high dynamic range

I have always been interested in how people manage to capture a scene with such a large range of light from deep shadows to bright blue sky.  I realise I am a little slow, but I only discovered HDR in the last  year or so and have really wanted to try it.

So yesterday I went down to the beach around dusk to a place I thought might work well.  Dark rocks in the foreground, the sea and the side of the ocean baths in the middle and the evening sky above.  I used my wide angle lens down low on the rocks and angled it up to distort the sky a little.  There were a few clouds which gave some nice perspective.

I found some software that you can trial for free (but it puts a watermark on the final image), and gave it a try.  The default image looked a little uninspiring so I tried a few different tone mapping effects.

Here are some that I liked (please excuse the watermark, but I want to try before I buy). So easy and so much fun!

macro

Got a macro lens for Christmas, so took it for a spin today.  It's much harder than I thought and i have a lot to learn, but here are my first attempts (with a little editing).

Fiji Time

Just returned from another wonderful week with the family on Castaway Island, Fiji.  Here are a few shots from the week.

:: Cate snorkelling on the outer reef

:: Girls sipping mocktails in the pool

:: Coral garden just off the island

:: Hannah holding the sun

:: Sunset

:: A local saying hello

:: Me on the outer reef

:: White tipped reef shark

10 on 10

I keep missing this every month, and although I am a day late I would still like to join in with Rebekah again.

 

I have been attending a conference this week, so my day was spent mostly commuting and sitting in doors.  I went into the city, spent a few hours at the conference, strolled around Darling Harbour, train home, dressed up for the conference dinner, train back to the city, listened to great music on the harbour, then home again.

 

Unfortunately I only had my phone with me, so the photo quality is not great.

 

The highlight of the day was getting up on stage with the band at the end of the evening and doing a few numbers (no photos of that).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uluru ... our time at the Rock

We recently spent a couple of days at Uluru.
I visited the Rock 21 years ago when it was acceptable to climb it, and so I did.

Knowing what I know now, I regret climbing it, but what's done is done.

This time, we spent more time walking around it, and enjoying it's magnificent beauty from the ground.
It took us about 3-4 hours to walk the 10km around the base.

My daughter and I also spent quite a few hours admiring it at sunset and trying to capture that perfect shot.
We weren't hugely successful but we got a few.
Most shots were a little cloudy, but sometimes the clouds help make the photo more interesting.

These are a few shots taken around the place during our visit.

The roads are long and straight out there. This photo was taken on my phone so it's a little grainy.

Just one example of the requests the Anangu people make for people not to climb the rock

A few of the rock features around the base

A few sunset pics on a cloudy evening

... and on a clear cloudless evening

... and early morning with the summit covered in cloud

blue skies of central australia

We have just come back from a week in Central Australia, seeing some of what our wonderful country has to offer.  These a a few photos of the brilliant blue skies set against the red rocks of the Kings Canyon Rim Walk and the Kata Tjuta Valley of the Winds Walk.  I'm linking in with skywatch Friday.

We also walked around Uluru, so stay tuned for those photos in the next few days.

summer storms and sunshine

I took these photos in January on our summer beach holiday.  There were some beautiful sunny days and a couple of big storms.  A typical summer, and makes for some very interesting skies.

Linking in with skywatch friday.