…more shots from 2010 BDO taken for Virtual Festivals in the UK.
BTW…..Big THANKS to Team Digital for the Nik Software trial….I am loving it. I used Dfine to help reduce some of the noise in the darker shots as the ISO was pumped up a fair bit and it was very easy to use with a nice result. Think I might be investing in the whole suite!
Every year I’m lucky enough to shoot the Perth leg of the Big Day Out. And every year as I’m dripping in sweat, fighting gangs of sweaty youths (who all want their photo taken – to which I reply I have the wrong lens on…even if I have the right lens on!), and generally burning to a crisp in the shade-less pit known as Claremont showground, I ask myself if I am getting too old to shoot this gig.
But once we get going and we’re in the pit and the bands are ‘going off’ and the lights are flashing I realise why I do it. I love the challenge of getting a well composed shot in such diverse conditions. From glaring sun during the day to next to no light for the headliners, it’s a constant battle to grab a sharp shot with whatever light the strobes are shooting out at any given minute…add in the smoke machine and the challenge is on!
Will I go back next year? Hell yeah.
I popped down to Hillarys Boat Harbour last night for a paddle and a look around. I was hoping for some stormy skies and got some lovely colour. It was great to see so many people out and about enjoying the warm summer evening with kids paddling and jumping off the jetty and families having picnics on lawns. I do love this time of year here in Perth although I do wonder if I’ll ever get used to hot weather at Christmas.
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and prosperous twenty-ten!
Over the last few days I’ve been shuffling all of my digital files around in a ‘photographic’ spring clean. I found this shot which, when I took it back in 2005 was one of my absolute favourites. Taken at Mariposa Grove in Yosemite NP this particular grouping of giant sequoias is know as the Bachelor and Three Graces (The ‘Bachelor’ is the big guy in the foreground, his ‘Graces’ are the 3 behind). I hunted it out after being reminded just how ancient and majestic trees can be by the Oct issue of National Geographic magazine. I was blown away by a pull out centrefold showing a giant redwood. People had been positioned on branches all the way up to show the gigantic scale of the tree. The final image was an 84 image stitch and is just stunning. This short video below shows how the NG photographer and his team achieved the fabulous shot – although with that much equipment at your disposal you’d have to walk away with something! Next time you’re in the newsagents (there’s a delay in delivery to Oz so this issue is still on the shelves) have a look at the actual pull out….I’m sure you’ll be as humbled as I was when I saw it. These trees will still be on the planet long after we’re gone.
This is one of my favourite captures from Yorke Peninsula. Wallaroo is a great spot with a great name. As I was wandering around looking for a good location to take some pics at sunset, these three posts and the colourful rocks caught my eye. This was a 30 second exposure just after the sun had disappeared. I was really enjoying taking the photos, capturing that dreamy misty water when a local bloke came down to where I was shooting and told me a little bit about the place. I was stoked to discover that I was actually shooting the last remains of the original Wallaroo jetty which was built in 1861. 148 years later this is all that remains.
I recently got back from a trip on The Ghan for the magazine (article HERE if you’re looking to kill a few minutes 
) and this is one of the shots that I took of the carriages as we got off in Alice Springs. The trip was great but when we stopped at Katherine and Alice I didn’t want to get back on….just wanted to get into a 4wd and take off in search of ‘perfect light’. The second shot is Cape Spencer lighthouse on Yorke Penninsula in South Australia. I have been guilty of bagging out South Australia in the past, I’m not usually a wine drinker so the Barossa Valley doesn’t really thrill me. When I got off the Ghan I decided to take off to Yorke Penninsula for a few days instead and was suprised to discover just how beautiful it is down there. Will post a few more shots from that region soon.
After meeting everyone at Mark’s pizza night I feel obliged to put in the effort to maintain the blog instead of just ’stalking’ so here goes…
Thanks again to Mark and Chrisitan (and Mike) for arranging Friday night, it’s great to meet so many positive photographers and enthusiasts and is a refreshing change from the ‘closed shop’ and ‘Perth is only a small town so I don’t want you stealing my jobs’ attitude that I have come across in the the past.
I suppose now I’m also gonna have to put some pics up (this is why I struggle with the commitment hee hee) I will get to that soon. My website is here in the meantime for those who are interested. I will update my profile page shortly and add some pics.
Hope to see you all on Rotto…cheers,
Sandy x
Sandy @ Shots
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