post-sunset sky

Point Peron, Rockingham, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-105mm f/4L IS @60mm, 3.2 sec, f/18, ISO100

Last night, I went to Point Peron with a friend and my oldest daughter, to photograph the sunset. It was a hot evening, but we witnessed a great sunset, and some fantastic colours in the sky after the sun was below the horizon.

The top photo was taken about half an hour after sunset - one of my favourite times for photography.
The photo below was taken a few minutes later, and my daughter used a torch to light-paint the hearts on the left hand side.

As the 2012 year draws to an end, I thought I'd post my favourite ten photos that I blogged during the year (some were shot prior to 2012, but never posted until this year).

Here they are, in the order that I blogged them. You can click each photo to view the blog post for that particular photo.

boats along the Prinsengracht

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

straight down

Kwinana Beach, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

old boat in the canal

Marken, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

Flinders Street Station after sunset

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @14mm (10-stop ND filter), 179 sec, f/5.6, ISO100

Last month, I spent a few days in Melbourne on a brief business trip. While in Melbourne, I met up with Alex and Ben for dinner.
I have admired Alex's photography for quite a few years, but for various reasons, haven't been able to meet him in person in either Tasmania or Melbourne prior to this visit. I have been on a few photowalks with Ben in the last few years, both in Perth and in Melbourne. It was great to be able to catch up with them over dinner.

After dinner, Ben and myself headed to the Flinders Street Station, one of Melbourne's cultural icons, completed in 1909. Apparently it was the first railway station in an Australian city.
It's a lovely building, and we spent some time taking long exposure photos of the building from across the street.

Flinders Street Station after sunset

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 10 sec, f/11, ISO100

Zoe

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-105mm f/4L IS @85mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO200

strobist info: a 580EX into reflective brolly on each side of camera, triggered with Phottix Odin

Now nearly two years old, here's a recent photo of Zoe, the daughter of some good friends of ours. I first shot Zoe when she was just a new-born, but she is growing up fast!

sunset down the road

near home, Western Australia
Instagram | Samsung Galaxy S II

I have had my Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone for over 12 months now. When I bought the phone, I mentioned that having a phone with a reasonable camera in my pocket would provide me with the opportunity to take photos in situations where I previously did not have a camera with me.

In hindsight, I haven't used my phone for photography much at all. I want to use my phone for day-to-day photography, and to make it easier for me to take photos and share them, I have installed the Instagram app for Android.

The sunset photo above is an example of something I wouldn't have been able to capture without my phone. I was walking around the block in the evening with my wife, and didn't have my DSLR camera with me, but I always have my phone in my pocket.

You can view my Instagram photos online by visiting my Instagram profile page or if you are an Instagram user, feel free to follow me.
I will also occasionally repost some of my Instagram photos here on my blog.

When you are on a photoshoot, juggling multiple memory cards for your cameras, you need to be able to quickly and easily identify which memory cards have already been used and are full, and which memory cards are still empty and ready to be used.

You do not want to have to try each memory card in your camera, to see if it already has photos on it.



I have been using a quick and easy solution for the last few years that allows me to instantly see if a memory card has been used, or if it is empty. I cut up the sticky part of a post-it note, and stick one piece on the inside of the compact flash memory card cases.

When putting a memory card into a case, facing the front of the card towards the post-it note label indicates the card is full, and facing the back of the card towards the post-it note label indicates the card is empty.

This method allows me to easily identify which memory cards are full, and which memory cards are empty, just by looking at the case. Have a look at the photos below to see how it works.

two empty memory cards in their cases
(front of memory cards facing AWAY from the label)

two full memory cards in their cases
(front of memory cards facing TOWARDS from the label)

banksia at the Salmon Holes

Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/80 sec, f/6.3, ISO100

The Salmon Holes is a fantastic looking beach in Torndirrup National Park, in the south-west of Western Australia, in the region of Albany, and is renowned for being a great spot for salmon fishing.

This location also has a reputation for being dangerous, due to numerous people being swept off the rocks while fishing, due to large waves and surges.

Salmon Holes

Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO100

A couple of months ago, I did a "print-a-day" project for a period of four weeks. I got the idea from a blog post on The Online Photographer. As I mentioned in my previous post about this project, I decided to do this project "as an exercise in improving your post-processing skills specifically in relation to achieving good photo prints".

It has been a while since I completed the project, but due to holidays, business travel, and other commitments, I haven't yet had a chance to write about my experience with the print-a-day project. However, this has given me additional time to reflect on the project. I still have all the prints hanging up in my home office, and look at them on a regular basis.

Looking back at the project, I believe it was definitely worthwhile, and I have learnt some interesting lessons as a result of the project.



Here are the 28 photos I post-processed and printed during the 4 weeks of the print-a-day project. Some of these photos have already been featured here on my blog.




I used a spreadsheet to keep track of the photos I was using in this project, and also used it to record how much time I spent post-processing each photo. The post-processing time for the photos ranged from 10 to 60 minutes, with most photos typically taking about 15 minutes.

Finding the time to process and print a photo each day was relatively easy, as for three out of the four weeks of the project, I was on holidays from work, and was mostly at home during the day. Outside of holidays, it would certainly be more difficult for me to find the time each day to process and print a photo, with work commitments, work-related travel, family commitments, and other extra-curricular activities.



This project taught me a number of lessons. I have attempted to note down these lessons as a reminder for myself, and so readers of this blog can benefit from them too.

• I don't print enough photos. While I typically take plenty of photos, and post-process plenty of photos, I don't print photos very regularly. Printing out photos and hanging them on your wall gives you a better appreciation for your photos, and allows you to enjoy them more. I am intending to regularly print some photos, and hang them on my magnetic photo board.
• Pick photos that appeal to you. Post-processing is always a lot more enjoyable if you are working on photos that you like, rather than photos that you are post-processing because you have to (such as processing a big batch of photos after a family or wedding shoot).
• After processing, and before printing a photo, step away from the computer for a while, or close the photo and do something else for a while. Putting a photo aside for a while allows you to take a fresh look at the photo, and you will often see something that needs further adjustment or correction, which you haven't noticed while you were working on the photo. Spending too much time looking at colours can cause you to become somewhat desensitised to them.
• What may look good to you at the time printing may look like it needs some remedial attention the next morning. This is closely related to the previous point.
• Critically review your photos, your post-processing efforts, and your prints, and be honest with yourself.
• Screen calibration and colour settings in Photoshop are very important. I had just moved from an old PC and Photoshop CS4 to a new PC with Photoshop CS6, and had some initial teething issues with monitor calibration and colour profiles in CS6 with some of the photos printed as part of this project.

I found the print-a-day project to be very rewarding, and can definitely recommend it to any photographer who wants to improve their post-processing and printing skills.
If you want to improve your skills in this area, this can be a worthwhile project.

up and away

Homebush Bay, Sydney, New South Wales
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @78mm, 1/1600 sec, f/4, ISO100

This is one of my favourite photos taken a few years ago, on an early-morning photography outing with a colleage to Homebush Bay, near Sydney.

It has some similarities to the very first photo I posted on this blog, nearly five years ago, of a pair of black-winged Stilts flying away from me, also over water.

old shed

somewhere near Margaret River, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @42mm, 1/60 sec, f/8, ISO200

On a recent road trip around the south-west of Western Australia with a couple of cousins from Holland, we saw this great looking old shed somewhere near Margaret River, and had to stop for some photos. I love the character of old buildings such as this, and the overcast sky provides a dark and gloomy look and feel.

old shed II

somewhere near Margaret River, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @24mm, 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO200

Shelley Beach from above

Shelley Beach Lookout, West Cape Howe National Park, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

Earlier this month, my wife and I had the pleasure of taking two of my cousins from Holland around the south west of Western Australia. While staying in Albany for a few days, we drove out to Shelley Beach, located about 30km west of Albany.

The lookout high above Shelley Beach is apparently a favourite spot for hang gliders, as there is almost always plenty of wind there. The large wooden platform that I'm standing on is a launch ramp for the hang gliders.

The lookout is located high above the beach, and after launching my kite, I managed to get some photos of us standing at the lookout, with Shelley Beach far below us.
Here is a selection of photos from this KAP session at the lookout.

The Ares is a new wireless flash trigger from Phottix. It was announced in late September 2012 at Photokina, and is available for purchase from 25 October 2012.

The Ares is designed as a no-frills flash trigger that is easy to use, and provides reliable triggering, at an affordable price.

The Phottix Ares is due for release in October 2012, and will replace several of the older Phottix flash triggers, including the Tetra, Aster, and the original Strato.



Features

The Phottix Ares Flash Trigger has the following features:

• Triggers hot shoe flashes and studio lights
• Rotating transmitter can be used in up or down position
• Reliable digitally-encoded signals
• Cold shoe and 1/4" threaded insert on receiver
• Includes PC sync cable and batteries

Specifications

Frequency	2.4 GHz
Range	200 metres +
Channels	8 channels and Fire-All function
Batteries	2 x AA in transmitter and in receiver 5V DC socket for external power supply on receivers
Max sync speed	1/250 seconds (1)
Antenna	built-in internal PCB antenna
Transmitting Power	> 6dBm
Receiver Ports:	3.5mm sync port, hot shoe output
Operating Temperature	0°C to 40°C
Working Humidity	35% to 95% RH

kangaroo paw detail

Beeliar, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/60 sec, f/9, ISO250

Taken while exploring The Spectacles Wetlands in the Beeliar Regional Park, I used the fantastic Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens to capture the details of this native kangaroo paw.

The 100mm macro lens is one of my favourite lenses, as it allows me to capture the details of nature, such as this kangaroo paw. The 100mm macro lens also works wonderfully as a portrait lens.

Treasury Gardens walkway

Melbourne, Victoria
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @24mm, 1/50 sec, f/8, ISO200

I like walking. When I am somewhere other than home, either on holidays, or for work, I always try to make a point of walking somewhere every day. Walking gives me some time to relax and unwind, and has its own physical benefits. Most of us, including myself, can do with some more physical activity, and walking is a low impact form of exercise that I enjoy more than other strenuous forms of exercise.

When I am at home, I try to go for a walk with my wife every evening. Not only does it provide the benefits mentioned above, but it also gives us some time to catch up on each other's day, and to chat without the kids being in earshot.
As our kids get older, they are going to bed later, and we have found that gives us less time together in the evenings. Our evening walks make up for that.

Another benefit of walking in other locations is that it allows me to see many places and things that I would otherwise miss. Places and things that can be worth photographing.

Early last year I spent a couple of weeks in Melbourne for work. (I couldn't even remember why I was in Melbourne until I looked it up - it was to conduct a training course for colleagues.) When I have a weekend elsewhere, I try to spend some time walking and exploring with my camera.

The photo above is one location that I found when walking from my hotel to the CBD - the Treasury Gardens, located on the south-east side of the CBD.
I would have missed this location if I had taken a train, tram, bus or taxi into the CBD.

The next time you are visiting another city, take the time to walk around, and enjoy the local sights.

This is one of the photos from the recent A Print A Day project I did over a four-week period last month. I am intending to post all the photos from the project in the near future.

This galah was photographed at the Albany Bird Park and Marron Farm in December last year, when we spent a couple of weeks on holidays in Albany.

galah

Albany Bird Park and Marron Farm
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/80 sec, f/5, ISO400

With Photokina happening at the moment, there have been a lot of announcements from camera and accessory vendors. Here are a few announcements that caught my eye.



Phottix released their fantastic Odin TTL Flash Trigger late last year, initially only for Canon. (Read my review of the Odin here.) A Nikon version of the Odin was made available earlier this year, and now Phottix have announced the Sony version of the Odin.

Phottix Odin for Sony

The Phottix Odin provides reliable triggering for multiple off-camera flashes, with three groups that can be configured in either TTL mode or manual mode, allowing all settings, including flash power levels, flash exposure compensation and flash zoom, to be configured from the Odin's transmitter. The Odin also supports high-speed sync and second curtain sync, and is backward compatible with the original Strato, Strato II and Atlas II triggers.

Phottix have indicated that the Odin for Sony will start shipping next week, and is now available for purchase in Phottix's online store.



At Photokina, Phottix have announced their newest flash trigger, the Phottix Strato TTL. The Strato TTL is a brand-new trigger in the Strato series, and provides a cheaper solution to photographers wanting reliable and easy-to-use wireless TTL flash triggering. As with all of Phottix's more recent triggers, the Strato TTL trigger uses 2.4GHz. It supports a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 seconds in high-speed sync mode, and also supports second curtain sync.

The Strato TTL is compatible with the original Strato, Strato II and Atlas II triggers.

Versions of the Strato TTL trigger for Canon, Nikon and Sony will be released in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Phottix Strato TTL transmitter and receiver

rear of the Phottix Strato TTL transmitter and receiver

While the details in Phottix's press release are pretty thin, it looks like the Strato TTL is a cheaper and smaller version alternative to the Phottix Odin, but without support for multiple groups of flashes.

No information is available about compatibility with the Phottix Odin, but it would be nice if the Odin and Strato TTL were compatible.

Pricing information for the Strato TTL isn't yet available, but it should provide photographers wanting TTL flash triggers a cheaper alternative.



Phottix have also announced a TTL flash, called the Mitros. The Mitros will be available for Canon, Nikon and Sony, and has been under development for more than two years.

Functionality includes ETTL, manual and multi modes, high-speed sync, rear curtain sync, auto and manual flash head zooming, and built-in IR master/slave triggering. The Mitros takes 4 AA batteries, and has a socket for connecting an external battery pack. With a guide number of 58, the Mitros flash output is likely to be comparable in power to a Canon 580EX.

front of the Phottix Mitros TTL flash

rear of the Phottix Mitros TTL flash

Something not seen on many other flash units, the Mitros has a USB port, to allow the firmware to be upgraded. This will allow Phottix to add compatibility for new camera models in the future.

The Mitros will be available for Canon, Nikon and Sony in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Update: The Mitros flash for Canon is now available in the Phottix online store, and is priced at USD$349.99.



The Ares is a new wireless flash trigger from Phottix, and was announced on 20 September 2012. The Ares is designed as a no-frills non-TTL flash trigger that is easy to use, and provides reliable triggering, at an affordable price.

One of the key features of the Ares is the rotating transmitter mount. It allows photographers to use the transmitter in an upright position, for easy access to the controls, or folded down to make it more compact.

Phottix Ares flash trigger

Use of 2.4GHz for communication ensures the Ares has a range of over 200m, and a total of 8 channels are provided. The transmitter allows either a single channel to be triggered, or all channels at once.

The Phottix Ares is due for release in October 2012, and will replace several of the older Phottix flash triggers, including the Tetra, Aster, and the original Strato.

The Phottix Odin can trigger the original Strato, but no information about compatibility between the Odin and the Ares trigger was available at the time of writing.



Also at Photokina, Canon has announced the new Canon EOS 6D DSLR camera body. The 6D is a smaller-bodied full-frame camera, with a new 20.2 megapixel sensor, and is set to be released in December 2012, with an estimated price of approx USD$2100.

Canon say the 6D is the lightest full-frame DSLR, and it has built-in wifi and GPS functionality.

front of the Phottix Mitros TTL flash

rear of the Phottix Mitros TTL flash

The Canon 6D fits into Canon's DSLR lineup between the 7D and the 5D mark III, providing a cheaper option for people wanting a full-frame DSLR, without the higher cost (and additional features) of the 5D mark III.

The maximum flash sync speed of the Canon 6D is 1/180 seconds, compared to the 5D's 1/200 seconds, and the 50D/60D/7D's 1/250 seconds. The slower flash sync speed could be a big issue for any strobist photographers wanting to use flashes outdoors.

Phottix recently announced the Atlas II wireless flash trigger. The Atlas II is a transceiver, where each unit can be configured to operate in either transmitter mode or receiver mode, and can be used to trigger cameras, flashes and studio strobes. The Atlas II has a range of upto 350m, with one tester reporting successful triggering at distances of upto 600m (90% success rate at that distance).

The Atlas II is compatible with Phottix Strato and Odin series TTL triggers, where an Odin TCU can trigger Atlas II transceivers, Strato and Strato II Multi transmitters can trigger Atlas II transceivers, and an Atlas II can trigger Strato receivers.
Note that an Atlas II can not trigger Strato II Multi receivers or Odin receivers.

It is important to note that the Atlas II is not compatible with the original Atlas. This is because the Atlas II uses 2.4GHz for communication, while the original Atlas used 433MHz. This allowed the original Atlas to be compatible with some of the PocketWizard products, but had a limited range.

The use of 2.4GHz in the Atlas II provides a much better range than the original Atlas, ensures it can be sold world-wide, and introduces compatibility with other Phottix triggers.



Some photo galleries to inspire you:

• Absolutely amazing macro photography by Lee Peiling
• Pencil vs Camera
• 4x5 Kodachromes from 1940-1943 in WWII
• Five Year Photo
• Hilarious Portraits of Faces Being Blasted by Air (there's a related video available here)

Here is a short selection of creative photography projects to try:

• Make Photo Mosaics for your Fridge
• Mini Key Chain Photo Album
• Create Wonderful Sliced Fruit Images

Earlier this year I read an interesting post on The Online Photographer blog about doing a photo print each day as an exercise in improving your post-processing skills specifically in relation to achieving good photo prints.

It is something that appealed to me, but I put it off at the time, as I had been travelling for work, and have been very busy. However, as I have a few weeks holidays at the moment, I thought I would give it a try during my break from work.



I am using a Canon Pixma iP4300 inkjet printer that is a few years old, with genuine Canon ink on 6x4" Canon glossy photo paper.

Previous experience has shown the colour rendition of my printer is very close to that of my calibrated monitors, so the complexities of printer calibration is something I don't have to concern myself with.



Rather than printing photos I have previously spent time post-processing, I am selecting a variety of photos from my archives that I have never post-processed, interspersing landscapes, macro and portraits.

Only photos that particularly appeal to me are being chosen. Some photos were taken a while ago, and I haven't got around to post-processing them. Others photos are more recent - with today's print being a photo that I took earlier today.



I started last week Saturday, so today is day six, and I have six prints hanging on the cupboard door in my home office, as shown in the photo above.

In a couple of weeks I'll post a followup on this print a day project, with some comments on what worked for me, what didn't work, and what I learnt from the project.



Today's print is one of the photos I took earlier today. As I'm currently on holidays from work, I was able to attend an excursion with the year three class that my 8 year old son is in. We spent the morning at Cohuna Wildlife Park, and the afternoon at the Armadale Reptile and Wildlife Centre.

Both locations provided a very hands-on experience for the kids, with a wide variety of animals. It was a great day, and I managed to get some great photos of the animals, the kids, and the kids interacting with the animals.

Three Lizards

top: unknown; middle: Pygmy Spiny Tailed Skink; bottom: Western Bearded Dragon

Armadale Reptile and Wildlife Centre, Armadale, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/25 sec, f/4.5, ISO1000

Late last month Phottix announced an updated version of firmware for the fantastic Phottix Odin for Canon wireless TTL flash trigger.

The most notable inclusion in firmware version 1.20 is support for 1/3 stop adjustments in manual mode. While the lack of 1/3 stop adjustments in manual mode hasn't been a big issue for me (I typically use the Odin in TTL mode, and you can get 1/3 stops with the flashes in manual mode by using the camera's flash exposure compensation), many people have been clamouring for 1/3 stops.

The Nikon version of the Phottix Odin has had support for 1/3 stop adjustments in manual mode from its initial released version, and now the Canon version also supports this feature.



Due to limitations of the display on the Odin TCU for Canon, the Phottix team have taken a creative approach to display the 1/3 stop adjustments. With previous versions of firmware, when adjusting the power output of a flash group on the TCU, the TCU's display would flash the power level, as shown in photo 1 below.

With firmware version 1.20 installed, the "+" and "-" buttons now adjust the power output of a flash group in manual mode in 1/3 stop increments. The flashing display now alternates between the base power level (ie, 1/128) and the 1/3 stop adjustment, as shown in photos 2 and 3 below.

photo 1: setting group 1 output in manual mode, power level set to 1/128 (same display as previous firmware)

photo 2: setting group 1 output in manual mode, power level set to 1/128 + 0.3

As a result of business trips to Sydney every year or two, I have been able to photograph the Sydney Harbour Bridge a number of times, and have posted several photos of it on my blog in recent years.
As I mentioned in a recent post, I try to look for unusual angles and views of the Harbour Bridge.

The photo below was taken from the south end of the Harbour Bridge, looking up towards the main structure of the bridge. It is affectionately called the "coathanger", due to its arched design. This bridge is also the world's widest long-span bridge, and is the world's tallest steel arch bridge. It is also the fifth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world - quite amazing when you consider that it was built many years ago, with construction starting in 1923, and the bridge officially opened in 1932.

the coathanger

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

On the Saturday when I took these photos, I observed several wedding parties in the vicinity, underneath the bridge, around the Opera House, and in the Botanical Gardens nearby. A bride can be seen near the railing on the other side of the road, underneath the bridge, in the photo above.

The photo below shows the massive hinges against the southern abutment, supporting the load from the arch. Interestingly, the bridge pylons, built on top of the abutments, are not structural at all.

huge hinges under the bridge

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

I've previously posted a photo from a KAP session at Prevelly, near Margaret River in the south west of Western Australia. Here are a few more photos from that KAP session, all taken with a GoPro Hero2 suspended from the line of my FlowForm 16 kite.

canoeist at the Margaret River

Prevelly, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a very recognisable and iconic structure that many visitors to Sydney will photograph. When I was in Sydney a few months ago, I tried to look for some more unusual angles and views of the iconic "coathanger" bridge.

This photo of the southern end of the Harbour Bridge, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the foreground, shows several groups of people doing the Bridge Climb.

bridge walkers

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/2500 sec, f/4, ISO100

The remains of a windblown dandelion clock, photographed in my back yard, using the fantastic Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.
The black background was achieved by stopping down the lens aperture to f/14, so ambient light wasn't contributing at all to the exposure. A Canon 580EX flash was attached to the camera's hotshoe, with a home-made flash reflector providing a diffuse source of light.

windblown

back yard, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO200

On Saturday afternoon, I spent some time in the back yard with my macro lens and home-made flash reflector, and captured these photos of industrious bees in the flowers.

busy bee

back yard, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/160 sec, f/16, ISO200

Here are some more photos from my trip to Sydney in May. While walking back from Wentworth Falls, we stopped at an interesting waterfall known as "Weeping Rock". It is quite obvious where the name comes from - with the waterfall cascading over the top of a flat rock, giving it a weeping appearance.

Weeping Rock

Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @19mm, 2.5 sec, f/18, ISO100

The photo above was taken from the walking track leading to Weeping Rock. For the phot below, I got a lot closer to capture the details of the water cascading over the edge of the rock, with the steps and hand railing in the background.

This is one of my favourite photos from a photowalk in South Fremantle last weekend.
This is a self-portrait as I'm standing on the rocks at the waters' edge. Despite what it looks like, I am not a smoker, and I'm not lighting up a cigarette. Instead, I am lighting up some steel wool to do some steel wool spinning.

lighting up

South Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @13mm, 20 sec, f/9, ISO100

This self-portait was an accidental one. As I was lighting the steel wool with a lighter, I must have accidentally triggered my camera via the Phottix Plato remote shutter release transmitter that I was also hoding in my hand.

On the horizon at the right hand side are the remnants of the cloud that some people thought was a meteor hitting the ocean.

On Saturday evening, I was in South Fremantle with a group of fellow photographers, with the intention of doing some steel wool spinning once it got dark enough. We saw an interesting cloud formation, which some claim was caused by a meteor landing in the ocean.

Before sunset, some of us noticed what looked like a contrail just above the horizon. A contrail is long thin artificial cloud caused by condensation or vapour from aircraft engines. In Perth, we rarely see contrails in the sky, as aeroplanes do not normally fly at a high enough altitude over Perth to cause contrails (most aeroplanes flying over Perth are low, either landing or taking off, as Perth is a pretty remote city).

What we saw on Saturday night initially looked just like a normal contrail, starting below the horizon, and finishing abruptly a short distance above the horizon.
Once the sun disappeared below the horizon, just to the right of the contrail, the light of the setting sun lit up this cloud, as shown in the photo below.

a meteor? I don't think so

South Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/80 sec, f/9, ISO400

We weren't the only ones to see this interesting cloud formation. On the following Monday (today), I noticed numerous news articles on the internet, claiming the streak was caused by a meteor hitting the ocean.
Many of the news articles appear to focus on the fact that it was a "fiery trail". However, before the sun set below the horizon, it looked just like a normal white contrail, albeit with a somewhat abrupt ending. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the cloud before the sunset.
This fiery streak was not caused by a meteor. It was just a contrail from a passing aeroplane.
Due to the location of this cloud, the setting sun caused the cloud to turn bright red and yellow, as shown in the photo below.

This evening I got together with some fellow photography enthusiasts, and had some fun with steel wool spinning on the beach right next to the abandoned power station in South Fremantle.

We started spinning with the old power station in the background.

South Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @13mm, 20 sec, f/9, ISO100

We then turned in the opposite direction, to make the most of the sunset colours in the sky.

While walking back up the mountain from a visit to the bottom of Wentworth Falls last month, we stopped at Queen's Cascades. Here, the Jamison Creek provides a fairly wide cascade over the rocks, as it falls into a pool, with a small sandy beach on the right hand side.

Queen's Cascades

Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @15mm, 8/10 sec, f/16, ISO100

Canon have announced a new prime lens - the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. I believe it's Canon's first pancake lens, and it'll work on full-frame and crop DSLR bodies.

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens

With 7 aperture blades, the bokeh should be a nicer than that of the 5-bladed Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens and the 5-bladed Canon EF 35mm f/2.0 lens.
At about USD$199, it seems to be well priced, and is now available for pre-order from B&H.



GoPro's much anticipated Wifi BacPac is now available, with various people reporting that they have received theirs.
The Wifi BacPac is available by itself, requiring the use of an app on your iPhone or Android phone or tablet to connect and control it. The Wifi BacPac is also available with a wifi remote control that is capable of controlling up to 50 remote GoPro cameras equipped with the Wifi BacPac.

The BacPac provides remote wireless connectivity and control over a GoPro Hero camera. Note that you need to update the firmware in your GoPro cameras before they will work with the BacPac. I have heard a few people complain that the firmware upgrade procedure is painful, so be sure to read all the information available on GoPro's website before attempting to upgrade your firmware.
B&H don't have any in stock yet, but are taking pre-orders.

According to GoPro's website, the Wifi BacPac cannot be shipped to Australia yet, as final certification has not yet been achieved.



There seems to be an on-going memory card price war, as various vendors regularly provide good discounts. B&H are once again running some specials on selected SanDisk memory cards.



The D-Photo Inspiration Fix regularly post a set of photos from different photographers, with some great photos being posted.
Some of my recent favourite sets they have posted recently include:

• Creative photography by Christopher Wesser
• Creative photography by Kevin van der Leek
• Documentary & people photography by Khalid Aziz
• Beautiful child & family photography by Angela Lumsden
• Beautiful landscape photography by Michael Breitung
• Amazing urban photography by Niki Feijen
• Amazing landscape photography by Andreas Wonisch
• Landscape photography inspiration from Tomas Suarez
• Landscape photography inspiration from Kenneth Barker

Note that some of the other sets linked by the D-Photo are NSFW.

I thought I'd also share some great collections of triptychs and diptychs that I've come across on flickr in recent months.


This is a collection of triptychs of strangers, titled, not surprisingly, "Triptychs of Strangers". The three frames of the triptych covering the stranger's head, hands and their feet.


An interesting collection of diptychs titled "Persona", with the first frame showing the person, and the second frame showing what they are carrying in their bag and pockets.

Some time ago I posted some photos showing myself and kids levitating in the back yard.
Due to the interest generated by those photos, I decided to create this tutorial to describe how you can achieve similar results using Photoshop.

Note that this tutorial assumes the use of Photoshop CS4. Some steps may be slightly different in other versions of Photoshop.
Similar results can also be achieved using most other image editing packages.

Last month, I spent two weeks working in Sydney. On the weekend, one of my colleagues, also a keen photographer, took me out to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, to take some photos of Wentworth Falls.

Wentworth Falls is located in the Blue Mountains National Park, a few kilometres east of the township of Katoomba. The total height of the falls is 187 metres, and the falls consist of several drops.

bottom of the Middle Falls, Wentworth Falls

Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @13mm, 6/10 sec, f/9, ISO200

The walking trail down to the middle falls consists of 173 steps cut into the stone, down a 90 metre cliff face. Apparently it is the longest outdoor staircase in Australia!
The stone steps are creatively named the "Grand Stairway", and walking back up the many steps is definitely harder than walking down.

Below are a couple of photos (taken with my phone) showing the Grand Stairway.

While on our way to Injidup Beach last month, we stopped at Wyadup, where I managed to get some aerial photos of Injidup Beach with my kite.

After the KAP session at Wyadup, we headed to Injidup Beach, and this is one of the photos I captured, just before the sun sank below the horizon.

A 20 second exposure (possible due to the use of a 10-stop ND filter) captures the movement of the clouds in the sky, and completely smoothes out the movement of the water.

sunset at Injidup Beach

Injidup Beach, Yallingup, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm (10-stop ND filter), 20 sec, f/8, ISO100

This is the tenth article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.



A reader of one of my earlier posts in this series, titled Focal Length, Field of View and Angle of View Defined, left a comment indicating he was somewhat confused by what I had written about focal length.

The commenter, Luis, wrote Rather than respond to Luis' questions in another comment, I thought I would explore and respond to his questions in this blog post.

When I was younger, my parents would take us to Prevelly (in the south west of Western Australia, right near Margaret River) for a few weeks every summer holidays. I have lots of great memories of our times there, and like to visit the area whenever I'm in the vicinity.

The area has changed a lot over the years, with many more houses, hotels and resorts in the area. While on holidays in Yallingup recently, we visited Margaret River and Prevelly. The photo below was stitched using several photos taken by my GoPro HD Hero2 camera, lifted airborne by my kite.

The end of the Margaret River is visible on the left hand side, while the right hand side shows the Indian Ocean. All the plants on the dunes had been decimated by a major bushfire that swept through the area in November last year, so it looked quite different to what I remembered.

Be sure to click the image below to see a larger version of it.

mouth of the Margaret River and the Indian Ocean

Prevelly, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

A shutter speed of just under one second captures the waves receeding on the beach, shortly after sunset at Injidup Beach, just south of Yallingup. In the distance (on the horizon on the right hand side of the frame), an approaching storm is visible.
The coastline around the south west of Western Australia has so many interesting features, and so many different places to explore. The one week holiday we had last month in Yallingup was definitely not long enough to explore the area, and I can't wait until I get some time to do more exploring around the south west with my camera and tripod.

receeding waves

Injidup Beach, Yallingup, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 8/10 sec, f/11, ISO100

A one second exposure captures the movement of the waves on this windy and stormy day earlier this month. The long exposure was possible due to the 10-stop ND filter I had screwed to the front of my Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens.

The 10-stop ND filter is really just an expensive piece of dark glass that only allows a small amount of light to get through, thus allowing longer exposure photos, even in broad daylight.
On this particular afternoon, the wind was really blowing (much too strong for my kite aerial photography rig), and the waves were crashing over the rocks. The longer exposure allowed me to capture some of the movement of the water and waves.

storm clouds over Sugarloaf Rock

Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @14mm (10-stop ND filter), 1 sec, f/8, ISO100

While on holidays in Yallingup recently (in the south west of Western Australia), I took the opportunity to get my GoPro Hero2 camera airborne with my kite. These photos are from a KAP session at Wyadup, located between Canal Rocks and Injidup Beach, just south of Yallingup.
These photos were taken in the late afternoon, while on our way to Injidup Beach to shoot the sunset.

Here is an aerial photo looking south from Wyadup, showing the fantastic Injidup Beach.

aerial view of Injidup Beach

Wyadup, Yallingup, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

Looking almost straight down from the kite shows the rock formations at Wyadup. However, this angle doesn't give you any appreciation for the height of these rocks.

rock formations at Wyadup

Wyadup, Yallingup, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

A sneak peek at a wedding I shot last month. We spent some time up on the hills in Jarrahdale, and in this photo, the bridal couple are taking it easy, leaning on a gate while enjoying the view.

enjoying the view

Jarrahdale, Western Australia

I recently started having focus issues with my most-frequently used lens, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L. It would often rear-focus a lot, despite using only the centre focus point and single-shot focus mode. This rear-focusing behaviour didn't occur all the time, and it seemed to occur more frequently at wider focal lengths.

There was also some in/out movement in the lens barrel that I previously hadn't noticed, and I suspected that this movement was related to the focus issues.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens

Here's an example photo, showing the bad rear focussing behaviour. The photo was taken using the centre focus point only, and single-shot focus, focusing on the face of my oldest son.

photo straight out of the camera

While the rear-focusing isn't particularly obvious in the scaled-down photo above, the 100% crop below shows it much more clearly.

When I recently posted photos of my Yellow-breasted Waxbill finches, I mentioned that some photos of some of our other finches would be coming.

Here are some photos of the pair of Yellow-head Star finches we have in our aviary. I find these more difficult to distinguish between the male and female than with any of the other finch varieties we have.

pair of yellow-head star finches

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO400

An old boat lies partially submerged in a canal in Marken, in the north of Holland.

old boat in the canal

Marken, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

While on holidays in Holland last year, we had spent the day exploring Marken and Volendam, two historic tourist towns in the north of Holland. In the evening, on the way out of Marken, we decided to stop at a convenient cafe for some dinner. The cafe was called Cafetaria De Verkeerde Wereld (literally translated, it means "Cafeteria The Wrong World"), and we had a great dinner there.

While waiting for our meals to be served, I noticed this old boat in a canal just across the road, and took the opportunity to take some photos of it.

I recently went on a photowalk in Perth on a Friday evening. After wandering around the streets and alleys for a while, we then headed to Forrest Place, to take some photos of the Friday night City of Perth Twilight Hawkers Markets.

In the crowds, we found a guy with a Stormtrooper backpack. Some of my fellow photowalkers photographed him while he was seated, and I snapped this photo as he walked past a some fellow photowalkers chimping at the back of Mark's camera.

passing stormtrooper

City of Perth Twilight Hawkers Markets

Forrest Place, Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO320

We have a fairly large bird aviary on the side of our house, which means we get to enjoy the birds from our living room and main bedroom, with just the window glass between us and the birds.
We first started with Zebra finches, because they are cheap and easy to breed. After plenty of success with breeding Zebra finches, we switched to Gouldian finches, and have since also acquired some more exotic finches.

I have previously posted photos of some of our Gouldian finches (and more here), as well as photos of our baby quails, but have never posted photos of our other birds.
This morning I spent some time photographing the other finches in our aviary. The Yellow-breasted Waxbill finches are probably my favourite. They are more petite than our other finches, and are also more active, constantly on the move.

Here is a selection of photos of our pair of Yellow-breasted Waxbill finches (also known as Zebra Waxbill finches), with photos of the Painted Firetail finches and Yellow-head Star finches to come in a future post.

female yellow-breasted waxbill finch

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/80 sec, f/4, ISO200

Earlier today, Canon announced some new products:

• Canon 5D Mark III DSLR camera body (press release here)
• Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT (product page here)
• Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT (product page here)
• Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E7 (product page here)
• Canon GPS Receiver GP-E2 (product page here)
• Canon Battery Grip BG-E11

Pricing is expected to be as follows

• Canon 5D Mark III DSLR camera body - USD$3499 body only (USD$4299 with the EF 24-105mm lens)
• Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT - USD$630
• Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT - USD$470
• Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E7 - USD$850
• Canon GPS Receiver GP-E2 - USD$390
• Canon Battery Grip BG-E11 - USD$490

The 5D Mark III, 600EX-RT and ST-E3-RT are expected to be available at the end of March 2012, and the WFT-E7, GP-E2 and BG-E11 are expected to be available at the end of April 2012.

The 5D Mark III camera body, 5D Mark III with 24-105mm lens and the 600EX-RT flash are currently available for pre-order at B&H.



This announcement finally puts an end to the speculation about specifications of the Canon 5D Mark III in recent months, with the announced specifications being:

• New 22.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor
• New DIGIC 5+ processor
• New 61-point High Density Reticular AF system
• 6 Frames Per Second
• Multiple Exposures - an EOS first
• Inbuilt HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode - an EOS first
• ISO 100-25600 (with expansion of L:50,H:51200/102400) enabling sharper images in a broader range of lighting conditions, especially in low light
• Intelligent viewfinder with 100% coverage
• Shutter Life of 150,000 cycles

Canon 5D Mark III camera body

The Mark III features a minor increase in pixel count (22.3 megapixels compared to the Mark II's 21.1 megapixels), a new DiG!c 5+ processor, lots more focus points, and a larger ISO range.
Multiple exposures are likely to prove useful for some artistic photos, but is unlikely to be widely used. Built-in HDR functionality is interesting, as there are some situations where it could be useful. However, due to the many completely overdone HDR photos seen on the internet, many people disdain HDR.

Yesterday afternoon we took the family to Kwinana Beach. While the kids were having a lot of fun in the water, I got my kite airborne in the gusty seabreeze, and took some aerial photos.

Here's my favourite from the KAP session, with the camera pointing directly down towards the beach:

straight down

Kwinana Beach, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

After having dinner in Rockingham, as we were driving back home, we noticed the sunset was looking very nice. We stopped at Kwinana Beach, and got some photos of the sunset (from the beach, without the kite this time), with the Grain Terminal providing an interesting silhouette.

Kwinana Grain Terminal at sunset

Kwinana Beach, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO100

While exploring Amsterdam on foot and by boat, it is hard to miss the many different bridges over the many canals. Here is a selection of black and white photos of some of the bridges encountered in Amsterdam.

A boat on the Keizersgracht (emperors' canal) passing under a bridge. This is where the Keizersgracht intersects with the Brouwersgracht (brewers' canal):

boat on the Keizersgracht passing under a bridge

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

A bridge over the Bloemgracht (flower canal), where it intersects with the Prinsengracht (princes' canal):

bridge over the Bloemgracht

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

The narrow wedge-shaped building in the photo above, at the corner of Prinsengracht and Bloemgracht, is an art gallery called "Galerie Josine Bokhoven". The shape of the building is due to the two canals not crossing at right angles.

There are signs on each side of the bridge in the photo above that say "ZINKBUIS RIOLERING". As far as I can work out, this refers to zinc pipes used for sewerage. If anyone can shed any more light on exactly what this means, please leave a comment.

Mitchell Kanashkevich is an award-winning travel and documentary photographer from Sydney. He has written a number of ebooks on photography-related topics, and "Rabari - Encounters with the Nomadic Tribe" is the first e-book of a series on travel documentary photography that Mitchell will be doing with LightStalking.

The photos included in Rabari are from a personal project undertaken by Mitchell, about nomadic Indian cattle herders called the Rabari. He spent 4 months travelling on the back of a motorbike with an assistant to build his collection of photos of the Rabari.

This ebook contains a great collection of photos of the Rabari, and Mitchell provides detailed information on each of the photos, including:

• camera settings
• some background info on the subject(s) shown in the photo
• objectives of the photo
• light
• moment and/or pose
• composition
• biggest challenge
• how he managed it
• post-processing

While in Holland last year, we spent a day exploring Amsterdam. The many canals throughout Amsterdam see quite a bit of traffic, and there are also a lot of houseboats moored along the sides of the canal. Many of these houseboats look like they haven't been moved for years.

boats along the Prinsengracht

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

This is a view down the Prinsengracht (Prince's canal), with the Westerkerk visible in the distance. This photo was taken from the bridge near where the Brouwersgracht (brewers canal) crosses the Prinsengracht.

This is the ninth article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.

Let me start with a definition of "depth of field". Wikipedia defines "depth of field" as If the entire image is sharp (ie, all in focus), it has a large depth of field. If an image has the foreground sharp, while the background is blurred, it has a small depth of field.
A small depth of field is also referred to as "shallow focus", and a large depth of field is also known as "deep focus".

The term "depth of field" is often abbreviated as "DOF".



There are a number of factors that affect the depth of field in a photo.

• Distance between camera and subject
  Shorter distance = less DOF; longer distance = more DOF.
  
  The further the camera is away from the subject, the more DOF you will get.
  This is one of the reasons macro photography is challenging. With very short distances between the camera and the subject, the depth of field tends to get very small.
• Focal length
  Longer focal length = less DOF; shorter focal length = more DOF.
  
  Longer focal lengths mean less DOF, which is one of the reasons why longer length lenses can be great for portraiture photography.
• Aperture
  Larger aperture = less DOF; smaller aperture = more DOF.
  
  Opening up the aperture reduces the DOF, while stopping down the aperture increases the DOF.
  A "fast" lens with a larger maximum aperture (say, f/2.8 or larger) allows a smaller depth of field to be achieved than a kit lens with a maximum aperture of f/4.
• Format size (ie, sensor size in a digital camera, film size in a film camera)
  Larger sensor = less DOF; smaller sensor = more DOF.
  
  Full-frame DLSR cameras provide smaller depth of field than a crop-sensor DSLR.
  Point-and-shoot cameras, with their tiny sensors, typically struggle to provide a small depth of field. (This is due to the format size affecting the circle of confusion, but that is a complex topic that I will leave for a future post.)

Here are some photos demonstrating different depth of field by varying only the aperture. Both photos were taken from exactly the same location. The first photo shows a very short depth-of-field due to the use of a large aperture, which causes the (distracting) background to be completely blurred.
The second photo shows a much larger depth-of-field due to a much smaller aperture.

very short depth-of-field due to lens being wide open at a large aperture of f/2.8

Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO100

larger depth-of-field due to lens being stopped down to a small aperture of f/22

Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/30 sec, f/22, ISO640

Shallow depth of field will draw the viewer's eye to a specific part of the image, typically desired in portrait photography.
Conversely, deep depth of field ensures all components of the image are in focus, which is typically desired in landscape photography.

Understanding the factors that affect depth of field allow you to be aware of the impact of varying any of those factors, and thus have more control over the depth of field in your photos.

Because depth-of-field is one of the key aspects I like to control in my photography, most of my photos are taken with the mode set to aperture priority. This allows me to choose the aperture, rather than allowing the camera to select the aperture.

Because the old cities and buildings of Holland appealed to me while on holidays there mid-last year, I have enjoyed looking through the black-and-white photos from this project, and thought it worthwhile mentioning Jan-Willem's Cities of Holland project.

The Project
Cities of Holland is a project of the Dutch photographer Jan-Willem Eshuis. The idea of Cities of Holland is to take a unique photo of all cities in the Netherlands that have (or had) city rights. City rights are a phenomenon in the history of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The rights where given by a liegelord (for example a duke) to a settlement he owned. The rights gave certain privileges that settlements without those rights didn't have. Some examples of city rights are the right to build a city wall, have a market or the right to charge toll.

In the Netherlands there is a total of about 194 cities with these city rights. The goal is to take a photo of each of these cities with a characteristic building or on a characteristic spot of that city.

one of the photos from the Cities of Holland project: Skyline of Deventer

photo by Jan-Willem Eshuis, used with permission

Why?
The idea of this project is based on the Streets of the World project. In this project the Dutch photographer Jeroen Swolfs is traveling around the world to make a photo of every capital in the world. His project is taking five years and inspired me to realize a similar project.

About Jan-Willem Eshuis
Jan-Willem Eshuis is a Dutch amateur photographer who's working as a CTO at a Dutch media company named NLbuzz. In his free time he loves to take photo's of all kind of objects. He used to take pictures with his Nikon SLR D50 and D60 camera but in december 2010 he bought his Leica D-Lux 5.

For more information on the Cities of Holland project, check out the Cities of Holland website, facebook page, flickr stream, or twitter page.




If you have never seen The Little People Project, it is definitely worth checking out. slinkachu is a UK-based artist who does street art installations, and photographs them. However, these art installations are tiny!
The recently-posted Dead Leaves series is a great example of the type of work in The Little People Project. The Fantastic Voyage is another of my favourites.

More photos from this series are available on The Little People Project website and on slinkachu's flickr stream.



Lisa Bettany has posted 6 New Year's Resolutions Every Photographer Should Make in 2012.
Every photographer should read her list and add those resolutions to your list!



Year-long exposure of Toronto skyline, taken with a pinhole camera, has produced an interesting photo. Michael Chrisman installed the camera at the beginning of 2011, and pulled it down on 31 December 2011. I particularly like the interesting trails left by the sun as it moves across the sky throughout the year.



In another year-long photography project, Eirik Solheim has taken a photo out of his window every half hour. He then used a selection of 3888 of those photos, and using a 1-pixel-wide strip of each, created a different kind of time-lapse photo. Have a look at his One Year in One Image blog post for the resulting photo.
If you are interested in the technical background on the process used to capture these photos, have a look at this blog post.

Here are some photos from another KAP session in Albany - this time at Emu Point beach.
We were at the beach in the early afternoon, and the seabreeze was blowing well, so I thought I would try flying my kite to capture some more aerial photos with the GoPro Hero2 camera.
Once the kite was airborne, and the camera rig was attached, I proceeded to let out more line, and captured some photos using the camera's built-in intervalometer.

looking north-west at the boat pens

Emu Point, Albany, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

However, as the kite went higher, the wind got stronger, causing the kite to dart around the sky, with the camera rig swinging wildly through the sky.

We spent a week on holidays in Albany (south-west of Western Australia) in late December. While in Albany, I lifted my recently-purchased GoPro Hero2 camera aloft with my kite.

My first KAP session with the GoPro Hero2 was at Middleton Beach, and while the wind conditions were great, the lighting wasn't ideal, as it was getting a little too dark. The GoPro Hero2 seems to handle the low light conditions quite well, and I was quite happy with the results.

Here's a shot of the sunset over Mount Clarence, with Middleton Beach in the foreground.

sunset over Mount Clarence to the south

Middleton Beach, Albany, Western Australia
GoPro HD Hero2 (suspended from a kite)

Three baby quails hatched in our aviary a few days ago.
While we have had plenty of baby finches over the years, the baby finches will only venture out of the nest when they are adult-sized.

In contrast, baby quails hatch on the ground, and are immediately mobile, scampering around on the ground, and hiding underneath their mother's wings.
They are a lot of fun to watch, and I took the opportunity to take some photos of them this afternoon.

three baby quails

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/800 sec, f/4, ISO500

snuggling up to mother

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO500

staying close together

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO500

checking out the surrounds

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO500

exploring

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO500