Skip - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)

Skip - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Mona Lisa - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
The background to these photos ..

I had just flown in that morning from Shanghai (via Singapore) where I had bid farewell to Jenny and Joanne. I was excited about the trip there for the World Dragon Boat Championships at Qingpu just to the west of Shanghai (I was just an excited spectator and photographer in those days - definitely inspired me to get into dragon boating on our return). During the return flight I had already decided that I would go back to meet Jenny and Jo in Shanghai on their return from a group road trip and some traveling by themselves (which included 5 days on the Yangtze River). It would be a surprise for them and we would spend the last 4 days in Suzhou and Shanghai where I would celebrate my 44th Birthday.

Thought I would walk up to Newtown to keep myself awake as I had not slept much on the over night flight from Singapore. Had my tiny IXUS and I was photographing the Mona Lisa and I remember Skip asking me about what I thought of the painting and her smile. I said I liked it and I remember doing some googling later and found a couple of really interesting pages (should have them somewhere - will try to find them).

Following this initial conversation it was easy for me to ask Skip whether I could take some photos of him in front of the painting. He was a more than willing performer. Bob was just there sitting on the step smoking a cigarette and they seemed to know each other.

For the closeup photo at the top of the page I remember being quite taken by his jacket (it was a hot mid-Spring day) and the large ring he had on is finger. So I just asked him to raise his hand to his sunglasses. I was happy with the result. I remember printing some of these photos and leaving an envelope with them (and some Mona Lisa related web pages) at the Church just around the corner in King Street.

This is the closest I have ever come to doing something like what LottieP does everyday at Sydney Spy (definitely one of my favourite blogs).

Should try to do more of this kind of photography. Skip was the one who engaged with me first - not sure that I could initiate the first contact to do this kind of portrait photography on the street. Though I should try to get out of my comfort zone a little.

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)
I took this photo 10 years to the minute (Blogger's time is 19 hours behind Sydney time). It was the first photo that I took with my little IXUS that I thought was more than just a record of an event or a place (and BTW there is nothing the matter with that).

It was a Sunday, the last day of a long weekend (Australia Day was Friday). Jenny and I decided to do a Sunday afternoon drive down into the Royal National Park and end up at Stanwell Top to watch the hang gliders and to have an ice cream.

Along the way we stopped to look at various features and land marks, mainly the coast line.

For some reason I randomly pulled up into a small dirt parking area along the road in a forested area of the Park. I was drawn to the large Gum Trees at the edge of the parking area and noticed the sap oozing from the bark.

Looking at the photos I took that day, most were of the trees from a distance. The above photo was the only one I took up close to the trees. I set the camera to macro mode and I am pretty sure I would have held the camera about 15 to 20 cm from the side of the tree. I remember getting back to Sylvania and looking through the photos from that day and this was the one that caught my eye. It was beyond anything I had captured up til then.

Around the same time I found photo.net and this was one of the first photo's I submitted to my portfolio. Amazingly, I received a number of critiques which were very helpful and they helped guide me along my photographic journey, particularly this one:

this is a great piece. My only complaint is it's on digital. It would make a wonderful Ilfochrome if it were on film -- gallery quality.
Matthew Kees (22 Sep 2001).

In many ways the photo and the positive feedback I received help me explore photography in a way I had never expected when I first bought the little camera a few months earlier.

I have tagged many of the photos I have taken with the little IXUS, here. Many have become my Favourite Photo's, which I have randomly rambled about on this blog over the last year or so.

Makes me wonder where the last 10 years have gone.

Finally, if I have added up correctly this should be my 300th post.

Willow Tree Silhouette - Lake Burley Griffin/Canberra (Mon 05 Aug 2002)

Willow Tree Silhouette - Lake Burley Griffin/Canberra - Mon 05 Aug 2002 (photo,net)
One of my Favourite Photos. Really enjoy the layers and in particular the colour palette of my first digital camera, an IXUS 100.

Twins - Fraser Island (April 2002)

Twins (Joanne and Jenny) - Fraser Island (April 2002)

Favourite Photos - How much beauty in decay! - Hyde Park/Sydney - Dec 2001

Leaf - How much beauty in decay! - Hyde Park/Sydney - Wed 27 Dec 2001 (picasa)
A photo I took after work during the Christmas New Year period of 2001. Fires were burning all round Sydney and the sky was covered in smoke which resulted in a strange orange colour which can be seen in this photo. At the time I was reading much about photography and various photographers. This particular photo was inspired by Eliot Porter.

Eliot Porter was a photographer I found early on in my photography journey and self-education. It was easy to appreciate his work (google). He was a pioneer of colour photography (more here) and his life work was bequested to the Amon Carter Museum in 1990 shortly before he died (NYT Orbituary).

Not sure how I found him, but his name seems to appear whenever landscape photographers start talking about Colour Landscape Photography when compared to Black and White Landscape Photography, particularly that of Ansel Adams (looking at the size of the wikipedia entries, it is easy to see who was more popular both as a photographer and selection of photographic technique).

Found some interesting information about him searching the web (google). Also, found some of his books (along with those of Australia's own Peter Dombrovskis) in the National Library of Australia and would often take a look at them in NLA's reading rooms when in Canberra. Many of his photos resonated with my own vision and definitely influenced me when taking landscape (even streetscape and travel) photos, particularly in the Snow Mountains.

At the UNSW I found the book Eliot Porter: photographs and text (a great article) by Eliot Porter. Learnt a lot from the text and photos selected for the book. The following is a quote (see my photo.net page) from the book, which helped form my photographic vision ..

"It is the beauty of nature that I try to represent by photography. What this expression means to most people, I am quite sure, is such features as flowers of spring, autumn foliage, mountain landscapes, and many other similar aspects about aesthetic qualities of which no one would care to offer contradiction. That they are beautiful is indisputable, but they are not all that is beautiful about nature; in fact they are only the obvious and superficial aspects of nature - which anyone may observe with half and eye. They are the peaks and summits of nature's greatest displays. There is no doubt about their importance; they could not be dispensed with. Underlying and supporting these brillant displays are slow, quiet processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season, unnoticed by those that think that beauty in natures is all its gaudy displays.

Much is missed if we have eyes only for the bright colors. Nature should be viewed without distinction. All her processes and evolutions are beautiful or ugly to the unbiased and indiscriminating observer. She makes no choice herself; everything that happens has equal significance. Nothing can dispensed with. This is a common mistake that many people make; they think that half of nature can be destroyed - the uncomfortable half - while still retaining the acceptable and the pleasing side; their idea is a paradise where nature stands still. Withering flowers blooming, death follows growth, decay follows death, and life follows decay - in a wonderful, complicated, endless web the beauties of which are manifest to a point of view attached to vulgar restricting concepts of what constitutes beauty in nature. Thoreau, who observerd all aspects of nature throughout his life, repeatedly remarked on the beauty of the unaccepted. 'How much beauty in decay!' he exclaimed on examining a worm-eaten leaf. To him the sere, brown leaves of winter were as beautiful as the fresh green of spring. This was a principle that has remained important for me throughout my career."

A fairly long quote, but for me was definitely something worth remembering.

This link provides a great summary of the life and works of Eliot Porter. I like the ending quote ..

The final paragraphs on the art of photography touch on his views to color, composition and emotional content of his images:

"Sensitivity cannot be faked by trickor devise; it has no substitute, and any attempt to replace it with mechancial contrivances is certain to be apparent to the more discerning critics. Not all photographs have to be inspired to be worth making, but the best, rare photographs are the result of a a force at least very close to inspiration. Formulized work becomes impersonal, an all the individuality of authorship tends to disappear. It unquestionably has its uses, but it is not art."

The book itself echoes Porter's ability to redact nature's chaos into a single harmonious image, and is a well-deserved tribute to this pioneer of color nature photography.

The following was one of my favourite Eliot Porter photos:

Pool in a Brook, Brook Pond/New Hampshire by Eliot Porter - 04 Oct 1953 (Carter Museum)
I recently thought of Eliot Porter and the above photo, when I took the following photo during the 2010 Ord River Marathon:

Ord River Reflections - 2010 Ord River Marathon - Sun 14 Jun 2010

Favourite Photos - Erskineville/Sydney June 2004 - Trees and Shadow

Trees and Shadow - Erskineville - Wed 16 Jun 2004 (picasa)
Just a very simple photo I like. Pass here each work day as I walk up Swanston Street to Erskineville Railway Station. In winter, when the trees lose their leaves, they project interesting shadows onto the wall of this Terrace House. The trees are now much bigger and the shadows produced are not quite the same. Have taken many shots of this wall over the years, but I have not been able to get a better shot than this first photo.

Have seen many interesting photos that play with shadows. A tribute article (9 Niv 2002) by Robert McFarlane for the late Ingeborg Tyssen helped me to start looking out for shadows. A quote from the article I liked was:

'Whenever possible I carry a loaded camera ... I react without too much thought. Rarely do I wait for a situation to resolve itself. Nor do I direct or provoke people. The important aspects are composition, texture and light.'

A nice way to look a photography and when I look at my own photographic evolution, I guess I have unknowingly tried to look for at least the same three points - 'composition, texture and light'.

Shortly after Ingeborg Tyssen death in 2002, the Art Gallery of NSW arranged a Memorial Exhibition of some her work. I was really impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of many of her photos. Indeed, for the most part, it was about 'composition, texture and light'. I also have a copy of her book - Ingeborg Tyssen: Sydney photographs.

The following was one photo, I really enjoyed and was a great 'play' on the use of a shadow ..

Tree#55 (1983) from Tree Series (Ingeborg Tyssen)
Another photo reveals the framing trick employed ..

Tuscon/Arizona - 1982 - see here (Ingeborg Tyssen)
I can't really remember, but I expect these simple shadow photos, helped me to see many shadow photos that I have taken over the years. One humble attempt in 2007 follows:

Tree Shadow - Wilson Street/Newtown - Jul 2007(picasa)
Liked the positioning of the shadow of the tree trunk across the path segment - beautifully aligned for a random photo. Also the top of a real tree apparently growing out of a shadow and the position of the air vent. Nothing great, but I was happy and entered it in the 2007 Sydney Life photo competiion which closed a few days later (of course to no avail :-).

A few more random shadow related photos that I could easily find just now, follow:

Pyrmont Bridge - Darling Harbour/Sydney - Thu 31 Jul 2003 (picasa)

Tree Shadow - Perisher Valley - Tue 6 Jan 2004 (picasa)

Pole Shadows - Wellington/NZ - Tue 5 Nov 2002 (picasa)

Shadow (and Silohuette?) - Circular Quay/Sydney - 8 Dec 2002 (picasa)
I think one thing that has helped me think more about shadows in photography, is the strong Australian sunlight. I have found when travelling in the UK and Europe, the sun does not seem to shine as much and when it does it is not particularly strong, and the shadows don't seem to be as prevelant. In Australia, shadows are hard to avoid, so you need to work with the stronger Australian light or you just avoid taking photos at these times.

In writing this, I have just thought of photos that employ the use of the Silohuette. Will write something about this at a later stage as I have also employed the use of silohuette's in many of my photos over the years and is another aspect of photography I enjoy.

Lastly, a little Shadow Excercise I read about recently (in Paulo Coelho's 'The Pilmgrimage'). Often it is fun when walking around to look at a shadows and try and work out what it is that created the shadow. Most of the time it is reasonably obvious (as in these photos), but sometimes it can be difficult to work it out. Have fun ..

Favourite Photos: Perisher Valley 2001 - Snow Gum

Red - Bloody Gum - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)
As mentioned before, we did spend a lot of time down in the Snowy Mountains. Our first winter trip was in June 2000 where we stayed at the Boonoona Ski Lodge. The Ski fields open for the season on the June Long Weekend and we were one of the first into the Lodge for the 2000 Winter. There was a fair bit of snow around and the Lodge Manager had told me about seeing the odd Snow Gum turn red during the cold winters. Was pleasantly surprised to stumble across one the next day as can seen above. The red colouring of the bark is the natural draw card to this photo, but for me I like the misty background and the complimenting lines of the branches of the tree in the background tree in the background - I really enjoy the central branch that spirals backwards from the tree.

When recently looking back through the photos from this trip I noticed the photo below where I am wearing a Red Jacket (even my chin, cheeks and nose were red from the cold) - a nice coincidence which I did not notice back then. Always fun looking back through old photos to see things you did not see back when they were taken.

Red - Geoff - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)
Another photo below, this time of the background tree in the photo above. I would return Summer and Winter for a number years to photograph both these trees. Ultimately, in Jan 2005 I would capture this one using my Shen Hao Large Format Camera (HZX45-IIA), which is yet another Favourite Photo for another day.

Gum Tree - Perisher Valley - Mon 26 Jun 2001 (picasa)

Favourite Photos: Sydney Life 2002 - Trent Parke - Photo in a Photo

Sydney Life: Trent Parke Photo - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)
Sydney Life (in 2002 and 2003 it was known as Sydney Looking Forward) is one of the Events of the Art and About Festival held now in October each year. Sydney Life is an outdoor exhibition of large scale images featuring the work of established photographers alongside work from some newer photographers (occasionally a no name like myself is selected, but this is very rare).

As the blurb says The real Sydney is revealed in the everyday and everynight, captured by the photograhic artsts who live here. - This truly diverse selection of photographs will intrigue, delight and inspire you as you wander along the leafy central walkway of Hyde Park North, and see Sydney as you haven’t seen it before.

The above photo is a photo of Trent Parke photo from the 2002 Sydney Life Exhibition (might have been the first Sydney Life, definitely the first one I viewed anyway). The large 3x2m canvas printed photos are hung along either side of the northern walkway of Hyde Park, just across from where I work. Took my little IXUS digital camera with me one overcast Monday lunch time. Was aware of the work of Trent Parke - he was recently selected as the first Australian photographer to become a member of the famous Magnum Photographic Cooperative.

In taking this photo I decided to hover a little and wait for someone to be in the photo with their back to me like the backpack guy in Trent's photo. Thought it would raise it above a mere record of this photo. This guy with cap was already looking at the photo and I waited and hoped that a few other onlookers would move on. There was a nice symmetery when the others left and I took my photo. The guy with cap looked around and spoke to me. He said he felt that he was in the photo - the white shirt guy in shorts next to the street sign. He said he often walks past that location (Corner Market and George Streets). I've looked at this photo quite a few times since and I often convince myself that he is actually the guy in the photo.

Funny how things work out with photos. Always liked the little story that goes with this photo. I would see him again a few months later one Saturday morning in King Street Newtown at a bus stop barely 5 metres out of image and to the right of this previously discussed Favourite Photo. I actually had a copy of the above photo in my backpack, but was too shy to give it to him. Have not seen him since.

The following year I considered entering this photo in the 2003 Sydney Life exhibition and Leigh Perry (Leigh: thanks for the comment below) photoshopped a great Black and White version for me as well as printing a couple of beautiful prints. Thought it would be funny to look at a photo of photo from the previous years exhibition like some kind of infinite loop. I have played around with the photo and converted it to black and white. Also did a collage of some of the photos from the exhibition.

Sydney Life: Trent Parke Photo (BW) - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)
Sydney Life: Picasa Collage - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)

Favourite Photos: Perisher Valley 2002 - Freezing

Freezing - Perisher Valley - 25 Jun 2002 (picasa)

As well as traveling to the Snowy Mountains during summer, Jenny, Jo and I decided to spend some time in the Mountains during Winter. We did this in Jun 2000, 2001 and 2002. After that the Dragon Boating took over our winters.

It was always nice to go to Perisher during the first week of the ski season (mid-late June) where the Boonoona Ski Lodge was not really that busy - mainly accountants getting a small holiday in before the end of financial year rush.

Jenny and Jo were good skiers and they were able to get out onto the ski fields, while I did some reading and wondering around the local snow covered bush land. Would always have my camera at hand and found many nice photos from these little (actually some were quite long) walks.

This particular photo was taken on the side of the Perisher Valley Water Supply Dam. It was near sunset and there was a nice golden glow on the water. The original photo is shown below.

When I got back to Sydney, I uploaded the a cropped version to my photo.net portfolio (see here). In the discussion I provided the original uncropped photo, which is shown below, and I wondered which was better (cropped or uncropped?).

'Freezing' (Orignal) - Perisher Valley - 25 Jun 2002 (picasa)
I was pleased to receive this well thought out response from Marc G:

Very clearly, for me, the cropped version is better. Just sharing with you, here, a very simple method I use for years to know in similar cases whether it should be cropped or not.

I just ask myself "what I have I lost if I crop ? What have I gained ?

Here, the crop makes you lose the extension of this line - but it isn't a curved extension, so not very elegant, and not actually a loss. Then, no other important elements at the bottom. Now what have you gained ? You have gained simplicity and peace. Peace because you gained simplicity, and peace because that's in general what comes with squares - by the books.

Now in what sense have you gained simplicity ?

That's the most important question. The curved line being shorter, it is seen faster. Since we start from top left and go down, and since what was in the lower part was nothing great, we can say that here we keep only the nectar.

In the original, the nectar came with not much at the end. Then, here, since the eye is quickly finished with the main curve, it then moves to the right, and that's where it can find extra beauty in the dented ice and in the light at the top.

Basically, you kept the best only. Honestly, I would never have thought of hanging the original on my walls, but this one, I would - without a single hesitation. If you are interested, by the way, I'd buy a print of this - provided you give me a good price. It is no, to me, the best ice shot I've seen on this site, without a doubt for me, and I'd regard this as POW material - if I were an elfe, that is...:-))

Meanwhile, if you are keen, I'm serious, let me know the price for a 50 cm square print... Regards. Marc G. August 05, 2002; 02:00 P.M.

All of his critique made sense to me and I was very happy that a professional photographer would like one of my photos so much - was quite flattered. Unfortunately, the photo was taken on a small digital camera (1600 by 1200 pixels) and there was no way the image could be printed to a 50cm square. I would send the full-size original to Marc with my thanks for such a helpful critique and my best wishes that he might find something useful from the original file.

Over the years I have played around with the cropping of this image and I am quite satisfied with the version below.

'Freezing' (Alternate Crop) - Perisher Valley - 25 Jun 2002 (picasa)

Favourite Photos: Wilson Street Newtown 2003 - Milk Crate Swingers

Wilson Street Swingers (Cropped) - Wilson Street/Newtown - Sat 01 Feb 2003 (picasa)
I had noticed this piece of graffiti for a while and quite liked it - always amazed how a few brushes and rolls of paint can be produce something so evocative (am I allowed to us this word for graffiti). Had my camera one Saturday morning (was well before my paddling days) and took a few photos of this wall and the surrounding area.

A few months later the wall was painted clean and I was reminded of the photo I had taken there. Prompted me to take another look at the photo (titled it 'Gone') which I straightened a little and cropped (see below - I felt the crop removed the distraction of the Garbage Bins, though when I look at it now I think I prefer the raw uncropped version - this often happens with photos with time) and put it up on my fledgling photo.net portfolio here.

Occasionally, I would receive a comment on my uploaded photos and it would take a few months to receive a comment for this particular photo. I was pleased to receive the following comment from Jonathan Walker:

'Oh, I do like this, largely because of the addition of the milk crates, which provide a quirky splash of colour and sense of depth to what would otherwise be a straight record shot. And in Newtown too (home of the quirky)!' jonathan w., December 08, 2003; 02:49 A.M.

Wilson Street Swingers (Full Image) - Wilson Street/Newtown - Sat 01 Feb 2003 (picasa)
The best thing about the Internet is that it connects you with people with similar interests (photography in this case) and you have the opportunity to learn new things very quickly. When I noticed Jonathan (he was a recently arrived English Academic working at the Uni of Sydney), I signed up so that I could see when he made contributions to photo.net. He had some great photos of Venice (not your usual ones, but they definitely appealed to my own way of seeing things) and other places. Most have now been deleted along with the great discussions they generated. I learnt much from his photos and words. There are some fragements of his writings remaining at photo.net.

When we decided that we would visit Venice for 4 days in September 2009 after our Prague Campaign, I decided to track down Jonathan, since he was a Historian with a great knowledge of Venice. Was pleased to find that he had his own blog - jonathanwalkersblog.com. and had republished many of his photos [I am a Pilgrim (more here), Venice, Let Us Burn The Gondalas - this work definitely helped me form my own photographic vision when in Venice in Sep 2009 - see here and here ] and thoughts on photography there. As well he had published a book - Pistols! Treason! Murder! - and is now just about to publish his first novel - Five Wounds.

In part, the purpose of this post and my photo above is to introduce Jonathan. I hope to write a little more about him, particularly when his first Novel Five Wounds is published in May 2010.

Favourite Photos - Sydney Town Hall 2003 - Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2003

Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2003 - Town Hall / Sydney 2003 - Sun 16 Mar 2003 (picasa and photo.net)
This is a photo from the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Sydney in 2003. The parade was held on the Sunday 16 Mar 2003 (7 years ago today - time does fly!!), being a few days before the actual day. I had gone into work for the day as Jenny and Joanne were in New Zealand on a Dragons Abreast Dragon Boat Tour which took place on consecutive weekends for Regattas in Auckland and then Wellington. I remember the time well as they were away when George Bush declared War on Iraq and was concerned that they were away from Australia.

I had just came across the early stages of the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Sydney. I like this photo for the following reasons:

1. I like how I captured how the scene unfolded (see below).


2. How I was able to photograph the photographer. I wonder how his photo turned out and whether they ever look at it. I just assumed, from the medal around the neck of one of the men, that they were official visitors from Ireland - who knows ?


3. I particularly liked the lady in the Green Dress and Hat. It was a little bit amusing that she is looking at my camera and not the one for which she is supposed to be posing for :-)

For the photo below I wrote the following on photo.net:

Moments before - Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2003 - Town Hall / Sydney 2003 - Sun 16 Mar 2003 (picasa and photo.net)
I just took a quick look at this photo again and then decided to look at the originals from that day. Interestingly enough a crop (see image with this comment) of my first photo from the five I took in the minute or so I waited for the lights to change, gives an insight as to how the scene unfolded. Has made me realise how difficult street photography is, or maybe there is a bit of luck involved?

For the next photo I wrote the following on photo.net:

Smiling Faces of Ireland - Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2003 - Town Hall / Sydney 2003 - Sun 16 Mar 2003 (picasa and photo.net)
As the two men swapped places, I was foiled by a passing pedestrain in getting a clear shot. Anyway, I think their smiling faces say it all ..

This photo was taken 7 years ago today. Time flys.

My Island Home - Christine Anu - Sydney 2000

My Island Home - Christine Anu - Sydney 2000
Another great Australian Moment for me as we watched the Sydney 2000 Closing Ceremony live on TV here in Sydney - we had only just got back to Alexandria in time from the Men's and Women's Handball Finals to see this performance.

I would decide at the very last minute to play the acoustic version of this song as the first song after Jenny's Service as we left the Chapel.

I don't know why, but I thought of this photo and our time at Lowe Howe Island (May 2000 - our Honeymoon and October 2001 - return trip to share the Island experience with Joanne and my Mother) and knew it was the not only the right song, but the right version.

My Island Home - Lowe Howe Island - Oct 2001 (picasa)

When the master sees that the warrior is sad, he says ..

When the master sees that the warrior is sad, he says ..

'You are not what you seem to be in these moments of sadness. You are better than that.

Many have left - for reasons we will never understand - but you are still here. Why did God carry off all those amazing people and leave you?

By now, millions of people will have given up. They don't get angry, they don't weep, they don't do anything; they merely wait for time to pass. They have lost the ability to react.

You, however, are sad. That proves that your soul is still alive.'

From the 'The Manual of the Warrior Light' by Paul Coelho.

Today, I just decided to pick a page at random to read - this was that page. A nice way to look at things, really.

Shroud - Mount Gower / Lord Howe Island - 22 Oct 2001