Robert's Ramblings

366 Days of 2012, Day 37 - Farewell

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-02-06T09:56:13Z

No words today; just farewell ...

366 Days of 2012, Day 36 - Eating it off Grange

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-02-05T10:08:40Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 35 - Crystal Crab

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-02-04T04:50:07Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 34 - Toilet Block Mosaic

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-02-03T12:49:53Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 33 - Gone in a Flash

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-02-02T12:15:00Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 32 - Fish for Dinner

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-31T18:27:53Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 31 - Chlorophyll Dreaming

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-30T13:31:00Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 30 - Never to Fly

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-29T13:53:04Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 29 - Patient Seagull

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-28T15:41:25Z

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

366 Days of 2012, Day 28 - Cloudburst

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-28T05:20:03Z

Today we enjoyed a leisurely coffee at one of our favorite beach side cafes. The beach was buzzing with surf lifesaving competitions, with swimmers and sun-bathers and all manner of people enjoying the sand, the sunshine and the fresh ocean breeze. As we watched the world go by we became enthralled by an amazing show of shifting, roiling, exploding cumulonimbus storm clouds all around us.

I started taking shots of the dramatic and unfolding shapes above and soon realised the although the best detail could be seen in the clouds almost looking into the sun the camera lens was badly fraught with sun flare. Then the sun ducked behind some clouds for a moment and I captured this image as it was just about to re-emerge.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 28 - Cloudburst'. 1/8000 sec at 70mm f/4.0, ISO 100

366 Days of 2012, Day 27 - Food Forge

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-26T13:31:00Z

What to take a photo of on our Australia day holiday?

I thought of some sort of protest image, perhaps the Aboriginal flag flying juxtaposed by some western invasion icon. Perhaps one of our native critters taken from an angle no one has ever seen before. Perhaps instead I'll just kick back and take a break today.

With that I took another sip from my beer, pointed the camera at Steve's handiwork on the barbecue took a few shots and settle back to a lazy afternoon with friends.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Food Forge'. 1/250 sec at 200mm f/4.0, ISO 1000

366 Days of 2012, Day 26 - Forgotten Friend

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-25T13:31:00Z

I think a lot of us would relate given a moment's reflection.

Photography is a great medium to play in because you can never tell where a person will be taken when they look at an image. The longer you can get a person to look at an image, through surprise, curiosity or any other emotion the more opportunity they have to be taken away somewhere.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Forgotten Friend'. 1/2000 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 400

366 Days of 2012, Day 25 - Hide and Seek

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-24T21:59:03Z

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hide and Seek'. 1/200 sec at 200mm f/4.0, ISO 400

366 Days of 2012, Day 24 - Mower Fodder

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-23T14:25:38Z

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Mower Fodder'. 1/3200 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 400

366 Days of 2012, Day 23 - Last Train Long Gone

nospam@example.com (Robert) — 2012-01-22T14:48:35Z

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Last Train Long Gone', Murrayville VIC. 1/2500 sec at 105mm f/3.5, ISO 200