A family portrait in Werribee South

An Australian family portraiture session should, in my opinion, be fun, relaxed, casual and outdoors.  I can’t think of anything worse to be hanging up on the family loungeroom wall than a stilted, studio shot of Mum, Dad and the kids in their Sunday best, with a nondescript backdrop.  I’m thinking in particular about my own, taken when I was about 10 or 12, which still makes me cringe when I see it.

Remember when you’re choosing family, wedding or other photos of the people close to you to display prominently in your house, that you’ll see these photos every day.  I believe you would be happiest with photos taken in a location that makes you feel happy when you see it again and again.  The photo should bring back a memory of joy, associated with either the time or the place. 

A photograph that is being hung for viewing needs personality and character, rather than looking like a traditional posed image with painted on smiles.  It’s a little like music.  The Top 40 is full of tracks that really have no depth, and therefore no longevity, but you are immediately attracted to them.  Over time you’ll get bored with them.   A timeless track is often the one that grows on you, rather than immediately catching your eye.  So, listen to your photographer when he/she advises you on which photos are best to display.  They may not be the ones you initially think.

Thanks to Damon Howes and his family for this session on a brisk, but very sunny late afternoon at Werribee South Beach. I hope they’re enjoying their new collection of family portraits.

Photo Challenge 1 – Garden

Photo Challenge 1 – “Garden”

This week’s challenge was initially deemed an easy one by some of us.  However I quickly pointed out that it could, like any theme, be interpreted in a very obvious way or in a totally obscure manner.  The artist defines the interpretation, not the public expectation.

Steve’s submission:

My thoughts: I don’t go out into the garden unless it is to sit in the sun and read a book, or play with the cats. And even then, it’s not for long.  But I do like to collect information. Therefore a bookshelf with gardening books is my own garden.  I shot this with the Canon 350D at ISO 400, 1/40, f2.2 and 50mm. The result is barely any depth of field, which shows on some of the books, and not a terribly sharp image due to motion.  However, I am a lazy photographer and just like to capture something as soon as I see it or have the idea.  So no amount of time was going to be spent on lighting this bookshelf any better, and I didn’t feel like adding any image noise that Ken might be want to bag me about.  I chose to desaturate all except the greens, simply because gardens are supposed to be green.  I kept some yellow because dying lawn is yellow.

Ken’s submission:

My thoughts: Ken didn’t let me down with his first submission.  He chose to apply strong compositional rules with his use of lines drawing the eye through the image, and his placement of the fence post. There is a natural border created by the shrubs in the foreground, and the shot was taken with extreme wide angle to create a panoramic effect.  What is most striking to me is the definition of the clouds and, to a lesser degree, the plow rows.  He does this with a combination of HDR, in this case created from 7 separate images across the exposure spectrum, and good contrast management in post-processing. The result, a hastily finished image that would still look amazing on a wall.  The connection with our theme is that it is a market garden near the Point Cook RAAF base.

Ken says, “Most of the fields are filled with Cauliflower and I suspect this one has just been readied for a new crop.  This photo is a blend of seven bracketed photos and shot with the Tokina 12-24mm on a Nikon D2X. I merged the images in Photomatix Pro and tone mapped accordingly.  It could use a bit more work with burning and dodging, but due to time constraints i will leave as it is.”

Mat’s submission:

My thoughts: OK, there is either a lot, or very little to say about Mat’s shot, from the point of view of an uninformed observer.  I personally don’t like the shot for many reasons, but that’s not to say the guy next to me doesn’t love it. As you will find out over time, Mat has a very different way of looking at things to me.

This shot was taken at Campbell’s Cove near Point Cook, on the smelly seaweed garden that gathers over the Point Cook coastline during the winter then rots as the summer heat kicks in.  I guess the bland colours and flat lighting, combined with an uncomfortably claustrophobic crop and a forlorn seagull poking me in the eye, work well to tell the story of unpleasantness this “garden” presents to the visitor.  Note to anyone wanting to travel down there to capture a better beach image – Campbell’s Cove is the home to what is probably Australia’s most revolting nude beach.  The inhabitants are about as unattractive as the location.

Mat says, “The rotting seaweed garden of Campbell’s Cove.  Come for the decay, stay for the stench.”

Joepi’s submission:

My thoughts: This is a simple but beautiful and natural image, that immediately calms and relaxes you when you view it.  Long-term staring may bring attention to technical issues, or scruffiness of some of the flowers, but that would be taking away from the intended enjoyment of the image. You wouldn’t critique a cut flower arrangement instead of being soothed by it’s simple placement in a vase, would you?  I’ll stick my neck out and critique it anyway.   Whilst the depth of field is OK, the white flowers directly behind the main subject serve to take away from the definition of the flowers. A cleaner backdrop, even if made up of leaves and branches would help the main orchid bunch to dominate the image.  The darker leaves around the outside make for a nice vignette.  The lighter, unopened buds to the bottom left distract me a little.  But I’ll finish by saying that the moment this file opened on my desktop my immediate reaction was “ah, very nice”. Just as a bouquet of flowers may do.

Joepi says, “Orchids have always reminded me of my Mum’s garden. The color contrasts of purple and yellow-green off-set by the whites just make for a very fresh and clean feel. This photo was taken in Tagaytay last Sept. 28. Canon EOS 400D, 1/2500 sec f/1.8 at ISO-200. Edited in Picasa.

Next

I hope this first post serves to raise a few hackles, soothe a few savage beasts, and get the juices flowing for another round.  The next challenge theme is tougher. It is “submission“, and is due by Sunday 16th November.

Phuket – Island Hopping 1

I’m finding it very difficult to blog on a daily basis. Partly because I am always exhausted after a long day, usually starting at 7am, followed by a short break before night activities, and partly because it takes a while to select and edit the photos, So the regularity and quality of posts will diminish somewhat as time goes by.

The last few days I’ve been island hopping, finishing with my last one tomorrow, and I’ve seen a Muay Thai kickboxing event. This was the real deal as opposed to those shows put on for tourists.

I took a full-day speedboat tour to Krabi and a few islands to get a feel for the beautiful water and sands. Although the weather was pretty bad the water was very warm and the snorkeling fun. I will say that the quality of the reefs we saw was very average. Perhaps the tsunami made a real mess of things, perhaps I’ve been spoiled with what we have back at home – even in Port Philip Bay – or perhaps there is better to come. What made the tour great was that I shared it not only with the obligatory United Nations of Tourists, but with 6 off-duty guides. These local Thai’s were taking a rare chance to see the sights they don’t get to see when they are working, and were an absolute riot. Even with the bad weather we were all smiling, all day long. And to top it off they bought me beer for the return trip. Just me, mind you. I guess I look more thirsty than every other tourist in Phuket…

The trip out to the first island took about 90 minutes, during which their cameras didn’t seem to stop clicking. Mine was grabbed halfway through, and I was forced into this shot (Can’t you tell?). For the benefit of those who like to see me in photos (are you all nuts?) …

On the way out there were some interesting sights.  I can see how the tsunami was so devastating, as there is a very long shallow area, and the tides are quite dramatic here.  This guy is collecting “clams” (we call them pipis, whelks and cockles) whilst the tide is out. He pushes the box along, which apparently somehow “calls” the shellfish out, then grabs them and throws them into the box.

Halfway to the first island we passed a boat which seemed to be on fire. Seeing as our captain made no comment or radio call, I can only assume that someone was brewing local coffee or cooking up a storm inside.

My first attempt at snorkeling with my underwater camera housing was a mixed affair.  Whilst the camera didn’t get wet, I wasn’t able to see what I was shooting very well, and the PVC often pressed the function buttons whenever I dived deeper and the pressure increased.  It remains to be seen how successful I’ll be at shooting whilst scuba diving.

We stopped at Chicken Island.  I can’t remember why it is called that, but it’s a nice little sand atoll that has a shallow tidal crossing to another island.  On the landing area was a group of people repeatedly playing a snippet of Indian music.  I didn’t think much of it until someone explained to me they were filming for a Bollywood film.  This was a love scene, and I realised eventually that the two actors were lying on the ground kissing for each take, and that they had been filming the same take for the entire time were on the island – that would be about 45 minutes!

Around the Krabi region are small islands with caves in which people live. They set themselves up to collect birds nests for a period of time after which they set sail back to the mainland to sell their harvest.  Looks pretty peaceful, but I don’t suppose there’d be any wireless internet.

The trip home was very much a different experience to that going out. A storm hit us, and we all got extremely drenched.  Whilst this didn’t bother me at all the locals are not used to anything below about 28 degrees, and they were clearly suffering, even under their ponchos.  They still managed a painful smile, though.