Entries by Robert

Experiments with Qik

Qik is a little piece of software that enables you to stream videos directly from your phone to the Web. Use it to stream engaging videos to your friends in Facebook, Twitter, etc. or as your camcorder to capture entertaining and special moments.

With Qik you can stream engaging video live from your phone to the world or use your phone like a camcorder to capture entertaining, interesting and special moments. Go LIVE with your life by streaming anytime, anywhere—right from your phone. Be an eyewitness, capture those first steps, or whip up your own streaming video blog. There are just a million and one uses of Qik.

This is one of the coolest Web things I have played with in a long time. Let me know what you think.



... Robert

I can remember when I was 5 years old and had formulated a theory of how electric motors worked. I got as far as electricity, currents and forces but how the forces "knew" what to do was a mystery to me! So began a career in electronics. In the last 23 years I have been involved in product development, embedded software design, engineering management, technology and innovation management, marketing and business development.

In short it has to date been a rewarding and fascinating time. As a self confessed techie, I love being involved in the latest and most interesting innovations, especially those impacting our everyday lives

... Robert

Edithburgh Dive Weekend 17/18th June '06



















Edithburgh Dive Weekend 3rd September '05


















Jennifer & Myself Diving 'The Lumb', 5th June '05


















Andy & Myself Diving 'The John Robb', 4th June '05

















Whyalla Cuttlefish Weekend, 15th May '05

I have been a SCUBA diver for more than 18 years now and in that time have had the opportunity to dive extensively throughout South Australia. I've dived elsewhere and yes, tropical water is wonderful but my soft spot is for the dramatic offshore waters of Australia's Southern coast. It may be cold but the dramatic scale of walls, caves, ledges, kelp, dolphins, seals, reef fish, oceanic pelagics and the odd rather too large for comfort predator make for what South Australian diving stands for!!

My favorite dive location is Allthorpe Island off the coast of South Australia's York Peninsula. My favorite shore dive is Chinaman's Hat, again on South Australia's York Peninsula.

I wish I could say how many dives I have done but for 10 years I kept no record of my diving, an oversight I now regret, many hundreds I'd say at a pinch! I now teach others to dive and my enthusiasm for the salty realm is as strong as ever.

... Robert

I have been involved in this mad sport for nearly 20 years now and can be found at the bottom of the pool on a regular basis. We play weekly at the Adelaide Aquatics Centre with formally organised teams and games. After the game you will almost certainly find us continuing the proceedings at a nearby watering hole!

Underwater hockey is very similar to field hockey in the way it is played with 6 players in the game per side and 4 players as interchange. We use a puck which, although looks like an ice hockey puck, is made of plastic coated lead. The hockey stick is very short, about 20cm long and is held in one hand. The entire game is played at the bottom of the pool while holding your breath!

Underwater Hockey started in England in 1954, but it was not until 1984 that the first World Championships took place in Chicago , USA where Australia made a clean sweep in Men’s and Women’s winning in both team events. Australian Open UWH Championships were held in 1975. The Women’s UWH Titles commenced in 1981, with the Junior UWH Championships commencing in 1990.

... Robert

I could could tell you a bit about who I am but I'm afraid the story would be obsolete before you get to read it. So let me give you a little of who I am at the time of writing this text. I am having a rich and adventurous life, full of "life experiences" as they say and it is my intention to keep things that way!

I presently live in the quiet city of Adelaide in South Australia. Adelaide may be quiet to some but believe me, there is plenty here to keep anyone thoroughly engaged, enthralled and occupied! You might just have to put in a bit of effort to find it sometimes!

My most recent passion has become the pursuit of excellence in teaching scuba divers. For me it has been a wonderful experience in bringing the brand new uninitiated into a world I have had many privileged years to be part of. Such a stark contrast from my previous life in the world of electronics, technology and computing.

That all being said I am still a technologist at heart and keep my ears to the ground and my eyes out for the latest, the greatest and most fun new things to play with. Today's new ideas may seem like fun and folly for the early adopters but history has shown that the future depends on us. If it were not for our insatiable appetite for ever new and more complex things to fill our lives with then I'm sure we would all still be living in caves and wondering "is this all there is!!".

... Robert

No words today; just farewell ...

Today the South Australia Kite Surfing Association held its annual Freestyle Title here at Grange Beach.

The fact that the competition was being held was great for kite surfing action but bad for photos as I was not allowed in the water with the competitors in case I interfered or came to some demise under their jurisdiction. So I went out close by and took a few shots.

After learning that this kind of photography requires me to learn a few new tricks and after eating a lot of saltwater I came to the conclusion that I'll be back out there again soon!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 36 - Eating it off Grange'. 1/6400 sec at 20mm f/5.6, ISO 800

I love to stare at shiny things and things made of crystal will always attract my attention. When it comes to crystal I love Austrian Swarovski! As I look at a piece and marvel at the way it captures the light and colours around me it's only natural I'd want to capture its beauty in a photograph. ... Easier said than done!

My initial attempts were a little dull with little distinction between the the edges of the crystal and the faces. It really looked just like a fractured reflection of the room around me. Part of the problem I realised it that much of a crystal's beauty comes from movement. Either you move the object or you move around it. In any case it's movement which accentuates a crystal ornament and brings it to life as the light and colours play on the facets.

With that idea in mind I really wanted the light to come from inside the crystal to light up the facets without lighting the edges. Here is my result with strobe backlighting. Taking in full daylight with the strobe a few cm behind and diffused through tissue. I hope you like our crystal crab!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 35 - Crystal Crab'. 1/200 sec at 100mm (macro) f/11, ISO 50, Strobe Backlit

It's just a wall so how hard could that be to photograph! Well perhaps not just any wall but the side of the public conveniences building in the little town of Murrayville. Waiting for the light to be 'just' right while walking around public toilets with a camera is likely to get one arrested in the city but out here I don't think people took it any further than just a little odd.

It was a beautiful and unexpected flash of colour to a dusty mute landscape and was as much a relief to the eyes as to other needs! Perhaps this cheerful mosaic will never be compared with the Mesopotamian masters but I am pretty sure the people who live in Murrayville and passers through in need of some relief all think it's grand!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 34 - Toilet Block Mosaic'. 1/800 sec at 70mm f/3.5, ISO 400

I have enjoyed many sunsets with friends who tell me hand-on-heart they have seen that famous green flash on at the last moment of a setting sun. I have also enjoyed many sunsets looking for that green flash that still eludes me. Last night down at West Beach was not surprisingly, no exception.

I spent time time researching on the Web. The theory is sound, the observations authoritative and the images seem authentic. For the moment however I remain a skeptic.

At least I have a beautiful local beach I can enjoy sunsets on almost any night of the year. I'm greatful for that, green flash or not.

Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 33 - Gone in a Flash'. 1/500 sec at 400mm f/7.1, ISO 100

I have seen so many people on our beach sit or stand for ages and never seem to catch anything. It reminds me of an anonymous Polynesian proverb I once heard, "The Gods never take from a man's life the time spent fishing." On the other hand I watched this beautiful Great Egret Ardea alba at the mouth of the Torrens River for about 30 minutes during which time she certainly filled her belly.

I had never seen a Great Egret on our local beach before so this was a rare treat for me. As the light was fading and I had no tripod to steady the camera I had no choice but to bump up the ISO and shoot at 1/500 of a second.

Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 32 - Fish for Dinner'. 1/500 sec at 400mm f/5.6, ISO 800

I have a chilli seedling just a few cm tall now that looked to be an interesting subject to photograph. After various shots using my favorite natural light techniques I decided to try something different.

I placed the camera strobe behind and to one side of one of the leaves, directed the camera face on and took this image. The strong back lighting has lit up each and every cell of the leaf creating this beautiful sandy texture that is not apparent on normal incident lighting.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 31 - Chlorophyll Dreaming'. 1/125 sec at 100mm f/22, ISO 100, Strobe Backlit

Sunsets can make for wonderful images and this evening I was on the lookout having missed the incredible one the night before. As sunsets go this one was pretty but nothing spectacular so I started looking around for a subject to make it more interesting.

I liked the idea of a silhouettes so started looking around for something bold. All I need to do was look up and there it was, our local scrap metal pelican. As there was no change of him flying off I took my time and captured this image.

Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 30 - Never to Fly'. 1/4000 sec at 140mm f/5.6, ISO 800

I followed this little seagull back forth and front to back. When I got too close he was lost in the detail of the sand, too far and the breaking water had too much detail. Too small an aperture and the background became too busy and too slow a shutter speed and I could not take a sharp hand held shot. By the time I final captured an image I liked my camera settings were so far out of sorts I did not really know where I was anymore.

Lucky for my he was as very patient as Jennifer herded him back and forth under the jetty while I got my act together!

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 29 - Patient Seagull'. 1/64000 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 640