Robert’s Ramblings

Not sure if theses were once real trees and have been decorated in lights or they were always all plastic?


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 151 – Plastic Blossom’. 1/200 at f/6.3 ISO1600 200mm

Two days from now this scene will be but a memory as one more blight on the suburban landscape is bulldozed into oblivion.

I only know a little about the people who last called this place their home. Not personally but from conversations with others I learned of their helplessness and despair at their lot. I don’t know where they are now but I hope their new home will not mirror them in the way this place may have.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 150 – Suburban Despair’. 1s + 1/5s +1/20s + 1/80s at f/16 ISO100 17mm hdr

Bravely bold Sir Robin Rode forth from Camelot. He was not afraid to die, Oh brave Sir Robin. He was not at all afraid To be killed in nasty ways. Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 149 – Brave Sir Robin’. 1/8s at f/2.8 ISO 800 100mm

Just how much can you see staring into a bright light globe? Not much and perhaps even less for a while after you look away as your eyes recover. So this image is an experiment in HDR to try and look into the light to see everything.

This image is a 375W heat lamp which produces in addition to heat a lot of useful light and a prime candidate for a HDR composite image. I could have taken one image with the light turned off but the lighting would have been very different and even the filament would be different as it changes its dimension with the heat of operating. My final three images I chose are three stops apart. The difference between extremes is 64 times!

The end result, well you decide after looking into the light!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 148 – The Heat is On’. 1/8000s + 1/1000s + 1/125s at f/22 ISO 50 200mm hdr

There’s not enough colour in our suburban environment. Sensible muted tones of whites, creams, browns greys and blacks abound everywhere broken by the greens of gardens, parks and street lined trees.

When I first saw this bright and chirpy fence-line fronting the West Beach Caravan Park I thought wow! Colour, colour, colour and more colour running off into the perspective distance. It always brings a smile to my face, especially early in the morning with the rising sun.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 147 – Captive Colour’. 1/200s at f/16 ISO 400 100mm

Well winter has now struck us with a vengeance and its not even June yet. It’s cold and blustery with sweeping showers and not at all pleasant to be out in for long without sufficient weather-proofing and thermal fortification.

Sunflowers to the rescue!! I am not not sure where they were grown but if locally then it would have to be the tail end of the growing season. In any case they remind us of summer even though it has flown north for the winter.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 146 – Winter Sunshine’. 4 secs at f/4.0 ISO 200 100mm

A few seconds later my camera seemed to float just above the swirling surf as the tripod went for a late night swim!

I am only just starting to get brave enough to expose my gear to the elements but a swim in salt water is a little more serious that rain. It was cold and wet and rainy and blustery but I was rugged up to the hilt and just love being down on that windswept beach.

I had 10 minutes, took 6 shots and this is one of them.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 145 – Blustery Henley Beach’. 30 secs at f/14 ISO 400 17mm

I know this one is a similar to day 139, St Peter’s Cathedral, but the similarities rapidly end when you compare them.

This is the third HDR image in my collection and was composed of 3 exposures of 2.5, 10 and 30 seconds respectively. I just happened to be attending an event at Adelaide Uni this evening and Bonython Hall would have to be the single most impressive building on campus. How could I not photograph it?


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 144 – Bonython Hall’. 2.5+10+30 secs at f/11 ISO 400 24mm

I think that the Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus macrophylla, is my favourite when it comes to amazing trees.

From the beautiful rich dark green foliage through to the dense bushy structure, a large robust trunk and finally those extraordinarily convoluted buttress roots, they are just stunning. We have some beautiful examples here in Adelaide.

This Moreton Bay Fig adorns the grounds of Prince Alfred College where it is slowly tearing up the car park!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 143 – Wooden Lava’. 1/60 secs at f/8.0 ISO 800 28mm

I’m not sure that this year’s RSPCA’s Million Paws Walk count reached that magical 1,000,000 ( not by a long way! ) but it’s an impressive sight all the same.

The starting grid of the Adelaide 2012 Million Paws Walk.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 142 – Million Paws’. 1/160 secs at f/8.0 ISO 200 47mm