Shapes_Curves and Shadows in Architectural Photography

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24mm f1.4 L series USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/200 second @ f16 ISO 800.

Here’s a photo with which I’m happy. It’s nominally an architectural photograph, as it features the bottom part of a sculpture at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. But really the image is an exploration in abstraction utilizing shapes, curves and shadows to shape the image.

In fact the shadows have been used to link individual man-made elements within the frame. And, of course, there’s no shadow and, therefore, no shape, without light.

So, while I prefer to photograph under low light conditions, both indoors and also outside in the landscape, the above picture is an example that, with care, it is possible to make compelling images outside under very bright conditions.

Basic image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 3. A warm tone and gentle glow were applied in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Courthouse_Beechworth_Victoria

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24mm f 1.4 L series Aspherical lens_1/20 second @ f8_ISO 800

I made the above image inside the courthouse at the historic town of Beechworth in North East Victoria, Australia. I was drawn to the scene by the warmth of the window light and that from the incandescent desk lamp. Places such as this are embedded with history and have an ambience that can evoke strong feelings within the visitor.

For those interested in history I recommend a visit to the town of Beechworth. It’s a lovely town, steeped in history and a great location from which to explore nearby towns like Bright and the beautiful Mount Buffalo.

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Interior_St. Paul’s Cathedral_Melbourne

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24mm f1.4 lens. Exposure Details: 1/6 second @ f6.3 ISO 800.

The above is an interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Located in the heart of the city, St. Paul’s is a beautiful place that offers a peaceful and tranquil environment away from the stresses and strains of our modern world.

I made the image from a low angle of view to enhance the depth and grandeur of the church. This sense of power is somewhat subdued by the warm color palette. The resulting duality between the power symbolised in the architecture and the safety and calm inherent in the color scheme was of interest to me. I’m sure these facts were a major consideration in the design of the church. In other words, you are now in the house of the all-powerful yet loving and protective god.

Do you find your own sense of connection and calm within a church, mosque or synagogue? Perhaps its within nature, music or art that you’re able to sense the sublime. I’m not sure that the where or how are all that important. As long as we do and, at the same time, ensure we don’t judge others for taking a different path to the same place.

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

An Excursion into the Mist

Canon 5D Mark II camera with Canon 24mm f1.4 L series lens @ 24mm. Exposure Details: 1/8 second @ f1.8 ISO 640.

How lucky am I? On the way home from a recent class in the city I took a walk around the Southbank precinct. The still night and the encroaching mist provided fantastic photo opportunities and a very special 10 minutes to cap off a very busy day.

Without a tripod I made use of a fast 24mm f1.4 lens, at or around its maximum aperture, with ISO’s from 400 to 1000 to achieve acceptable shutter speeds for hand-held photography.

The first image from this series is all about light. The city lights themselves are the primary light sources, illuminating the low hanging clouds. The diagonal line from the footbridge that continues along the promenade adds a design element to the image and the impressionistic reflection a sense of balance with the actual city buildings above the waterline.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24mm f1.4 L series lens @ 24mm. Exposure Details: 1/13 second @ f 1.4 ISO 800.

The bridge and its reflection is the major design element in the above image. The complimentary warm and cool colors balance the left and right sides of the scene.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24mm f1.4 L series lens @ 24mm. 1/10 second @ f1.6 ISO 800.

I love the brooding mood in this image of Princess Bridge, Melbourne. The view through the left hand side of the image makes use of the notion of a frame within a frame. These warm colors are nicely balanced with those on the right side of the frame.

I’II present more images from this photo walk in tomorrow’s post. And look out for an announcement over the next few days about upcoming Night Photography workshops in the city of Melbourne over coming weeks.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Rainy Days are Great Days for Photography

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series lens@ 93mm. Exposure Details: 1/50 second @ f4 ISO 400

I want to apologize to regular visitors to this site for the lack of posts over recent days. I’ve had a particularly heavy head cold for a week and, as it’s the second time I’ve been hit by this bug over the last month, I’ve decided to ease back on the late nights and get as much sleep as possible. This has allowed me to manage my teaching commitments without compromise. But, with little energy left at the end of the day, my regular posting schedule has suffered. I hope to me back up to my near daily posting schedule within a few days.

Today’s post features images from a practical session that’s part of an introduction to the DSLR camera course I’m currently running. The group and I spent a fun 3 hours wandering around the city of Melbourne on an overcast and, sometimes, rainy day. The image at the top of this post was made during light rain with our participant, Shirley, modeling against a background of autumn leaves. I utilized a shallow depth of field to separate her from an otherwise complicated background and processed the image in such a way to highlight the natural glow of her skin.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series lens @ 28mm. Exposure Details 1/25 second @ f4 ISO 400.

The above image features workshop participant Leigh kicking back for a few moments, just off the side of a busy city laneway. The black-and-white rendering emphasizes the strong lines and shapes within the composition.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series lens @ 47mm. Exposure Details 1/8 second @ f8 ISO 1600.

The final image features a close up of some exotic plants in a public garden on the edge of the city. Being drawn by the lines and shapes within the plant a black-and-white seemed appropriate.

Thanks to all participants for their high levels of energy and enthusiasm. I’m going to miss you all.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Photographing Erskine Falls and the Swing Bridge in Lorne

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series lens 1/8 second f5.6 @ ISO 400

Here’s the second series of images from last Saturday’s Landscape Photography outing down the Great Ocean Road.

The above image was made at Erskine Falls. Only about 10 minutes drive out of Lorne, Erskine Falls is probably the most heavily visited waterfall in the entire region encompassing the Great Otway National Park and the Great Ocean Road. It’s a pretty place but, as waterfalls go, no Magna Carta. However it’s a great location to learn the art of landscape photography. The narrow canyon at the bottom of the falls provides limited opportunity for movement, encouraging participants to slow down and become aware of their surroundings. For some the low light levels dictate the use of a tripod that, although a hassle, generally results in more considered composition. And for those folks still unfamiliar with their cameras, this type of work forces you to come to terms with the knobs and wheels that control ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. It is from here that the exciting world of movement and Depth of Field emerges.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series lens. 1/10 second @ f4. ISO 800

Because I’ve photographed this waterfall on numerous occasions I need to challenge myself to make new and interesting images on subsequent visits. Saturday seemed like a good day to explore close up details. So, while moving between one participant and another I was able to make a few images that I hope explore notions such as fallen beauty, decay and the nature of the sublime.

It’s always a good idea when you’re confronted with an icon, such as a waterfall, to look down and around for alternate images. You never know which ones will be your best. Almost certainly your more memorable images will be your most personal.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens

Today’s final image features the famous and well loved Swing Bridge and Boathouse in Lorne. Arriving late afternoon the group and I were treated to lovely, soft light that brought out the numerous shapes and lines present within the composition. I employed a polarizing filter to emphasize the variations between light and dark throughout the frame. This helps step the viewer through the image and allows for individual compositional elements to be considered, both in isolation and as part of the greater whole. 

Image processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop CS5.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

One Subject, Many Stories Told

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 32mm. Exposure Details 1/13 second @ f4 ISO 400

Today’s series of images were made during a recent photography workshop in inner city Melbourne. One of the participants, Hansel, was kind enough to pose for photos several times throughout the day. It’s important to work quickly, particularly when your subject is also a paying customer, so the rest of the group and I were careful not to take more than a few minutes each time Hansel was photographed. Nevertheless, the results are good and illustrate some of the key points explored during the day.

For example while you may know what or whom it is you’re photographing, your subject, it’s also important to identify why you’ve chosen them. What attracts you to them and/or what is it that you want to say through your photograph. Only then should you consider how best to illustrate your message.

In the first image I’ve employed strong side light to produce dark shadows. I very much liked the light and shapes present in the stain glass window and wanted to use it as both a light source and a graphic element in the frame. I employed the window light to shape the subjects face and produce deep shadows to balance the graphic shapes in the stain glass.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 58mm. Exposure Details 1/30 second @ f8 ISO 100

The second image was made under overcast conditions. The light passed through a large, low-lying cloud bank producing a relatively soft, even light over the scene. Placing the subject off centre and shooting from a mid-range distance lessened his emphasis within the frame. Placing the subject within the former window frame plays with the notion of a frame within a frame.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens. Exposure Details: 1/8 second @ f4 ISO 400

The next image was made indoors with the aid of window light. Photographed at eye level this is a more straightforward portrait.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 24mm. Exposure Details 1/8 second @ f4 ISO 640

The final three images were made at an interesting inner city industrial fixture. Both black-and-white images were made, at different camera-to-subject distances, with the 24mm focal length. Standing further back produced an image that is as much about the environment as it is about the subject. The image made at a closer distance is more of an environmental portrait where the subject is photographed in an environment to which he seems to belong.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 24mm. Exposure Details: 1/8 second f4 ISO 640

Finally, the image made from above explores the portrait from a birds eye view and allows our subject to look upwards, thereby illuminating his face from above.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 60mm. Exposure Details 1/10 second @ f4 ISO 800

Adobe Lightroom 2 was employed to process the images. Special thanks to our friend, Hansel, for his patience on the day. It was greatly appreciated.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

All Hail Me Old Gaffer

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4. Exposure Details: 1/50 second @ f4 ISO 400

The Gaffer is one of the most important people on a film set. Working closely with the Director of Photography (DOP) the Gaffer is responsible for lighting the scene and, as a consequence, contributing to the mood explored on set. The Australian motion picture film, Summer Coda, has been fortunate indeed to have the services of Colin Williams (Willy) as lighting director. With over 30 years experience in film and television Willy’s experience, good nature and professionalism has been greatly appreciated by all. I’ve been fortunate enough to chat with Willy about some of his experiences in the industry and the people with whom he’s worked.

I made the above picture of Willy while he was making careful adjustments to a light positioned on a lawn and directed, through a window, into a wonderful home in the midst of a vineyard and orange grove just outside the town of Dareton in far southwest (New South Wales) NSW. A close inspection of the image will reveal the decisive moment at which the image was made. Willy’s expression, particularly his eyes, the position of his body and the light on his face make this an image I had to make.

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 85mm f1.2 L series USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/200 second @ f2.5 ISO 800

I made this image of Birren in the middle of a very hectic environment: indoors while lighting and camera were being relocated to record a scene from one of a number of different angles, as is commonly the case in the film and television industry. I was very happy with the way the light illuminated Birren’s face. It was a great candid moment that I only had seconds to capture.

Canon 5D camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 L series USM lens @ 105mm. Exposure Details: 1/13 second @ f4 ISO 1600.

Jake is a local Mildura lad who joined the Summer Coda team at the beginning of what we all hope will be a fun and rewarding career in the film and television industry. Given his energy and easy-going nature I’m sure he’ll do well. I’ve very much enjoyed working with Jake.

The above image features Jake at the end of the day while the crew were packing away the camera and all the lights that were used to photograph a particularly beautiful scene that evening. I love the way that Jake is outlined by the light, which is hitting him from an extreme side on position, and the juxtaposition of the warm and cool colors which I achieved by processing the original image twice. The blue effect was achieved by shooting with my camera set to Tungsten (Incandescent on some cameras) that turned the light, which had been filtered to produce a neutral (white light) color, to blue. For the second image I simply employed the White Balance slider in Adobe Lightroom to produce a warmer color balance. The next step was to select both versions of the image, bring them into Photoshop and combine them in such a way to determine which areas of the image were rendered warm and which cool (blue). This is the sort of technique I teach in Adobe Photoshop intermediate level workshops that I run on an ongoing basis.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Summer Coda_Day 13_No Matter the Weather

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L series USM lens @ 70mm. Exposure Details: 1/13 second f2.8 ISO 1600

Day 13 on Summer Coda brought heavy rain at the end of a hot, humid day. The above image is of 2^nd Assistant Director James Short (now there’s a good bloke), hamming it up for the camera. The cast and crew had moved under cover provided by a huge shed (the size of a warehouse) adjoining the orange grove where we’d just been shooting.

Initially I set my camera to Daylight white balance to record, simultaneously, the warm interior lighting inside the shed against the cool blue of the stormy sky. I later decided to pull back the yellow and red saturation in Lightroom to produce more realistic skin tone, while still keeping the intense blue of the approaching stormy sky.

Canon 5D camera and Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L series USM lens @ 70mm. Exposure Details: 1/20 second @ f2.8 ISO 800

The second shot features Peter Wells working on some final bits and pieces associated with his role as Camera Assistant. I utilized the van’s interior lighting to illuminate the image and opted for a sepia-like rendition. Peter goes about his job in a quite, workman-like manner. I feel that the nostalgic mood provided by the sepia toning conveys Pete’s gentle manner and diligent work ethic.

Processing was conducted in Adobe Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop CS4.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography

Pre-Wedding Photos_Relaxing the Groom

Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4 IS L series Lens @ 32mm. Exposure Details: 1/8 second @ f4 ISO 800

Like yesterday’s post this image was made in the Sports Bar of the Grand Hotel in Mildura, Victoria. It’s just a bit of fun, but will become an important memory for the guys in years to come. The location and the fun we all had in making the image also helped to relax the guys. This can be particularly helpful for the groom. As well as making images for prosperity, you’re also helping to fill the time up until he arrives at the church, when the nerves really start to build.

Due to the low light levels present in the Sports Bar the image was made at ISO 800. The guys were far enough from the lens that I was able to achieve a satisfactory Depth of Field at f4. The required shutter speed was 1/8 second. I added some fill flash to reduce the harsh shadows and, together with the lens’s Image Stabilisation (IS) mode, provide a level of protection against camera movement.

The original color image was processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.0, where the local color effect was applied, with final adjustments to local contrast and tonal distribution made in Adobe Photoshop CS4.

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Glenn Guy, Blue Sky Photography