't want to use fill flash as this would have lit up the entire frond and not achieved the desired effect. I also didn't use the macro setting on the camera as it kept wanting to use the flash due to the low light.

I got my friend to hold some of the other new fronds away from my target frond while I snapped away using a low aperture setting and tried to hold the camera still. I also switched off autofocus and manually focused the lens myself.

It wasn't until I got home and looked at this image on the computer screen that I thought it had some potential- many of the other shots I'd taken of this frond were either blurred or so poorly lit that they weren't even worth 'rescuing' in photoshop.

POST PRODUCTION

I increased the vibrance slightly to reflect the intense green colour of the plant and also upped the clarity to get as much detail as possible. I increased the contrast and 'blacks' settings to make the background as black as possible to make the frond stand out. I also cropped the original image for the same reason.

Personally, I like a lot of detail (ie. clarity) in my shots and I nearly always increase this setting in photoshop rather than decrease it because I prefer the sharp look to the softer, dreamy look at the other end of the sliding scale.

Ibis bathing

WHAT


This shot was taken at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre picnic area, Brisbane. The entertainment centre is Brisbane's premier concert venue and has some nice lagoons and picnic areas in its grounds.





At the time, I was taking shots of a beautiful purple waterlilly flower:

when I heard a kerfuffle taking place next to me. I saw an ibis (a long legged waterbird often viewed as a pest in Australia due to its scavenging behaviour) having a bath at the edge of the pond.

HOW

I quickly attached my lens with the largest available zoom and switched to 'sports' mode to capture the fast flying droplets of water. I took many photos in quick succession but this one was my favourite because of the way the water flicked up from the Ibis' tail feathers.

I shot this using the camera's black and white mode. However I've since learnt that it's probably better to always shoot in colour and then use image manipulation software to change it to black and white in order to have more control over the tones produced in the photo. But as I have said before - I'm only a beginner and am constantly learning!

Firehose sculpture

WHAT

This object is a sculpture located at the front of the Kippa-Ring fire station, about 40 mins north of Brisbane City. I had seen this rather strange looking thing a few times whilst I was en route to another photography location at the nearby sea side.

WHY

The bright red colour never failed to catch my eye as I passed it by and when I realised the sculpture was a curvy, metal firehose I was instantly tickled by its uniqueness! I decided I had to capture it with my camera.

HOW

I planned this shot carefully in order to capture only the sculpture in the frame and none of the firestation itself (which is directly behind the sculpture). I found that I liked how the hose appeared in the scene as I was composing it - running from left to right and filling the frame. The blue sky behind it really helped to bring out the bright red colour of the hose.

I can't remember the exact camera settings I used, but it was in Aperture priority mode.

POST-PRODUCTION

Editing was done in photoshop bridge (I'd learnt a few more tricks since the first photo I posted) and consisted of increasing the vibrance/saturation of the scene and placing a black vignette around the edges to really draw the viewer's eye to the red firehose. This effect also helped hide some rooftops and vegetation that had crept in at the edges.

Spiky symmetry

WHAT
This is one of my first attempts at entering the world of DSLR photography. This plant is a type of cycad located in my front yard. From time to time, grasshoppers and other vegetarian insects tear it to bits and this is the result.


HOW
To take this shot, I held the camera above the centre of the plant with the lens pointing down towards the ground. Because I had to reach across the other (spiky!) branches of the plant, I held the camera at arm's length and shoot blindly. I took a number of shots until I was satisfied that I had the centre of the plant in the centre of the scene.


The first time I took this shot, I had used a low aperture setting which resulted in parts of the branches being slightly out of focus ie. a shallow depth of field. My tutor/husband suggested using a higher aperture setting to ensure the entire length of each branch was sharp and in focus.


WHY
The reason I was drawn to taking this photo is because I liked the symmetry of the scene as I had composed it - I like things that are symmetrical and balanced, but I also love shots that aren't symmetrical!


POST-PRODUCTION
Editing of this shot was minimal - at the time I barely knew anything about photoshop. All I did was increase the vibrance and the clarity.

WELCOME

Hello and welcome if you've found your way here!

My name is Kylie and I was bitten by the photography bug a few months ago.

Since then, I've been trying to soak up as much information about photography as I can. In my quest for finding out more, I came across a fantastic site called http://www.digital-photography-school.com/
This site contained a post where the author had listed 100 things he had learnt about photography. One of those things was the suggestion to start a photoblog.

So here it is!

My husband bought a Nikon D90 earlier this year and has been teaching me what all the different settings mean and when to use them. I've also done a basic photography course at my local TAFE college.

I'm going to regularly post pictures I've taken that either I like personally or to which I've received encouraging feedback from others . I will then describe a few things about each photo (eg. WHY I took it, HOW I took it etc) which may help other beginner photographer's like myself. Plus it also puts my work out there for feedback (both positive and negative) from others.

By no means do I claim to be an expert - far from it!!! As I said, I've only been at this a few months and the purpose of this photoblog will be for me to document my photography learning journey.

Thanks for reading!

Kylie T