Robert’s Ramblings

Fillet of a fenny snake, scale of dragon, grind them smooth then into the pot! Double, double, toil and trouble fire burn and cauldron bubble …

Well perhaps the ingredients for our pot won’t be quite so exotic as the three witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth but I’m sure they will be put to equally good effect but in a much nicer way!!

This shot involved sophisticated studio lighting to great effect. The exorbitant sum of $1 for two candles!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 111 – Grind Them Smooth’. 30 secs at 40mm f/16, ISO 1000

There must be more to life than just chewing bones and sniffing crotches? I can just imagine the serious contemplation in Tin Tin’s philosophical reverie.

‘The Dawg’, is getting on a little now and seems to spend more and more time in such ponderous contemplation of all things canine. That being said it is almost impossible to share such moments with him, camera or not as any attention will turn back into a play, walk or food obsessed puppy again and the moment is gone.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 110 – The Dawg’. 1/10 secs at 200mm f/5.0, ISO 400

It seems our home has become a bit of a fast food outlet to a host of random visitors. The most colourful so far have been the Rainbow Lorikeets, Trichoglossus haematodus.

Both this morning and late evening these noisy squabbling parrots fought and ate and fought some more over the sweet nectar of the palm flowers in bloom.

I love the way the sun just happened to sneak through a gap and bring out the colours in the eye of this one taking a short break from the feast to eye me off.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 109 – Rainbow Visitor’. 1/1000 secs at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 800

Tonight’s guest comes courtesy of the warm evening, the bugs outside the window and a yell from Jennifer exclaiming something cute to behold.

My first reaction was to grab my camera and take a few quick shots holding the camera as steady as I could just in case the visitation was fleeting.

It soon became apparent it was more interested in the bugs than me giving me plenty time to clean the inside of the glass, set up the tripod and take my time with the camera settings.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 108 – Gecko Glue’. 5 secs at 105mm f/8.0, ISO 800

I have finally found a flower that makes my brain hurt! Neville and Elizabeth are well known for their prize winning dahlias and this beautiful example shows why.

So why does this flower make my brain hurt? Try this; stare directly into the centre of the flower for about 30 seconds and then look away to one side. When I do this I find the larger petals explode in my peripheral vision.

Perhaps it’s just me. Let me know how you go.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 107 – Hot Pink’. 1/60 sec at 110mm f/2.8, ISO 1000

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 106 – Up and Away’. 30 secs at 24mm f/5.6, ISO 400

Flowers are definitely overrated so I thought I’d change perspective.

I started out with the idea of taking a macro photo of the centre of a yellow chrysanthemum, but all of the resulting images simply looked like broccoli gone terribly wrong!

Then I noticed the subtle contrasts of the edge of the petals against the soft out-of-focus petals behind. The effect was simply stunning and I did what every self-respecting child would do: I threw the broccoli in the waste when no one was looking!

Enjoy yellow! 🙂


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 105 – Yellow’. 15 secs at 200mm f/16, ISO 400

I remember a time when I could not wait to own my very own watch. To an eleven-year-old boy, watches held an incredible fascination. I could not say which held the greater part of my awareness: the exquisite craftsmanship, the precision manufacturing, the sense of some control over time or the sense of affluence.

My first watch when I was twelve was a hand-wound Citizen, a symbolic confirmation gift from my parents. I remember I was so proud of it. However that very same year was the cusp of change as friends began sporting new LED display digital watches. From that moment on I was torn between tradition and technology.

It was many years before I came back to a watch with real hands even though still electronic and it was many more years again before finally abandoning electronics altogether with a purely mechanical timepiece. The irony now is I no longer even wear a watch as almost every gadget around does the job of showing the time for me.

Although I’m now officially timeless I still love the craftsmanship, the precision and the engineering of a well-made timepiece. From time to time I might even wear one!


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 104 – Timeless’. 10 secs at 200mm f/22, ISO 400

So anybody want to guess the original? And yes this is severely cropped.

Abstract realism is very simply achieved in macro photography where you are so close to the image that it is no longer recognisable. I think that good examples of this style attempt to find that borderline where once you realise the original object you still drift back and forth between the real and the abstract. Too close to the original and once seen that is all you notice. Too far from the original and you just don’t see it even when told.

When you get that sweet spot right in the middle it just makes your brain wobble and if that was your intention then well done!

I like this image of salad in bowl covered by a mosquito net because it does just that, makes my head wobble. The netting looks like chicken-wire but is only sharp in the middle. The salad inside is so blurred but also so strong that my attention keeps getting drawn into and out of the space.

How was your guess?


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 103 – Abstract Realism’. 1/640 sec at 105mm f/4.0, ISO 100

Long shadows and soft yellow lighting make for great photos. Every photographer knows this but why? And how can we use ‘why’ to make better images?

Immediately we hit that value-based word ‘better’. So if you follow the progression we really need to come back to ‘good’. We hit another issue, ‘good for what’? So we come back to who the audience is. That’s where it all falls apart because the entire argument expands out again. Apologies for being so philosophical, but I find questions are the only way to really learn.

Ok, so back to the image. I am the audience and the image evokes in me a moody, slow bustle because of its lighting and its movement. The image is out of the ordinary as I do not usually perceive in shallow depth of field or in marginal silhouette. There are strong features which grab my attention but nothing so overpowering to detract from the entire scene as one piece.

Because this description is how I feel and perceive the image it can only be taken as my opinion. Your perceptions will be yours but you might find some of my observations useful.

Coming back full circle to long shadow and soft yellow lighting: for me it’s about ‘out of the ordinary’. It’s about the visual treat different from everyday perceptions.


Photo: Robert Rath, ‘366 Days of 2012, Day 102 – Late Afternoon’. 1/2000 sec at 200mm f/2.8, ISO 1600