Robert's Ramblings

The year 2012 and my project both come to an end ( and the world did not ) with image number 366.

What a fitting tribute, New Year's eve celebrations over Adelaide, where 365 days prior I was looking up into an Adelaide evening sky taking my first image and where most of my images were created.

I'll write more in future posts about this wonderful journey of images but for now Happy New Year everybody and all the very best for 2013


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 366 - Happy New Year Adelaide'. 30s f/8 ISO50 200mm

There were once three little piggies who were probably very cute. Now that they have grown up it seems that all they want is food and attention, in that order!

This image captures the desperation of getting into tubs of rotting strawberries which were about to be served for dinner. After dinner you can imagine what their faces looked like all covered in red!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 365 - Oink'. 1/800s f/2.8 ISO160 200mm

As the moon rose in the Eastern sky and bathed the valley in its ethereal glow I wondered how to capture the feel of the evening.

A brief thunderstorm had just drenched the valley but now it was clear again and the moon took pride of place in the North Eastern sky. Wide angle and a long exposure was the choice.

Keeping the ISO low and the aperture small this image was the result of a 15 minute exposure. The valley in the moonlight.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 364 - Near River Moonlit Sky'. 900s f/8 ISO100 15mm

Something really simple and something really beautiful. A piece of drift wood on an ancient watercourse.

Something about this image caught my eye. I really do not know if it was the slender young reeds or the textured lines of the old piece of driftwood. Perhaps even the dappled mirror of the image in the stream. To me it just want to be taken and the rest is history.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 363 - Hastings Driftwood'. 1/40 f/45.6 ISO320 107mm

I really like the bokeh of some lenses and this is not one of them!

This image was captured using the old Canon 100mm macro. I started out wanting to create some beautiful background bokeh but wide open this lens still shows impingement of the blades. This is especially noticeable in comparing bokeh images between top and bottoms of the frame.

After deciding I could not use the bokeh from this lens I decided to just play around. So this image is a fusion of 7 identical images taken at progressively smaller apertures starting at f/2.8 and ending at f/11. As I stopped down I found I had to start to shorten the exposure as the light became progressively concentrated.

If nothing else it was an interesting exercise in depth of field, light and bokeh.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 362 - Bokeh Dots'. 1/3 f/4 ISO100 100mm

Another failed image, I turn around and something unexpected happens!

This evening I tried to capture the moonrise on the eastern horizon but it was a dismal failure. The moon came up in the right place and right on cue but it was so dim as to be almost indistinguishable from the sky. In fact it had fully cleared the low hills on the horizon before I could even make it out. Added to that the heat haze coming off the land turned it into a wobbly mess. Then I turned around.

Looking back into the west I followed the convergence of the track to the horizon, swung the camera around to capture an oncoming vehicle and made today's image.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 361 - One Way or Another'. 1/1600s f/14 ISO640 400mm

Such a contrast to my 'Nativity' image but every much as Christmas in the culture I live in.

I am not going to debate the moral dilemma of Christmas feasts and festive excess, just photograph it. Curiously this image is personally significant for an altogether different reason. It marks the anniversary of when I proposed and the cupcake adorned jug is an engagement present. It's funny to find symbolic reminders hidden in images this way only to come to awareness afterwards. Actually it seems to happen often.

This image was a simple capture with no planning or intention other than to mark the day.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 360 - Please Pass the Cupcakes'. 1/200s f/2.8 ISO100 100mm

There is a story about the pieces in this nativity scene that I'd love to tell but I can't because I just don't know.

I do know that they come from Malawi and were a gift to or from a Jesuit priest which were then given to his niece. Perhaps someone else will find this post and tell the story.

The pieces are dark and beautiful and quite challenging to photograph as a set. I'm not yet happy with this result but at least it's a start to try and capture the spirit of the pieces and the story they tell. Both back light and front light are from tea-lite candles, about eight of them while I used a small LED flashlight to paint in the manger from overhead and to add a little fill light to the faces. The resulting odd combination of colour temperatures looked very awkward so in post I make the image monochrome and tinted back in the base colour as illuminated by the tea-lites only.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 359 - Nativity'. 30s f/11 ISO160 100mm

This time I was not able to jump the fence and ask for permission later. The guard, a very pleasant man named Graham, was never going to let that happen.

The Adelaide City Council puts up this Christmas Tree in Victoria Square every Christmas. This year I thought a really cool image would be to get a vertical perspective effectively creating the a horizon using the tree itself. I considered jumping the fence but thought better of it as the watchful guard stood his post. Instead I chose a traditional wide angle panorama placing the tree directly in the middle. This is one time that rule of not putting your main subject in the middle was never going to work!

To capture the dynamic range in this scene I used 6 exposures 2 stops apart and then used exposure fusion to combine them. No tone mapping was done in this case and it shows in having very clean halo free edges.

Maybe I will get permission and come back again to get the shot I really wanted even it if does require a written application to the council, a police check (to confirm I'm not an unsavory character) and an arm or a leg. We will see!


Photo: Robert Rath, 366 Days of 2012, Day 358 - 'Oh Christmas Tree'. 2s f/7.1 ISO320 15mm

For those familiar with the Myer Centre here in Adelaide, the next time you are there, look up!

As part of an exploration of photographing retail spaces as discreetly as possible I have used the old trick of leaving the camera on the floor for the shot It is amazing how a crowd will naturally part to avoid treading on a camera lying prone on the ground. These are the very same people who wouldn't give a second thought to a hip and shoulder bump to secure their unobstructed passage.

This image took two attempts. During the first attempt some random shopper decided to briefly peer into the lens as they waled on. The second was like clear of any visible life form!

In all attempts I use the 10 second timer giving me enough time to press the shutter first, place the camera on the ground and then back off to a clear distance for the configured exposure.



Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 357 - Temple of Retail'. 1/60s f/11 ISO160 17mm

For those familiar with the Myer Centre here in Adelaide, the next time you are there, look up!

As part of an exploration of photographing retail spaces as discreetly as possible I have used the old trick of leaving the camera on the floor for the shot It is amazing how a crowd will naturally part to avoid treading on a camera lying prone on the ground. These are the very same people who wouldn't give a second thought to a hip and shoulder bump to secure their unobstructed passage.

This image took two attempts. During the first attempt some random shopper decided to briefly peer into the lens as they waled on. The second was like clear of any visible life form!

In all attempts I use the 10 second timer giving me enough time to press the shutter first, place the camera on the ground and then back off to a clear distance for the configured exposure.



Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 357 - Retail Atrium'. 1/60s f/11 ISO160 17mm

For those familiar with the Myer Centre here in Adelaide, the next time you are there, look up!

As part of an exploration of photographing retail spaces as discreetly as possible I have used the old trick of leaving the camera on the floor for the shot It is amazing how a crowd will naturally part to avoid treading on a camera lying prone on the ground. These are the very same people who wouldn't give a second thought to a hip and shoulder bump to secure their unobstructed passage.

This image took two attempts. During the first attempt some random shopper decided to briefly peer into the lens as they waled on. The second was like clear of any visible life form!

In all attempts I use the 10 second timer giving me enough time to press the shutter first, place the camera on the ground and then back off to a clear distance for the configured exposure.



Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 357 - Retail Atrium'. 1/60s f/11 ISO160 17mm

Like all urban spaces, Rundle Mall finds ways to make itself unique.

Somewhere near the middle you will find four pigs ignoring the crowds and going about their business. They are however not real but part of a bronze sculpture by Marguerite Derricourt, officially known as 'A Day Out'.
This particular pig's name is Oliver and at a glance you'd swear he was real as he rifles through a very real bin.

To make this image I wanted a very over exposed shot without losing too much depth of field. To achieve this I set a very high ISO so that I could keep a small aperture for good depth of field and a reasonably fast shutter speed for the hand held shot. The result pulls out a very bold version of Oliver from the harsh flat light of full sun midday.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 356 - Meet Oliver'. 1/160s f/11 ISO4000 40mm

Christmas retail mayhem takes a break in the small hours.

Shopping at midnight is not for everyone but if you detest crowds the 24hour opening times are a blessing. I shudder imagining being in this scene a few hours earlier when the walkways would have been packed shoulder to shoulder.
Easy parking, no waiting queues, forty percent off everything including crowds! I like it!

The last time I took photographs in a shopping centre I was politely but firmly asked to put my camera away or I would be escorted from the premises. This time I played it a little low key and looked for places to place my camera without a tripod. Retail Christmas is garish already so I don't mind extending the theme with a hdr rendering to match.

I wanted great depth of field for this image so I set the lens to f/16, made a guess where the hyper-focal distance would be for this lens/zoom/fstop combination. I then pointed the lens at an object at that distance and performed an initial pre-focus in AF mode. Once I had pre-focused the lens I set it back to MF mode, placed the camera into position and took three frames. In this way I kept my actions as 'non-photographer' as possible and succeeded in bringing both the shopping and photographs home.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 355 - Forty Percent Off Everything'. 0.4s f/16 ISO160 17mm

I love the beach and would find it hard to live anywhere it was not easily accessible.

During sunset most people stare out to the horizon to watch the setting sun but how many use the opportunity to watch the beach itself as it becomes alive with contrast and texture.
Beach sand is never flat above the high tide mark and rarely below it. Feet trod patterns becoming indistinct as new overlay old. The wind whips up sand spirits to smooth out the bumps. Beautiful waves form as the wind eddies around rocks.

All these beautiful features are visually flat and hidden in either the hard or soft overhead light during daylight. However in that last half hour before sunset when the sun casts its golden light from the horizon, every bump, every ripple, every nuance and every grain comes dramatically but briefly to life before fading again in the twilight.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 354 - Sand Waves'. 10s f/22 ISO160 40mm

Tonight was going to be special. I had done the maths (well at least the computer had) and I was ready.

Tonight the waxing moon would set in just such a way that it would be visible in the centre of the jetty. Imagine sitting on the beach, under the jetty, looking down under the pylons and out to sea. At exactly 23:50pm tonight the moon would would be perfectly aligned in the centre of the jetty and its reflection would travel all the way back under the jetty back to shore. 1.4 degrees above the horizon and 14 minutes before moon set I was ready.

Well despite the best maths brought to bear in predicting this convolution of moon, horizon and jetty, sadly it did not predict the clouds on the horizon. At exactly 11:40pm the moon which had been completely visible all evening slipped behind clouds not to be seen again.

A change of plans ensued and as the tide was low I found many interesting and varied formation in the intertidal sand to capture instead. This image is a very subtle HDR fusion composition of two images, one exposed for 30 seconds and the other for 2 minutes. HDR fusion simply increases the dynamic range of the raw image without all that in-your-face tone mapping. The result is bold and dynamic without being unnatural.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 353 - Low Tide'. 120s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm

Like two lovers in the seaside twilight these iron sentinels entwine but their union will outlast us all.

I headed down to the beach tonight to capture a promising sunset. Indeed to did but without the visual drama I had hoped for. In the twilight I looked round and this pair looked so beautiful together. Perfect models in a perfect pose.

OK, time to spoil the illusion. These sculptures created by Adelaide artist/designers, Gregg Mitchell and Greg Healey actually depict the sea grasses so important to our coastal marine environment. Tonight however I saw them in a different light (pun unintended).

I the deep twilight I tried to use fill flash to bring out the colour and surface texture but with out multiple strobes and a means to soften the light I was stuck with either a silhouette or a harsh flat image. This turned out to be a perfect opportunity for a hdr composite to bring it all together.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 352 - Twilight Lovers'. 3.2s f/16 ISO320 100mm

Could it have been one of those strange foreign films that nobody goes to see?

Actually we had just seen 'Skyfall' and it was great. Come the rolling credits I sprang into action setting up the tripod and the camera and getting into position for the shoot.

There's a really small window of opportunity at the end of any movie after all the guests have left and before the cleaning staff come in to prepare prepare for the next session. If you pick the last session you get a little more time as this time the professional cleaners to the hardcore cleaning and they take a little longer to arrive.

I wanted to capture this image from directly in front of the screen but the courtesy lighting was flooding the lens so I was forced into the corner. I bracketed 3 shots at two different ISO setting to give the most post processing options and in the end I chose a simple single exposure, converted to black and white and then toned back into the shadows the same colour as the chairs and curtains.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 351 - Alone In The Red Room'. 3.2s f/4.0 ISO640 15mm

The evening's getting on and the party almost over.

Thank you Tim and Dee for your wonderful hospitality tonight. Such a beautiful home demanded an image to match. Perhaps I should have captured this scene earlier in the evening when there was more action but I like the subdued 'had a good nigh' feel.

I tried a few ideas in capturing this image. I took two bracketed sets of 3, one at ISO160 and the other at ISO1600. The idea of the high ISO was to try and minimise ghosting in the individual frames. I was not happy with any of the high ISO images in terms of people and movement so I then explored the low ISO images. The middle exposure was very good but I really could not make the image transition beyond something you'd find in a 'House & Garden' magazine.

The final composition was a HDR composite of the low ISO images with no ghosting management at all. I really liked the sense of movement this created to liven an otherwise static image. This HDR image nearly didn't make though. I'd already rendered my final 'House & Garden' version and was in the middle of this post when I remembered the words of U.S photographer Joel Grimes when he said, "We can't take a photo and have it look like something that was taken 10 years ago. Were tired of it. You have to create new imagery." So with that thought I started again.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 350 - Good Times Good Friends'. 4s f/5.6 ISO160 15mm

Every Christmas for as long as I can remember we get visited by one or more Christmas beetles,Anoplognathus pallidicollis.

Actually there are many species of Christmas beetles in the genus Anoplognathus, part of the scarab family, but as far as I know they are all native to Australia.

It usually begins with a knocking at the door or at the window. We open the door and look but there's no one there; neighborhood kids having fun perhaps? Then it starts again, the knocking at the window or door. Again we open the door to see who is there. No one. A third time the knocking starts up again, we open the door and this large buzzing beetle comes flying through the opening and straight for the lights where it continues to knock itself silly banging into lights, walls or us. Eventually it settles down for a bit of a crawl before launching into its clumsy aerial display again.

We usually put up with the noise and carry on for a short while before our Christmas visitor is escorted from the building back out into the night to entertain some other neighbor.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 349 - Christmas Visitor'. 0.6s f/13 ISO1250 200mm macro

Hindley Street is actually pretty quiet on a weeknight around midnight.

But not at the Horus Cafe. This place was buzzing in the balmy night with coffee, tea and smoking shisha from hookas. I'm not a fan of any kind of smoking but I found that just walking past the hookas the smoke was hardly noticeable not offensive at all. I'd rather see this kind of a good time on Hindley Street with very little alcohol involved than the messy scenes typical of a Friday or Saturday night here.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 348 - Shisha at the Horus Cafe'. 1/60s f/3.5 ISO1600 200mm

In this ever so digital world of megapixel spray, pray, filter and share it was an absolute delight to see a photographer doing something different down here on the Glenelg foreshore this evening.

Tim McCullough's camera in this image is a Fuji's GX617 which is an old school fully manual film camera. It takes 120 roll film and produces a monster 3:1 panoramic 180mmx60mm negative. With only 4 shots to a roll you'd be making very sure everything is right before you pressed that shutter.

It's not all old tech however as Tim gets his negatives scanned resulting in a 200Megapixel images! With the cost of film, processing and scanning, he spends about $10 every time he presses that shutter. At that rate most instagrammers I know would go broke! You can see Tim's work at http://www.timmccullough.com.au/.

Today's message: less really is more!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 347 - Portrait of a Photographer'. 1/160s f/4.0 ISO2000 19mm


http://robertrath.com/serendipity/

In this image all is not as it seems.

In fact you would have a very hard time indeed filling these glasses. They are actually hanging under a high shelf as is typically found in many bars. It is interesting that by removing the context, ie the surround features which would have made the orientation obvious, we immediately see a glass ready to fill instead.

... Sláinte!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 346 - Fill Time'. 1/160s f/2.8 ISO3200 165mm

Gently pressing down on delicate skin this gift seemed far weightier that I would have imagined.

Metal and stone, made with artistry, given with love and worn with pride. I would have thought it would lay there on an unblemished surface. Instead I see the burden.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 639, The Gift', 1/200s f/11 ISO100 100mm 2x Off Camera Strobes

There is something really old-world in the feel of this image.

The wood and iron handrail, the corrugated tin and glass roof, the muted yellow colours. It certainly has a steampunk feel about it. A pace where you'd fit right in wearing an old leather jacket and aviator goggles.
This is what Adelaide Arcade looks like at Christmas with all of the decorations at ground level and if you look really closely you can even make out the time on the wall at the vanishing point.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 345 - Steampunk Arcade'. 1.6s f/13 ISO50 15mm

There's a backpacker's hostel on Moseley Street just off Jetty Road in Glenelg called the Glenelg Beach Hostel that I drive past several times every week that I final made the effort to capture.

It has a visual character I just can't put into words, part stately almost grandiose and at the same time humble and homely. That no.1 up there on the door makes a statement that this is no ordinary address. If I were a traveler abroad and I found myself here I'm sure I'd like to stay in a place like this.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 344 - Climbing the Stairway to Hostel'. 1/40s f/10 ISO640 15mm

Rachel was 21 this week and tonight was the celebration at the popular Cafe Amore, here in the Adelaide C.B.D.

There were glam girls and cool guys, lots of music and one or two drinks. I think the girl of the moment had all of these!

Happy birthday Rachel!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 343 - Line 'em Up'. 1/25s f/2.8 ISO3200 200mm

We won tonight!

Well when I say 'we' it needs a little qualification. The team I support parentally and dutifully.

The other side of the net a different game is being played. Lean tall players, deadly spikes and powerful rally's. Hopefully we'll be there soon; one the other side of the net.


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 342 - Behind the Net'. 1/5s f/3.5 ISO160 15mm

While walking along the Torrens River down near its final outflow I found so many interesting animals and critters to watch but for some reason they were all so timid and flighty.

I only had the one lens so I was focused on on the near distance. When I happened upon a couple horses I was determined to get some good head shots but pretty soon on of the horses decided to become by best friend forever! This was the last shot I could make before I was being nuzzled. From then I could not make any distance with a horse shaped shadow following me around!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 341 - Snort'. 1/400s f/3.5 ISO320 200mm

Do we need to be concerned if Dexter really is watching!

This well known corner of Rundle Street, is one my most frequented parts pf the Adelaide CBD. I love that brief moment when all traffic has stopped and everyone can walk unconstrained in any direction. A Real challenge would be a 360 degree pano' from the middle in the all of 30 seconds allowed.

This image was made from the relative comfort of the mall with plenty of time to wait for just the right moment when I new Dexter would be watching!


Photo: Robert Rath, '366 Days of 2012, Day 340 - Dexter is Watching'. 1/8s f/16 ISO50 15mm