Happy New Year Reflections

Sorry. It has been a while since my last post. There is no particular reason for this, I just got lazy, both in the writing world and the photo taking realm.

I have been flat lately. In need of some serious inspiration.

The end of 2014 saw us take a holiday back home in QLD, then down south in WA in a place called Denmark. Gorgeous place, although, half of Perth seems to think so too - they had to same bright idea.

It was at one stunning sunset in Greenspool Denmark that I finally received some inspiration - even if it was spurred on by my competitive spirit.

My husband and I had taken some curry down to the beach, with plenty of time to get into a good, rocky position for the sunset so I could take some cracker photos of moving water. Having staked out the perfect sunset spot, we huddled out of the wind behind a rock to eat our dinner. The curry was delish, and we were having a nice relaxing afternoon.

As the sun went down, lo and behold! A pair walk past us....right into my photography spot - MY SPOT!  - with a camera and starts setting up. I couldn't believe it. I grabbed my camera bag, jumped up and scrambled up my rocks to set up my tripod. YES, I was set up BEFORE THEY WERE.

I did feel a little bad - but I mean come on!

Camera nerds.

Anyway, they were interested in the sunset while I was more interested in the low light for the swirling water, so we didn't actually get in each other's way.

They left with the sun.

Suckers.

As I turned to leave also, I noticed the moon. Amazing! Best shot of the trip is below.

Maybe I should put it up, with this verse to caption it:

“A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35, NIV

as a reminder of my poor attitude towards the other people who were simply trying to capture another of God's beautiful sunsets the same as I was.

God does not bless us with what we deserve, but the blessing comes because he loves us in spite of our failures. 

The Seascape

Seascapes are beautiful in that they combine the early or late light of sunset or sun rise, with the dependency of coastal rocks, and the fluidity of the waves crashing into them. They are stunning.

While camping at Warroora I had the perfect opportunity to capture my first seascape. In honesty, this is my second attempt - the first ended in zero results but a lot of lessons. The first of those being not pointing the camera directly into the sunset (sunrise is too early for me) - the light overexposes when the shutter is left open to create the mist. I suppose this would be easier on the east coast where the sun sets away from the water. But here on the west we are left with the conundrum of trying to have the light to our back or to the side to light the rocks but not overexpose the centre.

The first attempt at Maggies didn't feel like it went well - however I was pleasantly surprised by my photos when I returned. I liked the ones I took on the first night more than the ones on the second. The second I sought high ground on the rocks to avoid having to rescue my camera and tripod from freak waves - based on experience!

Taken the first night. Exposing the dark sections was the trickiest part - done in photoshop. Also, cropped to make a more pleasing composition. Canon EOS 50D f/22, 0.8 seconds, ISO 200 10mm. I kept the ISO down to reduce the noise. 

I like the mist in this once, but the noise due to the low light is a problem. Canon EOS 50D f/22, 20 seconds, ISO 200, 19mm

Taken the second night with the sun behind me. You can just see our camp. Canon EOS 50D f/9, 8 SEconds, ISO 200, 10mm. I tried to improve composition, and escape the waves by seeking higher ground but the impact is less. 

Gems you can visit from the Pilbara: Warroora Station

Warroora is not technically in the Pilbara, so therefore it cannot be classified as a "Pilbara Gem" but one could wager that it is even better. It is certainly one of the favourite places of my husband, and therefore warrants the 'gem' status.

Warroora is a working station along the coral coast of WA. It borders on the Ningaloo reef and is just south of Coral Bay. We went camping there this weekend - or a few weekends ago by the time this is published.

It blew a gale. We could do next to nothing which was disappointing. We did have a beautiful beach to ourselves - as my husband said it was either because it was an untouched spot or the weather was too lousy for anyone else to be there.

It's funny - we have been there before in April and it was hot as anything. This time we came prepared for heat - and met with wind. We knew it was going to be windy, but we went anyway to enjoy this beautiful place.

What it was good for was photo experimentation. The colours of the coral coast are incredible - blues, aquas and greens like you would not believe.

I took some of these panoramas - even with the 10mm, my lens was not wide enough to capture this beauty!

Elles Beach - Warroora. Canon EOS 50D f/13, 1/100 sec, ISO 200, 22mm. 3 photos stitched in photoshop. 

Maggies - our campsite. Canon EOS 50D f/10, 1/80 sec, ISO 100, 20mm. 3 photos stitched in photoshop 

The Lagoon - Canon EOS 50D f/13, I/160 sec, ISO 200 22mm, 3 photos stitched in photoshop

Pilbara Gems: Withnell Bay

This is an interesting one. Withnell bay has never been high on my list because of the gas plant. It's a gorgeous place, but the view is somewhat spoilt by the massive metal industrial site, the gas ships coming in and all the paraphernalia that goes with it.

But, it's here that we heave off the kayaks to explore the Burrup peninsula and it is here that we have seen dolphins, sharks, manta rays, sting rays, dugongs, massive fish and more. Life goes on despite the gas industry.

This particular morning, we arrived early in order to have the best chance of seeing dolphins. The tide was low - lower than we had ever seen it. So low, that the coral that it is normally really cool to see as you kayak over it at low tide was popping out of the water. It was incredibly still, too low for boats to get out, and the coral made these amazing reflections in the early morning light. Thus, Withnell Bay has made it to the Pilbara Gems list!

Canon EOS 50D, f/22, 1/320 sec, ISO 400, 50mm (the Nifty Fifty)

Canon EOS 50D, f/16, 1/200 seconds, ISO 400, 50mm (Nifty Fifty)

Early Morning Light

There is nothing that beats the early morning light. If you happen to be awake for it that is. That is one of the reasons I love camping. You wake up when it starts getting light, before the sun is up, and you know that you could get up and take sunrise photos and it wouldn't be much of a chore because the chances are the bed you are in is not that comfortable anyway!

This particular morning was beautiful. We were in the swag, with the midge net up and nothing else. I woke up to some stunning puffy clouds. I lay there looking, and realised some of them were tinged with pink. Sunrise! So I got up, grabbed betsy and as there were trees blocking my view, climbed on top of the ute to capture the moment.

Canon EOS 50D, f/14, 1/25, ISO 250, 10mm (10-22mm wide angle lens)

Canon EOS 50D, f/16, 1/4 sec, ISO 250, 10mm (10-22mm wide angle lens)

ND Graduated Filters and Sunsets

In my sunset experimentation, I have been making use of my graduated neutral density filters. This is made difficult by my not having the correct size for my wide angle lens, creating the need to hold the filter against the lens while I take a photo which is not ideal.

Nevertheless, it worked well for this sunset. I traipsed off to back beach to see if I could combine the sunset with some water. The features on back beach were not as appealing as I had hoped for the water shots but I did get to experiment with my filters and play with some silhouettes which was fun.

I also got to be eaten alive by sand flies, prompting me to include insect repellent to my photography kit! You live and learn!

Canon EOS 50D, f/22, 1/25sec, ISO100, 10mm (10-22mm Wide Angle lens)

Canon EOS 50D f/22 6 seconds, ISO 100, 10mm (10-22mm Wide Angle lens)

Sunsets and Wildflowers

While the wildflowers were not out in force as much as they have been in previous years, they never fail to amaze and inspire me. Whenever I see them I think they are beautiful and I just have to capture them!

So I've been trying to identify creative ways of doing just that, seeing as I have many stock standard mulla mulla and desert peas now.

I took a lot of sunset photos in September, to road test my new backpack. It's safe to say that I am now kitted out - the backpack is a little large so people might look at me weird but oh well.

With all the sunsets and not many places in Karratha, I had to get creative. On my walk up the hill to shoot the sunset one evening I came across a patch of mulla mulla by the road. These flowers are stunning when the light is behind them. It makes them glow.

Canon EOS 50D f/13, 1/40 sec, ISO 160, 22mm (10-22mm Wide Angle lens)

Pilbara Gems: Hamersley Gorge

Hamersley Gorge is part of Karijini National Park (one of my favourite places on earth). Ironically, it is the closest part of the park to where we live, but we haven't been there for over three and a half years. This is a mistake. Hamersley is amazing.

It's different to the other gorges. Not only is the rock banded, but folded, creating some amazing patterns from afar, and difficult terrain to traverse in the close and personal. You can't just follow the flat rock, because all of a sudden, it gets steeper and steeper until it's vertical!

Hopefully this panorama gives you a sense of this amazing place.

Panorama - 3 shots. Canon EOS 50D, f/5, 1/1000 shutter, ISO 250, 10mm (Wide angle Canon lens)

The Slippery Spa

It is a rare occasion that I wake up early, let alone get up to see the sunrise. On this particular morning, I did both (largely because we were camped in a swag and once it was a teensy bit light I wanted to be up and out).

Photographs of the sunrise will come. This post is about the difficulty of traversing Hamersley Gorge and its folded rocks to reach the spa pool and shoot it before the sun crept over the gorge wall and polluted the scene with its light. (Bit of a strong description there, the sun's not all that bad!).

The spa pool is one of the most photographed pools in Karijini - it's stunning. Ken Duncan's shot it, this guy has, Ben Knapinski who is responsible for many of the Pilbara and Kimberly post cards also has a shot, as well as any other photographer - Pilbara or otherwise - who has visited Karijini. Basically, I didn't want to miss out. Some say photography brings out my competitive side. Well, maybe, but I also like to think it brings out the inspirational side as in "This place is beautiful. Look at what these people achieved! Can I do that? Let's give it a go!"

I had the 4WD boots on for this adventure. No bare feet, this was serious business!

We reached the pool. My husband took himself off adventuring further up and I placed my backpack precariously on the rocks. Let me tell you something about where I am standing - the rocks have been folded so that while they are flat they are not horizontal. Anything but! Completely uneven ground, almost impossible to make sense of.

Luckily I had my trusty $30 tripod with me. I set up, making sure that there was no chance of the camera crashing to its death on the rocks, or drowning in the deep pool. This meant I would press the button, while guarding the tripod as if my life depended on it by encircling it with my arms without bumping it. All the while having my feet in bulky boots, balancing on these incredibly uneven rocks. I changed vantage points many times as one side of the pool was already becoming more and more exposed to the sun. I also wanted to avoid the overexposure of the background. I could have experimented more with HDR I suppose, but I haven't had much success with them in the past.

Eventually it got to the point where I had to jettison the boots as they were more slippery than they were help, go barefoot into the slippery, mossy channel and crouch down for balance so I was basically sitting in the water with my camera and a deep pool in front of me. Precarious. I have never been so nervous about dropping my camera! The sun was creeping further and further into my frame so eventually I conceded that if I didn't have the photo already, it wasn't going to happen that day.

Fortunately I did manage to snap a couple I am happy with. Check it out.

Canon EOS 50D, f/14, O.8 seconds, ISO 100, 18mm, (10-22mm Canon Wide Angle)

Canon EOS 50D, f/20, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, 10mm (10-22mm Canon Wide Angle)

Canon EOS 50D f/22, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, 16mm (10-22mm Canon Wide Angle)

Pretty happy with these. A shout out to my husband who drove me here and put up with me photographing these spot for at least an hour before he could go for a swim. He's a legend. It was a 275km drive to Hamersley, I was up before the sun, and spent an hour shooting on completely uneven ground in one of the hardest positions I have found myself in. Worth it? Definately. The things you do in the Pilbara.

The Milky Way

"The universe is big. It's vase and complicated, and ridiculous and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles."

Yes. That was a Doctor Who quote. Don't look at me like that, you all knew it was coming!

My first attempt at photographing the Milky Way Galaxy. I must admit I am surprised. I researched somewhat on how to take these photographs, and stumbled across, among others, this article. It had some good advice, including the "500 Rule", equipment and post processing.

What became clear to me even before I started was that my gear was most likely going to be inadequate for any super duper shots. All the articles I saw said you needed a fast lens to avoid too much noise due to the high ISO value. My fastest lens is my nifty-fifty - so not much help in capturing the whole milky way! My wide angle is only f/3.5-4.5. My nifty fifty is f/1.8. It really made a difference.

This was still a fantastic exercise though. I went in with low expectations, thinking I wasn't going to be able to capture the milky way at all, that it would be cloudy, or I would forget something. We were driving through the Pilbara at night, me anxiously looking to see where the milky way would be and lo and behold, we pull over to camp and here it is, smack bang in front of me! We were able to set up the chairs, my husband patiently sat there watching me after setting up the swag, and I started snapping as soon as the lights were out! I managed to capture the milky way on the first shot. The foreground, not so much but the milky way yes!

The foreground proved to be my most tricky thing. The milky way was easy, because I knew my shots were going to be grainy and there was little I could do about it, given the gear I had. The foreground wasn't playing the game though. Vegetation was blowing in the wind, my flash wasn't making it over the lens and I had left my external flash at home. I ended up light painting with my headlamp, which all in all was an acceptable solution.

Canon 50D, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 30 seconds, 10mm. 10-22mm Wide angle lens (Canon), light painting in the foreground

 The above is probably the best shot of the milky way I got. You can see how it was windy in the vegetation below, but I like the angle of the milky way. You can see I stopped down the ISO to 1600 because 3200 was just far to grainy. This one is still too grainy to do anything useful with, but still, a lot of fun.

Like I said, I tried all my lenses, especially my nifty fifty because it was the fastest. I could boost the ISO to 3200 for this one, still grainy but not too bad. Composition was a challenge though, because I couldn't actually see through the viewfinder, or even in the live view if I was focusing on the galaxy or not. So there was a lot of maneuvering and guess work involved.

Canon EOS 50D f/1.8, 6 seconds, ISO 3200, 50mm (nifty fifty),

It is incredible that even with a slow lens, my camera can pick up so many stars. What's even more incredible is that their creator knows them all by name.

Isaiah 40:26 - 28. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD and my right is disregarded by my God"? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. 

Popeye

Insects abound in the Pilbara, especially around the water. This is one of the reasons I so dearly love my Macro - it means there are plenty of opportunities to experiment with the Macro.

This little guy took a liking to my husband. Unfortunately my husband's blue shirt did not provide a terribly authentic background so it was cropped out but, his eyes are pretty magnificent.

Canon EOS 50D f/5.6 1/200, ISO 100, 100mm

Painting with Colour and Light

I am not really a fan of most modern art. I know all artists are far more talented than I with their skills sets, however I feel I just don't understand a lot of it - it confuses me and I don't want anything confusing hanging on my wall.

One thing I do like though, is the use of colour to create mood and feeling. I don't mind it. I discovered completely by accident that I could do the same thing with my camera, much to my delight.

While exploring the Fortescue River, my mother-in-law directed me towards a tree that was bleeding. Yes, that's right bleeding. It's red sap was leaking out of an open would, the colour of blood. Upon closer inspection, the sap shimmered and sparkled and looked so unique and wonderful I just had to take a photo. I had my Macro lens on at the time, set to aperture priority mode. I set the aperture to very small (32) and took the picture. Due the small aperture the shutter was open longer than anticipated and I moved. I checked the photo and sure enough, blurry. What struck me however were the tracks of light created by the shimmers, clearly running over the blended colours. I did a double take. Actually not that bad.

Canon EOS 50D, f/32, 1/5, ISO 100, 100mm

It may not look like much to you, but I really like the softness, and the mood it creates. This has no editing. Sure, this was not the first one I took, because I decided to have a bit of fun with it, experiment, and eventually came to this one.

You can't tell what it is can you?

This is what I was photographing:

Canon 50D f/8, 1/250, ISO 100, 100mm

Can you see the shimmers as the light is reflected off pin-pricks in the sap? See the colours of the branch and how they are wonderfully blended? This photo has been enhanced slightly as the original was a little bit dull (Which I think helped with the softness . I was pretty stoked with my experiment though. Thus I learnt how to paint the colours created by light.

The Arachnid

I always feel putting an article in front of something makes it seem more important...or more pretentious.

Speaking of keeping your feet on the track, you need to be watching where you place them, otherwise you may very well step on one of these.

Canon EOS 50D f/8, 1/250, ISO 100. 100mm Macro

I'm pretty sure he is just a huntsman. But I love how two of his eyes are looking at me.

Macro Bucket List

Upon purchasing a macro lens, there are a number of things I have wanted to take a photo of - predominantly insects and other creepy crawlies. The top of the creepy crawly list was a bee. At Gregories Gorge, I had that opportunity. Small amount of wind, bright sun and a hungry bee made for one happy shutterbug!

Canon EOS 50D, f/5, 1/500, ISO 100, 100mm Macro 

This image is cropped and edited in Photoshop, but I must say I do like the composition. I had to keep trimming before I was 100% happy, it was a rather awkward one as there were continually highlights on the edges, but when removed the bee wasn't prominent. As it is he is a little stuck in the corner. It helps that purple and green is my favourite colour combination at the moment. This is the best angle of the bee that I captured. Not perfectly ideal, but not bad for a first attempt I would say!

Bonfire

Short but sweet. I wanted to share with you this photo of a fire on the beach. It struck me when I was going through my photos how you can see the logs, which remained still while the flames licked and flicked around them. The moon in the background is a nice touch. It's just another small, low-light experiment. The sort of thing I find doing when I have my camera and I allow myself to get distracted. Or rather, my mind takes me to other places before I can recognize the distraction and put an end to it. But, should I really worry about that?

Canon EOS 50D f/29, 4 seconds, ISO 100, 22mm.

Along the Narrow Path

In case this blog is not evidence enough, I like to share my enjoyment of photography with others. I try my very best to do so in a way that is not obtrusive, arrogant or obnoxious. But I am a little obsessed, so if I come across as any of those things, I apologise from the depths of my heart. I really do just love capturing photos. 

So when, on the night of the moon rising with the sun, a nice lass who I don't know very well was kind enough to alert me to the shimmering path to the moon that was appearing now that darkness had enveloped the pinks and blues of sunset. Thankful for the tip, I ran to the car, grabbed Betsy and off we went. As luck would have it, two of the stray people wandering around (as they often do on these nights) just happened to be walking up this straight and narrow path.

Canon EOS 50D, f/5, 1/50, ISO 1000, 100mm

Proverbs 4:26-27

Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

It is almost a Christian cliche to talk about the narrow road, but I came across this Proverb above. What does it mean? Each of our lives is nothing but steps - forward, backwards, or to the side. We can be heading one direction, but change direction very quickly. It we are not careful we can be misdirected, detoured unintentionally, and leave the narrow path. 

The photo above is unedited - woohoo! I do so love it when that happens! In learning about Photoshop, virtually all my photos are edited, but not this one above. I love the composition, the people, the colours in the sky and on the ground. I can't improve it. Nature could have by having the moon slightly lower to decrease the gap between it and the reflection, but hey, I'm not picky and in all honesty, was probably too lazy to go to the car to change lenses. 

This one below, however, is edited. While I can't improve on the one above, I did try...

I warmed it up a little, but all it seemed to do was increase the noise. 

It's a dangerous business Frodo, stepping out the door. And if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off too...

Rising with the Sunset

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?" - Psalm 8:3-4

The amazing thing about the moon is that it does not have any light of its own, it reflects the sun. It's incredible to the think that when it is full, it gives just enough light to see by, to light your path, yet it is not produced by the moon, it is given by the sun. This is how our relationship with God works in this world. None of our good works, our love, is our own, but a reflection of God and his great love for us.

This evening of the picture was particularly beautiful. It was a staircase to the moon evening, which normally entails watching a full moon rise over mudflats creating a visual effect of a staircase leading to the moon. On this night however, the Moon rose as the sun set. This created a beautiful golden orb shrouded in a coat of colour.

Canon EOS 50D f/6.3, 1/250, ISO 1000, 100mm (Macro lens)

So, the photo quality is not great due to the high ISO creating noise, but it's a start. I had hoped to capture the colours more than anything - there were too many people froliking to do anything to serious. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself when I experience the photography dread that occurs when you return home to eagerly look at your photos on the laptop only to discover Betsy's LCD had lead me into a false sense of security regarding the quality of the photos! The lesson here - never trust the LCD, and never use an ISO over 800 until you know what you are doing!

I do want to share a (relatively) successful experiment I had on this fine evening. This was the split filter experiment. Would you believe it is only the second time I have used it, only this time I held them against my lens rather than mount them, as I don't have an adapter ring for my Macro yet. Check out the differences:

Without filter

With Filter

Ok, so maybe I didn't quite master the whole "keep the filter still" technique, but you can see the effect of the neutral density quite nicely. Definitely something to continue investigating...

All in all, regardless of the photo quality I wouldn't trade that view for the best photo in the world. It has left an indelible impression on my soul. As a famous Christian band once said: "I want to be the moon, because it reflects the sun. Don't want to be the star that shines on everyone. I want to be with you, because you're the only one...who heals my lonely soul."

"Praise Him, sun and moon,
             Praise Him all you shining Stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens
             and you water above the heavens"

      - Psalm 148:3-4

To Edit or Not to Edit

There are a lot of people in the world of hobby photography who have never been trained to edit an image - myself included - they just do whatever feels is natural to them. This is something I long to rectify in my own photography. Reading books and articles just doesn't cut it, and quite often my photos come out unrealistic. But then - a lot of edited images are like that. Take this guy for example. He has some great shots of the Pilbara but every time I seem them pop up on my Facebook feed I appreciate the image as an image, not a photo. I know that it is the editing that has got them to that particular style. It's true, some are much more edited than others, but knowing the landscape, you can't deny that some form of post-processing has occurred. 

So, below is a little attempt of my own. I wasn't going to put it on here, but then I showed a friend of mine and they were impressed so I figured I would share it. It's a Pilbara landscape but fairly heavily edited as the sky was quite overexposed and the foreground dark. I think I just need to get better at using my splits and getting the colour right in the capture.

Gregories Gorge - Fortescue River. Canon EOS 50D f/9, 1/320, ISO 100, 10mm. Wide Angle 

It's a pity the trees don't look real. It took my off-road boots, trekking up shale and dodging my father's rocks tumbling down the hill to get this photo.

A flood of fireworks

Last year I took my first fireworks photos at the FeNaClNG festival. So when it came around again for 2014 I decided to try and repeat the experience. Be prepared for a flood of fireworks, these babies are so much fun to take photos of!

Of course, this year I complicated things by trying to take photos on my smart phone...at the same time. This is never a good idea. The shutter gets left open for too long.

Nevertheless, while these are all cropped (I had to switch to my wide angle lens as the 50mm just didn't cut it), they are all edit-free and there were no salt spots interfering this time!

Canon EOS 50D, f/18, 3 sec. ISO 100, 19mm

Canon EOS 50D f/18, 4 sec. ISO 100 19mm

Canon EOS 50D f/18, 5 sec., ISO 100, 19mm

Canon EOS 50D f/18, 5 sec, ISO 100, 19mm

Looking Under Rocks

Apologies for my silence of late. I have been taking photos, but not uploading them to here due to an inundation of parents visiting the Pilbara. Now to share the memories of times with family and friends.

My father is a nature guy - I grew up on an acre property which over the 15 years I was there grew into middle earth, banana plantation, orchard and mulberry heaven (just to name a few). My Dad loves the outdoors, loves to grow things, catch his own food and just generally be out in amongst the wild side of life.

So when we took him and my mother traipsing around the Pilbara, my Dad, being so far away from home, started to identify plant species, inspect the fish in the rivers, the bugs in the grass and the flowers that were blooming. He also decided that it was fun to throw rocks off a hill and see how far they could roll down.

Upon lifting one of these rocks destined for a fast trip to the bottom of the hill, he discovered another love of nature - a lizard. A gecko to be more precise. A little one. As fate would have it, the macro was on my camera, and the poor guy was so stunned to find himself in daylight he sat obligingly for a good two minutes.

This one is for my Dad.

Canon EOS 50D f/3.5, 1/200. ISO 100, 100mm Macro Lens