Robert's Ramblings

The altar window at St Bartholomew's Anglican church in Norwood is both exquisitely beautiful and a fitting image for today.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 456, Easter Sunday' 1/4s f/11 ISO160 40mm

It's beautiful, surreal and kind of foreboding to see the moon circled in that ethereal glow. This is how the moon rose this evening over Holdfast Shores in Glenelg.

The ring of light you see is caused by the moon's light passing through ice crystals high in Earth's atmosphere. The light is bent in a way similar to a lens and the shape of the ice crystals causes the moonlight to be focused into a ring.

I missed the amazing sunset this evening but happy to have captured this image instead, an image which I have wanted to create for a long time now


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 455, The Ring' 30s f/7.1 ISO800 19mm

I love the vibe of a busy bar, a busy kitchen, a busy restaurant or a busy yiros joint.

Unfortunately I did not take note of the name of this place down the east end of Rundle Street but it seems pretty new and buzzing. I might just try one of their yiros next time.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 454, Yiros Action' 1/5s f/10 ISO640 15mm

While waiting for my daughter yesterday I was limited in how far I could go away from a designated place.

I often hear of people getting into the photography equivalent of writer's-block, especially anyone involved in any kind of 'photo-a-day' project. One suggestion I recently heard was to impose constraints on yourself and then try to be creative within your constraints. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but it is a technique constantly being explored and used by artists in all creative endeavors.

In my case I needed to to create an image within 50m of my car. While looking around I noticed a collection of drains feeding a storm-water course and wondered what one of these drains looked like.

This is what I found.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 453, Down The Drain' 13s f/16 ISO160 19mm

I have heard it said that images of cats and dogs are the low hanging fruit of photography. Okay for family or Facebook but a sure way to kill a portfolio collection.

On the other hand images of wild creatures lurking in the undergrowth, captured with stealth and guile are to be applauded.

As far as I am concerned I have captured just such a beast and was lucky to escape with my life. You be the judge!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 452, The Beast' 1/1000s f/2.8 ISO200 200mm

The Coorong is a unique almost landlocked strip of saltwater lakes which run for more than 130km down South Australia's south east coastline separated from the Great Southern Ocean by one long strip of sand dune beach.

We we were just passing at the time when I decided to detour down to the water to capture the late afternoon sun on the water . This place is definitely now on my 'places to revisit soon' list to better capture this magnificent part of our state.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 451, The Magnificent Coorong' 1/100s f/16 ISO160 15mm

While out on one of the dry lakes at the bottom of the Coorong National Park I wanted capture the expanse of white which went for on for kilometers.

Thinking about the image I wanted to create presented a dilemma. The light was bad, the harshest of light in the middle of the day and there was no foreground to add interest.

So I stepped out into the scene.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 450, Just Me' 1/200s f/16 ISO100 15mm

Ever wondered why you see the rays of light emanating from bright lights in photographs. You never see them with your eyes so they can't really be there.

I think we have become so used to seeing these rays in photos that an image without them would seem plain wrong. A clue to why they are there is in the number of beams. In this image you can see 14 beams and it is no coincidence that the aperture on the lens I used has 7 leaves and when stopped down from wide open has 7 sharp vertices around the periphery of the aperture.

This sunset aligned with the shore of Lake Fellmongery shows the effect beautifully as captured through a stopped down 15mm fish-eye lens.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 449, Sunset Silhouette' 1/2000s f/22 ISO50 15mm

The fish-eye lens is peculiar creation. Some people love the wildly distorted images they create, other hate them.

I originally purchased this lens for underwater photography where its name and its application have a wonderfully ironic link. Over time I have however come to love using it for all sorts of images from urban exploration to landscapes.

For this image of the shores of Lake Fellmongery in Robe, South Australia I decided to make a point of showing off fish-eye distortion as is often the most novel use of this kind of lens. The resultant image reminds me of our own planet of brown, green and blue. The real irony here is that a fish-eye lens reproduces the closest image to how our own eyes work and due to it's optical simplicity is also one of the sharpest.

If nothing else, this image is a striking example of how our brains tell us an image is distorted when really it is not.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 448, Planet Fellmongery' 1/200s f/13 ISO320 15mm

Late in the day with a grey overcast sky the view through the leaves is much more striking than either clear blue nothing or blotchy cloud.

I was very tempted to make this image black and white. It actually looked very good in mono but then I considered how mono could not tell of the grey sky through green as I I experienced it.
Perhaps it would be more 'arty' in mono but then you'd miss out on all that colour.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 447, Looking Up Through Green’ 1/80s f/2.8 ISO5640 145mm

The last few days of beautiful weather came to an end today with overnight thunderstorms and strong coastal winds.

My plan was to use an inexpensive variable ND filter to smooth out the rough seas but when I cranked the filter to anything past a couple of stops it began to create strange overall light, dark and colour cast effects making almost useless for my intended application.

To get a realistic image I had to only use the filter at the lightest of its variable range and rely on a small aperture to give me long exposures. The problem with f/22 however was the detail in the image became soft.
In the end it was nature doing its thing that got me to this exposure with the rapidly dropping ambient light I was able to get both a long exposure at a reasonable aperture.

So the cheap ND filter was no value for money after all and a good one is now on my wish list.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 446, Stormy’ 3.2s f/13 ISO50 17mm

This is not so much 'about' Adelaide Airport as much as 'out and about'.

This is my first time down on the the newly completed Adelaide Airport Plaza which separates the main terminal from the car parking facilities. Being on a mission I had to be quick but I will be back again soon with more time as this place has a wealth of amazing photo opportunities.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 445, About Adelaide Airport’ 1/125s f/16 ISO320 17mm

What an amazing contrast, the brightly lit, almost surreal foreshore below a star filled sky.

I loved the way this couple was framed on all sides by the jetty, the volleyball net, the sand and the stars.

Lucky for me they both stayed still enough to be captured in this long exposure.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 444, Heavens Above Henley’ 30s f/5.0 ISO1250 15mm

When I captured this image our team's fate was in the balance. Little did we know this would repeat itself a few hours later in the grand final.

Photographing indoor action sports is a real challenge with fast movement and low light. One way to get around all of these problems is to capture the emotional moments between the action.

Here out team's bond is evident in comparison with the oppositions. I'll let you guess who won the Gold Cup.



Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 443, Timeout’ 1/160s f/4.0 ISO1250 17mm

This is a place I never expected to be creating an image of something I never expected to see.

The Heysen Tunnels are normally off limits for bicycles and pedestrians, in fact anything that can't power through at typical traffic speeds of around 90Km/h. This morning the Boileau VeloAdelaide Mt Lofty Challenge Ride saw that all change for a few hours as hundreds of riders powered up the steep freeway unencumbered by anything other than gravity and perhaps fitness.

As for me, this was yet another example of chance. I was coming back down the freeway from the other side so I pulled over to witness the tail end of the riders emerging into the light at the end of the tunnel.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 442, Light at the End of the Tunnel’ 1/13s f/8 ISO800 22mm

It just so happened that I crossed this railway bridge this morning while driving through the Adelaide Hill and something made me stop, park the car and grab my camera.

When I got down to the track I met three guys all set up with assorted cameras. At first I though they were train buffs but once I got chatting I discovered they were train drivers themselves. So what do train drivers do on their 3 week holidays, chase and photograph trains apparently!

I did not have to wait long for GM46 to come powering past the old Mount Lofty train station with a haul of grain the stretched as far as the eye could see. GM46 is a GM class locomotive manufactured in 1967 by Clyde Engineering in Granville, New South Wales.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 441, GM46 The Grain Train’ 0.6s f/22 ISO50 17mm

I’ve just completed an environmental family portrait session at the local Grange Golf Club. You guessed it, they are golf crazy.

During the shoot I got them to do a ‘Four Musketeers’ with clubs and this is one of the resulting images.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 440, The Four Musketeers’ 1/8000s f/5.0 ISO640 155mm

I think it is extraordinary that one of the most common events in our lives, the evening sunset shared by every soul on this planet every single day, never ceases to take my breath away.

Last night when I headed down to the beach it was on a bit of a whim. The sky was heavily in cloud and the chances were that the sunset would have been hidden. Imagine my delight to find a sliver of clear sky just above the ocean's horizon. It reminded me that being lucky is not about being lucky at all, its about being there!

As I watched the sun emerge into the gap for it's end-of-day finale I watched the eyes of others around me light up with the delight of another beautiful sunset.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 439, Another Day, Another Sunset' 1/1000s f/7.1 ISO160 200mm

Sometimes the people you see and the things they are doing create an entire story in you mind in an instant.

This was one of those moments. I am sure you can get as creative as you like here. Imagine the message she is reading or what she might be thinking.

No matter what, I am sure the truth would have been stranger than the fiction.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 438, Text Message' 1/10s f/2.8 ISO2500 200mm

Have you ever come back out to the carpark after shopping and wondered where you left your car?

I wonder if the owners of these bike might feel the same when it's time to go home. Especially if you wanted to go early!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 437, Now Where Did I Leave My Bike' 1/6s f/2.8 ISO2500 85mm

One day I will do a beautiful lover's silhouette by full moon. It is yet another on my rapidly expanding photographic bucket list.

In the mean time it is quite amazing the potential substitutes! This image of a couple's silhouette was created by using the reflected light from a Walk-On-Water ball at a popular amusement ride.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 436, Contemplating The Moon' 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1250 200mm

This dahlia is beautiful. The delicate structure of its petals are beautiful. The progressive expanding circles are beautiful. Its overall squashed spherical geometry is beautiful.

Its crowning glory of deep intense purple colour is simply extraordinary. To me however the colour overwhelms putting at risk appreciation of all the other beautiful aspects of this wonderful flower.

So here is how I saw this dahlia in all of its beauty.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 435, Colourless Beautiful' 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1250 200mm

These old ceramic bottles may have found themselves in private collections, old museums or long since crushed into historical oblivion.

These bottles have found a different role. Every year they are brought out from careful storage and filled with the best and the most beautiful cut flowers on display at the Tanunda show.

I wonder if they still are the property of B. Seppelt & Sons?


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 434, The Property of B. Seppelt & Sons' 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1250 160mm

She sat in the middle of the road. Four lanes of busy city traffic flowing to and fro around her seemed completely at odds with her fascination of the sounds being piped from the silver Walkman into her ears.

At one point she appeared to become distressed and began fumbling for something in her bag. A moment later with fresh batteries in her Walkman again she settle back into her reverie again in in her own world.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 433, In Her Own World' 0.3s f/2.8 ISO2500 200mm

The 'Garden' is like a great melting pot of people all coming together for the wide and varied Fringe shows hosted there.

And just as the shows themselves are so diverse, so are the people. Here at the 'Pigs on Fire' dinner venue there's is a lot going on, a lot being discussed and probably a lot being eaten waiting for the next show.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 432, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights' 0.8s f/5.6 ISO160 70mm

Another trip into the 'Garden of Unearthly Delights' netted a trove of fantastic visual treats.

Try as I may I was not able to identify this juggler and his partner. I suspect the two were part of a bigger performance elsewhere. Promoting or just practicing it made for great entertainment.

I did not really nail the image I really wanted with the juggler in sharp focus and the skittles blurred with motion. All my attempts resulted in too mush movement in both. In the end I upped the shutter speed and took the easy way out!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 431, Dancing Skittles' 1/500s f/2.8 ISO640 168mm

This first crop is blooming hot!

For more than a year I have been tending a ghost chili plant plant I had grown from seed, the Bhut Jolokia, also known as the Naga Ghost Chili and reported to be the hottest chili in the world.

This is my the first real crop aside from a few early teasers so I am no looking forward to some truly hot culinary delights to come.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 430, Hot Crop' 25s f/32 ISO160 100mm

Tonight promised a gorgeous sunset and I was not disappointed.

These warm and balmy summer evenings make being at the beach so easy with shorts and bare feet and sand between toes.

Armed only with the 15mm FE I played around with various images from conservative to downright wacky in the hour I had to play with. This image of a runner across the setting sun seemed to capture the mood perfectly.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 429, Another Beautiful Adelaide Sunset' 1/320s f/11 ISO160 15mm

Port Noarlunga is definitely underrated as a dive site.

Sunday night Alexius and myself arrived at the dive site to witness a gorgeous sunset over a calming sea on a high tide. Always looking for an opportunity for something different the high tide gave us the opportunity to swim over the reef and drop down on the seaward side and the amazing dive which ensued.

Although the visibility was not the best it was more than made up for by super calm conditions without the incessant surge we usually experience when diving on the ocean side.
I tried something a little different this time, a 17-40mm zoom with a +2 diopter following the very constrained experience of using the 100mm when there are lots of larger critters around.

This image is of one of the local residents, a shaw's cowfish, Arcana aurita.

I'm now looking forward to my next 'underrated' dive at Port Noarlunga!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 428, Shaw's Cowfish' 1/100s f/18 ISO640 40mm

Gluttony is a curious little Adelaide Fringe space with five tiny performance spaces: 'Pig Tales', 'Pig Pen', 'The Piglet', 'The Runt' and 'The Bally'.

Perhaps these three little pigs represent a mascot of sorts. Then again, perhaps not.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Day 427, The Three Little Pigs of Gluttony' 1/40s f/2.8 ISO1600 200mm