Robert's Ramblings

I have been resisting the temptation for quite some time now to play with High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging. Tonight in a moment of weakness I finally succumbed, found a nice quiet dark location and captured multiple exposures.

For the uninitiated, the naive and the innocent, HDR is a technique where a set of identical frames are captured over a wide exposure range. The underexposed images capture bright objects such as streetlights, lit windows and reflections. The overexposed images capture the the detail in the shadows. The images in between help to reconstruct the relationship between them all and enhance the details in the mid tones.

Now armed with my set of exposures ranging from 2 seconds to 2 minutes I can use software to reconstruct a single image by getting the best detail from each one. Trey Ratcliff has a great tutorial here 'hdr tutorial'.

As with most things, good things in moderation and so it applies to HDR. I can see how it could get out of hand so for now I'll just dabble a little and see where this goes.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 121 - The Square'. 2+8+30+120 secs at 17mm f/11.0, ISO 1000 hdr

I am a bit disturbed at the size of this cow relative to the chicken. Well at least I from this point of view anyway.

Small realistic figurines placed in an environment normally associated with the full size object create some really odd perspectives. This pair of stall mascots at our local weekend market make it all the more strange with the dramatic scale difference between themselves.

Shots like this one are easy when you are prepared to physically change your perspective through position. Don't be shy to lie flat on the ground to see things from an unusual angle though I don't recommend doing it in the middle of a busy highway without taking the necessary precautions!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 120 - Market Mascots'. 1/8000 sec at 21mm f/4.0, ISO 400 Crop

How many of us remember the old 'Oils Ain't Oils' advertisements 'back in the day'. Well, we won't be pouring this lovely golden oil into our cars but it will sure go well in our bodies!

Today we tasted this beautiful and fruity 'Extra Virgin' first press olive oil from Sorrells Vineyard and Winery down in Currency Creek, SA. I learned a little about the different varieties of olive which can be used to make olive oil and discovered that this oil was blended from Koroeniki, Mediterreanean, Kalamata and Moraki varieties.

It's obvious in hindsight that different varieties of olives do exist and of course will have different flavours and colours. Walk down any supermarket aisle in the oils section and you will see labels such as 'cold pressed', 'extra virgin', 'light' and a plethora of brand names but I have no recollection of ever having noticed a variety.

Remember how once all red wine was called 'claret'? Yet now we absolutely must know what's in the bottle! Let's hope that we see more of this in other foods. The more you know about something, the more you will enjoy it.

Sol was so right those many years ago as he preached that 'Oils Ain't Oils'.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 119 - Oils Ain't Oils'. 1/1000 sec at 40mm f/4.0, ISO 400 Crop

Munch, munch, munch ... Somthing was having a go at my Chili bush which now proudly displays it's first baby chili.

This thief clearly knows the dangers and was keeping clear of my Bhut Jolokia (see my earlier post, '366 Days of 2012, Day 93 - The Bhut Jolokia') so instead sough to denude it, much by much, leaf by leaf.

Having been discovered and mug shot taken, the thief was quickly shown the door!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 118 - Chili Thief'. 13 secs at 200mm f/32, ISO 400 + Strobe

All great construction projects begin with the best building materials. In this case they are irregularly cut, orange and mushy but still the best for the task.

As far as I am concerned nothing beats 'Queensland Blue' for pumpkin soup! And my, was it tasty!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 117 - Soup Construction Site'. 2 secs at 105mm f/22, ISO 100

There's a cookie thief in the house! Fresh from the oven, not even cold yet and there is a painfully obvious empty space on the tray.

Ok, I confess that it was me. Guilty as charged but I swear it was in the name of photographic composition. The tray simply did not look right with every biscuit neatly lined up in rows.

So thank you Jennifer for your wonderfully yummy Anzac Biscuits on this day we take to remember Australia's Anzacs.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 116 - Anzac Biscuit Mystery'. 5 secs at 105mm f/20, ISO 100

When it doesn't rain, it pours and when it doesn't pour it drips ...


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 115 - H to Zero'. 1/200 sec at 100mm f/22, ISO 100, + strobe

I finally found a dry and cosy place to take photos on this cold, rainy, wintry evening: under the new King Street bridge.

For most of 2011 many locals lamented the closure of the old King Street bridge. So it was a wonderful relief back in January when the new bridge restored normality. A few weeks ago I was surprised and delighted to discover that the bridge had changing colour feature lighting. I knew then that I'd be back with my camera sooner or later!

As it turned out it was 'later' but no longer risks being never!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 114 - Cosy Under King Street'. 30 secs at 24mm f/22, ISO 400

Goodbye to our wonderful Indian summer and greet in its place the wintery wet weather for cormorants (much more elegant than ducks) that has descended on us this weekend.

This Little Black Cormorant ,Phalacrocorax sulcirostris seems quite at home here at West Beach. Clearly the photographer is more the concern than the rain!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 113 - Weather for Cormorants'. 1/1000 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 400

Humanity has spent centuries trying to turn coffee beans into the perfect cup of coffee. What could be more perfect than this!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 112 - Beanz Meanz Caffeine'. 10 secs at 105mm f/22, ISO 400

Fillet of a fenny snake, scale of dragon, grind them smooth then into the pot! Double, double, toil and trouble fire burn and cauldron bubble ...

Well perhaps the ingredients for our pot won't be quite so exotic as the three witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth but I'm sure they will be put to equally good effect but in a much nicer way!!

This shot involved sophisticated studio lighting to great effect. The exorbitant sum of $1 for two candles!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 111 - Grind Them Smooth'. 30 secs at 40mm f/16, ISO 1000

There must be more to life than just chewing bones and sniffing crotches? I can just imagine the serious contemplation in Tin Tin's philosophical reverie.

'The Dawg', is getting on a little now and seems to spend more and more time in such ponderous contemplation of all things canine. That being said it is almost impossible to share such moments with him, camera or not as any attention will turn back into a play, walk or food obsessed puppy again and the moment is gone.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 110 - The Dawg'. 1/10 secs at 200mm f/5.0, ISO 400

It seems our home has become a bit of a fast food outlet to a host of random visitors. The most colourful so far have been the Rainbow Lorikeets, Trichoglossus haematodus.

Both this morning and late evening these noisy squabbling parrots fought and ate and fought some more over the sweet nectar of the palm flowers in bloom.

I love the way the sun just happened to sneak through a gap and bring out the colours in the eye of this one taking a short break from the feast to eye me off.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 109 - Rainbow Visitor'. 1/1000 secs at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 800

Tonight's guest comes courtesy of the warm evening, the bugs outside the window and a yell from Jennifer exclaiming something cute to behold.

My first reaction was to grab my camera and take a few quick shots holding the camera as steady as I could just in case the visitation was fleeting.

It soon became apparent it was more interested in the bugs than me giving me plenty time to clean the inside of the glass, set up the tripod and take my time with the camera settings.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 108 - Gecko Glue'. 5 secs at 105mm f/8.0, ISO 800

I have finally found a flower that makes my brain hurt! Neville and Elizabeth are well known for their prize winning dahlias and this beautiful example shows why.

So why does this flower make my brain hurt? Try this; stare directly into the centre of the flower for about 30 seconds and then look away to one side. When I do this I find the larger petals explode in my peripheral vision.

Perhaps it's just me. Let me know how you go.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 107 - Hot Pink'. 1/60 sec at 110mm f/2.8, ISO 1000

Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 106 - Up and Away'. 30 secs at 24mm f/5.6, ISO 400

Flowers are definitely overrated so I thought I'd change perspective.

I started out with the idea of taking a macro photo of the centre of a yellow chrysanthemum, but all of the resulting images simply looked like broccoli gone terribly wrong!

Then I noticed the subtle contrasts of the edge of the petals against the soft out-of-focus petals behind. The effect was simply stunning and I did what every self-respecting child would do: I threw the broccoli in the waste when no one was looking!

Enjoy yellow!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 105 - Yellow'. 15 secs at 200mm f/16, ISO 400

I remember a time when I could not wait to own my very own watch. To an eleven-year-old boy, watches held an incredible fascination. I could not say which held the greater part of my awareness: the exquisite craftsmanship, the precision manufacturing, the sense of some control over time or the sense of affluence.

My first watch when I was twelve was a hand-wound Citizen, a symbolic confirmation gift from my parents. I remember I was so proud of it. However that very same year was the cusp of change as friends began sporting new LED display digital watches. From that moment on I was torn between tradition and technology.

It was many years before I came back to a watch with real hands even though still electronic and it was many more years again before finally abandoning electronics altogether with a purely mechanical timepiece. The irony now is I no longer even wear a watch as almost every gadget around does the job of showing the time for me.

Although I'm now officially timeless I still love the craftsmanship, the precision and the engineering of a well-made timepiece. From time to time I might even wear one!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 104 - Timeless'. 10 secs at 200mm f/22, ISO 400

So anybody want to guess the original? And yes this is severely cropped.

Abstract realism is very simply achieved in macro photography where you are so close to the image that it is no longer recognisable. I think that good examples of this style attempt to find that borderline where once you realise the original object you still drift back and forth between the real and the abstract. Too close to the original and once seen that is all you notice. Too far from the original and you just don't see it even when told.

When you get that sweet spot right in the middle it just makes your brain wobble and if that was your intention then well done!

I like this image of salad in bowl covered by a mosquito net because it does just that, makes my head wobble. The netting looks like chicken-wire but is only sharp in the middle. The salad inside is so blurred but also so strong that my attention keeps getting drawn into and out of the space.

How was your guess?


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 103 - Abstract Realism'. 1/640 sec at 105mm f/4.0, ISO 100

Long shadows and soft yellow lighting make for great photos. Every photographer knows this but why? And how can we use 'why' to make better images?

Immediately we hit that value-based word 'better'. So if you follow the progression we really need to come back to 'good'. We hit another issue, 'good for what'? So we come back to who the audience is. That's where it all falls apart because the entire argument expands out again. Apologies for being so philosophical, but I find questions are the only way to really learn.

Ok, so back to the image. I am the audience and the image evokes in me a moody, slow bustle because of its lighting and its movement. The image is out of the ordinary as I do not usually perceive in shallow depth of field or in marginal silhouette. There are strong features which grab my attention but nothing so overpowering to detract from the entire scene as one piece.

Because this description is how I feel and perceive the image it can only be taken as my opinion. Your perceptions will be yours but you might find some of my observations useful.

Coming back full circle to long shadow and soft yellow lighting: for me it's about 'out of the ordinary'. It's about the visual treat different from everyday perceptions.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 102 - Late Afternoon'. 1/2000 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 1600

Along the Northern Expressway is a deserted farm house I have wanted to photograph for some time now. Each time I have zoomed past in a hurry to something more important I have noticed the different aspects of the place as the lighting is always different.

Tonight I chose to stop and take some images just as the low afternoon sun came out from behind the clouds. The images I took were too contrasted between highlights and shadows losing detail at both ends. In the end I selected the interesting wave shape of the old corrugated roof for today's image.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 101 - Rustic Wave'. 1/800 sec at 90mm f/7.1, ISO 400

There is a bitter sweetness to that first cracking of the shell. That once beautiful, unblemished egg-shaped form of chocolate can't deliver its gift until it is shattered and broken into pieces.

No longer the visual feast and now cracked and broken its giving of pleasure will last only as long as the last mouthful.

When we were children we made our eggs last all year, carefully spacing out their consumption to the very last. Now we share only one or two, enjoy their beauty before they break and relish the bitter sweetness before Easter is gone.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 100 - Chocolate Eggquake'. 1/2 sec at 105mm f/6.3, ISO 400

It seems your can't avoid chocolate at Easter so why settle for anything less than utter indulgence.

Rather than bunnies, bilbies, eggs and bars we got to indulge in Lachlan MacKinnon's incredible chocolate melange creation.

After than well ... actually I won't say no to more Eater chocolate!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 99 - Easter Treat'. 1/8 sec at 105mm f/4.5, ISO 2500

Moody grey skies make for great backdrops and this morning's grey had a fantastic mix of highlights, dark and shadows.

While on the road this morning I passed by the local skate park and considered the photographic opportunities. I really did not feel like capturing any skating action - and to be honest there wasn't much talent about anyway - so I focused (pardon the pun) on the inanimate features of the park.

This cut-out feature of the skater caught my eye in the way it framed the moody sky beyond. A small aperture and deep depth of field was used to capture the detail in both sky and frame.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 98 - Sk8ter Boi'. 1/1600 sec at 105mm f/22, ISO 500

After a brief burst of summer, today's wild and windy weather was a cool reminder that although summer is over the fun never stops - as this dude was happy to exemplify.

I have always been frustrated taking photos of kite sailors. The large distance between sailor and kite means it is very difficult to get an image that shows it all in one frame. From the beach it is hard to capture the action so the logical thing to do is get in the water with them.

Wearing a nice warm wetsuit, a pair of fins and my camera safely protected I could get close to the action and take wide angle shots. My biggest fear was being run over in the process. In amongst the action it all happens very fast and I found that I really needed fast shutter speeds to avoid blur.

Perhaps 1/8000th of a second was a little overkill but I do love that frozen in time effect of water spray in mid motion.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 97 - Blown Away'. 1/8000 sec at 40mm f/5.6, ISO 800

There's a beautiful moon up there tonight, not quite full but just as bright.
So I sat down my camera in the gritty white sand 'cause I can't hold it still enough with my shaky hand.
It's not from caffeine, it's not that I'm ill but for twenty five seconds the camera must stay still.
So it sat in the sand and the moon lit the shore and this image was caught for evermore.

Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 96 - Moonlighting'. 25 secs at 24mm f/14, ISO 200

I was just about to step into the lift when I noticed a beautiful pink and purple fluorescent glow emanating from the lift well. I'm not sure why I had never seen it before.

The lifts in the Innova21 Building on the University of Adelaide's North Terrace campus were already a wonderful piece of aesthetic and technical engineering - an appealing construction of metal, glass and composite materials and a fitting addition to the University's nine-level state-of-the-art education facility.

Are these beautiful lights new? Surely I would have noticed them before. In any case they make the technology look sexy and that can only be good for engineering, maths and computing education. The soft purple glow in the quiet of the evening with all the students long gone was quite meditative.

More on this building and the University of Adelaide can be found at Innova21.



Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 95 - Inner Piece'. 1/20 sec at 105mm f/5.0, ISO 2500

A walk down Hindley Street can be a real eye opener and full of photo opportunities. Unfortunately some of those opportunities are the very ones that make me want to hide my gear or wish I had left it at home!

I thought this photo of one mean looking motor vehicle would be pretty safe. I carefully watched to make sure the owner was not in sight and then casually walked past taking this photo.

As I walked on I could not help feel the need to watch my back and be ready to break into a sprint if needed. Fortunately there was no need and I enjoyed the rest of my evening peacefully.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 94 - Mean Machine'. 1/13 secs at 168mm f/5.0, ISO 1600

Since Christmas I have been tending to a little chili plant I have been growing from seed, the Bhut Jolokia, also known as the Naga Ghost Chili and reported to be the hottest chili in the world.

My ghost chili plant is now 40 cm tall and bursting with little white flowers. It seemed only natural to capture one of these delicate transparent white blooms before it became a fiery journey to hell and back.

The Bhut Jolokia has a Scoville heat rating of over 1,000,000 SHU units making it three time hotter than the hottest habarneros. Here is a short video of what I will expect to experience very soon now.

Eating The World's Hottest Chili

I don't think I'll be recording a video of myself - but I will report on the experience.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 93 - The Bhut Jolokia'. 1/200 secs at 200mm f/40, ISO 100, Strobe Backlit

Sometimes it helps to lie down and look at things from a different perspective.

This sculpture of solar petals outside Adelaide's Festival Centre looks interesting enough just walking by. However, lying down in the middle of it gives a whole new view. From here I think they look like delicate mushrooms of silicon glowing in some surreal moonlight.

Actually, regardless of how you look at them they are pretty cool.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 92 - Solar Mushrooms'. 20 secs at 15mm FE f/20, ISO 400