Jamie at North Coogee

I have been throwing around the idea of doing Model Monday posts.. of models I shoot. I don’t shoot enough yet to warrant the name however, but we will see how we go 🙂 I have begun casting calls and contacting numerous models to lineup shoots.

So far it has been a bit hit and miss.. with some people getting back to me and others being quite flakey.. Jamie however has been upfront and easy to work with so we got our first shoot together and I must say I was very pleased with how it went at a new location, North Coogee Headland.

Week 24 – Red Turimetta

There was an amazing blood red orange colour on the horizon this morning.. not many clouds but still got some shots to work with. This is actually a long exposure.. hence the lost detail in the shadows as I cut it short to move locations. I infact have blogged about this morning more in detail before. The Green Rocks of Turimetta talked about it in fairly close detail. I still havent gone back to shoot what I had originally intended.. I think I have been a bit put off now to be honest after noticing the big drain in all the other photos I had seen of the ‘zig zag’ rock cut. But .. there is always your imagination and stepping up to a challenge… and the pies.. oh my god I havent eaten pies from The Upper Crust for so long….

Pies Sunrise this weekend anyone? 🙂

Till next time..

Week 23 – 10 Soft Light Stops

I grabbed this shot on a revisit to Whale Beach on the northern beaches in Sydney. This is actually still 1 of only 2 shots I have edited from that morning. I absolutely love the light and the colour in this shot (and processed with grey blacks to match). Technically I think it can be improved, and I might look at it again when I finish off that sunrise itself.

Just a short one today.

Till next time..

New Location.. North Coogee Headland

Sydney is an amazing city to live in.. as is any city that you grow up in and have a fondness for. Unlike many Sydneysiders I have actually explored a lot of the greater area due to my job and willingness to explore/scout. Adding locations for working on concepts (whether it is pre-wedding photos, bridal photos, fashion shoots or even seascapes) can add a change and variety to your work which keeps things fresh. More importantly, as a photographer it also keeps it interesting and fun to try new locations and have them ‘just work’.

Week 22 – Mona at 10 Stops

Finally week 22 comes around and I can share this photo from Mona Vale again. I love this photo, so much so when my friend Rob Gjessing offered me a 1m x 0.5m canvas print for free last month I couldnt say no. At the time if you follow my social media circles you would have seen a photo floating around of it hanging in my gf’s parents house. Well it looks great.. and they are going to take good care of it for me until I either have a wall to hang it on or sell it 🙂

At just over 5 minutes this exposure is a memorable one for me. It is still the only time I have been to the Mona Vale pool and I look forward to heading back soon to do some shots up against the pool at a slightly lower tide. As usual I must thank my partner in crime Toan.. we had a good run there buddy.. looking forward to getting out there for some more sunrises again soon.

Till next time..

The Churning Waters of Turimetta Beach

Week 21 – Maroubra Light

This was a new location for me which I have blogged before! South Maroubra Beach.. I am normally over on the headland in the distance shooting at the Mahon Pool (been there many times). On this morning I had tried a few new things. Shooting a stick with water movement, long exposures without much cloud and trying things at a new location which I wasnt quite happy with. This was up until about 5mins before sunrise.. where I found a nice rock formation with water flowing through. I shot there until the sun came up became way too harsh (Ze Flaring Burns Ze Eyes) and I moved my framing to the north so I could shoot partially across the harsh rising sun. I loved the way the light was picked up by the rocks here, and with the tide coming through even a shortish 30 second exposure was enough to capture what I wanted.

This was Week 21, I should technically be on about Week 38 at the moment but I have caught up a little in the past couple of weeks (am now looking at shot 36). Some of my newest long exposures I am very excited about but that would be sharing before that week has come by.. dammit!

I have also completed my first 10 stop photo on film.. very exciting that one and I am looking forward to doing many more in this ongoing project.

A few posts scheduled for this week and next, discussing different films I have shot and some of my first fashion styled shoots I have completed. I am also planning and working on my next Guide to Film Development.. this time c41 colour negative. Feels like an eternity since I have been able to find some time to put my thoughts into words, I was a little inspired by words shared on flickr by a fellow photographer Jack Strutz this week.. and it got me thinking that I really need to lift my game and get my thoughts blogged whilst they are fresh in the mind (P.S – Check out his work he has some fantastic shots).

Till next time..

The Guide to B&W Film Development

I have finally put together the 5 part Guide to B&W Film Development into one piece. As my initial intention was, I posted this as 5 different parts over 5 days. It was a lot of work and took me a long long time (approx 20 hours in total to put it together) and I would now like to consolidate it for everyone to read.

I have decided that I will continue writing guides for this blog, discussing film techniques and post processing techniques. I have added a new guides section to the website menu and what better way to celebrate than by adding the Guide to B&W Film (take a peek at my other post processing guides while you are at it!).