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.