Entries by Robert

I had thought that they had banned 'jetty jumping' down at the bay.

I won't get into the pros and cons of government protecting us from ourselves but I will say some rules just need to be broken. There is something so playful and so representing of summer about jetty jumping. Just watching people meander up and down a jetty says nothing about the seasons or even if they are enjoying themselves, but the moment you see people leaping into the water you can be sure summer is coming.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 660, Summer Harbinger', 1/6400s f/4.0 ISO320 200mm

When going on a photo walk there is always a sense of discovering the unexpected.

Generally there is plenty of time to observe, visualize and then capture each image but there are also the unexpected surprises when suddenly a moment is there and gone.

This chance image of a young child climbing a set of stairs was just such a surprise. I noticed, framed, got one shot and then the moment was gone


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 659, Stairway To Heaven', 1/200s f/2.8 ISO640 88mm

I can't say for sure why this scene caught my eye. The serious sign, the opaque glass, the tantalising glimpse of secrets beyond, the simple lines all combine in a fascinating way.

Those familiar with international travel in Adelaide airport may have even noticed this too. I can say however I felt like I was intruding taking this image and expected to he hauled away without notice. Fortunately that did not happen.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 658, Serious Stuff', 1/200s f/4.0 ISO640 120mm

I never tire of these beautiful, mystical creatures.

With my recent increased level of diving Rapid Bay I have become familiar with a pair of Leafy Seadragons, one with eggs and I assume the other its female partner. Conditions for photography over the last few weeks have been really bad with surgy, turbid water but at least I can extract a few decent images by getting as close as possible with macro photography.

This dragon is my most recent find and her portrait just beautiful.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 657, Mystical Portrait', 1/50s f/9.0 ISO320 100mm

The first time I crawled through the fence to take some images here I found the owner of the property back at my car ready to give me a deserved dressing down for trespassing.

At first I got defensive and tried to justify myself and then allowed myself to imagine what I would be like if I discovered a photographer wandering around my property. I apologised, introduced myself and briefly discussed the issue before asking John if I could take some more images. From there he began to describe all of the beautiful parts of his large property including the times of day the light was best.

Now that I know where John lives it will be simple to drop in and ask next time I am in that area. What do you do though when driving hours through country side and have not seen any sign of a house and you spy an inviting derelict building just asking to be photographed. How would you ever know even who to ask permission to enter a property even if you wanted to. Would you simply accept that jumping the fence for that one or two frames before the light was gone is just something you must be disciplined about and not do?

I have no real answer here but I can say if you can get permission it feels good and there may be benefits and photographic opportunities that would not have come any other way.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 656, Trespasser', 8s f/11 ISO160 15mm

I used to hate blurred photos but isn't that how you would see the world if you were short sighted?

Well yes but no actually. When a myopic person sees a blurred landscape there is no real distinction where one object becomes the next. Our brains try and put the image together in a way that makes sense but it is a fluid and changeable perception. When a myopic lens captures a blurred image there is a well defined pattern around objects. When we look at this image we see clean sharp edges around point light sources and blurred transitions elsewhere. If composed well this image has enough sharp and soft elements to anchor our focus and be perceived as a pleasing.

Well that was the intention! Your thoughts?


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 655, Myopia', 1/500s f/2.8 ISO800 85mm

The beautiful fan worm Sabellastarte australiensis is both gorgeous to watch as well as fun to play with.

That peacock-like fan is actually the feeding tentacles of a non descript looking worm that lives in a mud tube. If you have not already spooked it you get the chance to photograph it. If the camera strobes have not spooked it you get the chance to touch it. When you do touch it, ... in the briefest blink of an eye it all disappears back into the mud tube where the rest of the worm remains safe from predators.

If you are patient enough to wait for the fan to re-emerge you get to do it all again.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 654, No Ordinary Worm', 1/50s f/11 ISO320 100mm

Over the last few weeks I have been following the progress of a brooding Tasseled Anglerfish (Rhycherus filamentosus) with a clutch of eggs. During this time I became concerned that they did not look healthy and now I am pretty sure none will be viable.

During my dives however I was fortunate to find another brooding parent and these eggs looked great with large healthy yolks.

This image show the progress of the new clutch and the embryonic anglerfish with clearly defined eyes, body and fins. About a week to go I'd say!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 653, Babies, Babies, Babies', 1/50s f/11 ISO320 100mm

This image is unashamedly something akin to a scene from 'the animated 'Hunchback of Notre Dame'.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity is a long way from Paris and maybe some might call the HDR rendering a blasphemy but I really wanted to try something different. With its almost animated look it feels much more 'European' than 'South Australian'. I intentionally kept the colours muted with attention to the blues, greys and the soft texture in the sky.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 652, Nativity Bell Tower', 5s f/7.1 ISO800 115mm

The historic Port Adelaide Lighthouse has an amazing history,

Prefabricated in England, installed in 1869 at the entrance to the Port River. Moved several times and served until 1985 on South Neptune Island overlooking the seals and the great whites.

In 1986 the Lighthouse was moved to its current location here as a tourist icon and is now lit at night with gaudy colored lighting. This image was captured in saturated red and blue lighting but I felt that black and white was needed to properly respect its heritage.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 651, The Lighthouse', 4s f/7.1 ISO1000 15mm

There is something in the water down there at Rapid Bay. Everything seems to be pregnant!

Well this Leafy Seadragon is not exactly pregnant. In fact it's not even a girl but a male expressing its fatherly love.

The male Leafy Seadragon takes care of the eggs immediately after they are fertilized for the entire term until hatching. In fact, once the female lays her eggs she plays no further part in child rearing and is free to go off and do what female seadragons do.

By the look of his eggs and how clean they are I'd say these were freshly hatched. Very soon they will be covered in a green algae so they become less conspicuous. I am looking forward to watching their progress.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 650, Fatherly Love', 1/50s f/10 ISO320 40mm +2

Rapid Bay is finally starting to clear up again after a few weeks of northerly swell turning the water into milky white.

This dive was very late in the day and as much as I would have not thought there was an undersea equivalent to 'the golden hour'. Well now I know there is! The soft subdued light still had the quality of a sunlit day with all its specular highlights from the surface and below but the water itself did light up with the diffuse scattering normally associated with turbid water. Note to self, 'dive this time of day more often'.

A young spider crab checks me out as I swim past and I can almost guess what he is thinking.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 649, My Turf', 1/50s f/8 ISO320 40mm +2

At first it was the reflections in the window that caught my eye; the cafe across the street, the roadside bench, the exit sign.

Then I noticed the textures in the window itself; the misaligned frame, the scratches in the wood, the distorted panes of translucent glass, the dribbled stain of grime.

No longer was 'Exit' my subject.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 648, No Exit', 1/5s f/16 ISO400 200mm

This is my favorite time of the day when the colours in the western sky take on the most gorgeous and saturated hues of red, orange, blue, green and purple. In fact it is one huge rainbow wall.

What a perfect back-light for a twilight silhouette.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 647, Twilight Silhouette', 1/160s f/2.8 ISO800 145mm

I can easily imagine this place in a rural town with adjacent cemetery.

In reality it is on a very busy main road in Port Adelaide.

I am not really a big fan of this style but once I saw the grungy drama I got a little carried away. After that it became an exercise in restoring overall tonal sensibility and having some fun.

There's nothing sacred at all about what I have done with this image.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 646, Sacred Abode', 1.3s f/11 ISO100 15mm

Is it possible to make blur look interesting?

For various technical reasons a panning shot of passing cars with an FE lens was never going to produce the classic 'speed' look. For starters the radically changing geometry of the subjects through the panning sweep as absurd. Still it was worth some experimentation to see what could be done.

Even though nothing is actually sharp in this shot I like it. It feels strong as a composition. Hmm, now if only I'd started the pan a fraction of a second sooner!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 645, Cruising in Colour', 1/13s f/11 ISO100 15mm

This guy was sitting perched atop a structure of sponge and ascidian encrusted twisted jetty wreckage.

Like many of our wrasses the brownspotted wrasse (Notolabrus parilus) behaves around divers with a mix of curiosity and timidity. Not one to anthropomorphise our local critters I still can not help see the resemblance to human traits.

Anther bad visibility day at Rapid Bay Jetty and having a 100mm macro lens fitted made this image look all washed out. The monochrome rendering really brought it back to life.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 644, Brownspotted Wrasse', 1/160s f/10 ISO320 100mm

What's the most intimidating badass camera you have ever seen?

The bane of every suburban motorist is the speed camera lurking in out of the way 50km/h limit backstreets. Oddly enough most mobile phones these days have higher resolution cameras than these brutes. It's only 11 megapixels but seems to do the job well. I also got a good look inside and the optics sitting in front of its sensor would make most DSLR enthusiasts happy even it the resolution did not.

No speeding fines ensued this time around but I'll be keeping a watchful eye out around those backstreets in future.

Disclaimer: Yes I have edited the number plate to protect the innocent!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 643, BadAss Camera', 1/2s f/11 ISO100 15mm

When the doors are closed, locked, uninviting there is not need for a 'sorry we are closed' sign.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 642, Closed For Business', 1/250s f/6.3 ISO400 15mm

Am so used to seeing the moon set upon the ocean. Tonight's setting moon was an unexpected delight.

Almost all the light coming from this new waxing moon is coming from light reflected back from our Earth. Although a common sight it is one I never seem to capture.

The only part of the moon lit by sunlight is that thin crescent gently kissing the trees.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 641, Waxing The Treeline', 0.8s f/4.0 ISO2500 170mm

The second time this year a sea mist has made the beach a mystical place to be.

Shooting directly into the sun it was impossible not to blow out the middle of the image but it was worth it to capture the tones in the sand and weed.

Just another day on the beach.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 640, Mistycle', 1/800s f/11 ISO320 15mm

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

It came in from the cold, circled a few times and then the moth landed on a soup ladle. Fortunately I noticed before he became part of the evening meal.

I normally escort uninvited guests from the house but this guy got to have his photo taken first before being sent back out into the cold again.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 638, The Moth Has landed' 0.5s f/14 ISO100 100mm

How can something be so beautiful and so ugly at the same time?

Easy if you are broody Tasseled Anglerfish (Rhycherus filamentosus) and she (or is that he?) is being very motherly about that brood of babies being guarded.

Many northern hemisphere anglerfish could not care less about their eggs letting them float away in the ocean currents enshrouded in a gelatinous raft. For this reason their habitat and distribution cover vast areas.

Our Tasseled Anglerfish on the other hand guards its young until they hatch when they will simply sink to the bottom (according to Rudi Kuter) and make their home in the nooks and crevices of the local habitat. For this reason the Tasseled Anglerfish is unique to the Southern Australian coastline.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 637, Motherly Love' 1/160s f/16 ISO640 100mm

'Obelisk' A tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument with a pyramid-like top.

This monument stands in memory of Norwood Primary School graduates who died in the first world war. It was a powerful symbol even before I read its plaque.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 636, Obelisk' 1/10s f/5.6 ISO4000 40mm

Snakeskin or crocodileskin or starfishskin?

It might look similar but that is where the similarity ends. The 'last' of a starfish is made of this amazing substance which can change from being as hard as bone to as subtle as leather.
This starfish is a biscuit star, so named as their arms are so squat and close to the body you'd think it was all one structure.

Notice the strange plate with the little striations? Its the only plate like it on the the entire body of the starfish and it is the other of only two openings, the other being its mouth. This 'grate' allow the starfish to pass water and extract oxygen it without it it would drown.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 635, Starfishskin' 1/160s f/10 ISO320 100mm

Whenever I see these on jetty pylons or on reef I think of flowers and bluebells.

In reality these little critters are ascidians or seasquirts and anything but bluebells. These are Blue Throat Ascidians (Clavelina australis) and live in compound clusters. Most interesting is they are chordates, the same phylum as us! Even though they don't really have a backbone and ribs, though it looks like it through their transparent bodies, they do have a long nerve running the length of their body in the same way our spinal column does.

This image was captured at Rapid Bay, South Australia, where they were attached to a metal stake driven into the sea floor.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 634, Blue Throat Ascidians' 1/160s f/10 ISO320 100mm

I have never really thought about how the direction of long exposure cloud streaking can relate so strongly to the subject.

It's not quite there in this image where I would have liked the movement to be perfectly aligned with the jetty itself. It is close though and perhaps now that I am aware of it I will pay more attention to it's role in future long time exposure images.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 633, Jetty Perspective' 30s f/14 ISO640 15mm

On my last dive at Rapid Bay a few days ago I discovered a brooding Tasseled Anglerfish (Rhycherus filamentosus) with a clutch of eggs.

Now a few days later I decided to see how they were going. I am not sure I can make out much of a difference just yet so perhaps I will space out the visits a little more from next time.

The Tasseled Anglerfish is very protective of its eggs and guards them well. In this image they have not been abandoned, you can just see the parent's dorsal fin running along the bottom edge of the frame.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 632, Frogfish Caviar' 1/160s f/16 ISO640 100mm

It's like a scene from some futuristic laser skirmish with the Adelaide CBD under siege!

But under siege from what? It's zoomed in evil twin of course! The real story is that this is nothing more sinister than a quick twist of the zoom during a the image exposure.

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Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 631, Adelaide Under Siege' 4s f/5.0 ISO640 100mm