Photo Competition

I entered the above photo in the Eureka Skydeck competition and I CAME THIRD!  It was one of two photos I submitted (I actually preferred the other photo of Flinders Street Station in B&W, but that didn't get a mention).  I forgot about my submission until I received an email saying they chose this photo (along with 12 others) out of the hundreds they received.  Not only will my photo appear in their 2014 calendar but I won a dinner for two on the Tramway restaurant.

Great Gatsby Wedding

I attended a Great Gatsby wedding shoot yesterday and here is one of the hundreds of photos I snapped.  I generally don't review my photos taken at a shoot for a few days, I find I critique them better if I leave them sit for a while (so the momentum, or excitement, has waned a little).

The lace on the dress and the parasol was magnificent, not sure if it was hand or machine made, but in any event the bride looked stunning.

Larundel Mental Asylum

Went to Larundel in Bundoora this week.  This "mental asylum" was built in the late 1930's and decommissioned over a decade ago.  Today there is a new housing estate at the back of the old derilict buildings.  Armed with my camera I candidly took photos of the five or so remaining buildings which are riddled with graffiti and shattered glass.  An eerie yet exciting day trip.

Playing with a "ghosting" effect - if you look carefully you may see the ghost on the right side of the following photo.

Reflection

2012 was an interesting year with many highs, celebrations and one or two sad occasions.  I am certainly looking forward to a brighter year, roll on 2013........

Here are some of my favourite photos from 2012.

Melton Weir

What to do with a rather boring photo - make it into a sphere using an easy Photoshop process?  Viola. Although the sky was fairly interesting before the conversion, I think it makes for a much nicer photo

High Dynamic Range (HDR) images

 I had a lot of fun experimenting today with a new HDR program.  I love the way the program gives a "surreal" look to photographs by using a larger dynamic range between lightest and darketes areas of a photo.  Generally you need to take three photos to achieve this affect, HOWEVER with software it is easy to accomplish with one photograph.

Mali Elephants

Had a lovely day in Melbourne CBD last week.  We went on an elephant hunt, trying to locate as many Malis as we could within a fairly short space of time.  Fifty fibreglass models of the famous elephant calf, Mali, have been paided by various artists and are currently on display in Melbourne until late September as part of the celebrations for Melbourne Zoo's 150th birthday.

Here are the ones I found and photographed :-

Jelly Babies

What does one take photos of when the theme is "Babies" - jelly babies of course!  This was a very difficult subject matter because of the transluency, but anyhow here is my result.

Eat on....

Rosebud

I did some experimenting recently with my new Nikon D7000 and 18-200mm lens, trying to think "outside the suare" and do different compositions.   This rosebud, which was actually very small and I could get in very close with my lens, was in the picturesque Maddingley Park, Bacchus Marsh.

Cupcake

My daughter made some yummy-looking cupcakes on the weekend, and whilst I don't really eat them (well, at least I am trying to be "good") I couldn't resist a photo opportunity - those who know me, know darn well I will take a photo of virtually anything (much to the annoyance of my children). 

Torquay

Last week I spent a few hours as the infamous surf beach in Victoria, Torquay, which is past Geelong.  Whilst it was a chilly day there were some brave souls surfing and swimming the beaches (what I like most about Torquay is there are two beaches - a swimmers beach which is rather "calm" and a beach for surfers).

Street Art/Graffiti

I spent a wonderful day in the CBD yesterday, getting there at 7.30am, to take photos of various alleyways in Melbourne including infamous lanes such as Hosier and ACDC.  Here is the result of my fruitful day.

Lerderderg Gorge

Just got back from visiting a local State Park - Lerderderg Gorge at Bacchus Marsh.  Whilst there wasn't a great deal of water there was enough for the kids to have a play and get wet.

(From a website) the Lerderderg River rises in the Great Dividing Range and has cut a 300 metre deep gorge through sandstone and slate, almost bisecting the park. The park has a wide variety of vegetation and wildlife and some interesting relics of goldmining.   Lerderderg State Park offers a true bush experience. Walking is the best way to get to know the park - there are several tracks for a range of walks from short, easy strolls to strenuous overnight hikes for experienced bushwalkers.

Sunset

Went out with my photography group last night and took photos of the sunset from a field in the middle of no where. The sunset was spectacular, and magically appeared and disappeared just as fast.

Note to self - must wear sleeves next time I do a night shoot so I don't get eaten by mozzies!

Doll

I'm not one to overlook a photo opportunity, even of a small doll run over by a car!

Zombie

This is one of my favourite Zombie photos, taken two weekends ago. This Zombie was extremely tall (I'm assuming he was on stilts) but I wasn't not game to either get up close to have a look, nor ask him.

I have also entered the photo in a weekly competition found at http://www.iheartfaces.com

Melbourne Zombie Shuffle

Melbourne's annual Zombie Shuffle was held this weekend with hundreds of wonderful zombies and gouls lingering around the CBD. This is the fourth year it has been held and gives all creative people a chance to flaunt it, and not to mention us budding photographers another photo opportunity.

Wildlife Photography

Recently I participated in a Wildlife Masterclass with Sarah Louise) you can see some of her amazing shots at http://www.sarahlouisephotography.com.au/).

We visited the Ballarat Wildlife Park http://wildlifepark.com.au/ and besides taking hundreds of photos we picked up some tips along the way. I experimented with photography through glass panes and it seemed to have worked, I took very few photos with reflection.

A Series of Reflection

On a recent visit to Echuca, on the Murray River, I decided to do a series called "Reflection". It was a beautiful cold and crisp morning with the sun shining. The river was still and the reflections breathtaking. Here are a few of the many photos I took (aperature priority, no tripod necessary)

Coode Island

It was a 5.30am start but the photography groups managed the early morning (and dark) start and bused it to Coode Island to take some photos of Melbourne's skyline and port not only in the dark but at sunrise.