Day 30 - Tracey's 30th Party

I was able to grab some snaps of Chloe while blowing some bubbles at Tracey's surprise 30th B'day party.  It was pretty harsh light at midday but I was able to get this nicely diffused light shot.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm
f/5
1/100s

Photoshop:
B/W conversion + Cross-process + Selective Colour removal, stray hair removal, dodge/burn

Day 29 - Chimney Shananigans

My friend wanted a shot of the KR factory chimney before it is demolished so we set out in the afternoon to see how close we could get to the tower.  We were able to get a great shot from the base which shows some great detail of column and the reasons why it needs to be pulled down.  I got a bit funky with the framing, but I hope it adds to the image, rather then a distraction.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 30mm
f/10
1/60s

Day 28 - Out for Breakfast

We fairwell my partner's godparents on a trip outback.  Here is a picture of Pam, Gary and Wendy enjoying breakfast the morning they set off.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm
f/1.4
1/50

Day 27 - Toowoomba Sunset

Toowoomba put on a beautiful display this afternoon, all I had to do was point and shoot.  I realize I am taking an easy option by taking so many shots of scenery, so I'm going to have to push myself further and get some interesting people shots.  Maybe that will be my challenge for the month of February.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm
f/18
1/80

Day 26 - Australia Day

Well today was a mad rush and I didn't get to photograph what I actually planned too.  I wanted to meet up with the Photographic Society guys at the Toowoomba celebrations but my day didn't turn out as planned.  Instead, I took the camera along to the annual Australia Day Bike Polo Tournament.  Considering its Australia Day, I thought I would have two for the price of one.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm (Prime Lens)

Day 25 - Out for a Walk

One of the best sayings I have heard in the photography game is, "The best camera, is the one that's on you".  Today, I was out for a walk and only had the iPhone on me but I came across this beautiful tree.  I was starring up at it and lost concept of which way was up.  I thought this perspective of the tree was interesting and reflected the thought.

Technical:
iPhone Camera

Day 24 - Signature

I was thinking about adding a signature to my pictures but I really don't like the way I write mine.  That got me thinking about painting with light which is how I came up with today's image.  I got a little torch and drew in front of the camera.  It took a few takes but I got this one to come out well.

Technical:
ISO 100
5omm (Prime Lens)
f/9
13secs

Day 23 - Polo

Out for another game of bike polo at a new venue.  Had quite a few on-lookers today.  Plenty of stacks as per usual.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
-1.33 ev
f/11
1/250

Day 22 - Demolition

Today reflects what I was up to over the weekend... destruction.  I knocked down the outside toilet and utility shed to make room for a new bathroom.  It's amazing how easy it is to create a big mess.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 36mm
f/6.3
1/200

Photoshop:
Cross-Processed

Day 21 - Self Portrait

I'm not sure if I'm moving into a space I'm totally unsure about... abstract.  This is very arty for me and could say a lot about my inner self... or not.  I used a torch and long exposure to create this image.  I wanted to keep the flickers of the torch light on the left to give an indication as to how I created this image and add some interest to that side of the picture.  During the exposure, my face moved which gave an interesting "wonkiness".

Technical:
ISO 100
50mm (Prime Lens)
f/9
15sec

Photoshop:
Darken left side of image

Day 20 - More Fun with Umbrella

Our cat Perc was happy to model for me while trying to setup for another shot.  I had to be quick to get this shot so I didn't get to black the background out completely so I had to do some touch-up in Photoshop... which on cat fur is really really annoying.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/16
1/50
Wireless Flash diffused through umbrella

Photoshop:
Multiply layer and cut-out background

Day 19 - eBay Parcels Arrive

Got back from the trip at the coast to find all my eBay parcels turned up.  I thought that the best picture I could do today would be an image with all the new goodies in use.  So here it is, my new Ilford film for the Mamiya RB67, lit by an umbrella on a studio stand with a flash diffuser given to me by Troy from work, a Silver/Gold bounce reflector all written to on my new Transcend 16Gb compact flash card.  Nice.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/18
1/60
Off Camera Flash through umbrella diffuser

Day 18 - Hotel Vista

Possibly my favorite picture from the holiday.  I setup the camera for a panorama image and made sure the exposure was locked.  This was taken from our hotel balcony in the morning.

Technical:
4 Shots stitched together in Photoshop
ISO 100
EF17-400 @ 17mm
F/22
1/80

Day 17 - Cycle & Surf

I got up nice and early after having only 3hrs sleep, but I was happy I did.  I went for a ride on the bike with the camera in toe.  I came across a nice bay in Dicky's Beach where many of the local surfers start from.  I got chatting to a young surfer girl who was looking at buying a camera.  She went off looking for some waves and eventually came back again and I was able to fire off this shot of her walking out into the waves.  I would have liked a little more impact with a zoom lens, but I made the most of my 17-40mm lens.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/14
1/125

Photoshop:
Cross Processed, Vignette and Dodge/Burn

Day 16 - Night Exposure

I had plenty of time to play around with the Bulb setting on the camera over the holiday.  While playing some Runebound, I set the camera up to do some long exposures looking over the lights of Caloundra.  With a bit of experimenting, I was pretty pleased with the results.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 27mm
F/16
267s

Photoshop:
Smart Sharpen

Day 15 - Caloundra Fishing Trip

My good friend Grant and I headed off to the coast for 4 days.  I really struggled to find interesting shots here, but I'm sure that's just me.  I found it difficult to get anything good after the sun had been up for an hour or so because the light was just to harsh, and I don't have any ND filters so I didn't do anything until the afternoon sun started to set and that's how I got this picture.  I took it from the balcony on the 8th floor of our hotel which overlooks the Glasshouse Mountains.  This was also my first decent attempt at a HDR (High Dynamic Range) image.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40mm @ 40mm
F/22
Exposure Bracketing -1, 0, +1
Used Photomatix Pro to compile HDR Image

Day 14 - Texture

While walking home, I spotted an interesting wall with paint peeling off.  I only had the iPhone on me but I took a shot and then attempted some photoshop work to highlight the texture and colour.

Technical:
iPhone
ISO 80
4mm
F/2.8
1/189

Photoshop:
Colour Monochrome across entire image and then painted away from section

Day 13 - Walk the Creek

I woke up early to walk the length of East Creek to get an understanding of the destruction and chaos the water caused.  I had walked past this area the night before and totally missed the cash register.  I framed the shot to include the bridge in the background with various bits of debris hanging off it.  The creek was virtually back to normal which makes the whole scene look bizarre.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF14-40mm @ 20mm
F/4
1/50

Photoshop:
Multiply Layer, Cyanotype, Vignette

Day 12 - Scenes from a Broken Town

It's amazing how quickly the town is returning back to normal.  Everyone returning back to work, hoping to put the disastrous events behind them and get on with life.  I picked this image because it depicts how broken the town is, but the peoples determination to continue on with normality is obvious.

Technical:
ISO 100
50mm (Prime)
F1.4
1/60

Photoshop:
Convert to Black/White, Dodge and Burn, Film Grain

Day 11 - The Power of Water

It was incredible to see the powerful effects of water on Toowoomba.  I followed the water course through town and captured some amazing scenes.  This section beside Milne Bay Aquatic Centre shows where the water completely eroded the earth away from the railway track.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/9
1/60 (hand held)
Converted to B/W in Silver Efex Pro

Day 10 - Flood Distruction

This was the day Toowoomba residents will never forget.  There are some incredible images and stories to be told.  Here is a shot looking down Russell St which coped the worst damage in the town a couple of hours after the peak.  The chairs had come from a furniture shop (Rowes) across the road which was totally flooded.  This was also done on my iPhone.

Technical:
Camera iPhone
ISO 80
4mm
F/2.8
1/20

Day 9 - Silhouette

I really like this shot and I'm not 100% sure why.  You can look into it and start to discover more objects and I think the composition really lifts what would otherwise be a pretty bland image.  Hope you enjoy.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm (prime)
F/1.8
1/1600
Photoshop:
Doubled background layer and did 16% opacity multiply layer to lift the sky a little

Day 8 - Diffused Look

My willing wife posed for me while I was playing around with some paper to diffuse the light from an off camera flash unit.  I've been looking around at softboxes and was shocked at the prices.  I was offered a massive roll of paper (long story, and boring) so I thought I would give it a try, and here's the result.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/14
1/160
No Photoshop work was done to the image

Update over the last few days...

I've been off the air/net the last couple of days due to a freakish event.  A wall of water swept through our town on the 10th January 2011, which is situated on a 700m high range.  Everyone jokes that if Toowoomba floods, the end is near.  Sadly lives were lost in this event and it will take some time to recover, more so mentally than physically for most.

Day 7 - Dam Rain

It's been over 10 years since Perseverance Dam has had water flow over the wall, and that was a photo opportunity I couldn't miss.  A quick drive out and scout around came up with this hand held picture.  Ideally I would have used the tripod but it was still raining and I had to be quick.  This photo summaries the weather at the moment.  Once there was drought, now the dams are full and the rain doesn't look like stopping.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/22
1/4 Shutter (not ideal for hand-held but wanted the glassy water)

Day 6 - Parking

It's amazing what things you start to see once you go looking for it.  I found this one quite amusing.  Hoping to move away from these shots and start capturing some interesting people, we will see what happens.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 17mm
F/4
1/200
Photoshop:
Straighten, lens correction vignette, sepia tone and added noise.

Day 5 - Morning Cycle

Woke up early to try to catch the sunrise but the fog rolled in and put a stop to that.  Got a couple of interesting shots but nothing I liked.  I went for a ride around the side of the range at Blue Mountain Heights and started exploring some roads I had never been down before.  I was pleasantly surprised when I came upon a derelict house.  I even used the fog to my advantage.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 35mm
F/4
1/80
RAW
Photoshop:
Slight Sepia Tone adjustment and Vignette

Day 4 - Evening Stroll

A beautiful clear day provided some very nice pictures of the sunset and also lead to this bell tower picture as I was exploring a church on the way home from work.  It was difficult to find an angle which worked and after several minutes of walking around the base, I frame this up and snapped away.

Technicals:
ISO 100
EF17-40 @ 40mm
F/8
1/200
RAW

Day 3 - Bike Polo Action

Afternoon hit of Bike Polo before the storm rolls in.  I didn't have much of an opportunity to get shots here but I'm sure I will be back to get some more later this year.  I blew out the sky highlights a little but a lesson learned and will avoid for next time.

Technical:
ISO 400
EF17-40 @ 17mm
F/7.1
1/250
RAW
Hot Shoe Flash

Day 2 - Photoshoot

Ok, it's been a little to long getting the next couple of shots uploaded to the web.  Our friend kindly let me photography her while pregnant.  It really tested my people skills, making the subject comfortable and working fast.  Lighting was changing rapidly through out the shoot which made things even tougher, but I enjoyed the experience.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm (Prime)
F/9
1/160
RAW
Remote Flash

Day 1 - It's begun...

Well it was a big night, seeing the new year in and all the while I was thinking of what photo was going to symbolise the first day of 2011.  Then a spark went off in my head, how about I capture the first few seconds for the year.  Next it was deciding how I would best capture the moment, then finally how to capture the shot technically.  Well, here's to day one down, 364 photos to go.

Technical:
ISO 100
EF50mm (Prime)
F/11
15sec
RAW
On Camera Flash (6 flashes set to 1Hz interval)
LED light to provide side lighting