Entries by Robert

I grew up with the family car having always been a Ford.

As a young teenager I was inspired by such Australian muscle cars as the GTHO and Coupe Falcons but when I encountered my first Mustang, an exotic car in the Australian 70's I got my first hint there were bigger beasts out there.

I've long since shed my insular loyalty to a motoring brand just because that's what my Dad drove but still to this day I find my self singing along in my head to Mack Rice's Mustang Sally when ever I see a Mustang old or new.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Ride Sally Ride', 1/640s f6.3 ISO640 200m

With a strong feeling that there just might be an awesome sky this evening I headed down to Henley Beach about 15 minutes before sunset. The moment I arrived I realised I had made a mistake.

For some months now Henley Beach Jetty has been a no public access construction site as storm damage is being repaired and a new shelter constructed. The interim downside is that it has become a bit of an eyesore and not conducive to lovely images.

Leaving it so late I really had no choice but to make the most of being here and pointed my camera North by North West instead.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'North by North West ', 0.3s f20 ISO100 14mm

As I drove home earlier in the week I noticed a great rent in the clouds opening up as if someone had taken a knife to the sky.
There was of course nowhere safe to stop atop the Port River expressway bridge and I'm sure it would not have been legal regardless.

I nearly drove on being happy to just take in the sight when a little way on inspiration took me and I found a place to pull over. Crossing the four lanes of high speed merging traffic was a little nerve racking and when I did get to the safety of the medium I was a little shaken. Note to self: cars travelling a high speed appear from nowhere and without warning!

The walk back and up to the crest of the bridge between the two opposing flows of traffic was fortunately uneventful and I got to stand admiring that ripped canvas peacefully oblivious to the cars and trucks all around me.

I stayed awhile up there as the sun disappeared and that ripped canvas tore slowly apart like some giant zipper revealing a clear blue grey sky beyond.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Rip in the Canvas', 1/320s f5.6 ISO200 100mm

This story began more than 34 years ago when I stopped by an old electronics salvage store on Churchill Road, Kilburn where I first met Batz Goodfortune, inventor, designer and electronic music composer extraordinaire and creator of the All Electric Kitchen (AEK). Sharing just a little common ground, we hit it off.

A year earlier, in 1983, Yamaha introduced a synthesiser they dubbed the DX7. This machine took the mainstream music industry on a transformative ride that created some of the most iconic keyboard sounds of the 80s. Batz had two of these coveted machines, and I was envious!

More than 34 years later, a very good friend of Jennifer's, Russ, decided it was time for his DX7 to find a new home. Thanks to his wonderful generosity we now have one of the wonders of the 80s here in our living room.

At first it was a bit reluctant to come back to life. Its internal memories were lost, the performance settings were corrupt, and all we could initially get out of it were the most appalling squawks. After a bit of Googling, some circuit board surgery, a copy of the original sounds as MIDI system message files, and a fair dose of TLC later, Russ's DX7 was once again making those nostalgic synthesiser riffs come alive!

Thank you, Russ. This trip back to the 80s has been so much fun.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Back to the 80s', 3.2s f4.5 ISO200 100mm

From the balcony of the Largs Pier hotel I heard a strange hissing sound from across the way.

In the gloom I could just make out a dark shape holding what looked like a spray can tagging something unseen.
Then he was off and his gait carried a smugness that said it all.

I really had no hope of capturing an image that could be used against the perpetrator but what I did get was interesting enough to keep.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Smug Escape', 0.6s f2.8 ISO3200 200mm

There is something almost unreal about the petals of a tulip.

Unlike the velvety textures of roses or the rough textures of chrysanthemums, tulips have a feel all of their own.

I simply just love the form and texture of tulips.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Tulip Texture', 2.5s f16 ISO800 100mm

We could have missed this not so babbling brook as we crossed the River Sneem on the way from Kenmare to Portmagee.

It might have been the need for a snack or a comfort break or some such mundane travel stop. Regardless of the reason, once here the roar of the water tumbling over rocks eventually drew us to discover this gorgeous scene in the middle of the quaint little village of Sneem.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hiding in Plain Sneem', 1/800s f8 ISO100 70mm

Prickles just lay there on the pavement and did not mind at all when I lay down in front with my big (relatively) lens.

It only too a few moments to realise why this Prickly Gecko(Heteronotia binoei) was not in any hurry. The pavement was freezing. Not exactly what a cold blooded reptile needs for being mobile.

How Prickles came to be stranded I don't know but we took it inside for a while to warm up before letting it go in the garden.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Prickles ', 1/10s f7.1 ISO800 100mm

While driving tonight around sunset we were treated to yet another amazing sky where the clouds were lit with oranges and yellows and the vineyards glowed red in the sunset drenched Barossa Valley landscape. With no opportunity to stop we simply enjoyed the show as we headed on to our destination.

Later that evening I looked up into the evening sky and caught sight of the moon peeking through rent in the clouds. Well that was all it took to send me straight back to the car, grab my camera and capture this image.

This kind of image presents an interesting technical challenge where our eyes trick us into believing we can see the the moon's detail as well as the moonlit highlights in the clouds.

What our eyes and brain are really doing here is switching back and forth between the elements of the image. One moment we capture the details in the moon's brightly lit surface while the sky around is black. The next moment our attention picks out the dim highlights in the clouds while the moon, now just a bright white blob at the periphery of our attentions is ignored.

Just like the HDR processing in a modern camera phone, our brain captures all these elements and combines them into a single seamless image full of detail.

This image on the other hand relied on the moon being partially obscured by cloud to compress the dynamic range and let me capture it in a single handheld shot. A few moments later the moon was hidden again and I when back inside.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hide and Peek', 1/32s f2.8 ISO1000 200mm

When I watch a gull in flight above some beautiful landscape my eye is drawn to the movement and for a moment I feel I share in its effortless freedom.

Thinking about it some more I muse the gull has no concept freedom so in that moment the freedom was completely mine.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Freedom', 1/2500s f5.6 ISO100 200mm

One of the most idyllic ports in Ireland might very well be the old fishing town of Kinsale on the southern coastline of Ireland.

I have been fortunate enough to visit Kinsale a few times now but each visit has been fleeting, not really creating an opportunity to photographically explore in any meaning way.

Until next time here's just a glimpse of this idyllic town.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Kinsale', 1/640s f9 ISO100 90mm

Shultzy's a mechanical engineer and product designer who I have worked along side of for a few years now.

Last week over a few beers at the Little Bang Brewing Company a few of us got together to wish him all the best as he leaves us for new challenges in his career.

All the best Shultzy.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Shultzy', 1/125s f3.2 ISO100 100mm

The first time I came across locks as icons of commitment was many years ago while travelling. On a bridge over the River Seine were hundreds of padlocks locked to the structure. Some were engraved, some were very old, some but not many had tags and all were resolutely locked in place assuming their keys had been thrown into the river and lost for all time.

Here in Hutt street a similar idea combining commitment and charity by the Heart Foundation means that every lock is carrying a message of love or commitment. Apart from the messages and the colour of the tags though they all look identical.

The tags are all heart shaped and the locks are all red. The messages are in ink and at a distance they all blend into a one homogeneous texture. I'd even go so far as to suggest that none of the keys have been lost but kept as as some token or retained by the organisation just in case they need to dismantle this installation in the future.

So the the romantic in me will always be taken back to that bridge over the River Seine where each and every symbol of love and commitment had no end or no undoing. Where every small key is lost for all time.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Small Key Is Lost', 1/250s f5.6 ISO100 50mm

Looking down from observation level into the Céide Fields visitor centre is like looking into an old well somehow both shiny new and steeped in history.

From the bottom the ancient tree from the bog rises from gnarled roots like some old rusty needle ready to impale any poor soul unfortunate enough to slip and fall.

Time to stop staring down should vertigo get the better of me and make my way down safely by the stairs.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Down To The Roots', 1/400s f8 ISO640 14mm

Ducks rock!

Nothing more to say.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Because Ducks Rock', 1/25s f4 ISO320 200mm

Perhaps there was a time when a bright zinc plated watering can tended lovingly to someone's seaside garden.

Perhaps it served faithfully until the handle broke and its owner discarded it for a new one.

How it came to rest for a time in Galway Bay, be rescued and then set upon the rocks will remain a mystery however if not for its curious past I would never have captured this image.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Once Was Watering Can', 1/50s f3.2 ISO320 135mm

I was photographing amusement machine riders at a recent event and noticed their various emotional states immediately on disembarking.

So I readied myself for the next group of disembarking riders, raised my camera, then this happened!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hands In The Air Like You Just Don't Care', 1/80s f/8 ISO100 70mm

The University of Adelaide Coat of Arms emblazoned with the universe motto 'Sub Cruce Lumen', meaning 'The light (of learning) under the (Southern) Cross', might indeed carry a hidden message.

Perhaps the symbolic text represented on the feature book is nothing more than artistic scrawl. Or perhaps there is more to it.

Look close and you will see repeating pattern of symbols and form. Perhaps the artist was commissioned to present a deeper message in these mysterious runes. Or going way out on a limb, perhaps some mystical enchantment willed there form into creation

It's probably just artistic scrawl after-all but it sure looks convincing.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Sub Cruce Lumen', 1/20s f/2.8 ISO1000 200mm

It's ironic how such dainty little white and yellow flowers have taken on the omen of death.

Still, here they are all congregated in a suspiciously defined patch of open grass amid the old graves of Greyfriar's Kirkyard, Edinburgh.

You can of course look at those little white and yellow daisies see them for what they really are, ... new life.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Pushing Up Daisies', 1/80s f/8 ISO100 70mm

I've always wondered about that famous harp symbol used by Guinness.

Was there a link to the 13th century 'Arms of the King of Ireland'?

Guinness used the harp logo in 1862 on their very first bottled Guinness but never actually used the word until 1960 when they called their first lager 'Harp'.

If there is a link to Ireland's national emblem then perhaps they mirrored it to avoid a trademark challenge by the state. You'd never get away with a simple mirroring today.

Fortunately they did and harps will always remind me of Ireland and Guinness.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Of Harps and Kings and Lager', 1/80s f3.5 ISO1600 110mm

When I was a child there was a fence at my parents home covered in lantana. Memories of this lantana fence are so very vivid for one reason; butterflies.

The lantana always seemed to be flowering and always seemed to attract butterflies, lots of butterflies. I can distinctly remember at least 5 different unique species which frequented this fragrant fence however none compare for shear majesty as the beautiful monarch.

Since growing our own lantana the monarch and the memories have returned.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Lantana Lover', 1/400s f11 ISO400 100mm

A friend of mine told me that as children they used to play a game where they would stand bared feet on the edge of this 200m precipice and see who had the courage to step out the farthest with only their toes on solid rock. Fortunately for them none of them came to grief but that's not the case for all who have played this insane game of dare.

Aillte an Mhothair (The Cliffs of Moher) is a prominent coastal feature on the south west coast of Ireland between Lahinch and Dingle and has become one of Ireland most important natural attractions. Once this was a wild place where a gravel road and a rough dirt car park were all the amenities needed. Now there is a visitor's centre, large pay-for car parks for both cars and coaches and a seemingly never ending ant-like trail of people coming and going between car park and clifftop.

In 1987 the story of 'The Princess Bride' used the Cliffs of Moher as the site of its 'Cliffs of Insanity' and made more poignant just how crazy my friend's childhood adventures on the very same cliffs were.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Cliffs of Insanity', 1/32s f9 ISO320 70mm x4 Panorama

As summer leaves us with a last hurrah I thought I'd bring a little bit of sunshine and colour back into my photos.

There is almost no other flower which feels as happy as a sunflower; better still a garden full of them.

I am already looking forward to summer and sunflowers again.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Remembering Summer', 1/40s f16 ISO200 50mm

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Looking out from our apartment window there was a wonderful view of the Danube river as it made its way through the little Austrian town of Aschach.

Taking a step back and recomposing, the water and passing river barges melted away into some dreamy reminder of our time staying in my cousin's family home.

When I first framed this image I wanted to place the ovals perfectly in the center keeping the geometry a mirrored both horizontally and vertically. Somehow trying to perfect just felt wrong with those dreamy half shapes beyond so I just accepted the triple visioned view as is.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Tripple Vision', 1/50s f1.4 ISO400 50mm

Grey skies and green mountains might typify the beautiful country Ireland is but this place, Delphi Doolough, hides a grim story of human tragedy behind its stark beauty.

In March of 1849 during the Irish Potato famine Irish people were instructed to present themselves to officials in the town of Louisburgh to have their claims for food relief validated. For some reason the officials instead traveled down to Delphi Lodge nearly 20 kilometers south leaving instructions that anyone claiming food relief should instead present themselves there at 7am the following morning.

That night hundreds of already starving people were forced to travel south in inclement weather up over the Doolough pass to reach Delphi Lodge on the other side. Many Irish died that night, their bodies left where they fell on the shores of Doolough.

The only sign today for passers by is a lone monument, the Doolough Valley Famine Memorial, inscribed with the following words by Mahatma Gandhi; "How can men feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings?"

It's hard to imagine such a human tragedy in such a beautiful place. Perhaps it makes Delphi Doolough all the more humbling to pass through.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Grey Green & Grim', 1/60s f13 ISO160 14mm

We are so blessed to be living on a droplet in space where this scene could almost be anywhere.

Look more closely and you will find grasses, ferns, mosses, shrubberies and trees that hint towards Northern Europe. This beautiful green place just happens to be in Ireland at a place called Craggaunowen.

Although this place has been transformed into a medieval tourist attraction it was the old forest which captured my imagination. It made me want to explore this rich green landscape and leave the castles and medieval dwelling to the the tourists.

Let's hope we never need to rely on tourism to keep our beautiful planet green.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Droplet of Green Beautiful', 1/5s f13 ISO320 8mm

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We don't pillage, plunder, nor rifle or loot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We chase off thoses whalers and don't give a hoot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We spray 'em 'with water 'till they're blue in the face.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We play 'em then ram 'em, run them out of the race.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We stalk our fell prey in the pitch black of night.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We scare them off running at first break of light.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

We're angles and mentors the salt of the sea.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We keep a honed ship, she's as tight as she be.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

We're loved by the people who cherish our call.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Our passion's the ocean, to save it for all.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Pirate's Life for Me.', 1/125s f16 ISO320 200mm

Or perhaps now you don't ...

This bizarre looking device has seen to seeing that unseeing people get to see again. It probably has done so for decades.

The Bausch and Lomb Green's Genothalmic Refractor was introduced in 1934 following a long design gestation from the original Clyde L. Hunsicker invention, the 'optometer'. It went on to enjoy four decades of unrivaled use as the 'gold standard' of professional eye care equipment. Even today they are still being used to good effect.

This old specimen has however been retired to live out its days as a store front prop in a Hutt Street photography studio. I find the link a bit tenuous but it sure looks good in the shop window.

I'd wager a small bet that most of you of a similar age have been seen to and seen through one of these beauties sometime in your life,

... so maybe you do after all.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Lessons Learned', 1/125s f1.8 ISO100 50mm

For thousands of years this tree lay buried deep in an Irish bog high upon a clifftop looking out over the Northern Atlantic ocean.

How easily it could have lay there undisturbed for thousands of years more. Or just easily it may have become some peat cutter's winter firewood giving up its physical existence to new forms of matter and energy.

As history now tells those peat cutters recognised the value in their boggy discovery and recovered this relic from the past for all passers by to see here in the Céide Fields Visitor Centre.

The Céide Fields Visitor Centre. provides a rich interpretive experience of a Stone Age Ireland and a chance to learn more about Ireland's ancient history. In that context this tree, as old as it may be, is just a baby but I'm glad it made its way here as a tangible reminder of other times.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Resurrection', 1/50s f/4 ISO320 13mm

Left behind in minute concrete detail on the wall of the Havelock Hotel are a set hand prints left behind by New Zealand V8 SuperCar driver Greg Murphy. As I wandered further down Hutt street I also noticed drivers from the world of Formula One however his caught my attention.

Any high level motor sports competitor who has been winning events for more than twenty years deserves a special kind of respect. Not the least of which is either an innate sense of safety or some personal demon guardian angel. To still be alive, competing and smiling suggests an awareness of being safe above all risks.

I'm not really a motor sports fan by the way. I just like hand prints in walls.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'In Safe Hands', 1/200s f3.2 ISO100 50mm