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

We were deep, very deep, perhaps 35 metres down or more. A brooding grey sky above meant that very little light had made its way to us here. Colour had been left behind, languishing in the surface shallows.

To say there was no colour at all wouldn’t be quite true. All around us was a deep, dark, monochromatic green. I was tempted to call the photo ‘Green Day’. That green is what my camera managed to capture at a technically stretched ISO 12,800, but to my eyes, there was no colour at all.

So, in the end, I chose to share the image in black and white. Because down there, in that quiet depth, we were truly diving beyond colour.


Scuba #diving #portmagee #kerry #ireland #deep #monochrome #black&white

As I break the surface at the end of another amazing dive beneath the waters of Bray Head I’m comforted by the sight of the approaching boat with a competent coxswain at the helm.

Getting back into the boat is a real team effort. The first diver removes their gear piece by piece, handing each in turn to the coxswain. Once all gear is on board the diver must then kick and breach themselves out of water and over the side of the pontoon into the boat.

With two in the boat, they begin helping the remaining divers until all are onboard.

This is my last chance to capture a few images before making my entry stage left and then heading back to port.


#Scuba #diving #portmagee #kerry #ireland #kerrysubaqua #inbhearsceinekerrysubaqua #boating #ocean #rib #boats

I still find myself thinking I’m back in South Australia whenever I come across the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas), which looks almost identical to the southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii).

Here in Ireland, this beautiful creature is mostly ignored by the fishing industry in favour of the much sought-after European lobster (Homarus gammarus). From a diving perspective, this is great, we see them everywhere. Last night’s dive was no exception with crayfish everywhere.

In Australia, we have no marine clawed lobsters, so instead we place huge commercial and recreational fishing pressure on the southern rock lobster. Divers there regularly catch them, so they’ve become quite flighty and almost never interact, preferring to retreat into deep, inaccessible ledges.

Here, the European spiny lobster seems completely at home out in the open, giving us a wonderful opportunity to observe and interact with them unencumbered.

They might be the poor crustacean cousin, but they certainly seem to have a better life because of it.


#crayfish #critters #diving #europeanspinylobster #palinuruselephas #scuba #spinylobster #underwater #brayhead #portmagee

I’ve gazed into the flowing waters of Ireland’s famous Munster Blackwater River and witnessed its many moods over the years.

This river, known for some of Ireland’s finest salmon fishing, has claimed lives and bestowed both vitality and identity upon many towns in the south of Ireland. I’ve longed to discover what lies beneath its surface.

On one of those perfect blue-sky summer days, with the river running low and its flow gentle, I decided it was finally time to sate my long-held curiosity and dive into the Blackwater.

The experience was entirely different from diving in the ocean. In the narrows, I found water-worn rocks and pebbles; strands of green algae trailed down into deeper pools; and the bottom, far below, was cloaked in a grim, grey silty blanket.

I dived with no wetsuit — just togs, mask, snorkel, and fins — and could have stayed in for hours. I spotted unfamiliar species of fish, a solitary eel, and was enthralled by the dappled sunlight in the shallows. It’s no surprise, then, that I now feel a growing enthusiasm to explore more.

The waters just above the Mallow railway bridge offered a safe and gentle introduction. I learned valuable lessons about staying safe in a river and now look forward to discovering more of the green, in the black, beneath the blue.

#Ireland #mallow #blackwater #river #overunder #bridges #summer #diving #swimming

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Under a brooding sky and a glowing horizon, Adelaide beachgoers soaked in an unseasonably warm, balmy mid-autumn evening.

Now, deep into our Irish summer, we may not reach those 30 degree nights, but with up to 17 hours of daylight, the long golden days more than make up for it.

Meanwhile, in the chill of an Adelaide winter, our friends and family are left still remembering summer.


#henleybeach #adelaide #southaustralia #summer #sunset #beach #jetty

It had been far too long since I last soaked up the briny magic off the coast of Kerry.

No matter how many years I’ve been diving, I still feel a flicker of nerves before that first descent, especially this time — testing out a new camera setup that had flooded once before.

Once down, though, my nervousness was replaced with a bliss that divers know so well. Being under the water is a place where the noise and stress of topside life simply vanish. I felt deeply grateful, once again, for the privilege of being a diver.

Even after surfacing, I was in no hurry to leave the water — lingering to capture a few final images and be at peace in my happy place.


#scuba #diving #kerry #boating #ocean #sea #rib

The sun had set. The people on the beach were dispersing to homes or to bars or to where ever people go when they they have lost interest in the moment. The stalwarts remained, listening to the gentle surf while the air chilled. I made my way back to the car.

As I walked through the car park something caught my eye. I clicked the shutter only to realise my settings were those from when the twilight still lit the ocean. Oh well I thought, I’ll just keep walking anyway and see what emerges.


#henleybeach #night #abstract #henleysqaure #longexposure

It’s the end of March, we should be in the full of Autumn with Winter approaching but the balmy almost tropical evening made it feel like the height of Adelaide summer.

Behind me the beach is packed with people. Above me they stroll the jetty. Evening picnics are in full swing and a wedding band is rocking a local cafe. Shrill cries of laughter from the outdoor patrons of the Ramsgate Hotel seem to make there way down to the beach to join in the fun.

In front of me, the jetty stretches out to sea. Under her the sea is calm and golden and for a moment I can imagine her all to myself on this beautiful evening.


#henleybeach #twilight #jetty #boardwalk #goldenhour #southaustralia #seascape

It’s been a very long time since I photographed a Henley Beach sunset. Tonight I nearly didn’t.
I was in fact about to mow the lawn when I noticed the light around me strike the building as it emerged beyond the blanket of ominous cloud above. The lawn was soon forgotten, tripod located and to the beach I went.

Henley beach was mayhem. A balmy, almost tropical, 30 degrees on a Friday night was an attraction to be experienced and the result was people everywhere doing just that.

Four lads engaged in a game of beach volley ball soon grabbed my attention and I ending up watching this beautiful Henley Beach sunset through the net and the players.


#henleybeach #volleyball #sunset #goldenhour #sport #jetty #fun #clouds #beach

This beautiful sunset scene looking out over the wild Atlantic ocean contains some of the most amazing diving I have been privileged to experience.

My very first dive here in Ireland was on Skellig Michael, that pyramid on the distant horizon. I could not have wished for a more profound introduction to Irish diving.

From there we’ve done many dives on Little Skellig, also on the horizon, the famous Puffin Island to the far left, Bray Head just below the sunset, Long Island in the middle left and Horse Island to the middle right.

This one image captures the playground of most of my diving in the last 12 months. Some of my dives have been amazing feasts of gin clear visibility and massive underwater structures in 40m of water while other dives have been simply, character building and only served to increase my bond with and trust of the skills of my diving buddies.

Diving here as introduced to me to the amazing creatures of these waters including whales, basking sharks, seals and all the local fishes.

I am truly grateful for being introduced to the wonderful members of the Kerry Subaqua Club and for them taking me under their wing and sharing with me this amazing part of the Wild Atlantic Way.


portmagee #skelligmichael #theskelligs #brayhead #puffinisland #aerial #longisland #horseisland #travel #ireleand #wildatlanticway #sunset #blackandwhite #kerrysubaqua

Across the beautiful Lough Leane stands Shehy Mountain silhouetted by a sneak peek of sunshine. The mountains of Kerry are gorgeous and are the highest in all Ireland.

Ireland’s mountains are not high by world standards. Shehy Mountain reaches 762m. Tommies Mountain to the right is even smaller at 735m and between those two peaks, hidden from view in the distance, is the famous Carrantuohill, Ireland’s highest mountain at 1082m.

They may not be high but no one would argue against their world class beauty.


#killarney #loughleane #Shehy #Tommies #mountains #ireland #travel #silhouette

The tide was neither out nor in and I’m not sure which way the water moved. But the evidence of its daily movement, in and out is clearly evident.

It you were unaware of the aerial perspective you might imagine a leaf rotting in the mud or a fallen tree long after being felled. It’s the little ripples that give away the true story as they cut perpendicular to the ebb or flow.

I wonder what comes first? Is the bifurcation of paths on the rising tide as the water seeks the lowest path to high ground or the merging of rivulets finding their way back out to sea.


#inchydoney #beach #tidal #flats #aerial #bifurcation #abstract #tides #sand #ireland

This was my first whiskey sour in a Dublin bar and wow that ice cube had my attention from the moment my drink was served.

I don’t normally post images of my food and drink when out and about but this creation was so simple and so beautiful I had to make an exception.


#whiskeysour #drinks #bars #cocktails #ice #ice-cube #mixers

While this image may have its technical flaws, I'm not that concerned as it is my first foray back into technical imaging after many years.

Recently, a club presentation on night photography, hyper-focal distance, and focus stacking sparked my curiosity. I set out to find a solution, whether hardware, software, or app, that could simplify the focus stacking process beyond manual refocusing and shooting.

The market offered plenty of options involving hardware solutions or USB-to-PC connections. However, I specifically wanted wireless control, which eliminated USB options. While many apps seemed promising, they required Bluetooth connectivity, which wasn't compatible with my WiFi-only camera.

After brainstorming with OpenAI's ChatGPT, it suggested RupiApps might have a solution that could communicate with my camera over WiFi. Though ChatGPT couldn't confirm if it would meet all my needs, I decided to give it a try.

Enter Camera Pro Control, and what a discovery it was! After installation and configuration, I found exactly what I'd been looking for. The app's interface made it effortless to set up the camera, define focal limits, specify the number of spanning frames, and sequence the capture. This particular image comprises 20 frames, starting from the engraved case-back and working down to the screws beneath the escapement.

And for those wondering what makes the Airman tick? At its heart beats a Selita SW330-1 movement.


#macro #watches #mechanical #glycine #airman #rupiapps #cameraprocontrol #focusstacking

If you have ever grown carrots in your backyard garden, not pulled them from the ground but watched them flower and grow to seed you might noticed the resemblance.

This is not a carrot flower but a close relative, Ammi majus, the Bishop's Flower.

Well before Christianity and it’s current day namesake, this plant was used as a remedy for skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema, and vitiligo (their modern names). My late mum suffered from vitiligo. Perhaps Bishop's Flower may have helped.

Once a symbol of light and healing, a useful medicinal herb and because of its effect on skin pigmentation when exposed to sunlight, Bishop’s Flower became associated with light, transformation, and divine intervention.

While it is admired for its beauty, its rich history in medicine and folklore are left quietly in the past.


#botanical #herbal #medicine #bishopsflower #nature #flowers #macro #medicine #ammimajus

For a technical, pixel-peeping photographer, (like someone I know), there’s a wonderful freedom in simply turning the focus ring until it just feels right.

I’d been carrying my camera unused for most of my walk. The light was fading, the last rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. What the heck, just take a photo, I told myself.

The golden light was beautiful, but through the viewfinder, the scene felt uninspiring. Then, for a brief moment, I lost focus, literally. The auto-focus hunted way off, and suddenly, something in that blurry image caught my eye. Wow, that’s interesting.

Inspired by this serendipity, I switched to manual focus. Slowly, I turned the focus ring, watching the image change, until it just felt right. Click.

This image was that moment.


#bokeh #abstract #f/6.3 #sunset #goldenhour #blurry #focus #focusblur

The chaos which began last Sunday, resulted in thousands of people in Ireland without water, electricity or any means of transport from where they had been snowbound. Some even slept in their cars on the Dublin to Cork motorway until they could be rescued.

We were snowbound too but lucky enough to have all we needed to be comfortable at home.
By Tuesday the snow had begun to recede but the temperature drop which followed turned the thawing roads into un-navigable glaciers of sheet ice. By Friday the temperature rose, the ice thawed and normality returned.

Despite the chaos, and putting aside the personal hardship borne by many, it was beautiful time all the same.


#Ireland #mallow, #now #winter #thaw #tinyplanet #aerial #ice #evening

Just before that wintry blast from the North that covered half of Ireland in snow, bringing many counties to a standstill, we had an amazing clear night and starlit night.

The following morning every kind of frost imaginable adorned leaves, grass, and ground cover. Even old flowers holding on from Autumn were transformed by amazing jewels of ice, refracting light into all of the colours of the rainbow.

The grass was just amazing too; just not the part lying down to capture it.


#Macro #frost #grass #bokeh #refraction #winter #abstract

Such a sight to see that silver sliver emerging from the new moon. Almost always near the horizon, that silver is deceptively hard to capture.

With my eyes I could clearly see the full circle of that dark orb. A trick of our brain making us think we can see the dark and light of the moon at the same time.

With the right setup of bracketed images maybe I could reconstruct that image of my minds eye. But again it would be same trick our brains already do so well.

So to keep it simple with a single image, this silver silver is all the camera could perceive.


#crescent #moon #toenailmoon #astrophotography #waxing

Even in the depths of winter Ireland’s coastline is beautiful. Despite the rain and the icy wind, Inchydoney Beach beckons and a few fortified souls are happy to be in the midst of it.

I’ve been told there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Still, you had to be prepared and so today we were content to play cat and mouse with the rain and just enjoy the day and the beach as we found them.

Still, I think I’ll end up preferring these Inchydoney tides without the hordes that will descend on this beach come the next summer holidays.


#clonakilty #cork #inchydoney #landscape #seascape #beach #ireland #aerial

With the last light of the year’s penultimate afternoon nearly gone we headed west out of Baltimore following a simple little signpost labelled ‘Beacon’.

We were hoping for a sunset, or maybe a quiet vantage out over the wild Atlantic. No sooner had we reached the Beacon than it seemed half of Baltimore and their dogs chose to join us.

They did not stay long. Maybe it was the biting wind, or the sun lost in cloud, the fading light or maybe it was the lure of a warm pub back in town.

I took a moment to capture this Beacon of the Wild Atlantic Way with the twinkling lights of Baltimore in the distance and then we joined them.


#baltimore #westcork #cork #ireland #wildatlanticway #beacon #thebeacon #seascape #landscape #aerial #coastline

Lying on the floor and looking straight up is the beautiful vaulted ceiling of Dublin City Hall.

Beneath me, Dublin’s Coat of Arms reminds all who can read Latin, that "the obedience of the citizens produces a happy city".

The irony was not lost on me in that it took just a little bit of civil disobedience to create this image.

… facimus quod faciendum est.


#Architecture #dublin #cityhall #dublincityhall #ceiling #windows #mandala &abstract; ireland

In Ireland now it’s winter, it’s cold, the light is low and the ocean’s grey scorn has about as much appeal as hiking in mud. Still I miss her.

On some dives the visibility is poor to the point of blindness. On some dives the green haze of plankton is disorients like deep fog. On some dives it’s so dark it is hard to believe the sun even exists. Still I miss her.

Some dives are like exploring caverns that have never seen daylight even thought the surface still exists somewhere above. Still I miss her.

It’s lovely when the water is clear, the sky is blue and the sun shines with a vengeance but only a diver really gets it down here and feels how amazing this dark and gloomy world really is.


#scuba #diving #kerry #portmagee #kerrysubaquaclub #gloom #dark #deep #monochrome

Back in September we found ourselves in Kilkenny and unexpectedly in the middle of the final stage of the of the 2024 Rás na mBan.

Here at the start I found a moment and a place that really captures the feel of the event. It’s no surprise that none of the visible riders placed at the finish line but in my image at least they have pride of place.

#action #cycling #ireland #kilkenny #racing #roadcycling #sports #womenscycling