More Trips Away

The last two weekends has seen me travelling up to some country areas to photograph some bike races.  My phone is always with me, which means I can take more instagram photos.  Here are some from Harcourt.

It was cold and wet on the first day.

They look like snow, but they were plants that had this gorgeous fluffy flower, but it was too windy, and they were to delicate to get any good images.

A very typical scene from that area.  The gum trees around a dam.

A lot of grapes are grown up in this area.  Of course being the start of winter, the vines have lost their leaves.

Apparently that is a mountain in the background.  The sun came out on the Sunday.  These were all taken the weekend before last, and last weekend I went to Creswick.

This is what I saw while I was waiting for a bunch of riders, I was waiting a long time, they had a long way to come. Funny bare hills.

This was while waiting for more.  I was on top of hill this time.  I thought this would make a great backdrop for the cyclists, and it did.

This is taken at the end, but not in Creswick, this was in Whittlesea, where I found myself on Sunday, photographing a recreational ride.

I like instagram and find it is a lot of fun.  I might just use it for this blog, so you can see where I go according to the images, of course you can follow me on facebook or twittter and then you will know straight away.

Revisiting the Past

Earlier this year, on my birthday actually, I went to the city for lunch and I took my camera.  I tried doing some HDR images, but at that time I only had photoshop.  Since then I have purchased Photomatix and I thought today I would try redoing some of the images I had done from that day.

I thought they were too grey before.  It was a very overcast day, and the light was very bright, as is to be expected in early January.  However, whilst I still think this is very grey, there is still lots of splashes of colour here and there.  I do think it is vibrant.

This was one of my favourite images from that day.  I compared this image with the original HDR I did with Photoshop and this is a lot better.  The colours really pop.  There isn't a lot of colour, but what there is really stands out.

Under the train lines.  I don't know if this one is better, it is certainly more realistic.

I haven't done this much.  That is turn an image into black and white during the HDR process, or rather in Photomatix.  I don't mind it and thing it works well with this image.

What is your favourite?

Phillip Island Nobbies

On Saturday I took some photos at the Nobbies.  I showed the photos on my other blog, here.  I thought I would show some here as well, though, I wanted to see what they would be like if they were black and white.

Sometimes when you make images in just black and white in makes the viewer concentrate more on the mood, and you don't get distracted by the colours.  The ocean has many colours in it, but in these images I want you to look at the waves, because when we were there at the rocks, that is all we look at, the waves.

The sea was angry and the rocks were being pounded, over and over by the waves.  It is not very often you them like this.

The waves were huge, and every now and then one of them would go so much higher than any of the others.  This image works better in black and white because I found the corner in the left bottom too distracting.  It is all green, now you just look at the wave.  Well, I hope you do.

Wind surfers, must have been a great day for them  It was so wild.  I don't know how these guys were doing it.  They must have been having a lot of fun, but they must have been so cold as well.  I was freezing.  The wind was so chilly, felt like it was coming straight off the Antarctica, probably was.

Would you go wind surfing in this weather?

Photos at Phillip Island

Yesterday I went to Phillip Island to photograph some cycling that was happening on the Grand Prix Circuit.  Here are a couple of my favourites.

And.

It wasn't a great day for taking photos and not sure that the ones I've chosen are that great.  I did take a couple of the weather.

A very dark cloud was heading our way and we thought for sure it was going to bring a massive amount of rain, luckily, it went right over and rained somewhere else.  Well that one did.

Then it would all break up and the sun would come out.  Such strange weather.

Trying something different.

I got a job, well I got paid to take photos.  Something different, as opposed to taking photos and then hoping people will buy them.  The first, is something I know I would like to do again.

I was asked to photograph a football game.  I have never photographed football before and I told the client that.  She seemed happy to let me try and see what I came up.

My first thoughts were that my lenses wouldn't be large enough.  Football fields are large and the play happens all over the field.  You need a large lens to get the shots that happen on the other side, as it turns out the players always seem to be on the other side.  My 200mm was OK, but a 300 or 400 would have been ideal.

Following the action was much the same as it is in netball, you know all the players are after the ball.  Though, having said that, the strange thing with football is that the ball is an odd shape and does tend to be unpredictable as to where it might go.  Which also left me wondering if that is why the ball is that shape, so we, the spectators, get a good laugh watching people trying to get the ball, very entertaining.

I tried moving around to various places to take photos, but it didn't really seem to make that much of a difference.  I remembered that my tripod was in the boot, so after taking some half time shots in the dressing room I got out my tripod and set it up in one spot.  It was brilliant. 

People have said to me that I should use a monopod for photographing the cycling, but I stand up, I sit down, I kneel down, my height changes all the time and I think a monopod would be more of a hindrance than a help.  For the football I could stay in one position and not moving up and down, so it didn't matter.  If I were to photograph the football again, I would definitely go for this option.  Perhaps a monopod might be less awkward, though I think a new head on my current monopod would be better, a ball and release system of some sort that enables you to move the camera quickly would be good.

I'm sure you can tell from the photos that it was a gloomy day.  It had been raining quite a bit in the morning, and the sky was still threatening to let down more.  I am not keen to take photos in the rain.  Not because I don't want to get wet, but because I don't want the camera to get wet.  The camera is no good to me if it gets wet and stops working.

When it starts raining, my first thoughts are, "keep the camera dry".  I have also started taking lots of plastic bags with me to keep it dry and some electrical tape.  The best thing is to be able to have someone with an umbrella over me.   When we saw that it was raining, my husband decided he wouldn't be riding his bike that day and said he would come with me.  I was so glad he did.  It didn't rain a lot, but rained enough and he was there with the umbrella and did a great job of keeping it dry.  Thanks Dave.

As I was at the football for one specific person, I had to concentrate on getting photos of her mainly.  Though, I also thought, that I wouldn't just stand there when she wasn't in the action, and did take photos of the game as well.  I took a lot of photos, again, one of the lovely things about digital, it really doesn't matter.

I am sure I missed some of the things she may have liked me to have photos of.  I didn't do it on purpose, it was more my inexperience at not knowing what was going to happen.  Once you start photographing a particular sport and get used to it, you start to understand what is happening and, more importantly perhaps, understand the proceedure of what is going to happen.  Once you know that, then you know what to photograph, you know where to go.  Nothing beats spending time practicing the sport you want to become good at photographing. 

If I were going to do more football, I would need to get a bigger lens, or a teleconverter for my current lens.  I haven't used one yet, but I think it is probably the next thing I need to seriously think about getting.  You need to get as close to the action as possible.  When you can't physically get close, then you want the camera to be able to do it for you, big lens.  For the cycling I haven't felt like I needed one, occasionally for netball I've thought it would be good, but for football, definite bonus.  I might start saving, after I pay for  . . .

It was a great experience to be able to go and take photos of Belinda's 250th game.  I am so glad she asked me.  It has opened up the possibility to me, that I can do more than just photograph cycling and netball.  It is good to experiment and try different things.  Continously learning new skills is a good thing.  You never know what it might lead to.  I should also thank Jarrod for giving my name to Belinda.  Thanks Jarrod.

Experimenting with the Camera, No 2

I've already used this title, but I decided that I would use it again, as it aptly describes what this post is about.  My daughter wants a camera for her birthday.  She wants a DSLR because now she wants to be a photographer, actually she says she is a photographer.  I told her that I don't mind getting her an entry level one as long as she is willing to learn how to use it properly.  There is no point getting an DSLR if you are only going to use it on program.  You may as well buy a automatic camera.


Using the camera on various settings is good, but it doesn't hurt to experiement with using the camera on different settings, things that you don't normally touch.  Over the years I've done lots of experimenting, though have to say it is so much easier, and not  to mention cheaper, with a digital camera.  I will do some more experimenting with stuff that I have done before, but will do again to show pictures and talk about the experiments.

For this post I'm going to talk about White Balance.  This is something new on camera's.  My old film camera didn't have white balance on it.  It is a very usual tool, but rather than explain it myself, I'm going to let the manual for my camera do it:

The color of light reflected from an object varies with the color of the light source.  The human brain is able to adapt to changes in the color of the light source, with the result that white objects appear white whether  seen in the shade, direct sunlight, or under incandescent lighting.  Unlike the film used in  film cameras, digital cameras can mimic this adjustment by processing images according to the color of the light source.  This is known as "white balance".

Of course, you can use it on auto, and for the most part I do, but I saw some photos that my friend Kate did, she had changed the white balance and I loved the outcome.  I asked her what she did and decided that I would experiment with it.


My trip to Eildon gave me ample opportunity to try some different stuff.  Though in hindsight I really should have taken the tripod with me and used it, so the photos would all look exactly the same.

 

I started with the camera on the auto setting.  I took a photo and then worked my way through each setting.  Some images look exactly the same while others change quite dramatically. I like the way some images are cold, then others are warmed up quite a bit.



I really should have taken a notebook with me so I could record exactly what I was doing, but I didn't.  I know with the digital cameras you can get a great deal of details about the image, aperture, shutter speed, whether the flash fired etc, on the computer, but I still don't think it is a bad idea to try and keep your own details when experimenting.



The second example is from the dam wall at Eildon.    The first few are all very similar, but then the colour in them changes quite a bit.  I have just looked up the computer information on the images and it all is says for white balance is "Manual White Balance".  This suggests that you really do need to take some notes when experimenting.


On my camera the order is auto, incandescent, fluorescent, direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade, K (choose colour temp), and PRE (preset manual).  For those images, I am fairly sure I worked my way though the array above, but would have left out flash.  Though the purple shaded one and the blue shaded one would have been the incandescent and the fluorescent.


Try experimenting with the white balance, you never know, your best image might happen because of it.

When the Motorbike isn't a Good Option

Two weeks I photographed the Eildon Junior Tour.  This was going to be my first time where I would actually be riding the motorbike on my own.  I have been having a go here and there, but seriously I haven't ridden a motorbike for a few years, actually a lot of years.

The first time I got on it I was surprised how much came back to me.  I think the one thing that made it better was that it isn't a big bike and doesn't have a lot of go in it, so I don't have to be scared that I will go to fast, it ain't possible.

I've spoken before about the benefits of being on the back of the bike.  I can go up beside the riders and photograph them as they are moving.  Here I want to talk more about the benefits of being on my own, and when it isn't good.

When the time trial started I took off and headed out on the road.  I found a nice spot and I waited for them to come along.  During the whole time trial that is what I did.  I could have done this in a car, but it was nice and a lot easier to get around the riders when on the bike.  The best part was that I didn't need much room to pull over and stop, I only needed about a foot, as opposed to about 4 when in the car.  I didn't have to worry about the bike getting bogged, I just needed a firm base to put the stand down so the bike didn't fall over. 

I was still getting used the bike and stopping is tricky, only because you have so many gears to go down.  I can remember my motorbike from years ago, the Honda VT250FII, it had a lot of gears and if you stopped quickly then you couldn't get down all the gears.

It was a great experience and I do think I got some better shots because of it.  I was able to pick exactly where I wanted to take the photos and stop there.

It doesn't look like it, but the morning did start off very nicely.  We knew there was going to be rain, but the forecast had been showers developing and rain for Sunday.  I thought I would be able to take photos on the motorbike for Saturday, but be in the car, trying not to get wet on Sunday.  I was wrong.

The rain started towards the end of the time trial.  I had noticed that it was really cloudy in the morning and thought I would put a plastic bag over the camera, and was so glad I did that.  Not that it rained heavily, but it was raining.  I have insurance for the camera gear, but it is not something I ever want to have to use. 

When it was time for the race in the afternoon, it was really raining.  I was told to go out on the bike, that it would be too bad.  I can tell you it was.  Riding the motorbike with helmet that doesn't have a visor is bad enough, but riding in the rain is even worse.  The rain feels like hail as it hits your face.  I had to stop and wrap my scarf around me so that it covered as much of my face as possible.

I put a really think plastic bag over the camera and tied it up tightly to keep the rain off it, and hope that the trip on the bike would get it too wet.  It is an electronic gadget and they don't tend to mix well with water.

When I got to the top of Skyline to wait for the Under 19 boys, I discovered a new reason not to use the bike when it rains.  There is no shelter, I had to sit in the rain and wait.  Wait I did, for almost 40 minutes before they finally came.  I got so cold, and wet.  My motorbike jacket is pretty good and I had some waterproof pants on, but my feet got wet, my boots aren't waterproof, so they got wet.  Once my feet were cold, that was it.  I sat up there on the side of the ride, wondering what the hell I was doing there.  I just wanted it over.

Once the Under 19 boys went past, I took off on the bike again and went in search of the next group.

When I got to the top the wind was howling and it was blowing me everywhere.  I saw the U15 boys coming and pulled over.  I missed the leaders because I couldn't get the camera out of its protective plastic bag fast enough.  I also messed up shots because the wind was so strong and it blew the plastic bag, that I had taped onto the camera to help protect it while I was taking photos, right over the front of the lens.  Not good. 

I stopped somewhere else and I decided that it would be best to wait for everyone to come past me.  It was too hard to ride until I saw them and get the camera ready.  I got most of them, but I also missed heaps.

I decided to ride down to the bottom.  I knew the U19 boys would be doing a second loop so I rode down to find them.  Again I missed the leader, but got the boys going around a roundabout.   If you look at the photo you can see the rain.  It was pouring down, and I decided enough.

The race was starting and finishing in Thornton, I was staying in Eildon.  When I took that last photo there, I was on the outskirts of Eildon, I just went back to our cabin and got dry and warm.

I don't worry too much about the finishes because so many people have their cameras there.  I wasn't going to ride all the way back to Thornton.

What I learned from the weekend was that the motorbike is no good when it is raining.  You really need to have somewhere dry to wait.  Also, to protect the camera you have to wrap it up so much, that you don't get quick access to it.  I think if the weather is good, then the motorbike is perfect.  You can chuck the camera over your and just go.  The motorbike means you can get past the riders easier than in a car, and when you stop, you can just pull the camera around and take the photos, don't even have to get off the motorbike.  And, like I said earlier, you can really stop anywhere.  I'm so glad I never got rid of my bike license, and I think my next big expense might have to be a motorbike of my own.

Taking the Time to Take Photos

As a photographer I see photos everywhere I look, well almost.  I am constantly composing scenes that I see.  My mind is always thinking about the next composition and ideas of images that I want to get.  My mind works in compositions, whether it be for photos or for paintings, prints, or drawings.  I know I should keep writing in my visual diary so I don't forget things, or maybe use it to plan what I'm going to do, but I never seem to.  I think I will have to start making that a habit again.

Another thing I'm not very good at is seeing something I want to photograph and, either not getting around to getting it, or seeing it when I'm driving and not stopping.  These are both things I really need to get better at.  On a recent trip to Eildon (more about that soon), I did make myself do that.

The first image I saw I had just stopped to take some training photos and as I took off I saw this scene and immediately stopped to get it.  It reminds me of a Peter Booth painting, and while I'm not absolutely sure it will be a good image as a photograph, I might use it for a drawing. 

This second image I drove past and thought, what a great shot, I stopped the car, turned around and went back.  I couldn't quite get what I first saw, but I think it is still interesting.  Perhaps if I had more time and wasn't following the boys on their bikes, I would have been able to spend more time to get the perfect shot, but it wasn't possible. 

I tend to see things and think, I will go back and photograph that, then I never do.  I need to start making notes of what I want to photograph, plan it out, when will be the best time, and then just go.  Of course it can be a risk, if you just go, you never know what the conditions will be, then again, if you only go when the conditions are good, then you can miss out on some really beautiful images.  I have some photos, from years ago, where the conditions were the worse, but persevered and when I got the photos back from the lab, I was totally astounded with what I had before me.  I even sold 2 of the images.

I did take a punt in Eildon that if I went up Skyline one morning, the valleys would be covered in fog, but the tops of the nearby hills/mountains, would be free of fog and the sun would be shining.  I had been told the day before I went up, that it was stunning, so I decided to drive up there about 9 o'clock and see what I could get.

There was so much fog in Eildon and on the way up, I thought I would get there and it would be a waste of time.  Then I started to see areas where it was clear.  Of course, the next problem was where do I stop, not a lot of places for cars to stop and take photos.

I saw this and had to walk through some mud (must remember when taking photos to make sure I wear sensible shoes, Ugg boots don't really cut it).  The fog was falling down the side and looked fantastic to watch and I thought about how I could capture it.  If I had put the camera on the tripod and slowed down the shutter speed, I would have just got it so that it looked blurred and would look like fog.  So you will have to take my word for it that it was moving. 

When I got close to the top, I was met with some glorious views.  It was exactly as I hoped it would.  I'm just going to leave you here with a selection of images.  I will try to always make sure I go and take photos from now on, and stop being so lazy.

Experimenting with the Camera

My daughter was out training the other day with another girl and they were riding behind the motorbike.  I was on the bike taking some photos and working out how I was going to do it for the race coming up this weekend. 

Since the girls were motorpacing and right behind the bike most of the time it was too difficult to take photos so I took to taking photos of the scenery.  The sun was setting and put on a magnificent display.

Then it changed again and looked almost like it was on fire.

On the way back in the van, being a passenger for a change I tried taking some photos on the freeway.  It was getting dark so I slowed down the shutter speed to a few seconds.  I tried taking some photos out the front of the windscreen.  Here is one of my first attempts.

I ended up having to put the camera into the manual mode so that I could really control what I wanted.  For some reason when it is in shutter priority it wouldn't let me take photos at a few seconds.  After putting it on manual I was able to take some photos with the shutter being open for between 1 1/2 seconds up to 8 seconds.  I really liked the way the light dances around.

As we were going through the etags gates,  I discovered that I could get some lovely purple light.

I love the colours and tried to get as many as I could.

I haven't played much with the camera since getting it and I think it is about time I did.  I need to remember how much fun it is.  I used to love taking photos and I think the fact that I can see what I've taken straight away is going to make me love it all over again.  I can't wait to go out again and do some more.

Trials of Photographing Netball

I know I've gone on before about what a challenge photographing netball is, the walls that are put up, and the experience of it isn't too different. Over the last week and a half I've taken photos at Parkville, Hisense Arena, and my local club. The easiest was my local club, and the hardest was at Parkville. Hisense Arena was a pleasure to photograph, but getting the accreditation wasn't easy and I'm not sure it is going to be something that I will be allowed to do again, well not soon.

Going to take photos of people playing netball at my club, was exhausting, but I don't have the hassles that I have at other venues there. The people running the centre know I have permission and I can just walk around and take photos. The exhausting part is that there are so many Macleod teams and they are all playing during the day, so you don't really get a break if you want to take photos of them all. I couldn't do all of them, but I did quite a few and will catch the ones I missed next time.

Going in to Parkville is a different matter. I hate the suspicion you are treated with as soon as you say you are there to take photos. You have to fill out a form, and get the other team to sign it. So silly, because the form doesn't say anything except that you were there taking photos on that particular day. It doesn't ask who you were photographing, what you are going to do with the photos or anything else. Even the signature from the other team doesn't tell them who they are. Not sure who it is meant to protect, not me that's for sure.

They also have this woman who runs around with a clipboard and makes sure everything is above board, but she is not a pleasant person. She was very abrasive and made me feel really bad because I didn't know the rules and, oh, because I was taking photos. I'm starting to understand why kids love photos of themselves, they don't get to see them very often because their parents aren't allowed to take them. Anyway, I found the woman to be really offensive and I made a compliant to the netball and they have organised it now so I don't have to get permission anymore and can just go in there to take photos of Banyule. I will have to take a copy of the permission letter with me because I know I will get asked for it.

Taking photos at Parkville presents a photographer with some interesting problems from a technical point of view as well, it is dark. There are lights, but not enough light to make the courts seem like daylight.  The ISO has to be pushed to the absolute maximum so you can get a fast shutter speed.  You need to use a fast shutter speed for netball.  I don't know where people get the idea that netball is a slow girls sport, I'm here to tell you that it is fast, especially a team that is good and has been playing for many years.  Flash is frowned upon, you can't have a flash going off in a players face, so you have to do the best you can.  It really does require different skills than is needed for photographing cycling. 

As I stated earlier I went to Hisense Arena and took photos of the Vixens last week.  It was tougher getting permission, and not anyone can rock on up and say they are there to take photos.   I had to get a special pass, or a temporary Media Accreditation pass.  It was waiting for me at the door and then I got to go in and down to the basement.  I had to find the media room and then I was introduced to Kate, who showed me around and took me up to the arena where I could take photos.

There is one whole section where the media are allowed, one side of the court.  It was fantastic.  I think I always imagined that we would be placed in one spot and we would have to stay there, but it wasn't like that at all.   We were allowed to move around on the that side of the court, but not behind the goals and not on the side where the players were.  I do remember reading that we were not allowed to approach the players.  We could go up into the stands to take photos, but I decided to stay put.  I really just wanted to observe what the other photographers were doing, so if I get to go again then I have more of an idea of what I can and can't do.

Kate told me that I would have trouble photographing them because of the speed.  That new photographers, or rather people new to photographing the Vixens find it really fast and have trouble.  I have to say I didn't.  I don't know if it is because I have done some netball before, and some of the teams I get to photograph for Banyule are also really fast, or whether the fact that I know the game and can often predict where the ball is going to go has helped.  I loved it.  I loved how fast it was.  I think I like a challenge and you certainly get that.  Probably the hardest part was taking photos of players that was close to me, the lens couldn't quite cope with it.  Doesn't matter, I got photos of the rest of the court.

My biggest obstacle for the evening was the umpire who kept walking down and standing in front of me.  So frustrating, but nothing I can do about it and something you have to work around.  So many times, what would have been a great shot was ruined because she was standing in part of the shot.  Oh well, I probably should have moved, but I quite liked my little spot.

I did get some great shots, well what I think are great, to the top photographers they are probably not, but I was really pleased with my first efforts.  Who knows if they will get better, but I will have to find a way to get some media accreditation.  I would really like to find a way to be able to keep taking photos of them.  A plan is hatching and will see what response I get for it.

I do want to thank the people from the ANZ Championships for organising the pass for me.  It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.