Backyard cricket

iso 200, f 5.6, ss 1/320

This afternoon we had a game of cricket in the backyard. It was so funny, I think leftie boy here thinks he is playing baseball. I didn't take many pics coz I was too worried about my camera getting hit by a wayward shot (that and the fact I wanted to have ago at batting). Hey I got the feet this time, but cut the bat off.

Netball

iso 400, f 5, ss 1/60

I just got a speedlite 580ex so I'm having a little play. i have no real idea what I'm doing, but its fun. the subject is my daughters netball. Netball is kinda like basketball (do you play it in the US?). Anyway when I was young and fit i was quite good at netball, so I really want my daughter to play - she isn't so keen. Somehow my kids just missed the sports gene. I should have washed the ball - it's kinda dirty, but I really like the texture. The shot below is a crop (and rotate) of this shot.

Surfing

iso 200, f 11, ss 1/400

Day one of sport and I'm struggling already. not much happening in the way of sport here this afternoon. My other option to use was a pic of a man walking his dog. The composition of the original was lousy. They were dead centre in the pic. I would have like more sea on the right of the pic (kinda panoramic), but this was the edge of the photo.

Go fly a kite

iso 200, f 22, ss 1/125

This afternoon the girls really wanted to go to the beach. It was fairly sunny, but very windy so we took the kite Joey made a few weeks ago at school. It actually worked really well. After kite flying they went for a swim - the water was so cold that everyone else swimming had wetsuits on, but it didn't stop them. It was only after Erica was dumped by a wave that they came in - shivering like crazy.

I cut my poor girls feet off - Do you think I should leave it cropped like this, or should I take off more of her legs?

Windmill

iso 800, f 20, ss 1/640

Krisztina's B & W action

As you can see the countryside around here is fairly flat and dry (even with the lovely rain we have had lately). Most of the farms rely on bores and windmills for their water. Wind is something we have plenty of. This windmill was actually spinning around really fast. The pic was taken at about 6pm, it has been one of those days with rain and sun on and off, so the light was really nice. I ran Krisztina's B&W action on the second one. I like them both.

Happy Australia Day

Just a quick snap of a flag - kinda appropriate for the day. The shy was really grey this afternoon, so I put a blue filter over it and erased out the flag parts. If I had of taken the pic this morning there would have been a beautiful blue sky in the background - oh well.







Thank you for the feedback on this pic. I used Sweetcheeks "Lighten Up Barely" instructions for PSE. I modified them a bit so I didn't blow out the clouds in the top right TOO much. I really like the effect - looks heaps better. Again than you for the suggestions.

Slippery when wet

iso 800. f 5.6, ss 1/4000

This sign made me laugh. Below the surface there is a small jetty that usually sits about 4 feet above the water. This is the other river in town - It's still blocked at the mouth so the water level is getting really high. Eventually it will become high enough to force it's way though to the sea. In hind-sight I should have had a smaller aperture so the depth marker was also in focus.

iso 800, f 20, ss 1/250

I love this building. I have taken this shot so many times and every time the lighting makes it look different. It is an old boat shed, but now it's a restaurant. This is was taken from the same spot as the pic above, but looking towards the mouth of the river. I hate shots like this (gray sky and small aperture) coz they show up all the dust on my sensors.

As you can see I PP them quite differently. I'm not sure if I like the first one. I wanted something kinda contrasty and funky, maybe I should have had a look for an action to run on it. Any suggestions? The second one I think I'm pretty happy with, but I would certainly appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Blue

iso 1600, f 22, ss 1/13 sec

Just playing around tonight with a glass of water and some blue food dye. Who knows what I was thinking using such a high iso.

The breakwater at night

iso 800, f 22, ss 20 sec

I took this down at the breakwater tonight. I was after smoky water looking shots, but I was a bit too late and it was quite dark. I'm thrilled with this shot though.

iso 100, f 29, ss 15 sec

During the summer holidays there is a carnival down near the beach. I have been wanting to get a shot like this all summer. The light streaks across the front are cars driving past. Tonight was one of those times when it all seemed to work. I love it when that happens.

Water birds (and a comet)

iso 400, f 4, ss 1/4000

This afternoon I went down to the river to take some bird pics. I kinda like this one with the birds in flight, but I'm not sure if its a bit too busy.

iso 400, f 5.6, ss 1/1250

This is a Rufus Night Heron. When I was a kid I was really into birdwatching. I've never seen one of these before, so that was kinda cool.

iso 400, f 4, ss 0.8 sec

And just for something different, this is the Comet McNaught. It was quite impressive. This was about 50 minutes after sunset, later it was even better, but no pretty sky.
Hope you all have a good week.

Back in my comfort zone

iso 400, f 7.1, ss 1/1250

Back to landscapes today. There is a bit of a story to go with this pic. Because we have had so little rain in last year or so, both the rivers in town stopped flowing into the sea. There is still water in the rivers, but they don't have the momentum to counter the sand being pushed in by the waves. It has become so bad that there was about 50 metres of sand between the end of the river and the ocean (even at high tide). Well in the last two days we have had really good rain - about 4 inches and today the Merri river started flowing back into the sea. I was standing there in the rain taking these pics and feeling really emotional. This is a farming area (dairy and sheep) and although we have been luckier than most places in Australia with the drought, it wasn't looking good for the rest of Summer. So this little stream kinda symbolises that everything will be back to normal.

It's not that I don't like taking portrait shots, I just find them really hard. It drives me crazy when my kids start pulling funny faces and strange poses, how do you cope with other people's kids doing it? Landscapes at least stay still.

Thank you to everyone who has looked at my blog and especially those who have left comments. It really does make my day. I appreciate all comments and suggestions, love hearing what you like but also anything you don't like or think I could do better. I try to get to every one's blog at least every few days and I hope the comments I leave are helpful. I'm pretty new at photography - only really started about 18months ago (and for the first 6months I had no idea), so I some times feel a bit under qualified to leave CC, especially about the technical stuff. I do try and give composition CC - I hope I don't sound like a picky bitch though. I'm starting to ramble. Time for bed. Goodnight

New specs

iso 200, f 2.8, ss 1/800

Warm Tone action by Sweet cheeks Photography

My daughter has just got new spectacles. My head says, you are an optometrist, you know she needs them and wearing them will not make her eyes worse, but in my heart I'm just a mum in denial, I don't want my girl to be short-sighted.

I took this using my 50mm lens. I have to admit I don't use it often and I find it hard to get the focus in the right place - should I be using a smaller aperture? There is a bit of glare on the right lens - I should have cheated and taken the lenses out ;) but I can live with it.

The action on both these pics are ones that {Blessed} posted on the message board today (THANK YOU). I haven't used actions much before, but i can see myself using these a lot.

This is my little girl - the wild child.

iso 200, f 2.8, ss 1/500

Lighten Up Barely action by Sweet Cheeks Photography

Weather Worn

iso 400, f5, ss 1/200, auto

More about Warrnambool. The name Warrnambool is derived from an aboriginal word meaning "water between the rivers". So as well as the ocean and the lakes, we have two rivers. the Hopkins on the eastern side of town and the Merri to the west. You'll be seeing a lot of water shots over the next 12 months. This is the side of a bridge that goes over the Merri River. Looking at this pic now I think I should have cropped a little more off the left side, and that light patch in the middle is really annoying.

iso 800, f 6.3, ss 1/1250, shutter priority

This one was take down at the beach. There is a break water, and a few small jetties. Sometimes you see a seal around here, but not today. I really liked the colour of the wood against the light pipes. I don't like how the top of the jetty almost (but not quite) lines up with the beach. My lesson for the day is take note of the background before I shoot.




All comments, advice and HHCC welcome and appreciated. Thanks

Peace, Silence and Solitude

iso 800, f 8, ss 1/400, 70-200 lens

This is around the back of the lakes I was telling you about yesterday. It was so quiet and peaceful there this afternoon. I wish the photo had sound, so you could hear the ocean in the distance and the wind in the reeds. When we first moved to Warrnambool I used to walk down this path on my way home from work - its the perfect antidote to a stressful day.

This is another one I took this afternoon. My DH is getting sick of me taking bird photos, but I love these little wrens. They are so quick though - drives me crazy.

iso 800, f 5, ss 1/1000

Paddle boats

iso 400, f 13, ss 1/160

17-85 lens, Orton technique

This is my first go at the Orton technique - Wow I'm loving it. I took this pic this morning on the way to work. It was literally a 30 second snap and pretty dull looking until I did the Orton on it.


This area is called Lake Pertobe. It's just over the dunes from the main part of Lady Bay. It was a swamp until about 20 years ago they converted it into a system of lakes and park land. It is huge and really beautiful. There are three adventure playgrounds, BBQ's, heaps of open space and lots of bird life. This part of the lake (near the beach) is always really busy, especially in holiday season, but around the back of the lakes it's like a wilderness, really quiet and peaceful.

The lights of town

iso 400, f 16, ss 4 sec

17-85 lens, focal length 35 mm, tripod

This is one of the main intersections in town. This is the main street and all along this part are restaurants. I took a few other night shots that I might also post after I get a chance to play with them. It doesn't get dark here until about 9:30pm at the moment, so it was pretty late by the time I got this one sorted.

Not my hometown, but where I live

iso 200, f 13, ss 1/125

17-85 mm lens, focal length 33mm, hand-held

We have lived in Warrnambool for five and a half years, but I don't think of it as my hometown. My hometown is the little town I was born and raised in. It's in another state though so for this week the photos will be of Warrnambool. We plan to stay here, so I guess my kids will think of it as their hometown.

This is Lady bay. It is the town's main beach. I wasn't going to take beach pics today, but the Bay looked so beautiful I couldn't resist. The look is deceptive though. Because there is nothing between here and Antarctica, the water is always cold and the sea is quite treacherous. This stretch of the coast is called the Shipwreck Coast. I live quite close to the beach and some nights the sea roars so loud we can hear it even when we are inside. In winter Southern Right Whales come in close to the shore with their babies - it's pretty cool.

This shot is almost SOOC - I cropped a bit off the sky and sharpened just a little. The sea really was that amazing colour.

And this is me

Okay, so maybe it's not actually me. Today I seriously tried to do the self-portrait thing, but it just wasn't happening. Lots of pics, lots of poses and the only good thing to come out of it all was that now my bathroom mirror is really clean.

Here is my real photo of the day.

iso 1600, f 2.8, ss 1/6400

50mm lens, Av mode, hand held

My sister gave this quince tree to me when Chris was born. Both my sister and I are into the whole self-sufficienct thing. I have a little vegetable garden and I want to get some more chickens soon. I used to even make my own cheese, but that went by the wayside when I started scrapbooking. My sister on the other hand has done the whole bit. She has a little farm and has chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, turkeys, geese, sheep, a huge vegetable garden and orchard. She is completely crazy, but I'm a bit jealous really.
I went a bit over board with photoshop. Do you think it's too much?

Kelly, the blue background in yesterdays photo was just a bed sheet thrown over the couch.

Chris

iso 800, f 4, ss 1/500

70-200 lens, focal length 70mm, manual, handheld

This is my boy. He is 4 years old and X-box crazy. I was interupting this game when I took this. I probably should have cleaned his face before I took it (looks like chocolate from this morning). I also have two beautiful daughters, but they are up visiting their Grandmother for the school holidays, so you will have to wait until next week to meet them. All advice, suggestions and HHCC welcome. This portrait stuff, especially indoors, is new to me. I must be the worse mother in the world - 3 beautiful kids and I take shots of everything but them. Seeing all the amazing photos in this challenge has really inspired my to try and take more shots of the kids and try and improve.
Have a nice day.

Shane

iso 400, f 5.6, ss 1/250


70-200 lens, focal length 78mm, Tv mode, handheld

He lugs my camera equipment, he laughs at my jokes (sometimes), he makes me warm milo at bedtime. He is my best friend.


Shane always wears this hat (it's his football team). My problem is that in all the shots I took in the sun, there was a shade over his eyes from the hat. How do I avoid this?






Thank you for all the comments about yesterdays pic. I have taken your advice and adjusted the lightness and contrast. I think it's better, thank you. I think this pic looks like a photo out of an old textbook.

This one is an out take from yesterday. Again the original wasn't much so I lightened and brightened.

Better 1... Better 2

iso 800, f4.5, ss 1/250 sec

17-85 lens, focal length 28mm, tripod

I'm an Optometrist. I work in association with a company called OPSM. It's like Lenscrafters. In fact, we are both owner by the same Italian company - Luxottica. I love my job (most of the time).
The original of this pic wasn't very good. I think it was a bit underexposed - I should have had a longer shutter speed, after all the refractor head wasn't moving and I was using a tripod. The lighting was really bad (a fluoro on the ceiling) and the walls a dull off white. I used a lamp on the side, but I think it just made it more shadowy. I think the conversion helped, but I'm going to have to practise this indoor stuff a bit before winter. My heart goes out to you guys trying to get gym shots - my subject wasn't moving and only two foot away, and I still struggled. All HHCC and advice welcome. Tell me what ya think.

My other camera is a Holga

iso 200, f 5.6, ss 1/3 sec

17-85 lens, focal length 70mm, tripod

My husband (Shane) bought me my Holga for my birthday after I read a article about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga I think they are so cool. I don't use it as much as I would like though coz the cost of printing the pics is just too high. The last lot I got done cost $4/4x4 photo.
I'm not overly happy with the shot. It was my first play with plexiglass (Shane just happened to have some in his shed). The problem is I'm getting a reflection off both the top and the bottom surface of the plexiglass. Any suggestions on how to avoid this are most welcome. Is the problem with the cloth I had underneath? The lighting was a reading lamp with a sheet of kitchen paper over it. Once again Shane was the lighting director (he held the sheet of kitchen paper).

I am...

iso 400, f 10, ss 1/320

17-85 lens, focal length 85mm, auto

I have discovered that it is almost impossible to find a good sized number 39 anywhere. I drove all around town looking for house numbers, phone numbers on advertising, car rego numbers, anything - NOPE. So when I found this one on a front gatepost, I ran up to the house, quickly took the pic (hence the auto) and bolted back to the car. If anyone saw me they would have thought I was crazy.

I live here

iso 1600, f 5.6, ss 1/40

lens 17-85, focal length 85mm, tripod

This is where I live: Warrnambool, Australia. population about 25 000. Right on the Southern Ocean.
Taking this shot was heaps of fun. The light source was a little torch (held by my husband) and the main room lights just turn on really dim. I have never done this selective colouring stuff before so i thought I would give it a go. All advice and HHCC welcome, but really I was just playing around with this one.

The moon and angels

Two photos today. The first one I took at about 1am this morning. This shot was inspired by Dar Kaso (http://www.polly_esther.typepad.com/), who posted a shot of the full moon in her photo blog and it was amazing. She mentioned the magic setting so I thought I would give it a go - hey, it worked. I'm not sure if I like the fact that it is just past a full moon. I like how the shadow on the left really shows up the craters, but I'm not sure if the shape kinda makes it look like a watermelon. Thank you so much Dar Kaso.

iso 400, f 6.3, ss 1/640

The second pic was taken this afternoon at a little old cemetery near here. I ran an action on it called Smaragdify (http://flickr.daveward.net/). I am so in awe of the people who write these actions.

iso 400, f 5.6, ss 1/5000

After the Rain

Today the heat finally broke and it rained. Beautiful heavy rain. And after the rain the sun came out and the light and the clouds were amazing. I want to use this challenge to get away from landscape shots, but today I couldn't resist. This is the light and shadows my blog was named after. So today I have lots of pics to share. The first three were all taken just after the storm finished, about 6 pm. The last one was taken at about 8 pm. I was just coming inside and I noticed this huge white billowing cloud. All were taken with my 70-200 lens. I should have switched to the 17-85 (especially for the last one), but I was too lazy. All taken on manual setting and hand held. The first two were played with in PS (using Roman Johnston's dynamic range instructions) to get the sky and the foreground both looking good. The last two were just pretty much sooc. HHCC always welcome.

iso 800, f 11, ss 1/2000






iso 800, f 11, ss 1/2500






iso 800, f 11, ss 1/2500






iso 800, f 14, ss 1/1250

Can you tell that I love clouds :)

Red Wattlebird

iso 1600, f4, ss 1/320,
Tv mode with Tripod at about 7:30pm

We often see these birds in the backyard, especially when the trees are in flower. The tree is a eucalyptus. The shot isn't the sharpest - I think the focus is more on its wing than head. But I did at least remember to adjust the ISO.

Here is the shot Chris took yesterday of Shane. Not bad for a 4 year old.

Chris and the tripod

iso 100, f 1.8, ss 1/40

Today Chris really didn't want his photo taken, but he was having a great time working out how to use my tripod. When he did get it set up he insisted that I put the camera on it so he could take some photos of us - he did a pretty good job too (I'll post one tomorrow). In this pic he was telling me where I had to put the camera. Unfortunately all my pics of him are pretty blurry (I needed the tripod he was playing with). ARRGGHH I keep forgetting the iso.

Bike riding

iso 400, f/9, ss 1/1250 sec

It has been another beautiful summers day here, so this afternoon we took Chris bike riding on the promenade. He had a great time chasing Dad. This path goes all the way around the bay - it just one of the things I love about where I live.

Blue skies

iso 400, f/8, ss 1/400

Today was beautiful. Blue skies and big white fluffy clouds. I took this pic at the local botanic gardens. It's really beautiful and green - unlike the rest on the countryside at the moment (we are in the middle of a drought).

The dawn of a new year

iso 400, f/22, ss 1/8 sec

Day one. I had this great idea that a sunrise pic would be perfect for the first day of a new year. Well, the idea was better in theory than in practise. 6 am and the sun was just coming up - unfortunately it was cloudy, but I did persist. I have to admit the results were less than impressive - under exposed and just not sharp. I really struggle to get the exposure right for sunrises - the sky is too bright and the foreground too dark. Also I should have bumped up my ISO. Oh well, at least with this challenge I have lots of days to learn. Look out 31/12/07, I'm aiming for the perfect sunrise pic (or maybe sunset would be more appropriate).