Robert's Ramblings

Have you ever wondered how a rack of wine glasses could send me off wondering order and chaos in the universe.

These beautifully racked glasses were once nothing more than a collection of molecules distributed though our environment. Go back further and the materials I now see as a rack of glasses were nothing more than space plasma. In their journey of creation, order was paid for by borrowing it from the universe, lending its entropy. As we all know, systems when left to their own will move to wards a state of higher entropy. The glasses will get filled and scattered around the bar. Some will get chipped, scratched or smashed. Eventually they will all become nothing more than glass dust distributed back into the environment.

One day the molecules themselves will be torn to atoms and some back to plasma. Entropy karma? Perhaps, but don't hold your breath waiting!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 578, Waiting For Entropy' 1/200 f/4.0 ISO1600 100mm

I have been waiting to capture this image of Adelaide for some time now.

I had already planned my vantage point, I simply had to wait for those few days where the sun would set at the perfect angle to reflect directly off the Westpac Building to where I would be standing. For any given vantage point which could get such a reflection there will only be two periods per year of a few days where the sun will set in just the right place to observe it. These few days at this location were it for me.

To plan this image I used the help of the Photographers Ephemeris and Google Maps. I simply mapped a line from my vantage point on to the western face of the building and traced it's reflected path as a line out to the west-northwest. I then cycled through the days of the year until the the Photographers Ephemeris showed a matching line a few degrees above sunset.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 577, Adelaide In The Spotlight' 1/160 f/8.0 ISO320 200mm

I loved the cluttered feel of this image. Even though it is so alien to my technical world I still feel like I could enjoy being in this space if it were not a shop window.

Like creating an image from a sculpture or a painting, shop window displays are their special kind of art. Often an amazing amount of creative energy goes into a display like this. I am not sure how many people simply see retail at work or the vision of the window display artist. To me they present another another opportunity to share the way I see the world.

Lush Lighting, Kent Town.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 576, Forgotten Room' 0.6 f/8.0 ISO100 40mm

Architects do all sorts of interesting things to hide mundane but necessary pieces of plant associated with services like power, water and cooling.

I discovered this example on the corner of Pultney Street and North Terrace in the the Adelaide CBD.

I am not sure what this technicolor grill is hiding other than two large white cylindrical stacks which may be a part of the building's air-conditioning system. Anyway the continuous Technicolor light show makes it all seem like a piece of art rather than an ugly part of the air-conditioning plant.

I just loved the geometry and especially the symmetry of this image.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 575, Urban Geometry' 1.3 f/7.1 ISO160 27mm

I love avocados but they are not the sort of thing I'd imagine growing here in Adelaide. So just for fun I put a discarded seed into a pot instead of the bin and waited.

I waited, and waited and waited. All through summer, nothing. All through autumn, nothing. At the beginning of winter I brought the pot inside from the cold and put it up on the window sill. Almost like magic (which is a good explanation for life generally) it began to grow. Within a few short weeks the sprout had grown to nearly 12cm with four tiny cute leaves at the top of a long thin stalk. That's one avocado rescued from the oblivion of municipal waste!

In creating this image I am experimenting with a technique called 'focus stacking' used in macro imaging to expand the captured depth of field. At f/8.0 my working depth of field here is about 0.2mm meaning I could only hope to get a small part of one leaf in focus at best. Stopping down the aperture from here loses resolving power as the physics of light and optics and aperture conspire to trade greater depth of field with a blurred overall fuzzy mess.

In this image I have however been able to produce an expanded depth of field over about 6.0mm by focus stacking. I created a sequence of 34 individual images starting with the first having the very foremost part of the image in focus. For each successive frame I moved the focus 0.2mm further away until by the last frame the very edge of the back leaf was in focus. Finally I used a combination of LightRoom and Photoshop to bring all 34 images into a single frame with the full detail rendered from front to back.

Not only have I rescued an avocado but learned something new as well.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 574, Rescued Avocado' 2.5 f/8 ISO100 100mm Stacked

Adelaide's North Terrace is in my opinion the most photogenic strip in the Adelaide CBD.

You could easily start at one end and still be creating images 8 hours later without even leaving the footpath. This image is the view from the northwest corner of North Terrace and Frome Road looking west and features the University of South Australia's impressive Brookman Building in the foreground with Adelaide University's Historic Bonython Building in the background.

I think an evening North Terrace photo-walk would be a really fun way to explore this beautiful part of Adelaide.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 573, The Universities' 30s f/11 ISO160 15mm

While driving down Rundle Street in Kent Town my attention was caught by a window display of brightly coloured parasols.

I find something exotic about parasols, about umbrellas for display and shade. They are so far removed from our world where umbrellas and cold rainy weather seem to go hand in hand.
The shop I discovered was call 'Lush Lighting' and sold all sorts of exotic things for partys and weddings as well as lighting, lamps and ornaments. Not really my kind of place to come back and browse unless of course to create more images.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 572, Parasol Parade' 1s f/8.0 ISO100 40mm

Grange foreshore. Just a really nice place to visit in winter or summer.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 571, Grange Foreshore' 2s f/14 ISO100 15mm

Here is really important tip to remember when photographing the moon.

'It's not night time there where you are looking!'. The moon is in full sunlight and so the camera needs to told one way or another that a daylight exposure is required. It might not be a problem if you are using a 4000mm lens where you can fill the entire frame but for normal everyday lenses where a severe crop is required, normal camera auto exposure has no chance of getting it right. We are not talking about a few stops of correction here on the camera's auto exposure but full manual control.

Fortunately getting the exposure right is quite easy using the image preview and simply looking to see if you have captured lunar detail or just a big white blob.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 570, Our Celestial Neighbor' 1/100 f/14 ISO100 380mm

The normally warm and cosy Grange Kiosk takes on a whole new feel in the moonlight.

Actually it's not really moonlight but how it would look if the moon was 10 times brighter and setting on the horizon. To create this effect I have filtered out all of the warn reds and yellows of the setting sun turning it's light into something from a pale apocalyptic super moon.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 569, Moonlit Cafe' 1/25 f/11 ISO100 15mm

While taking photos of the Grange Jetty I played chicken with the surf with an unexpected surprise.

As each wave receded back into the ocean I'd follow it down as far as I dared and set up the camera for a long exposure capture. Sometime I got the shot but more often than not I'd pluck the camera and tripod from the next advancing wave just before it hit right in the middle of an exposure. On one occasion I noticed that if most of the exposure was complete then only the jetty lights would be smeared across the image.

Having seen what chance showed me I purposefully set up the ensuing shot. 25 seconds of exposure followed by 5 seconds of painting Grange Jetty with its own lights.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 568, Painting Grange Jetty' 30s f/11 ISO100 15mm

On our arrival we settled in to the cosy bar with Jennifer's oldest and best friend Darina.

What did we order, a bottle of Roederer of course!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 567, Roederer' 1/1250s f/2.8 ISO100 200mm

Cold and wet, wild and windy.

Waves crash on the shore and sea foam is strewn all over the beach. Grey foamy tumble weed roll along the beach gaining size and momentum as they go.

Still dogs and people will not be deterred from their daily winter walk.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 566, Winter Walk' 0.5s f/11 ISO80 15mm

Four of us were have a quiet drink at 'The Rosemont' when two strange guys invited themselves to our table.

There's a lot more to the story but I'll simply cut to the pool game that later ensued. At this point in the game there were some delays and some exasperated words from the opposition, "would someone just take the shot". Never one to miss a cue (no pun intended), I did!

I don't think this game actually finished with both teams eventually losing interest and reverting back to their original conversations.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 565, The Shot' 1/30s f/2.8 ISO1600 15mm

From spray cans to thermic lances it is amazing the tools out there to make their mark on walls, roads and other durable surfaces.

This worker in the middle of the night under the Morphet Street Bridge is handling one heck of blow torch. A moment's distraction, a little slip and there would not be much left of melted and charred boots and feet.

Perhaps the the divine effigy in the background by Adelaide artist Sebastian Humphreys really is supervising this guys well being.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 564, Divine Supervision' 1/40s f/2.8 ISO1600 165mm

The artist's tools are unmistakable.

The duffel bag of cans, paint and roller to prep the surface and sustenance to keep them going all night.

I noted with some curiosity the labels which read 'USE CANS FOR Art NOT FOR VANDALISM', captures a few image and left the scene. Street artists never seem comfortable with a photographer while they are at work. Perhaps I'll revisit to see the final piece.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 563, The Tools' 1/40s f/2.8 ISO1600 165mm

The Marines are a well known historically landmark of our seaside suburb of Grange.

Theses terraced houses built in 1882 are one of the few remaining three-storied terrace houses in South Australia designed in the style of English seaside resorts of the late 1800s.
These beautiful old homes more than many on our coastline come to life in the golden hour as they light up with deep oranges and yellows in the light of the setting sun.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 562, Golden Marines' 1/30s f/6.3 ISO640 17mm

Imagine creepy, scary, monstrous and beautiful all in the same image!

We all seem to have a strong relationship with the thought of spiders. For some reason they play on our emotions and evoke reactions like no other creature for most people I know.
I remember Shelob in 'Lord of the Rings' as a child and how scary she was even though only a made up story.

More and more I find myself wanting to photograph them and then leave them alone but most of my macro images are more suited to biology publications rather than a fine art.

This time I think I've captured something worth sharing with the afternoon sun directly behind in her messy but beautiful web.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 561, Arachnid Silhouette' 1/500s f/36 ISO50 200mm

Not quite street photography, not as edgy as urban exploration and clearly not architectural. city landscape perhaps?

This busy intersection as Rundle Mall transitions into Rundle Street is always a fascinating place to stop and watch the interplay between traffic and pedestrians. The ever present light show dancing across the face of the Rundle Street car park always a source of entertainment as people sometimes stand transfixed for what seems like minutes by its ever changing patterns and colours.

No such things as 'move along, nothing to see here'.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 560, Rundle Street' 2.5s f/16 ISO640 17mm

An Apple a day keeps .... well you know how it goes.

The new Apple store in Adelaide is beautiful. The hardware is beautiful and I must confess to a certain envy when I window shop Apple products. I adore the visual design of the new Mac Pro and applaud Apple for bringing people to the technology.

That all said I do not own an Apple product, I have never purchased an apple product and I have no desire to actually use one. I love them anyway!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 559, An Apple A Day' 0.6 f/10 ISO50 17mm

Grey weather's on its way so this is most likely that last nice sunset for a few days.

Time to head in to the city and perhaps explore a different genre for a while.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 558, Pelican Sunset' 1/100s f/14 ISO100 15mm

Henley Beach again but this time a little fun with colour.

Or should I say the lack of it. Actually it's not quite colour free. The warm tones of the original colour image were lost so I have added them back in, just a little!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 557, My Beach' 1/20s f/14 ISO100 15mm

It might be winter and it might be cold but the beach will always be a compelling place to be.

Winter in Adelaide is fantastic for photography with plenty opportunities for combinations of clear blue sky mixed with dramatic clouds. Throw in a beach, a jetty and a sunset and it doesn't get much better.

Henley Beach Jetty, it's good to be back to the beach.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 556, Back to the Beach' 0.4s f/14 ISO100 15mm

Have you ever wondered how fast rain is moving when it hits the ground?

This question become important in photographing rain and choosing a shutter speed. In this image the drops are 3-4 cm and at 1/100 of a second that making that 3-4 m/s. I guess that makes it 'light' rain.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 555, Rain' 1/100s f/10 ISO320 200mm

In this image I wanted a dark low key background but with plenty of diffuse natural looking light. To get this effect I simply placed the vase and tulip in the middle of a room with normal ambient lighting but framed the shot through an open doorway into the the darkness of the garden outside.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 554, Faded Petals' 1/13s f/22 ISO100 100mm

This image was taken while we were out trying to find the well known landmark, 'Bear Rock'.

Unfortunately I was about 100km off from where I thought I'd find it! 200km later we finally found it just above the town of Palmer but is was well after sunset and the light had gone.
Here on Sedan hill we pulled over briefly to take in this gorgeous sunset and the amazing view into the Murray lands below.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 553, Sedan Sunset' 1/1600s f/8.0 ISO320 15mm

I marvel at our rings and the craftsmanship with which they were created.

In this image I wanted to really show how Ben has crafted the white gold bands around my father's ring and around my wife's grandmother's ring. Getting the lighting and the colour right to really show off the final result was an interesting exercise. This capture is perhaps a little traditional and cliched in composition, but I think it really show off the hidden treasure inside.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 552, Hidden Treasure' 1.6s f/22 ISO320 100mm

Of all the things I like best about shopping (not that there are many) I love patterns and repetition.

In supermarkets it's beautifully faced shelves of jars and bottles. In book stores it's stacks of perfectly aligned hardcovers beneath the display copies. In department stores it's the piles of perfectly folded jeans, a display of ties or in this case a rack of coats.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 551, Off The Rack' 1/40 f/4.0 ISO1600 40mm

The lookout from Mengler's Hill is a place that has been special to me since childhood.

I remember riding our bicycles up the steep road (no gears back then) and celebrating the ability to get all the way up without stopping to walk some of the way. More often than not we didn't.
After taking in this magnificent view we would race back down the hill, no helmets, at breakneck speed to see who would reach the main street of Tanunda first.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 550, Barossa Bliss' 1/3200 f/8.0 ISO320 15mm

A simple tribute to a local legend of the wine industry in the Barossa.

Peter Lehmann passed away Friday June 28 2013 at the age of 82.

We will remember you Peter every time we drink a 'PL' wine.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 549, Tribute To Peter' 1/400 f/2.8 ISO100 135mm