The Bogey Hole, Newcastle

Twenty Twelve has raced by! Over the past few months I've struggled to get out and do as much photography as I would have liked to. Fortunately, my mate Kane came back for a weekend in December, and this meant two things 1) a sunrise photography session, and 2) breakfast and coffee.

We decided to photograph a new location, the Bogey Hole, a historic Newcastle landmark. It was built in 1822 (likely by convicts, but I'm not 100% sure) for Major James Thomas Morrisset (Military Commandant), as a personal bathing pool. When I say built, what I really mean is that the bathing pool is actually a gigantic hole cut into the rock platform, a remarkable and impressive feat. Today the baths are a most likely shadow of their former self, but they retain a certain rustic charm.

I have visited the Bogey Hole before, but I've not had a chance to photograph it. Kane and I scouted the location on arrival. The tide was high and large waves were crashing into the rocks and washing over the rock platform. For the sake of our gear...I mean our safety, we decided to keep some distance from the waters edge. We selected our spot and started to set up. As I began to compose my shot, I was particularly drawn to the contours and lines of the rocks. I locked in my composition and waited in anticipation of the sunrise. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of cloud on the horizon and it blocked the sun as it breached the horizon. We waited patiently, hoping the sun would burst through the clouds. Indeed the moment came and we were finally rewarded with some colour in the sky and clouds.

Rock platform at the Bogey Hole, Newcastle

After capturing the first shot, we decided to change spots. We had the idea of trying to capture some motion blur in the water around the rocks. The following image is actually a composite of two shots taken a few seconds apart. The first image had a big splash as a wave crashed into the rocks in the background, and the other had a cool streaky pattern in the water as it washed over the rocks in the foreground. After a bit of Lightroom and Photoshop trickery I managed to blend the two imaged. This is what I came up with.

The Bogey Hole, Newcastle

This is definitely a spot I will be heading to again. There are a number of other compositions that I would like to try, pending the tide and waves. So stay tuned for more from the Bogey Hole.

Cheers
Roy

PS. I've cracked 2000 views. Who would have though?

Paradise on the central coast - Somersby Falls

It's amazing how you can live in one place for over 20 years and not realise that a piece of paradise is located merely an hour away. 

Somersby falls is located on the Central Coast, NSW. You can find it on google maps (Somersby Falls Picnic Ground). Somersby falls is made up of a top and bottom falls, which are located quite close to the picnic area. Both are easily accessible. For the more adventurous individual, from the bottom falls you can follow the river bed a little further downstream (5-10 min). There you will find a magnificent secret waterfall which you can actually walk behind. This place is seriously breathtaking!

When i visited Somersby Falls earlier this year (check out my previous blog post) I managed to capture a variety of shots. I was pretty stoked with what I managed to capture, but I knew there was still plenty more to discover.

On the 1st October, 2012, Kane, James and myself decided to make the trip. This time around we pretty much exclusively focused on the secret lower falls.

In this photo you can see a side on view of the falls. Notice the cave behind the falls, that's where all the magic happens.

Side on view of the waterfall. Lower falls, Somersby Falls, NSW

Front on view of the waterfall. Lower falls, Somersby Falls, NSW

This shot was taken from behind the waterfalls. Just magical. It was a little tricky to capture because it was so dark inside the cave. I decided to use a flash to get some light onto the roof of the cave. I then dialed back the exposure Lightroom to make it look more natural.

Behind the waterfall. Lower falls, Somersby Falls, NSW

And just to put it in to perspective, here is shot of the boys in action. I feel this shot gives a good indication of the size of the falls.

Kane and James snapping away. Lower falls, Somersby Falls, NSW

So there you have it, Somersby Falls, in all its glory. Needless to say, I will be back to this spot. I think it will be particularly good to target this place after a good week of rain to see if the volume and flow of the falls changes much. 

Who wants to join me?

Cheers

Elroy

Newcastle Ocean Baths and Canoe Pool

There's nothing worse than waking up at 4am for a sunrise and driving to a location to see a thick band of grey cloud smack bang on the horizon...ok maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my drift. It can be a little disheartening to arrive with such great expectation and then to be disappointed by what nature has thrown up for the day.

Over the past few years since I started taking photography seriously as a hobby, I have come to appreciate that it's times like these that demand the creativity of photographer to make the best of a situation. Instead of saying "oh well the sunrise is a bit disapointing...lets go home and catch up on sleep", I now find myself saying "oh well the the sunrise is a bit disappointing, what else can i capture to make the best of the situation".

The following image is not exactly a breath-taking image. There are flaws in the colouration, foreground detail and harsh blown out highlights (probably among many other flaws). But nonetheless, it has grown on me. I think sometimes I am too critical of my own work. Anyway here I am, throwing it out to the web. What are your impressions of this image?

Newcastle Canoe Pool, NSW

And of course, I must acknowledge/feature my partner in photography crime Kane, basking in the morning glow.

The morning glow at Newcastle Ocean Baths, NSW

So to conclude - when nature just won't play nice on the day, think about what you can capture, rather than what you can't.

Cheers
Roy

Sunrise Delight at Coffs Harbour Jetty

Recently, I visited a friend of mine, Kane, in Coffs Harbour. Kane and I have for a long time shared a passion for photography. Indeed, he has featured in many of my blog entries, including as the silhouette of "The Photographer" in my first blog entry. The purpose of the trip to Coffs was to photograph a wedding with Kane (more on that in a later blog entry perhaps), but it was also just great to spend time with Kane and his girlfriend, Cass.

On the morning of the wedding, Kane and I decided to photograph the sunrise. I have struggled of late to find the motivation to wake up for a sunrise. What usually happens is that I hit snooze about 3 times, before eventually turning the alarm off (we've all been there, haha). Having a partner in crime really did make it that much easier to wake up. 

We rose at 5.30am, rugged up (it was fairly cold), gulped down an 'Up & Go" and a cup to tea, and then jumped into the car. We reached the jetty around 6am. We had to work quickly, as the best shooting conditions are generally 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the sun has breached horizon, after that it's just too bright and the brilliant colours in the sky fade away. We both set up quickly and starting snapping away. We tried some shots on top of the jetty, but I wasn't entirely fussed with my attempts. Finally, we tried below the jetty. This is where the "WOW" moment happened. Every now and then, you see a raw (unedited) photo on camera and think "this is the one". After some editing (or cheating, as my brother describes it) in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5, I was delighted (cue Hamish and Andy "delight") this is what I came up with. This ones definitely going on the wall and in the yearly photobook.

Sunrise at Coffs Harbour Jetty

Thanks for looking.
Cheers
Roy

Sam and Reshana's Wedding

On the 26th May, 2012, I was delighted to be able to photograph the wedding reception of my friends, Sam and Reshana. 

When Reshana asked me, I was a little apprehensive at first for number of reasons. I had only recently acquired the equipment which would allow me to cover such an event. I didn't have any experience covering weddings as a main shooter (although I did take a number of photographs at Sanisha's wedding, in Dec 2012). And I would be photographing the wedding by myself, so it would be up to me to nail the critical shots. After a moment of thought, I excitedly agreed.

I arrived early at the venue to set up and plan my photographs. Reshana was already upstairs in a private room. I was invited in to take some photographs prior to the reception starting. Reshana looked absolutely stunning in a vibrant red and cream coloured sari. 

The beautiful bride

The beautiful bride

The beautiful bride

Sam was also cutting a mighty fine figure in a sleek charcoal grey pinstripe suit.

The groom

Unlike a traditional western wedding, Sam and Reshana were married at separate temple wedding during the week, while the reception party was reserved for the weekend. This meant I was able to photograph the two of them prior to the reception starting.

Sam and Reshana had a beautiful (and tasty) cake, with stunning red icing flowers. This is one of my personal favourites of the night. 

The stunning and tasty cake!

Cutting the cake

After the formalities, the bride and groom made their way onto the dance floor for the first dance, which was followed by some contemporary Bollywood style Indian dancing. A lot of fun for everyone involved.

The first dance

So after hours and hours of editing, I think I did an ok job for my first wedding as a first shooter.
I probably won't be doing weddings as a regular thing. There is a lot of pressure on the day and a lot of time spent editing the photos. But at least I can say I gave it a crack.

Newcastle Baths - Canoe Pool

On Easter Sunday, a few friends and I gathered for a photography shoot at, Newcastle Baths/Canoe Pool. Some of you may be saying, "canoe pool? What's, Roy, on about?" Well the, Canoe Pool, is in fact the name of the oval shaped pool next to, Newcastle Baths. In it's current state, the canoe pool just looks like a pool filled with sand and water, but underneath the sand lies a concrete map of the world. The photos in the link show part of the map and the small wooden canoes that the children would use to navigate around the continents and islands. What a fascinating bit of history buried just meters under the sand. Anyway, I digress, back to the photography.

Prior to Sunday morning I was frequently checking my weather apps for Sunday's sunrise. The forecast mid week was predicting a fine and sunny morning. But as the date drew closer, the forecast took a turn for the worst - sunny with some cloud, then cloudy with some sun and then, late on Saturday night, just cloudy. Since I had not been out for a while, I clung to the hope that something magical would happen and went to bed.

Sunday morning, 4.30am, the alarm jolted me from my sleep.  I quickly opened the blinds to check the sky. A thick grey blanket of cloud spanned the sky. I thought to myself, "well I'm up now, I may as well go"...FOOL.

As I pulled into to the Baths car park, things we're looking grim on the horizon. The sunrise was supposed to occur at 6.09am. Well that time came and went with not even a shimmer of sunlight breaking the cloud, much to the dismay of my group of friends. Sunrise fail!

Since we were all there and set-up, we decided to wander around and take a few photos anyway. I'd been thinking about capturing the Canoe pool for some time, but just never got around to it. This was my chance.

The rusted iron fence posts of the canoe pool was my subject of choice. Beyond just simply adding character to the photo, i think they give a great insight into the history of the place. I snapped away hoping to capture something decent.


After breakfast and a nap and I began editing the images. I chose the below image and tried two different styles of editing. As much as I have tried, I can't decide which one I like best.

Vintage (cream-tone) black and white

Canoe Pool, Newcastle Baths

Or the colour version

Canoe Pool, Newcastle Baths

Help me decide please by leaving a comment below.

So the Easter Sunday sunrise didn't really turn out, but at least the early wake up was not entirely wasted.

Cheers
Roy

The mighty ducks

The mighty ducks...well not really, but now that I have your attention I would like some feedback.

The image below was taken in Bicentennial Park, Homebush.

in the original image, the water was a toxic radioactive green. But i really liked the composition of the photo. In the end i decided a black and white edit might work. what do you think?

Bicentennial Park Ducks

Cheers
Roy

Bursting With Colour - A Regal Hindu Wedding

In Dec 2011, I attended the wedding of Deepak and Sanisha Nand. But it wasn't your regular western style wedding, it was a Hindu wedding, which incorporated many ancient Hindu traditions. It was a spectacular ceremony, with interesting ceremonial rites and beautiful colours. Of course, I couldn't go to such an event and not take any photos, though my job was made harder since I didn't want to get in the way of the pro's. Still i think i managed some pretty good shots considering I was seated and without an external flash for most of the ceremony.

The whole structure of the wedding was quite different. First, Deepak entered with a procession of family behind. The clothing was outstanding.

Deepak entering the wedding hall

Next came the beautiful bride. I love her expression, eagerly glancing towards her husband. 

Sanisha entering the wedding hall

 After quite a lengthy ritual ceremony which involved fire, grains, hand tying and a whole bunch more, the bride and groom were finally married. 

The Bride and Groom

The photo below (brides sister, Reshana), was actually taken on two days before the wedding at a special ceremony at the brides house. I think the ceremony had something to do with cleansing the bride before marriage.

Something many of you will be familiar with is "Henna", an ink which is applied to the skin in delicate patterns. Notice here that Deepak's name is actually written on the Sanisha's hand, an interesting touch.

The wedding reception hall was stunningly decorated. Gold statues lined the path to the alter(?) where the bride and groom sat.

This is another photo from the brides house two days before the wedding. Stunning colours!

Marge, Marge, the rains are here

Over the last week my cousin, Clinton, was visiting from England. My parents had told me that Clinton was also into photography, so I knew a photo session would be on the agenda. I thought that a nice sunset over the picturesque Lake Macquarie would be ideal. However, after the recent wet and overcast weather that we've had, I had to think a bit harder for a location. I decided to hit up a new location called Somersby Falls on the Central Coast, NSW....Right Decision!

Long story short, Clinton and I had an absolute ball photographing the falls. The overcast skies with the occasional burst of sunlight worked in our favour and the waterfalls had enough supply to make our photos interesting (i hope).

You can find Somersby Falls on google maps (Somersby Falls Picnic Ground). Somersby falls is made up a top and bottom falls, which are located quite close to the picnic area. Both are easily accessible. For the more adventurous individual, from the bottom falls you can follow the river bed a little further downstream (5-10). There you will find a magnificent waterfall which you can actually walk behind. Magical!

The following set of photos are from the bottom falls.

Somersby Falls (bottom falls)

Somersby Falls (bottom falls)

Somersby Falls (bottom falls)

This photo below was from a small fall between the top and bottom falls. This one is probably my favourite of the bunch.

Somersby Falls (small falls between top and bottom falls)

 And last but not least, the secret waterfall that you can walk behind.

Somersby Falls (waterfall 5-10 mins walk downstream from the bottom falls)

And a rare shot of me on the job

Somersby Falls really is a beautiful spot. So if you've never been before, you should definitely check it out. I'll be heading back after the rains have ceased a bit. Hopefully the waterfalls will be flowing big and fast.

Cheers
Roy

My First addition for 2012 - Sunset at Redhead Beach

After a bit of a quite period over Christmas, i finally pulled the camera out for a serious shoot. Kane, James and myself headed down to Redhead beach, a spot we've all photographed before. Incidentally, all of us had recently bought fancy lens filters called neutral density filters. I won't bore you with the details, but they allow for some creative options, and this location was a good chance to put them to the test.

We were hoping for a good sunset, as the sun was beaming all day. We got down to the beach and straight away noticed a big dirty grey cloud blocking out the sun. How disappointing! Never-the-less we persevered in the less than ideal lighting conditions.

Thanks to the editing power of Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 i was able to recover lot a detail and add some real pop. Here's the final product. A nice way to start 2012, even if i do say so myself. Hopefully there will be many more keepers to come.  

Redhead Beach, NSW

Cheers
Roy