You know how there are some places you visit for the very first time, and there's just something about them.
Something that seems to reach inside you, into your inner self and says "Welcome, stay a while".
Sometimes it's just a calmness… a comforting feeling. Other times there's a sense of belonging mixed with high levels of anticipation and excitement.
Read MoreI was recently invited to contribute some images to Visit NSW's Featured Photographer section for Regional NSW, to help showcase "Destinations".
Kinda tough choosing which images to submit ... never too sure what they are really after! :)
Anyway, submitted some pics, with a short Bio, and it's now available on their website!
Click on the pic to head over for a look ...
My mate Rob
Karma … Fate … Destiny … Providence … Happenstance or just good ol' Murphy's Law?
Weird and wonderful how the Universe often conspires to deliver what we ask for, whether we really want it or not!
Having made the commitment to improve my Portrait skills late in 2017, an "opportunity" to shoot a Wedding landed in my lap first week of 2018 - for a wedding on the second week of February. In the classic words of Monty Python, my first thought was to "Run Away, Run Away!". "I don't shoot weddings" , "Where would I start?", "What if my camera failed?" and on and on. I'd been asked a few times over the years if I would do a wedding, but always apologetically said NO.
The fear of failing the Bride and Grooms' expectations would always be echoing around my brain. I'd shot an "elopement" for a good mate of mine once, sneaking into the Botanic Gardens, a bit of direction here and there, a few nice shots … more like a Family Portrait shoot I guess. Images turned out OK … and the lovely couple are still together! :)
My mate Paddy
This time it was different - I'd said to the Photography Gods I wanted to learn how to shoot Portraits and they had answered "Here ya go Greeny, Here's a Wedding for you to do!" Certainly not what I had mapped out in my spread sheeted plan! Anyway, I had 5 weeks to prepare, which is better than 3 or 2 or 1 week! Lots of reading, watching Youtube videos, practice with a good friend and on our family equines - I kind of thought that was OK as the lovely couple are both "Horse People" :) After a few meetings with the them, I became more relaxed about the shoot. I could see they were after a relaxed style of shooting and their special day was going to be fairly 'fluid'. I'd made a few suggestions on how the shoot would/could unfold which they took onboard. A good friend of mine would loan me his camera and lens for the day, which made me feel a lot better as well.
The big day finally arrived … a glorious summers day … off to a good start. In fact, the whole shoot went extremely well. It was a lovely wedding and I will admit to shedding a tear or 2 when Hope and Will read letters of commitment to each other as part of the ceremony - I do love a good wedding!
That morning I'd given my wife a crash course in shooting portraits ( she had never used a "real" camera before ), using the 70-200mm lens on the "back-up" camera. She did an amazing job - some awesome pics to complement the "close in" images I was taking. Between the 2 of us, I reckon we did a pretty good job! Hope and Will are very happy with the set of photos they now have that told the story of their special day and it was special!
And I guess my Portrait journey has taken a bit of a leap …. forward, with still so much to learn.
I've decided to not do a "Top 10" or "Top 5" pics for 2017. Instead I'd like share just one of my favorite shots for 2017, and I'll explain why …
At the start of the year, my son Mitch and I started planning for a Road Trip in Winter, with our main goal being to attempt to shoot the Milky Way over Uluru. Winter in Oz is prime time for Milky Way shots, and our clear outback skies just lend themselves to this. I'd only tried Astro photography a couple of times before, with very limited success.
Since those attempts, I've moved on to a full-frame camera, the Sony A7Rll, and purchased the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 Manual lens to use at night. Mitch had cut over to the Sony Alpha system a while before me, and I'd had a 'play' a couple of times with his new Sony and been very impressed with it's capabilities. The dynamic range was very impressive, which for landscape photography is important … I was keen to see what the Sony (and I!) could do!
The image below is one of my all-time faves, taken on the Road Trip Mitch and I had planned - it's a single image, shot in RAW format, with the RAW image processed in Adobe Lightroom.
On the right is the RAW file, unprocessed, straight out of the camera, below is the processed image.
At our local camera club, two "topics/questions/discussions" still occur a few times each year -
I've seen fantastic shots from our members that are shot using the default JPEG format, "processed" in-camera, with little or no post-processing. I'm never going to rubbish anyone for not shooting in RAW. I'm just really happy that they are our shooting and enjoying this great hobby we share. To me this image is a great example of what a RAW image can capture and produce. There may be cameras that can produce just as good results with JPEG … I don't know of them.
I actually enjoy taking control of the processing of the data captured in a RAW file. I want to control how to represent the image that my eyes and mind have seen, and then share that with other enthusiasts. RAW + Lightroom give me that.
The other reason I've chosen this image is that not only was I able to share the image with other enthusiasts, I was able to share the entire experience with Mitch. We both love camping, bushwalking, road trips, music, banana bread and photography, and a couple of times a year we get together and combine all of that - very special.
Having a photo-buddy is special too. I'll often go out for sunrise or sunset alone - it's enjoyable, the solitude can provide a lot of clarity of thought. However, being on a shoot with a few friends from our camera club is great … they say "A joy that is shared Is a joy made double" :) It's true, even if the brilliant sky doesn't arrive, just being out with friends, catching up and then sharing a coffee later is a great positive experience.
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the images I have shared with you this year. I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment I've been able to get out and shoot - whether that has been a Road Trip, Camera Club shoot, solo sunrise shoot at the beach or just setting up along our country lane!
May this Festive Season give you the opportunity to reach out to those you love, and to those that love you, so that the good times and treasures of today become your treasured memories of tomorrow.
Hoping you have Merry Christmas, and a Safe and Happy New Year.
Best Wishes, Craig
Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be invited by a good mate in Malaysia, to create an image slideshow, that would showcase the Australian Landscape at the Malaysia Australia Business Council Gala Annual Dinner 2017.
If you'd like to check out the slideshow, a Link
Quite a humbling experience. But also exciting! :)
Being my own harshest critic, it was tough to select the images and sequence them, but now it's done! The Dinner is being held night. My mates' band, Blues And Soul Train were also playing at the event to provide an even larger Aussie flavour!
Cheers, Craig
To Blog or Not to Blog? I guess that is the question for me right now! :)
Having just typed that I guess, while I'm considering this, the current answer is YES!
After a bit of research ...
Blogging is easy ... Apparently
GOOGLE Lurvs blogs => more visitors ... Apparently
Blogging helps other people - ok, I like the sound of that
It helps you (me) think clearer .. hmm Ok
It Challenges you (me again!) - don't mind that
Blogging will help build my Audience and Promote my work
It boost your (mine!) Creativity - definitely like the sound of that
Blogging builds and maintains your Network.
Ok - looks like there are heaps of good reasons to Blog. At least, if you are interested, you'll get to find out a bit more about me!
Although I'm on the "other side of 50", I love the way technology is always expanding our capabilities and experiences, and I really do enjoy the whole Social Media side of Networking.
I've reconnected with long lost friends I'd played Volleyball with/against from back in the 80's (btw I LOVE the 80's! - just thought I'd get that out nice and early); I've connected with old teachers (older than me - that's nice!); High School mates; but most of all it allows me stay connected with my extended family, especially my son Mitch.
Mitch and I are pretty close, and I guess it would be a bit cliched to say he's my best mate. We get on very well, we don't always agree with each other ( try telling him Flock of Seagull's "I Ran" is a classic song! it is! ) but it seems we see value in a lot of common ideas and experiences.
We also both love the challenges and experiences that Photography provides.
The best holidays I can recall are the ones camping with my family, both as a child with my parents, and now with my own family. Mitch and I try and get away for a couple of Photography road trips each year, travelling the backroads of our great country - just the two of us (I have a very understanding wife!).
There's usually :
a fairly well thought out location plan,
some photography and bushwalking ideas,
a music theme,
podcasts to listen to,
lots of great bbqs and stir fries,
and LOTS of banana bread! :)
This allows for some pretty good chat time between us.
Mitch is 25 now, working in Sydney, he has a lovely girlfriend, and it's great to see them also enjoy travel and photography together. This year they are travelling to Iceland, Vietnam and New Zealand - should be fantastic! When that's ended, Mitch and I have squeezed in another two week roadtrip.
Time to start stocking up on banana bread!
Oh, and I guess now, start on my next Blog!
