In November 2007, while attending the Red Bull Air Race qualifying in Perth with a friend, I took a a number of photos of some of the many police officers who were in attendance in the crowd. Along with photos of the various Red Bull aeroplanes, I also published a photo of two police officers in my Red Bull photo gallery.

Several weeks ago, I received the following email, which referenced the image of the two police officers:

By today's standards, we have a pretty large back yard. While I'm not a very keen gardener, and often find it difficult to motivate myself to do the gardening. However, the kids love the large back yard, and are often out there, kicking a ball around on the lawn, on the swings, in the sandpit, or in the cubby house.

Earlier today, I followed the kids around in the back yard with my camera, as kids playing can often provide great opportunities for candid shots.
Here's some of the photos of my youngest daughter, Samantha (17 months old), enjoying the back yard.

Click each image for a larger version.

Taken from the Fossil Rock Lookout, near the Blowhole in Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania.
Unfortunately it was a wet and miserable day when we were here, but I love the dark brown tones of the rocks and cliff face.

Fossil Rock Lookoutt

Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @17mm, 1/125 sec, f/9, ISO200

I recently ordered a canvas print of one of my photos from RedBubble.com, an Australian-based company that provides print-on-demand services. You can buy prints of your own photos from RedBubble, or you can buy prints of any of the many high quality photos uploaded by other RedBubble users.

I've previously ordered greeting cards from them (great quality!), but this was the first canvas print I've bought through RedBubble, and I decided to write this review to allow people to see what a canvas print from RedBubble looks like.

I ordered the large canvas version of this image, which works out at a size of 610x311mm. The completed canvas print was delivered about 8 business days after being ordered online (published times for standard delivery are 10-15 business days), and was securely packaged in cardboard, bubblewrap and plastic.

After unpacking the canvas print, I took a closer look at it, and was surprised at how much detail had been retained in the image. Some canvas prints lose a lot of details due to the texture of the canvas, but the texture of the canvas used by redubble is subtle enough to ensure detail is preserved.

folded canvas on the corner

solid wooden frame

My youngest daughter is fascinated with my camera. This makes it difficult to get photos of her, as she immediately heads towards the camera when she sees it in my hands.
She particularly likes to see the results on the rear screen after I've taken a photo. Maybe she's an aspiring photographer who can't wait to take her own photos ;-)

reach

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/60 sec, f/3.2, ISO200

However, on rare occasions, she'll pose for the camera. This typically occurs when she's found something that's more interesting than the camera - often something she's not supposed to be touching. In this particular case, she was experimenting with my wife's sudoku book and pen that was on the coffee table.

smile!

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/80 sec, f/1.8, ISO200

Mountains appear blue in the distance as the clouds roll in.

distant mountains

central Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO100

I love the colours of autumn leaves.

autumn red

Cataract Gorge reserve, Launceston, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO200

The Tessellated Pavement is located just north of Eaglehawk Neck, in Tasmania. Nearby, a number of other geological attractions are located, including the Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, and the Blowhole.
However, the Tessellated Pavement was the most intriguing for me, with the rock formation looking very much like it was man-made, due to the very straight and parallel lines in the rock formation.

There are two main types of formations in the Tessellated Pavement, with the pan formations (as shown in the two photos below) being concave (ie, pan-shaped), and the loaf formations (to be shown in a future blog post) being convex like a loaf.

pan formations at the Tessellated Pavement

Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @12mm, 1/40 sec, f/9, ISO200

Earlier today, a friend pointed me at an interesting blog post about how many photographers obsess with gear, and always needing to upgrade a body or lens... It's a worthwhile read, and serves as a great reminder for all photographers out there to focus on their photos, and not the gear they think they need/want ;-)

Also from the same blogger, a humorous look at the realisation that he has too much gear, and sells most of it to buy the "dream" camera he thought was too expensive....not realising just how much money he had already spent on gear anyway!


On another note, if you've ever wondered how to tell the age of a Canon lens, here's some info on making sense of the date code that's on most Canon lenses.
A quick look through my lenses indicates L lenses have a date code, but my other lenses don't have one.


Scott Kelby recently interviewed an attorney to discuss various topics, including copyright, model releases, and shooting in public. While it's primarily US-focused, there's still some interesting content for people in other countries.

While not specifically photography-related, I thought I'd post this information, as all webmasters and people running websites should be aware of it, as AVG LinkScanner could be causing additional bandwidth usage on your websites, and falsely inflating your website hit counts.
Also, anyone with AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0 needs to be aware of this behaviour, that it will consume additional download quota as LinkScanner queries every result on a search engine results page, and that it is having a negative impact on websites.

While in Tasmania in May, we visited the Devils @ Cradle wildlife park. Devils @ Cradle have a captive-breeding program, with 20 Devils on-site. They also monitor wild Devils in the Cradle Mountain area. When we visited, they had several female Devils which were thought to be pregnant.

This particular Tasmanian Devil is a small female named Charlotte.
I like this photo because it shows the Devil in the classic screaming posture, with her mouth wide open.

Charlotte the Tasmanian Devil

Devils @ Cradle, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/80 sec, f/4, ISO200

Tasmanian Devils have a reputation for making lots of noise, and the specimans at Devils @ Cradle were no exception. They screeched and screamed a great deal while we were there. Apparently the screaming is not really a show of agression - it is done to intimidate their enemies (including humans).

Here's an overview of all the photos I blogged during the month of June, with all the photos coming from my recent Tasmanian holiday.





Click any image to navigate directly to that blog post.

Some of the other posts from June include:

• Copyright Violation - what would you do? (posted 2008-06-16)
• Copyright Violation - follow up (posted 2008-06-30)
• Tasmania Holiday (posted 2008-06-02)

In my previous post on copyright violations, I described the situation which inspired me to write about this topic:

I could have responded in numerous ways - including taking no action. At the other extreme, I could also have sued, claiming improper use of my copyrighted image.

On a recent Tasmanian holiday, while in Hobart, we drove up Mount Wellington, hoping to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain. However, the top of the mountain was surrounded by thick fog, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

optimistic speedlimit

Mt Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO200

The Tamar Islands Wetlands are just a short drive north of Launceston, and there's a 3km boardwalk leading from the carpark, across the river, and onto Tamar Island. There's plenty of flora and fauna to see, and the photo below shows the grass that lines the majority of the boardwalk.

grass detail

Tamar Island Wetlands, Launceston, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @100mm, 1/320 sec, f/4, ISO100

On a recent holiday in Tasmania, we visited the Liffey Falls. They are located in central Tasmania, approximately 10km north of the Great Lake. The road to Liffey Falls is very narrow, with plenty of corners (and a small wooden bridge), so you need to take your time while driving. The road to the top carpark is signposted as being suitable for short-wheelbase vehicles only, so buses and caravans need to take an alternative route to the lower carpark (which has less facilities, and requires a longer walk to the falls). However, the slow drive means you can enjoy the wonderful green scenery of the temperate rainforest.

Once at the Liffey Falls carpark, the actual falls themselves are still a 25 minute walk away. It's a pleasant walk through the rainforest, and you pass by a number of smaller cascades on the way to the main falls.

The photo below shows the main falls. To get this view, I had to cross the river, and had one leg of my tripod resting in the water.

To fully appreciate this photo, be sure to click on it to view a larger version.

Liffey Falls

Liffey Falls, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @15mm, 2.5 sec, f/16, ISO100

I encountered this wooden bridge on the way to Liffey Falls, in central Tasmania. The road to Liffey Falls is particularly narrow, with lots of sharp corners that need to be navigated slowly. On the morning we visited Liffey Falls, we didn't encounter any other cars or people on the road, or on the walk trail to the falls themselves.

Due to the relatively low light levels caused by the overhead trees, this photo was taken with a tripod, with an exposure time of nearly one second.

wooden bridge

Liffey Falls Track, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @17mm, 8/10 sec, f/9, ISO200

While on a short boat cruise on the Marana at the historic Port Arthur site in Tasmania, the sun made several brief appearances through the rain. The rainbow below was the result of one of these brief appearances of the sun.

rainbow

Port Arthur, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @50mm, 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO200

The photos below typify the Tasmanian countryside for me - lots of green rolling hills, and mountains in the distance.
While driving through Tasmania on a recent holiday, we frequently stopped on the side of the road to take photos of scenes such as this.

grazing

central Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO100

green carpet

Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @12mm, 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO100

rolling hills

Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO200

The first photo was taken somewhere near the northern end of the Tasman Peninsula (near Eaglehawk Neck), and the second was taken along the west coast of the Tasman Peninsula.

This blog post was inspired by an issue which recently occurred in my own workplace.

Several months ago, while reading an employee-only internal newsletter published by my employer, I happened to recognise a photo (shown below) that had been used in the headline of the newsletter, and was also used on the company intranet (linking to the newsletter).

That particular photo is available on my website, and is clearly labelled as a copyright image that cannot be used without permission. No-one had requested my permission to use the photo.

the stolen photo - lonely autumn leaf

Matilda Bay, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @76mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO400

Some digging through my webserver logs indicated that a colleague had found the image while doing a Google image search for images relating to autumn.

I only happened to see the photo in the publication because I'm an employee of the company, and hence have access to this particular newsletter. If the photo had been used in any other company, I wouldn't have noticed!



If you notice that a colleague has "stolen" one of your photos, and is using it without your permission in an internal employee-only publication, what would you do?
Post details on how you would respond using the comments facility below.

I'll be posting details in a future blog post on how this particular issue was handled.


Edit: I've posted a follow-up article here.

I took this photo while lying on the ground, attempting to get some photos of my active 15 month old daughter.
It was only afterwards that I realised this was a suitable entry for Neil Creek's Iron Chef Photography - Shoes competition.

shoe view

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/60 sec, f/2, ISO200

Here's a slightly different view of the Penitentiary at the well-known historical site of Port Arthur, in Tasmania.

After drizzling for most of the day, the sun came out for a brief period of time, providing great lighting on the grass and the Penitentiary. It also resulted in a rainbow, as seen in the top left of the photo, with the recognisable shape of the Penitentiary in the background.

The lichen on the paling fence was particularly interesting, so I went for a wide open aperture, and focused on the fence.

What do you think? Feel free to provide feedback by adding a comment.

fence detail

rainbow over the Penitentiary

Port Arthur, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @20mm, 1/800 sec, f/4.5, ISO100

The Batman Bridge, which crosses the Tamar River in northern Tasmania. It was built in the late 1960s, and was the first cable-stayed bridge in Australia.

This long exposure was taken just after sunset, with headlights of cars traversing the bridge providing some lighting of the railing on the top of the bridge.

Batman Bridge at dusk

northern Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @10mm, 30 sec, f/7.1, ISO200

This is the Tasman Bridge, which crosses over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania. This photo was taken from Rose Bay, on the east bank of the Derwent River.

This bridge gained a lot of media attention in 1975, when a section in the centre of the bridge collapsed after one of the bridge's pylons was hit by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra. Four cars fell off the bridge, killing five people, and seven crew members on the Lake Illawarra drowned when the ship sank.

Tasman Bridge at night

Hobart, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @35mm, 20 sec, f/9, ISO100

Here's another photo from our recent holiday in Tasmania, with the morning sun back-lighting the fence and the grass, which is covered in frost.

sun-lit fence and frosty grass

Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/320 sec, f/9, ISO200

Here's another photo from a recent holiday in Tasmania.

This is looking down the rivermouth of a river at Denison Beach, on the east coast of Tasmania, a few kilometres north of Bicheno. In the distance, the beach and ocean is visible.

The sky was almost cloud-free, with just a few small clouds visible above the horizon. I like the subtle sun-rays visible at the top left of the photo (click the photo to view a larger version).

mirrored sky

rivermouth at Denison Beach, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @15mm, 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO100

Taken during a recent holiday in Tasmania, I tried to capture the morning sun highlighting the frost on the trees and grass.
I'm not sure exactly where this was, but it is just south of Launceston, taken early in the morning as we headed east out of Launceston, on our way down the east coast, towards Hobart.

morning sun on frosty trees and grass

Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @41mm, 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO100

One of the things I really enjoyed about this holiday in Tasmania is that we could just stop on the side of the road whenever a photo opportunity presented itself. Many of the landscape photos I took while in Tassie were just that - scenes that looked interesting while driving, and hence warranted a quick stop to take some photos.

Early morning frost provides some interesting patterns on a barbed wire fence, somewhere just outside of Launceston, Tasmania.

Barbed Wire Frost

near Launceston, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO200

I recently had to go to Tasmania for a couple of days work in Bell Bay (northern Tasmania).

I was born in Launceston, and my parents moved away from Launceston when I was four years old. I've always wanted to go back to Tasmania, so I decided to make the most of this opportunity, and took a week's leave once my work was complete. My wife joined me, and we spent a week driving around Tasmania, clocking up 1755km in 7 days.

Due to the limited time, we planned our trip, to ensure we were making effective use of the time we had. We started in Launceston, then drove east to St Marys, and sampled the fantastic pancakes at Mount Elephant Pancakes, before continuing down the east coast. In Freycinet National Park, we did the Wine Glass Bay lookout walk, and then continued down to Hobart.

One day was spent visiting Eaglehawk Neck and Port Arthur, and we headed back to Launceston for the weekend, before going south again, to Lake St Clair, and then upto Cradle Mountain for a few nights.

We had a great time, and loved the Tasmanian scenery. Although the weather was overcast and drizzling some of the time, we didn't let that stop us, and still did plenty of sight-seeing.

Tasmania was appealing for several reasons. Firstly, it's the place of my birth, and I haven't been back since I was four years old. Secondly, there's a lot of Australian history in Tasmania, particularly in places such as Port Arthur. While the Port Arthur history may not always be exotic (a convict's life was pretty miserable and harsh), it's still Aussie history. Thirdly, I have heard plenty of stories from people about how green the country side is, and the natural beauty of places such as Tasman's Arch, the waterfalls, the rainforest, etc.

I took lots of photos during the week in Tasmania, and will be posting some of them on this blog over the coming weeks, along with some more stories and commentary.


Edit: here's some of my photos from Tasmania (click a thumbnail to go to the corresponding blog entry):

Here's an overview of all the photos I blogged during the month of May.






Click any image to navigate directly to that blog post.

Note that I'm not only posting photos - I also wrote several posts in May, including:

• Selecting Lenses for a Holiday (posted 2008-05-07)
• Glass Choices (posted 2008-05-11)
• Quick Links #1 (posted 2008-05-16)

In April, I wrote:

• Health Issues with Compact Fluoros (posted 2008-04-08)
• Making Bookmarks With Your Photos (posted 2008-04-27)

A row of Tuk-Tuks queued up on the side of Thawiwong Road in Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand.

Tuk-Tuks queued up

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO100

This is another one from Chalong Bay, in the south east of Phuket, Thailand.

long tail boats

Chalong Bay, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @41mm, 1/250 sec, f/10, ISO100

While on a drive around the south west of Phuket, we stopped at the Kata View Point to enjoy the view. Some locals were there, with some tame sea hawks and sea eagles.

sea hawk

Kata View Point, Phuket Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

They referred to the one shown above as a "sea hawk", but after some research, I think it may be an Osprey.

Every now and then, I'll be doing a Quick Links post, where I provide some brief info and links to interesting stories/articles. This first Quick Links post focuses on photographer's rights.

A Los Angeles photographer recently received a suprise visit from two agents from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after a photoshoot at the Port of Los Angeles.
From the original post: Maybe one of these OCAU photography shirts would have helped:

OCAU photographer shirt

John Forrest National Park, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @79mm, 1/3200 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

Do you know your rights as a photographer? If not, then I would strongly recommend you read on to find out more about your rights.

The view from the Kata View Point is a great vantage point with a great view.
The bay nearest to the view point is Kata Noi Beach, the next one is Kata Beach, and the last one is Karon Beach. Patong Beach is on the far side of the hills on the far side of Karon Beach. The small island visible on the left is Pu Island.
Unfortunately, it was overcast almost every day we were there, so we didn't get blue skies. However, I like the green vegetation framing this photo.

Kata Beach and Karon Beach

as seen from the Kata View Point

Kata View Point, Phuket Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @17mm, 1/400 sec, f/9, ISO200

While in Phuket recently, we went for a drive around the south of Phuket. We stopped for lunch in Chalong Bay, during some heavy rain. After lunch, the rain stopped, and I went for a brief wander along the beach. I came across this boat, and snapped a few photos of it.

aground

Chalong Bay, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @30mm, 1/125 sec, f/10, ISO100

While on holidays in December last year, we had nearly a week of rain.
Here's a few photos I took between rain showers.

rain drops on the washing line

Busselton, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO400

During a business trip to Calgary (Alberta, Canada) in June one year, I saw many mounds of dirt on the grass and around the paths in downtown Calgary. The locals told me these were created by the local gophers, but it took a few days before I saw a gopher in the flesh.

This photo was taken during a weekend visit to Banff and the surrounds in 2005, with my point-and-shoot Olympus C-770. The Olympus camera really helped my photographic progression, but also really frustrated me with some of its limitations, and thus helped me to make up my mind to buy a DSLR.

Watchful gopher

Banff, Alberta, Canada
Olympus C-770 UltraZoom @63mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.7, ISO100

I've always believed that glass (ie, camera lenses) is more important than the camera body. When I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 350D, rather than buy the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II kit lens, I opted for the more expensive Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. I didn't see the point in putting a ~AUD$150 lens onto a ~AUD$1000 body!

Bill Wadman recently wrote about this in a blog post titled Glass (part one). He introduces the subject by saying: Bill also goes on to discuss the benefits of prime lenses instead of zoom lenses.

Read Bill's article to see what else he has to say about choosing lenses.

Dawn is a great time of the day for photos, and the photo below is one of my favourites from a trip to Darwin and Jabiru in 2006.

It was taken at Mamukala Wetlands, near Jabiru, which is approximately 200km east of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. The water was very flat, and there was a bit of fog over the water as the sun came up. Everything is very still, and the only sign of life is the birds foraging for food.

I like this photo, because it portrays the peacefulness and quietness of the dawn.

Dawn at Mamukala Wetlands

near Jabiru, Northern Territory, Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO400

I recently went on an overseas holiday to Phuket, Thailand, and had a hard time deciding which lenses to take. On the one hand, I wanted to ensure I had lenses to cover the focal lengths and lighting conditions I might encounter, but on the other hand, I didn't want to have to carry around all my lenses all the time.

In this post, I discuss the camera gear I took, and provide details on why I decided to take that gear.
I also provide the results of some quick analysis of the photos I took, determining how I used the lenses I took, and which focal lengths were the most popular. This allows me to then review the choice of lenses, and provide some recommendations for other travelling photographers.

My two older children, Ashley (9) and Michelle (8), mucking around on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. The boat in the background is a long tail boat.

fun at the beach

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @35mm, 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO100

This is a view inside Concourse C of the new Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi airport. It's an an interesting design, and appears to consist of sails stretched between sections containing windows.
There wasn't much colour in the original image, and I found the duotone version a little more interesting than the colour version.

inside Concourse C, Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi airport

Bangkok, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/15 sec, f/5, ISO200

Here's an overview of all the photos I blogged during the month of April.






Click any image to navigate directly to that blog post.

Looking up into a beach umbrella.
This photo was taken while on a recent holiday to Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand.

beach umbrella

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO100

Some beach chairs and an umbrella waiting for tourists.

Beach Chairs

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO100

Producing bookmarks with your photos provides another mechanism for you to share your photos, and can also provide a way to publicise your website. Bookmarks can also make attractive gifts, and can easily be slipped inside an envelope along with a card.
If you run a photography business, you can also use these bookmarks to advertise your business.

completed bookmarks

With photo-quality printers becoming cheaply and readily available, many people will be able to make these photo bookmarks at home. (However, many people may not have a laminator at home. Laminators are reasonably cheap, and many printing places provide laminating services. Alternatively, your workpace may have one, so ask if you can use it.)

While in Phuket recently, we visited the Phuket Monkey School. This is one of the monkeys at the school (note the chain around its neck).
I thought the duotone conversion adds to the gloomy feel of the photo, as the monkey waits for the next show to start.

waiting

Phuket Monkey School, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO200

Another photo taken with one of my favourite lenses, the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.

red gerbera petals

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/5 sec, f/11, ISO100

A couple of photos taken at AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia), through the aquarium glass.
Despite the high ISO, I was pretty happy with these shots.

a shark speeding past

AQWA, Hillarys Boat Harbour, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @44mm, 1/8 sec, f/5, ISO1600

The low angle of the soft evening sunlight provides warm colours on these Norfolk pine needles on the ground.

Norfolk Pine Needles in the evening sun

Esplanade Reserve, Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/160 sec, f/4, ISO100