AN EXPLOSION OF COLOUR
March 29, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Getting up early can be such a treat. This was todays sunrise. It was quite dark this morning so I wasn’t expecting anything too grand as far as sunrise was concerned but I felt like photographing something. So with and idea in my head I headed of the The Entrance beach, the south side, driving to the car park I saw this band of strong red between the horizon line and low heavy cloud and knew it was going to be a good one. When there’s a gap like that it’s only a matter of waiting in the right place for the explosion of colour you now is going to happen. No filters were used other than a natural density grad on the 20mm, the red sky over Norah Head light house was shot on the 70-200mm at f8 no filter. I came away with over 8 images this morning.
LIGHT
March 25, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Appreciate light in all its facets and learn how to use it, after all it’s what paints your picture. On days when the clouds skip across the the sky and the sunlight comes and goes, take the gamble that it will light your subject. Dont pack up too early as some of the best colour can happen when you least expect it.That’s just what happened to the two shots below. I had just squeezed of a few frames of the boat as the sun hit it just after rain shower when I was ready to leave the sun came out giving me this lovely rainbow.
DIAL IN YOUR OWN WHITE BALANCE
March 23, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
White balance (WB) is set to Auto on your camera as default. But what if you want to have a warm picture or a cooler one, so how about you telling the camera what to do instead of relying on technology to be creative for you. Take the image below, the sky was already pretty good looking, but I felt it was too blue, a cold light that I felt didn’t convey what I wanted it to look like. So I dialed in Cloudy on my presets, this gave me the equivalent of putting and 81B filter on my film cameras, if you want it to go warmer try using the Shade setting on your WB presets. Want to go cooler instead? Then how about trying Fluorescent or Incandescent for stronger/cooler blue, more like an 8A and 80B.
To get the finished look I was after, burning and dodging was done to the RAW file in Aperture.
The image is of Bisbane Waters in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast Australia, that piece of information was for my overseas reader’s.
DEVELOP YOUR EYE
March 22, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Develop your photographic eye by reading about some of the master photographers, this exercise can teach you about light, form and aesthetics. I love reading about other photographers, why they shoot what they do, what motivates them. At this moment I’m reading about Walker Evans a social documentary photographer. Developing your own vision, photographic eye, requires persistence, time and dedication is all that will separate you from from the good to your best. Constantly review your images, look to see if your eye is attracted to something that is giving your work a connection. Reject those that are weak, dont hold up to scrutiny. Above all dont be afraid to experiment.
NEW WEB SITE LAUNCHED
March 18, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Well it’s taken me forever to get this thing up and looking the way I want it too, but it’s finally here. There are still things to do but that’s going to be an on going thing. If you notice something that is not right, or a link not working please drop me a line and tell me where, I have tried looking and testing everything I can, but you know what it’s like, you can easily miss something.
The reason for the overhaul? Since opening the gallery nearly two years now, I have had quite a few people popping in and asking if I’m going to do courses, so with all those questions I decided to offer these services. Having done it on a number of occasions, but this time I wanted this to be done properly, not just a hastily thrown together thing. I have been shooting pictures for a living for over 20 years now and wouldn’t have it any other way. I even photograph for relaxation. With all that time under my belt I have a wealth of knowledge that I feel can help and fast track some people who would like to learn the finer points of photography. Whether you would like to make it your living or just want to create images for your walls, I can explain some of the basics and more detailed point’s you need to take into consideration when making a picture. If you would like to join me and have a fun time learning then please give me a call and have a chat, if you want to know some of the details go to the workshop page of my web site, there again you can always pop in and say hello.
MATTHEW & CHRISTIE’S ONE BIG PARTY
March 15, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Matthew and Christie’s wedding at Hills Lodge Kenthurst and, it was one big party. Although it did rain a little, fortunately not enough to put the dampers on. So to show you how much fun we had I thought I would post images from the party we had afterwards.
REMEMBERING.
March 11, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
When you’ve had day’s and day’s of editing images, I find I like to look back on photography that I used to capture just for the pure fun of capturing images, I find it helps to remind me of why I like to photograph. This is is one of them. Shot on a Bronica SQ 6X6cm with black & white film hand held. It shows the pit head of Merthyr Vale colliery in South Wales UK, just before they pulled it down in 1984-86. This site is now an industrial business area. We were in Wales for a holiday our first trip back since migrating to Australia in 1982.
OUT AND ABOUT
March 9, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
It’s not often you get to these places on the Coast and get a sunset like this with no fishermen to worry about. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but they always seem to be in the spot that has the best view or composition. Not yesterday afternoon, I was there all by myself with only a few surfers bobbing up and down, with long exposures I didn’t worry about those guy’s. I used only one lens all afternoon, a Nikkor 20mm set to f 16.5. (Tip: Dont set the lens down to f22 unless you have to, the small diaphragm will degrade the lens performance.) These images were captured in Munmorah State Park at a place called Frazer Beach, I have been here quite a few times and I will continue to go back as there are so many photo opportunities. The only filter used on these two images was a 0.6 grad natural density to hold the sky, the colour was like this.
ZOE.
Before the rain hit I was down at the beach this morning photographing Zoe, for a couple of hours we managed a few looks that as you can see from these two are really quite lovely. These were the only two I managed to finish in just enough time to post here then have something to eat before I head off home. Hope you all have a great weekend. Nev.
LAUREN; A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF.
March 3, 2010 by Neville · Leave a Comment
Meet Lauren, this is the first image in what is going to be part of her and babies first year in, A Year in the Life Of. This was a gift from her brother Glen, after all that’s what brothers are for to look after their sisters. Over the next year Lauren will be having photographs taken to capture their babies first year, these will then be collected into an A4 coffee table book, making it one very treasured piece of their families history. If your are having your first baby and want to record their first year, give me a call, it will be something you will enjoy for many years.
