A few months ago we were exploring Newtown and it just so happened that the Newtown festival was on that day and I also had my camera on hand. I didn’t take many photos as I was caught up in the lively surroundings, music and food.
Oceania
Cradle Mountain Summit Walk, Tasmania Australia
We started from Ronny’s Creek car park to Crater Lake, then on to Marion’s Lookout and up Cradle Mountain. We returned, in what we thought would be a quicker route, but it turned out to be a horribly steep and difficult trail back to Dove Lake. We were over-prepared in some areas like wearing thermals (we read that it sometimes snowed in summer), and piling on the wet weather gear but entirely under prepared in one of the most crucial points, like bringing enough water. It was a scorching hot day and by the end of it we were severely dehydrated and sunburnt.
Climbing up Cradle Mountain is no easy feat. I applaud anyone that endeavours this hike – it’s graded 5/5 in terms of difficulty. We were unfamiliar with this terrain, rock climbing/boulder hopping and you are pretty much scrambling 50% of the time up the mountain. At one point I was boulder hopping and I looked to my right side and saw a steep vertical drop – one misguided step and it was your life. I froze and murmured to Jackson that I had looked down and was scared. He encouraged me to keep going and look ahead.
Sydney Harbour Bridge climb
This is a photo I took in early 2011. I remember my friend’s cousin was in town and we took him to Cockatoo Island as he was interested in photography. As we crossed the harbour in a ferry I captured this shot of people climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with my zoom lens.
Looking at this picture reminds me of the time I got free tickets from work to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge. I scheduled to do the climb on Jackson’s birthday and thought it would be a nice way to spend the day. On the contrary, it was a horrible decision as the night before we were heavily binge drinking at his birthday party. The next morning we suffered from a massive hangover and dehydration. We contemplated not going but in the end decided to just do it as we didn’t want to waste the tickets. We were worried that we were over the 0% alcohol limit, which was a requirement to climb the bridge. Somehow we both passed the breathalyser but the climb, which should’ve been a great moment, was thwarted by our need to chunder.
Road trip in Tasmania – Liffey Falls & Alum Cliffs
During the long Australia day weekend in January 2014, we travelled to Tasmania, Australia. Friends that have previously travelled to Tasmania have urged us to go, often comparing the beauty to that of New Zealand – one of the most scenic countries I have ever travelled.
Pierrerie & Deena Engagement Shoot
This post is long overdue but better late than never – Pie and Deena are no longer engaged but officially husband and wife now!
I was quite excited about this photo shoot as I’ve never done an engagement shoot in an urban environment and it was a great place to flex my creative muscles. I tried experimenting with odd angles and composition.
Below are some of my favourite shots from the day.
This was taken at central station outside on the tram line. I must have walked through this area many times before but I never noticed how photogenic this place is – credit goes to Deena for location scouting! The country terminal building inside also had beautiful diffused lighting, great for portrait shoots.
Live gig at The Newsagency
It’s been a while since I’ve shot at a music gig. For me, photographing a live performance is one of the most difficult shooting situations – constant changes in lighting and the members of the band are moving subjects. Still, perhaps that it is why I enjoy it so much – I like a good challenge. I took the above photo a few weekends ago. It has a peculiar composition, you can’t see the lead singer’s face and it’s taken at an odd angle. It’s not exactly a shot that would make the front cover of a music mag but I like it because it gives a sense of what happens ‘behind the scenes’, so to speak.
Port Stephens Road Trip
Over a weekend in October, we went on a short road trip to Port Stephens (about 2.5 hours drive outside of Sydney) to celebrate our friend’s birthday. There was a lot of concern as bush fires were active in close by areas and road closures were also an issue, but we all made it in one piece.
Van and Monica are Engaged! Candid Photography Session
If I were to choose only one subject to photograph for the rest of my life – it would probably be people in their natural setting. I find people so visually interesting – their facial expressions that convey emotion, their movement and their dress.
On my daily commute to work I encounter so many different people, I often wonder what their story is. I’ve had thoughts about approaching strangers and asking to photograph them because I thought they looked really interesting – but I never had the guts to go through with it. I wonder if they’d take it as a compliment or be weirded out?
Two of my friends, Van and Monica, got engaged earlier this year and I was really keen to photograph them. Besides trying to use my camera every chance I get, I also thought it would be a good challenge to photograph for someone else, rather than myself.
We swapped ideas and I had a good understanding of what they might like. Some of my favourite photos, that I’ve taken in the past, is from photographing people when they didn’t know they were being photographed. I wanted to mimic that style and capture Van and Monica’s relationship in its truest form, however this proved impossible because the photography session is in essence an artificial circumstance. Can they really be themselves in an unnatural setting?
Early on in the day I had a bit of difficulty. I didn’t provide much direction because I wanted them to be as natural as possible, but at the same time I wasn’t getting any good shots – perhaps from the lack of direction from my end. I was conflicted – how am I to photograph them in their truest form when I’m telling them to pose for photos?
As the day progressed, we all became more comfortable and had more fun. I was able to provide more direction but mostly let them do their own thing – which is a good middle ground to what I wanted. Despite sweating bucket loads (still not used to the unseasonably warm winter in Sydney) and being a third wheel, I still had an awesome time photographing Van and Monica. When we finished, they even shouted me delicious charcoal chicken. Score!
Here are the photos from that day.
Van and Monica are incredibly playful. Throughout the whole session they were making jokes at each other, laughing and making faces.
Grand Canyon Blue Mountains Loop Track in Heathcote
Last week Jackson and I went for a bush walk in the Blue Mountains to take advantage of our last moments of unemployment. I did a bit of research and found the Grand Canyon Loop trail at Heathcote. The walk is moderate in difficulty, very well maintained and incredibly photogenic. Below photos are from the Grand Canyon Blue Mountains loop trail.
We got a bit confused about which area to park in (as there are three car parks around the area) but settled on Neates Glen car park which starts at the top of the canyon. This is the signpost at the beginning of the trail.
Abandoned Dunlop Factory in Sydney
A few weeks ago my friend organised a photo excursion to the abandoned Dunlop factory at Alexandria. We attended another abandoned warehouse not that long ago (Rozelle tram shed) so I wasn’t really keen on taking shots of graffiti so instead I played with lighting.
I believe light is one of the most powerful tools for a photographer. Simply, it can make a photo look really dramatic, or dull.
The factory was pretty dark in most areas, so when I saw windows with sunlight streaming in I had to capture it!