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

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.