BOQ bronze bust

This is one of two bronze figures outside the BOQ office on Queen Street. I am quite taken by the incongruity of the nudes being placed on the main street of the city and how they are “detached” from the passing crowds. This image was taken on the same morning as “Level 2”, and I haven’t posted it earlier because I am still not sure whether it is the pick of the set that I took on that day. In the early morning these subjects are in deep shadow and I find it quite difficult to expose it correctly (OM4, Tamron 135mm f2.8, f4, 1/125, HP5, handheld) to extract the detail while not allowing the highlights to really blow out. I don’t think that I have captured these figures satisfactorily yet, so I will return and alter the composition to try to do them justice.

Concerning Boys (and the loss of their toys)

I haven't added an image to MB for a while now. Notwithstanding I have been busy work-wise, we are in a quite a disarray at home due to a major house renovation. An unfortunate byproduct of such an activity is the increased vulnerability one is exposed to as walls and roofs are removed, replaced, or otherwise modified.

Such was our experience as we came home one Friday evening to find the contents of our home literally turned upside down by thieves, intent on searching for anything of value that was also easy to tote. Without realising it, these criminals actually succeeded in hurting each member of the family individually by their choice of goods stolen. My wife misses mostly all her jewelry, collected over her lifetime, some pieces family heirlooms, others sentimental gifts of love, or pieces marking milestones in her life. The kids miss their Game cube and Mario Kart, favorite Barbie movies and Disney's animated Atlantis films. I miss the two film SLRs (Nikon FG and Canon EOS300) and DSLR (Canon EOS300D) this person or persons took, along with my Manfrotto monopod.

One doesn't sometimes realise the cost of replacing these sorts of things until required to quote a replacement value. Luckily we have insurance, and after approximately two months of assessment and investigation the insurers have admitted the claim and are arranging to replace the goods. Of course there is always a downside, e.g. there are limits with respect to the amount claimable under certain categories, particularly if the items are not individually listed onyour policy schedule. Jewelry and photographic gear are two prime examples, and with regard to both, the insurer’s payout will not meet the replacement value of our stolen items. Warning! Warning! (Danger! Will Robinson) Might I suggest that you take the time to calculate the worth of your gear, determine the magnitude of risk you are prepared to accept in terms of the possible loss of your gear, insure accordingly, and review this risk as you replace and add new items to your kit.

Anyway, my cut of the kitty in today's dollars will equate to a little less than eighty percent of the "theoretical" replacement value of the three cameras. "Theoretical" because determining the replacement cost of a classic compact Nikon SLR camera twenty-eight years old by pairing it up with something still on the shelf (a Canon EOS3000v no less! Shock! Horror!) purely on the basis of common features seems quite subjective. I'm not complaining mind you, at least I'll be getting something. Suffice to say; I thought I'd use this opportunity to realign my allegiance with Nikon having started to travel down the EOS path, since my remaining camera is another Nikon (FG-20). I have already replaced the EOS300 with a beautiful Nikon F80 and was about to purchase a D70s to replace the EOS300D, but then a remarkable opportunity for a bargain has just caught my eye!!

Picture a professional 6MP DSLR with a 10 stop tonal range, Nikon mount, originally available new in February 2005 for $3895- and now discounted to $1895- As you might expect these little babies are going out the door faster than a public servant at a Friday knock-off time! What I think could be the last available (new) body in Oz is currently in transit between Canberra and Brisbane and has may name on it! Oh yes, if all goes to plan, I'll soon have what I think will be an absolute spectacular new toy to play with!!

Oh, apologies Boyd if this ramble has pushed you off the page ;-p

Level 2 Inverted

Although it is not usually my go, my good friend and colleague talked me into playing with my original Level 2 image to have some fun with it. I have come to the conclusion that architects either spend way too much time on ceiling detail or, when trimming back during projects, developers tend to cut costs in other areas. As the inverted image suggests, if the developers had presented the ceiling on the floor they may well have found themselves with a more interesting, albeit harder to clean, entrance to the arcade. I not sure that I feel completely comfortable with this type of approach to my photography (I would have preferred a stronger composition to begin with) but I think that this image is a more interesting interpretation that the original …

Level 2

I often pass this side entrance to one of the busier shopping arcades in the city and never really give it a second look, but in the early morning light with few people around it almost begs one to wander in and discover what is around the corner. This was not an easy shot to hand hold and get enough depth of field (OM4, f1.8 50mm zuiko, f8, HP5) so I braced myself against a chair. Even with some selective cropping I am not sure of the composition, maybe it would work better if I rotated it 90 degrees so the gentle curves on the ceiling were on the bottom …