Robert's Ramblings

I nice evening for a Saturday night romantic stroll he said! Take a few snapshots from the bridge he said!

Thirty minutes later we were both chilled to the core as an icy Southerly wind racing down the Port River blew on our exposed vantage point, the Birkenhead Bridge, and somewhat dampened any romantic aspect of this photographic assignment!

From a technical/photographic point of view it was no fun either as the wind rocked the camera back and forth on it's tripod, my fingers froze and the seagulls shrieked at our intrusion. That all being said it was a visual feast as a full moon framed in a cloudy sky lit the scene amid the water, the reflections, the bridges the wharfs and the street lights.

I would have liked to have stayed longer and captured more of this moonlit water-scape but is was Saturday night after all and a cosy local restaurant was just the thing to bring the romance back into our evening!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 273 - Moonlit Port River'. 1s(+-2stops) f/3.2 ISO320 70mm hdr

Can you imagine an escalator with a moving ramp rather than steps?

Actually that's not what we see here at all, it's just the long exposure. Throw in some extra exposures for HDR processing and all sense of there being individual steps at all has been totally lost.

This style of image is easy to do at night where ambient light levels are low and long exposures are unavoidable. I am however looking forward to trying some of these techniques in strong daylight using neutral density filters.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 272 - Escalator to Heaven'. 2s(+-2stops) f/10 ISO160 15mm hdr

A moment earlier this image maker and camera were engrossed in the macro opportunities of a local vineyard.

I had at first planned to capture a candid shot but there is nothing flattering about an image maker, head down and bottom up peering through the viewfinder. I'm glad I got this briefly posed image before she got back to the task at hand.

Among the many things in this image I like in particular is the backlit highlight of the both cobwebs and hair blowing int the late afternoon breeze.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 271 - Image Maker in the Making'. 1/1000s f/3.2 ISO320 200mm

Here's a scene alien to the nature of this land. It is a product of agriculture.

Driving through the outer parts of the Barossa Valley at the moment you will see alternating fields of wheat (deep green), canola (bright yellow) and budding vines (aka vineyards). I love those vantage points along the way where there is a clean transition from one to another. This is by far my favorite visual combination, from blue sky to green wheat to yellow canola.

This image was taken late in the afternoon with the sun to my left. By focusing on the yellow to green transition I have maximized the clarity of the central green band. I would have like to have used a smaller aperture to bring more foreground into focus but as this was a handheld shot I really could not afford too.

Anyway I think I like the soft foreground as it has turned out.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 270 - Rural Flag'. 1/500s f/6.3 ISO320 200mm

Photo walks in the city at night are great for really interesting images.

The combination of low light and long time exposures creates a limit on how many images you can capture. A singe final image can take up to 20 minutes to capture especially if multiple exposures are needed. This means more time thinking about and composing images.

For these long exposures the camera sensor has a tendency to highlight flaws in its image quality so it is always important use a low ISO and to ensure the in-camera noise cancellation feature enabled. This seems counter intuitive using a low ISO as it makes the exposure all the longer however it has the advantage that image flaws created are mostly systematic in the sensor which allows the noise cancellation process to work better. The disadvantage is that an already long exposure, for example 5 minutes, then requires the same amount of time again for in-camera noise cancellation. At least you can spend the next 5 minutes composing your next capture.

This image is of the Adelaide Convention Centre and the Hotel Intercontinental with a waxing moon overhead.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 269 - Urban Sentinels'. 3.2sec(+-2stops) f/5.6 ISO160 15mm hdr

This is another of those wonderful images which was never planned. I was simply there with camera in hand and captured the moment as I saw it.

Of the hundreds of people I shared this space with in Bonython Hall I am sure no one else saw this moment as I saw it.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 268 - Waiting for His Moment'. 1.400sec f/4.0 ISO1600 105mm

I love coffee and that's a passion I share with most people I know.

I love grinding the beans, packing the cup and pouring the shot. I even love the taste though many times the flavour does not quite match the aroma.

The next obvious thing is photographing it! Yes I love that too!!!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 267 - Late Night Crema'. 10sec f/11 ISO160 100mm macro

Indigenous to South Africa, the 'Soursob', Oxalis pes-caprae is an introduced noxious weed throughout all of Australia.

That being said I am particularly fond of soursobs as they bring back childhood memories of chewing on the acidic stalks and screwing up our faces from the intense sourness.

Another interesting aspect of the soursob flower is that they close up for the evening and open up again the next day in the sun.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 266 - Sour Flower'. 1/640s f/4.0 ISO320 100mm macro

The last couple of evenings has seen the most amazing colour in the twilight sky.

I love this time of evening when the conditions are right where a twilight rainbow graduating from red through indigo seems to hang above the Western horizon. As I was driving through the city I just had to jump out of my car to capture this scene. Unfortunately I had no tripod so a shaky hand held shot had to do.

I now keep a spare tripod in the car just in case!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 265 - City Twilight'. 1/60s f/2.8 ISO1600 123mm

Sunsets are always beautiful but often clichéd.

Creating a sunset image which is different is really about just seeing differently. Looking for the relationships between horizon, foreground and the setting sun. Seeing an unusual combination come together perhaps only for a brief moment as the sun rapidly descends though the scene.

Finally there is luck. Just being at the right place at the right moment when the backlight is perfect.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 264 - Perfect Backlight'. 1/2500s f/14 ISO640 200mm

It's a wonderful treat to capture a milestone in someone's life.

Congratulations to Josephine, Sue, Lea, Jennifer and Dy on completing your Masters Degrees!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 263 - Graduation'. 1/500s f/3.2 ISO160 70mm

Finding a place to eat late at night in Adelaide is a real challenge!

We'd just had a great night out at the 'Lee Marvin Readings' and were ready to head out to dinner. The trouble was that it was 10:30pm on a Tuesday evening! Spats to the rescue!

Spats on King William Rd is one of those Adelaide gems you just need to know about. I do not know of any other place were you can head out to dinner after 11:00pm on any night let alone a week night.

It's warm and cosy, a little romantic and kind of quirky with an odd assortment of tables, lounges and snugs. A great place to know about if you are night owls!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 262 - Spats'. 5s (+-2stops) f/13 ISO800 17mm hdr

It's now Spring and with that comes magpie swooping season!

I remember picnics as a child where invariably we would wander past a tree with nesting magpies. Usually the very first hint comes with a whoosh of air from behind causing you to duck for fear of magpie talons engraving furrows on the back of you head.

Yes this magpie did swoop me but at least it posed for a photo first!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 261 - Da Boss'. 1/640s f/2.8 ISO320 200mm

I suspect that just like me, other photographers enjoy camera spotting!

Today Jennifer and I participated in Adelaide's 'City to Bay' charity fun run event and as you can imagine at any event like this the photographers are out in force. The perfect opportunity for camera spotting.

This image is my prize for the day, my first Canon EOS-1D X, spotted in the wild so I decided an awesome image was need for a such an awesome camera!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 260 - 1DX in the Wild'. 1/800s(+-2) f/16 ISO640 40mm hdr

"Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?"

Remember this 1971 hit from the Five Man Electrical Band?

I guess the owner of this sign doesn't either.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 259 - Hillbilly City'. 1/5000 f/2.8 ISO320 200mm

Just maybe the state of this court is a winter aberration.

Just maybe summer will bring with it calls of foot fault, out, duce and love all.

Just maybe the cold asphalt warmed by a summer sun will give with the fall of Nike, Addidas or Puma.

Or perhaps this once were tennis...


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 258 - Once Were Tennis'. 1/640s f/3.2 ISO320 200mm

The benefits of taking a wrong exit, getting lost in the hills and stumbling on a gem!

Well that how this image came to be. I did indeed make a wrong exit off the freeway and found myself meandering through the hills finding a back way to my destination. I spied this old truck left to rust in a beautiful green field and made a mental note to backtrack on my return and capture this image.

What struck me about this image was the contrast between the lush grass and the rusty metal.

In this capture I decided to use three exposures and HDR to bring out the content in the shadows and really draw attention to the details.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 257 - Left to Rust'. 1/640s(+-2) f/2.8 ISO3200 145mm

This year I took a couple of hours to wander through the fairground attractions of the Royal Adelaide Show.

One of my regrets is that lugging a back pack of camera gear around means I miss out on all but the most gentle of rides (well that's my excuse anyway)!

This image from the top of the ferris wheel made the fairground attractions seem so small; a strong contrast to the full on experience of wandering through the noisy side shows and rides below.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 256 - Fairground Attractions'. 1/80s f/2.8 ISO-1600 15mm

There is something wonderful about HDR images which seem to be generating so much controversy in the photographic community.

I love the idea put forward by a well known photographer Trey Ratcliff that an image should look and feel the way you remembered it, not the way the light simply fell on the sensor!

This image looking across the entrance to the Art Gallery does just that for me; the way I remembered it!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 255 - Exit Stage Right'. 1/25s (+-2) f/18 ISO-320 17mm hdr

I don't often head out into the country for my work but this time I had a special reason to get as far away from technology as possible. A visited to a special test facility out near the back of Sedan, South Australia.

The reason; to be in a very quiet environment (from radio frequency noise) for equipment testing. The drive out and back was lovely, the testing not so!

We finished near sunset so as I drove home I stopped at a nearby farmhouse ruins to capture the last rays of sunlight for the day.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 254 - Last Rays'. 1/1000s f/6.3 ISO-640 70mm

For Christmas I received as a gift a pop-top can full of compost and chili seeds.

I first photographed one of the flowers of my bhut jolokia plant back on 'Day 93' when it was doing very well. A few weeks later on 'Day118' I discovered a weevil had been dining on the leaves and the plant was not looking too well. It all went down hill from there with the colder weather of winter that poor little chili went from thrive to survive.

With the weather warming no it seems to be recovering and has even bore a couple small chili peppers. They are only as big as my thumbnail and have taken months to ripen. However they have a beautiful red colour so I decided ti was time for another photo.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 253 - Red Hot'. 1/200s f/32 ISO-100 100mm macro + off camera strobe

This is one Japanese with attitude!

I started taking photos of this bike I happened to notice in the university grounds and within 60 seconds the owner was out and apologising for the dirty state of his bike.

We talked about his bike at some length and it was great to hear how this toy gets used for both everyday commuting and touring. It's not just a show piece!

I was not too fussed about the grime. I think it just makes this Suzuki Boulevard all the meaner!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 252 - The Boulevard'. 1/320s(+-2) f/11 ISO-320 17mm hdr

I have previously photographed the front of this building, Bonython Hall, back on 'Day 144'.

This time I have captured the imposing rear wall against a dramatic cloudy sky. By all accounts Bonython Hall is an impressive building and make for great photo opportunities. There are many more fantastic buildings here and I am looking forward to making more photographs of the beautiful Adelaide University grounds.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 251 - Hogwarts in Adelaide'. 1/125s(+-2) f/11 ISO-160 17mm hdr

The outside grounds of the Adelaide Art Gallery are clean and picturesque and at first glance devoid of the stunning works to found inside.

Then I started to notice things. The outdoor art was there, subtlety woven into the construction and surrounds.

This little fish caught in the netting of a gate reminded me of the super trawler, the 'Margiris' and all the controversy surroundings its presence here in Australian waters.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 250 - Something Fishy Here'. 1/125s f/4.0 ISO-320 17mm

I never get over how strange it is to see ducks fly!

Growing up I only ever experienced ducks in ponds or waddling around a yard. For some reason this idea has stayed with me long since I learned the truth that they really do fly. This image taken along the Torrens River after sunset still seems incredulous to me.

To capture this image I needed quote a fast shutter speed to render them fairly sharp in flight with minimal wing blur. I also needed a smallish aperture to get good details in the tree silhouettes and the details in the clouds. All up not an easy combination of constraints. I opted to shoot at 1600 ISO and compromise at F4.0.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 249 - When Ducks Fly'. 1/1600s f/4.0 ISO-640 105mm

There's a storm brewing out there!

Our normally idyllic gulf is bringing in 2m seas and this is just the pre-frontal North Westerlies. It's going to be a wild, wild night here when the front really hits so batten down the hatches, garage doors, and windows and enjoy mother nature reminding us who really is in charge.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 248 - Unforgiving'. 1/1000s f/9.0 ISO-640 105mm

Every suburb has at least a few backyards with a neglected 'one day we'll fix her up' vehicle in desperate need of some T.L.C.

I don't know much about the history of this sad old Bedford van but I do know it has not moved for years. I'm surprised it has not disappeared completely into the morning glory and long grass having long been forgotten.

Perhaps the bulldozers will arrive soon and put it out of its misery.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 247 - Forgotten'. 1/(50/13/3)s f/8.0 ISO-640 15mm hdr

I really can't get enough of the ocean, the salty air and the open vista.

That being said perhaps I need to stay away from it if I want to keep my images fresh and original. Oops, too late.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 246 - Henley Beach Jetty'. 1/(1600/400/100)s f/10 ISO-320 15mm hdr

This is an image I have imagined in my mind for a long time but never had the right conditions to create it until this evening.

A breathless calm evening, a nearly full moon and an hour of my time finally all came together tonight. This image is from the southern end of Westlakes Lake looking north.

It's a great feeling to be able to translate an idea for an image into reality and tonight it all came together.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 245 - Silent Night'. 30s f/5.6 ISO-320 15mm

This is the last blue moon we will experience for the next 3 years.

I first tried to capture this amazing image in a single frame but the dynamic range was too wide and the white flare from the bright moon out into the clouds for the long exposure simply blew out the entire image making the image difficult to use in a normal hdr process.

The second problem I had with the clouds was that they were moving very fast and finally just to make matters worse the moon was moving in the frame as well.

In the end I decided on a bit of dark room license and decided to create the image I experienced in post. This composite of two images taken moments apart was made by combining the images using a layer mask rather than a simple hdr process.

Perhaps it's a bit surreal but this is the blue moon I experienced.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 244 - Blue Moon'. 1/80s+1/3s f/6.3 ISO-160 200mm composite