Light on Water

Following on from yesterday’s post here’s another image from the Murray River at Mildura where I’II be working as stills photographer on the Australian motion picture film Summer Coda during November and December 2007.
This particular image explores the notion of Day as Night where the image is exposed and/or processed in such a way to [...]

River Ice_Jiuzhaigou_China

Situated in the north of Sichuan Province, Jiuzhaigou is a national park of truly stunning beauty. Crystal clear turquoise lakes, steep, forested hillsides and clean, mountain air makes the park an outstanding natural beauty and one of the very best locations for landscape photography in China.
The above image was made in the middle of winter [...]

Making Metaphors from Metamorphous

There’s a long tradition in fine art black-and-white photography where nature and still life genres come together. It’s the photography of dead things, whether located in the natural environment or after mummification. While somewhat morbid the best of these images, to my mind, are those that deal with the reality of life and death.
It was [...]

Flower and Water

 
Here’s a wee detail of a tiny flower lying on the surface of a birdbath. I found rendering the original color image into black-and-white emphasized the luminous qualities of the scene as I’d perceived it. I love the way the abstract qualities within the sunlit water add a sense of mystery to the image.
A very [...]

Fallen Tree_Dog Rocks_Central Victoria

 
Most folks think that wide-angle lenses are for photographing vistas. While that may well be what they’re designed for I find them most useful and fun when used up close.
Walking right up to the subject with a wide-angle lens tends to monumentalise the subject, placing extra emphasis upon it. While a telephoto lens tends to [...]

Bark and Stump

 
Hi folks! Here’s an image I made earlier today. It’s a relatively straightforward close-up of a piece of bark on top of a tree stump. I was originally drawn to the bark by its deep red color. Closer inspection revealed the circular bumps on the surface of the bark, the repetition of which provided an [...]

Flower_Chewton_Central Victoria

 
This image relies on light to bring out the warm colors of the flower and background as well as critical focusing and a very shallow Depth Of Field (DOF) to bring the eye back to the centre of the flower.
I employed the wonderful Canon 180mm f3.5 Macro L series USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) lens to [...]

Wallaby Bones_Australia

As the title indicates this image features wallaby bones. They were all that remained from the skeletal carcass. The rest, no doubt, had been picked over by animals, birds and insects.
I loved the fact that the bones, picked bare, appeared quite luminous lying in the dark, muddy puddle. It was a straightforward image to make, [...]

Rock and Leaf_Mariners Falls_Apollo Bay

 
The above image was made at Mariners Falls near Apollo Bay on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. The rock was in a narrow creek just downstream from the waterfall. Naturally I was drawn in by the color of the leaf and its position on top of the rock. From a design point of view the circular [...]

Mushrooms_Mariners Falls_Apollo Bay

Here are two versions of the same image of a bunch of mushrooms, or some other type of fungi, at Mariners Falls near Apollo Bay on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Wet with moisture from the nearby falls the mushrooms were very reflective and, as a result, displayed very vibrant (highly saturated) colors.
While the colors in [...]