Entries by Robert

Experiments with Qik

Qik is a little piece of software that enables you to stream videos directly from your phone to the Web. Use it to stream engaging videos to your friends in Facebook, Twitter, etc. or as your camcorder to capture entertaining and special moments.

With Qik you can stream engaging video live from your phone to the world or use your phone like a camcorder to capture entertaining, interesting and special moments. Go LIVE with your life by streaming anytime, anywhere—right from your phone. Be an eyewitness, capture those first steps, or whip up your own streaming video blog. There are just a million and one uses of Qik.

This is one of the coolest Web things I have played with in a long time. Let me know what you think.



... Robert

I can remember when I was 5 years old and had formulated a theory of how electric motors worked. I got as far as electricity, currents and forces but how the forces "knew" what to do was a mystery to me! So began a career in electronics. In the last 23 years I have been involved in product development, embedded software design, engineering management, technology and innovation management, marketing and business development.

In short it has to date been a rewarding and fascinating time. As a self confessed techie, I love being involved in the latest and most interesting innovations, especially those impacting our everyday lives

... Robert

Edithburgh Dive Weekend 17/18th June '06



















Edithburgh Dive Weekend 3rd September '05


















Jennifer & Myself Diving 'The Lumb', 5th June '05


















Andy & Myself Diving 'The John Robb', 4th June '05

















Whyalla Cuttlefish Weekend, 15th May '05

I have been a SCUBA diver for more than 18 years now and in that time have had the opportunity to dive extensively throughout South Australia. I've dived elsewhere and yes, tropical water is wonderful but my soft spot is for the dramatic offshore waters of Australia's Southern coast. It may be cold but the dramatic scale of walls, caves, ledges, kelp, dolphins, seals, reef fish, oceanic pelagics and the odd rather too large for comfort predator make for what South Australian diving stands for!!

My favorite dive location is Allthorpe Island off the coast of South Australia's York Peninsula. My favorite shore dive is Chinaman's Hat, again on South Australia's York Peninsula.

I wish I could say how many dives I have done but for 10 years I kept no record of my diving, an oversight I now regret, many hundreds I'd say at a pinch! I now teach others to dive and my enthusiasm for the salty realm is as strong as ever.

... Robert

I have been involved in this mad sport for nearly 20 years now and can be found at the bottom of the pool on a regular basis. We play weekly at the Adelaide Aquatics Centre with formally organised teams and games. After the game you will almost certainly find us continuing the proceedings at a nearby watering hole!

Underwater hockey is very similar to field hockey in the way it is played with 6 players in the game per side and 4 players as interchange. We use a puck which, although looks like an ice hockey puck, is made of plastic coated lead. The hockey stick is very short, about 20cm long and is held in one hand. The entire game is played at the bottom of the pool while holding your breath!

Underwater Hockey started in England in 1954, but it was not until 1984 that the first World Championships took place in Chicago , USA where Australia made a clean sweep in Men’s and Women’s winning in both team events. Australian Open UWH Championships were held in 1975. The Women’s UWH Titles commenced in 1981, with the Junior UWH Championships commencing in 1990.

... Robert

I could could tell you a bit about who I am but I'm afraid the story would be obsolete before you get to read it. So let me give you a little of who I am at the time of writing this text. I am having a rich and adventurous life, full of "life experiences" as they say and it is my intention to keep things that way!

I presently live in the quiet city of Adelaide in South Australia. Adelaide may be quiet to some but believe me, there is plenty here to keep anyone thoroughly engaged, enthralled and occupied! You might just have to put in a bit of effort to find it sometimes!

My most recent passion has become the pursuit of excellence in teaching scuba divers. For me it has been a wonderful experience in bringing the brand new uninitiated into a world I have had many privileged years to be part of. Such a stark contrast from my previous life in the world of electronics, technology and computing.

That all being said I am still a technologist at heart and keep my ears to the ground and my eyes out for the latest, the greatest and most fun new things to play with. Today's new ideas may seem like fun and folly for the early adopters but history has shown that the future depends on us. If it were not for our insatiable appetite for ever new and more complex things to fill our lives with then I'm sure we would all still be living in caves and wondering "is this all there is!!".

... Robert

Decorator crabs make fascinators seem lame in comparison to the extravagance of their accessorising.

There are hundreds of species of crabs which decorate themselves in this way and fashion really has nothing to do with it. It's all about survival.

By attaching algae or sponges of their immediate environment they can go about their business unnoticed.

If they move into new territory it's a simple matter of discarding the old and accessorising with their new home.


Decorator Crab, Naxia aurita


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Decorate Me' 1/160s f/18 ISO320 100mm

Going back over some of my older photos I came across this golden orb weaver but the background was unusually green and lush. I usually associate golden orb weavers with the arid Australian outback so what confused me for a while is that I was expecting to see muted browns as I was sure this image was taken in the Flinders Ranges.

Going back over dates and travels I soon discovered I'd taken this image in the tropical lushness of a Tongan forest. With that realisation I was taken back to that particular day and how almost every walkway through that forest was barricaded by web after web after web of these giant spiders.

To say the least this experience triggered my old arachnophobia but at least the chance to photograph these amazing creatures went a long way to quell that innate fear.


Tongan Giant Spider, Nephila tetragnathoides


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Golden Orb Weaver' 1/250s f/4.5 ISO100 200mm

Just imagine being two inches tall, opening your eyes, turning on your torch and coming face to face with ...

Assuming you are still with me you'd quickly become entranced by those amazing blue-green opalesque eyes and what at first seemed ugly becomes beautiful.

You can spot a gurnard perch from quite a distance at night by those incredible eyes. Just scan your torch back and forth anywhere under Edithburgh Jetty and before you know it you too will be experiencing being face to face with this beautiful creature.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Face 2 Face' 1/160s f/22 ISO320 100mm

One of the wonderful things I like about macro photography are those tiny little surprises you discover when you zoom in on your subject while editing.

What seemed at first to be a solitary nudibranch, in this image Ceratosoma brevicaudatum, turned out to have a few hidden gems, those little creature just too small to see while diving.

In this image there are three minute shrimp around 1mm in length cleaning the nudibranch's skin while a minuscule amphipod of less than a half a millimeter in length hovers above.

Love those little gems.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Little Gems', 1/60s f/18 ISO320 100mm

This hand sized fan worm is one of the many spectacular creatures that inhabit our local waters. I say local but it really is another world altogether.

It looks like a plant; like some exotic miniature palm tree. This guy however is a worm which builds a tubular casing away from its supporting structure so that it can extend its frond like appendages out into the current to feed.

Approach too close and in an instant it will retract back into the safety of its tube. Imagine a coconut palm doing that!

Southern fan worm Sabellastarte australiensis.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Another World' 1/50s f/7.1 ISO320 15mm

In the visual cacophony of this scene the camera has captured everything from the jetty pylons and fish swimming near the surface to the bright orange nudibranch grazing on the rocky reef foreground. Is this really a fish's eye view within the underwater world? Perhaps, but not for the reasons you might think.

Optically speaking the lenses of all creatures with non-compound fleshy eyeballs including fish, reptiles, birds and mammals including us would all be classed as 'fish-eye' according to camera lens manufacturers. Those normal rectilinear lenses we are so accustomed to on our cameras are an intentional optical debasement which introducing their own unique distortion in an attempt to replicated our brain's ability to straighten curves when our common sense tells us they should be straight.

A fish-eye lens, in its simplicity, lets the brain of its beholder do the work instead. As for how fish feels about those peripheral curves as they swim about their business, I'd suggest they could not care less about straight lines anyway.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Fish's Eye' 1/100s f/11 ISO160 8mm

This image is the last of my Bronzies set; a collection of tiny bronze figurines by Tomm Otterness, adorning his much larger 'Other Worlds' installation within Hamad International Airport.

Yes it probably is the cliché of clichés. Still, because they are in bronze there is something 'other worldly' which disconnects it from humanity.

So, clichéd it may be but I love the feeling of love and nurture here and to me it symbolises family in any flavour you choose to imagine.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Family' 1/10s f/4.0 ISO800 34mm

There is no doubting the reason for two commuters being here. It's work travel. The suit and tie, the briefcases, the smart attire and not a handbag in sight are all the evidence I need.

If I were to hazard I guess, I'd say it was early morning at some outlying platform. The man, who catches the train here every morning has never said hello to the woman before being way too shy. This morning however he takes a chance.

'Looks like it might rain today' he suggests hoping to break the ice.

She looks up, sighs and without saying a word wonders to herself if she should have brought an umbrella.

Out of earshot the platform attendant checks the track in his own little world.


... bronzies by Tomm Otterness, 'Other Worlds', Hamad International Airport


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Waiting For The Train' 6s f/22 ISO800 16mm

Little bronze personalities came to life in all sorts of nooks and crannies as I continued exploring the 'Other Worlds' installation by Tomm Otterness during my Doha transit.

The four individuals coming together in this scene particularly caught my attention. The couple on the left appear attired in working clothes, overalls and an apron while the couple to the right appear to be of a different class with the more elegant clothing, sandals and even a wristwatch.

Despite their differences I felt that some some cordial engagement was taking place here along with a mutual respect. Perhaps a negotiation or an agreement yet to be made. Perhaps just a meeting of minds.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Meeting of Minds' 0.8s f/4.5 ISO320 16mm

Little bronze personalities came to life in all sorts of nooks and crannies as I continued exploring the 'Other Worlds' installation by Tomm Otterness during my Doha transit.

The four individuals coming together in this scene particularly caught my attention. The couple on the left appear attired in working clothes, overalls and an apron while the couple to the right appear to be of a different class with the more elegant clothing, sandals and even a wristwatch.

Despite their differences I felt that some some cordial engagement was taking place here along with a mutual respect. Perhaps a negotiation or an agreement yet to be made. Perhaps just a meeting of minds.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Meeting of Minds' 0.8s f/4.5 ISO320 16mm

My very first memories of gazing into the heavens and marvelling at the night sky were not so different from the little bronzie in this image.

In my case it was not bronze but the painted steel roof of my parent's car. Somehow those extra few feet made all the difference.

All these year later those memories burn just as brightly when ever I lay on my back and gaze up at the stars.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Stargazing' 10s f/18 ISO800 26mm

When I first transited via Doha's Hamad International Airport I was impressed by the large interactive bronze sculptures by American artist Tomm Otterness.

At the time I captured some wide angle images of the pieces in context but did not really give them the attention they deserved. I did however notice they seemed to covered by odd little bronze protrusion, like fresh buds on a tree.

On my second visit I decided to explore these little bumps and was delighted to discover tiny little bronze figurines in all sorts of strange places and predicaments. I was so enamoured with these little people I create as set of images I call 'The Bronzies'.

In 'Emergence' I imagined a little bronzie living a life of darkness in a void beneath the ground knowing nothing of the world above until the day a hole appeared.
On climbing out, in a single moment, I feel this scene represent excitement, fear, welcome, relief and joy.

It is delightful, whimsical and simply beautiful. Thank you Tomm.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Emergence' 1/20s f/3.2 ISO320 16mm

What do dogs and hermit crabs have in common?

I wonder what kind of answers I'd get if I strolled down a typical busy shopping mall and asked random passers-by this question?

Well to start with, dogs and hermit crabs have two eyes. Perhaps you could even draw some tenuous connection between kennels and shells. But really, why would I even pose such a question? From my point of view it is all about having a willing photogenic subject.

For divers, hermit crabs are one of the easiest critters to photograph. They go about their business regardless of being observed. Even if you do startle them back into their shell it doesn't take long for them to re-emerge. And, if some unscrupulous diver were to pick one up and place it somewhere particular to stage a photograph, the hermit crab would happily show itself again when the coast was clear and carry on about its business.

So in my opinion, dogs and hermit crabs both make the most awesomely photogenic and most easy-to-photograph subjects.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Of Dog and Hermit Crabs' 1/160s f/22 ISO160 100mm

'Hello' said the whale as he swam closer and closer.

'Hello' said the whale as he craned for some intelligent response.

Finally in frustration at their lack of courtesy he came rushing in fast, stopped, then gave a gentle nudge. 'What part of hello did you not get!

Ah ..., memories of Tonga. I can't wait to be swimming with whales again.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'What Part of Hello Did You Not Get!' 1/320s f/7.1 ISO160 15mm

You'd go mad too if you had to carry this home around on your back wherever you went. At least down here you'd not have to worry about clipping power lines, low overhang bridges, getting tangled up in tree line avenues or finding somewhere out of the sun.

I found a lot of these little hermit crabs on the algae in and around Edithburgh jetty. They are so comical to watch as they navigate the between the the stipes and fronds. One moment they seem to know where they are going, the next they've gotten stuck or slipped and are heading somewhere completely different.

This crab, less than half the size of my little fingernail has chosen a particularly tall and impressive shell for its size. Still it seems to be in control. Perhaps its not so mad after all.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Mad Hatter', 1/160s f/22 ISO320 100mm

Three weeks ago on an Edithburgh night dive I found a tiny little leafy seadragon less than two inches long that took my breath away. It was that beautiful red translucent colour of a juvenile probably only a month or so old.

This dive I was in for a wonderful treat. I found my not so tiny dragon again, not right next to the jetty but some distance off in the sea grass. Wow had it grown in just three weeks.

Now it had nearly doubled in size and was beginning that red to yellow body colour transition. Its appendages were growing and becoming more complex and its markings becoming more pronounced.

Seeing this beautiful golden dragon a second time as it grows has inspired me to make another trip to Edithburgh to hopefully find it again and capture its change into a fully mature leafy.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Golden Dragon ', 1/160s f/18 ISO320 100mm

It's night time and you are cruising down Kelp Street looking for a tasty morsel or two. There are no street lamps on the sandy bottom making the ocean floor extra dark. Here the darkness is your friend keeping you safe from monsters. Or is it?

A little confused you create some illumination and ... welcome to your worst nightmare. At least you would be if you were small fish and in less than 1/100th of a second later you'd have become the monster's dinner instead.

To me however this monster under Edithburgh Jetty, the amazing Tasseled Anglerfish (Rhycherus filamentosus), is simply beautiful and I get a thrill every time I find one.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Nightmare on Kelp Street', 1/160s f/18 ISO320 100mm

There is no such thing as being lucky, Luck is everywhere, you just need to persist at something long enough and what to you may seem lucky was simply inevitable all along.

This weekend was our second trip to Edithburgh for the year. The weather was perfect creating the opportunity for a number of dives including a night dive. Despite some periods of poor visibility during tidal changes the diving was sensational with the marine life being as prolific as I can remember.

It was on my night dive that I came upon this tiny little crested weedfish, no more than 3cm in length and my very first in over twenty five years of diving here. I simply could not believe my luck as I watched it vi for the best position a top a clump of kelp for the passing plankton. It was quite enthusiastic in its foraging endeavors and seemingly quite oblivious to my presence.

I watched for a while, captured some images and then bid the little guy farewell. After that I really did not care if I did not see any other interesting critters for the rest of the dive or even the trip. I was content with my little bit of crested weedfish luck this time round.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Crested Weedfish', 1/160s f/18 ISO320 100mm

I had spent more than five hours under that sparkling rippled surface that most Edithburgh visitors never get to see beneath. I had searched all around and out beyond the jetty, northward up to to the swimming pool and all over the sea grass beds searching in vain for a leafy seadragon. The diving was lovely but alas no dragon.

Over my years of diving leafy's have been infrequent visitors here. A handful of dragons will take up residence for a couple of years and then disappear with years between. I guessed it was just that time again.

That night I was in for a rare treat. Not more than ten minutes into my night dive this tiny and beautiful dragon, not more than 40mm in length, came into view setting a precedence for a wonderful night dive and hopefully heralding the leafy seadragons back to Edithbugh.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'From Small Things Great Things Come ', 1/160s f/14 ISO320 100mm

I used to to take great delight in finding a leafy seadragon for other divers, then watching, waiting and counting how long it took them to separate creature from its environment.

Here in the sea grass you would think that they would be easy to spot compared to the yellow or brown algae. Actually I have been surprised just how long some divers have taken to separate the dragon from the detail.

There must have been at least thirty divers down at Rapid Bay last Sunday. I wonder just how many spotted this beautiful dragon feasting on tiny crustaceans out in the sea grass?


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Dragon Is In The Detail' 1/160s f/10 ISO320 14mm

It's been a couple months now since my extraordinary experience in Norway beneath northern lights, swimming with orca and humpback whales and sharing all these incredible experiences with an amazing group of people.

I am blessed not only for my own experiences but also for the way that everyone who I shared this amazing adventure with has also shared their own images, thoughts and feelings. Thank you Pasi, Kei, Carra, Sonya, Chuta, Elvira, Norbi, Krisztina, Peggy, Torben, Jasmine and Darren. It has been my privilege to share Norway with you all.

Oh the wonder of it all. The more I experience our world the more I want to experience our world.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Oh The Wonder' 20s f/4 ISO1600 16mm

I've Seen Things You People Wouldn't Believe

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”

Rutger Hauer's haunting words spoken by Roy Batty in the 1982 science fiction epic, 'Blade Runner', come to me in those moments lost in wonder gazing at the brilliant dark sky above me.

I was so taken with the brilliance of the stars above me as I emerged from the dark waters of an Edithburgh night dive that I just had to capture something of this beautiful night's sky.

By the time I had cleaned all my gear, set up the tripod and aligned the mount, low-level clouds rolled in from the west and took this wondrous scene away. I might not have captured Orion as I had hoped but at least I got one test shot off before the shoulder of Orion was lost to a blanket of grey above me.

It's only a single frame of what is arguably our Milky Way's most stunning astronomical feature, but I still get those goose bumps looking at it, looking up and imagining all those 'things you people wouldn't believe'.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'I've Seen Things You People Wouldn't Believe' 15s f/10 ISO3200 600mm

It's 11:00pm and most of the sleepy seaside town of Edithburgh has retired for the evening. Meanwhile I make some final adjustments to my new manual focus gear and then head down to the jetty.

It was only going to be a short dive with a tiny eight litre scuba cylinder. One and a half hour later I surface from an amazing undersea world only to be greeted by a dark sky blazing with stars.

I am always surprised when I dive here at night and this night was no different having had encounters with four different species of octopus. A first for me.

This guy, a gloomy octopus was sitting on a rock literally where I descended to the sandy bottom. At first I just looked at the rock thinking something is not right about that rock. Then slowly the hidden form began to take shape in my mind for what it really was.

I sat and watched for a while, the octopus watched me back. Eventually, getting a little nervous it started to change colour, becoming prickly in appearance and finally getting up on its tentacles before skulking off trying not to be noticed.

And this was only the beginning of my octopus odyssey. Later during the dive I spotted a few keeled octopus, sand octopus and even a couple deadly blue ring octopus.

There were a few other surprises for me on this night dive but I will leave them for another time but I will finish with my thoughts on manual focus gear for macro; 'it roctopusses'!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Roctopussy' 1/160 f/16 ISO320 100mm

What a lovely way to herald in a new year than to escape to one of my all time favorite places (within a few hours drive) and be reminded why I fell in love with the little seaside town of Edithburgh more than 30 years ago.

On this occasion we only stayed two nights but in that time I spent nearly seven hours underwater, stayed up late under the incredible starry dark sky to photograph the Orion Nebula, enjoyed the company of long time friends and got to walk bare foot on the foreshore photographing birds and dogs and avoiding getting my feet sliced by mussels and razor shells.

It was beach side, blue sky, salty aired relaxing at its best.

Edithburgh, ... we had forgotten how much we've missed you and have resolved to come back more often.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Blue Sky Banking' 1/1600 f/6.3 ISO100 600mm