Dampish

These shots (taken last Wednesday and Thursday at the height of the floods) probably aren't particularly artful, but I thought that I would post a couple I took while out and about seeing exactly where the floodwaters rose, at least in the Graceville/Sherwood area.

While not as bad as the ones in 1974, the flooding that occurred very close to my house was still very bad. We have a number of friends who have had their homes either completely or at least partially inundated. The mess that the waters have made is difficult to comprehend if you haven't stood in the middle of street while all around you is being hosed down, cleaned out or just simply demolished. The smell is particularly distinctive and the colour makes it look like someone has taken a huge syringe and sucked all life from the earth.

The disruption to "normal" life is also difficult to imagine. Simple things like power going off, loss of internet access etc all seem quite trivial, but for those who are already dealing with the devastation just getting power back on is a huge milestone (and many are still in the dark). (Canon 450D, 18-55mm efs zoom)

Sidetracked from the steps ...

In my last post I mentioned that I was sidetracked on my search for steps (ok, it should have been "stairs").

I think that my admiration for the sandstone had caused me to overlook the quality of the modern buildings on campus.

Two in particular, the Brain Institute and Sir Llew Edwards Building, are particularly striking ... (Canon 450d, 18-55mm zoom)

Concrete steps

It was a beautiful winter afternoon for my weekly constitutional around UQ and I was on my own with the dog, so I took my time and explored some spots I don't usually go.

I decided to try to focus on one theme (although I did get side tracked) - steps. This was inspired by Nicole's kind comments of a couple of posts past, but I also wondered if setting a narrow topic would force me to look differently at the common things that I might ordinarily pass and not notice.

As it turned out, I found a few likely subjects. I chose these shots because they seem to capture different feelings from the same medium (concrete) that is finished very differently in different settings.

So there they are: the bare; the organic; and the smooth. (Canon 450D, 18-55mm zoom)

Steele Building

As promised in my last post, here are a couple of images of the Steele Building.

These are taken from the Great Court on a quite dreary afternoon. Regardless of the weather, I still find the sandstone compelling. (Canon 450d, 18-55mm zoom)

UQ trees in June

Ok, I admit, I need to get out more often ...

Seems as though the only time I get lately to take any photos at all is when I am either watching my children play sport or waiting for their sport to finish.

Found myself with the dog at UQ again yesterday afternoon and took the Canon 450d with 18-55mm zoom in the hope that the sunset would be spectacular. High cloud about all day threatened to clear enough after 3pm to set the sky alight. Needless to say it didn't ...

The quite flat and even light drew me to the trees, jacaranda and figs, around the lakes during my walk. I took these shots, but could quite decide which way to represent the lovely fig by the duck pond (any suggestions would be appreciated).

I did venture up to the great court for some more sandstone studies and I might post them soon.

Cha-cha

Continuing my atypical trend of people photography, now complicated by movement! This was taken at Studio One on Wickham Street during dress rehearsal for the Autumn Showcase.
The rest of the shots from that evening are lurking on facebook

UQ contrast

It has been quite some time since I posted, so I thought that I better make a contribution. The last film shots I have taken have been on work trips to Canberra and Melbourne, nothing suitable for posting here!

My youngest continues to run on Sunday afternoons at The University of Queensland (UQ), and I thought that it would be good to take a camera (Canon 450D) today in the hope of getting some inspiration. As I wandered, chatting to my wife with the dog in tow (well, actually leading the way) it struck me that one of the reasons the campus is so alluring is the mix of traditional and modern architecture.

It is almost like the buildings are giving a nod to the knowledge of the past, with their solidity and tradition, while urging the students to energetically embrace what is to come. This seems to create a wonderful tension that helps me see and feel differently on every visit.

The Hand That Moved

First post for the year! Well, first post in a while from me. And a rarity - a person photo - from my first gig coverage assignment. This image was caught at the Fusion of Music February concert in Windsor. Working in low light, without a tripod, with maximum zoom, I couldn't have made it harder for myself. But this picture came out serendipitously well as I realised that I had inadvertantly tracked the moving hand while the rest of the instrumentalist (who is playing a home-built electric cello) dissolved into the action of her enthusiastic performance.

Most of the shoot is in varying shades of magenta and teal depending on the stage lights, but I gave this one monochrome treatment to post here.

King George Square revisited

Over the past couple of years the BCC has been remodelling King George Square as part of the major busway construction and it recently reopened to the public. I have been trying to capture images from this site for a few weeks and have been wholly unsuccessful. Late last week I changed from using my wider lenses to clamping my trusty old zuiko 135mm f3.5 lens to my om2n.

My aim was to play with trying to get exposures correct, having basically given up on creating new and interesting compositions. The best that I thought was that I could learn something from attempting to correctly expose HP5+ @ 400 in the harsh morning light when shooting highly reflective bronze (ie black) statues.

I had forgotten how sharp this lens could be and I manually metered each frame and developing in Microphen 1+1. The results are better than I imagined with good shadow detail without blowing the highlights completely.

You might recognise at least one of these subjects from my earlier posts, but it is always good to go back and see how your composition and development can create a different feel to the final image ... and I can't wait to see how these turn out when wet printed as postcards.

Kurilpa Bridge

I shot this film a couple of weeks ago, but I promised myself that I wouldn't processes it until I had completed my tax return ... so I developed it tonight ...

These are early morning images of the new Kurilpa Bridge that spans the Brisbane River from east to west and links Tank Street to Kurilpa Point. It is constructed using a new technique and seems almost too complicated for its own good. From some angles, it looks to me like the coming together of a crazy assortment of hull-less tall ships.

It is nice, however, to wander to work by crossing this bridge and strolling along Southbank before crossing back to the George Street madness ... (om2n, Tamron 24mm, fp4 @ 125)

Dusty day

Brisbane experienced an interesting weather "event" yesterday when an unusually large dust storm blew across town. I have never seen so many people out and about taking photographs during the usual lunch break.

I decided to head across the Victoria Bridge to see just how dusty things had become. Given I had the camera loaded with HP5+, I wondered how the images would look or whether it would just seem like a foggy morning in black and white ... you be the judge.

While I was on the Southbank side of the river I swung under the bridge and came up at the Art Gallery. I liked the pattern that the jacarandas make now that their trunks are becoming more substantial. It is sometimes funny that you see different things when the light is not what you come to expect.

While under the jacarandas I bumped (quite literally) into happy snapper who was carrying an old Pentax SLR. I wonder how his shots on BW400CN turned out. (om2n, zuiko 35mm f2.8, hp5+ @ 400)

Rankins at Dusk

I have been slack the past two weeks and have not shot a fresh roll of film. In fact, my photographic efforts have been limited to recording my son's hockey semi-final (and there were not many frames worth a second look, but that's another story).

Anyway, this shot was taken at dusk. I have been trying to vary my times getting out to familiar subjects to see the difference it makes to the image created.

Rankins is a news agency located in the centre of the Queens Street Mall. At dusk all manner of folk are wandering home or hanging out to meet up with friends. I like the variety of movement captured across the frame. This was taken hand held using a sign as an impromptu tripod.

If you are wondering about the square crop (no, I haven't a hassy) it is because this is the last frame of the most recent roll shot and only half the frame exposed correctly. This is a feature (?) of hand rolling where you are never certain of getting complete frames. (om2n, zuiko 35mm f2.8, hp5 @ 400)

Riverside path

I have been a little busy so have fallen behind with my "one roll per week" ambition, although this was shot last week I have only just managed to develop and scan the results ...

I admit that I am enjoying again getting into the habit of carrying my camera to work every day. It seems to encourage me to take different paths between the train station and my building, even if I do not have the camera out intending to take a shot. I also find that I am constantly looking for different opportunities to create images and appreciating the different light etc each day.

This image was taken at the end of the riverside walkway near the Botanical Gardens. There are many yachts moored on this reach of the river and the boaties tend to leave bicycles chained to the railings as convenient land transport.

I have also been again experimenting with development methods. This roll going through a ID11 soup diluted 1+1 with water. This has given good tonal range for me with medium format film in the past, but I was wondering if it would give too much grain for my liking in 35mm format ... as it happens I am very happy with the result and might continue along this path for a while. (om2n, zuiko 35mm f2.8, hp5+ @ 400)

Drop In

I worked a little later than I intended on Friday night and thought that I would wander past the Treasury Casino to take the last few frames in my film. It was quite dark by the time I got there and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I wasn't sure if there would be enough interest to have a postable shot.

My attempts turned out better than I expected, given that I didn't look directly through the viewfinder and was using my fingers as a makeshift tripod ... actually, I had the camera resting on the top of a police sign, which was too tall for me to line up, but I could still see a bit of the image in the glass of the viewfinder and guessed the rest.

The shots from this angled were far more successful than the shots I took from the bridge ... I soon found out that the vibrations caused by the traffic do not make for very good images ... (om2n, zuiko 35mm f2.8, hp5+ @ 400)

Market day - Wednesday

I am trying to get back into the habit of carrying my camera each day and shooting at least one roll per week. This is a shot from my first "new" roll.

Each Wednesday in Reddacliffe Place at Brisbane Square there is a lunchtime (well, all day) market. Sellers gather to offer fresh fruit and veg as well as a large variety of meats and "value added" products. This lady had a beautiful display of items in baskets and took lots of time to explain her produce to anyone who asked.

I do hope that she and the others do well for their efforts ... (om2n, zuiko 35mm f2.8, hp5 @ 400)

Around the lake

Having spent the morning indoors at work, I looked forward greatly to our Sunday afternoon stroll with the dog around the UQ campus.

The afternoon was quite overcast and windy and not altogether pleasant, but we quickly warmed up as we embarked from the running track.

Inevitably, we passed by the lake near the centre of the campus. The wind had dropped considerably by this time and I noticed a majestic stork of some sort hidden among the paperbark trees at the western end of the lake, but unfortunately it took flight as soon as I took the lens cap off the camera.

This beautiful bird did encourage me to present a brief study of this wonderful oasis close to our city centre. (Canon 450D, efs 55-250mm)

Curlew

I was forced to park my car in an unfamiliar area of The University of Queensland when we were there a few weeks ago.

This little chap greeted me as I got out of the car. I believe him to be a Bush Stone Curlew - please tell me if I am wrong.

I thought that I would try to capture him in an acceptable image at 1600 iso on the Canon. I am continuing to try to learn different aspects of this new camera and I was wondering about its high iso capabilities. It was a very overcast afternoon, so it was a perfect opportunity to practice shooting in the shadows. (Canon 450D, efs 55-250mm)

Shorn

Maybe its the use of a digital camera that encourages a bit of whimsy more often than with film, but it must have hit me hard on this occasion ...

Okay, so it is not every day that you see a black-faced sheep grazing in the middle of suburban Brisbane. Taken on another walk around the Oxley Creek Common with my new toy.

I think that I was drawn more by the light than the subject, and I liked the play of the shadows across its freshly shorn wool. (Canon 450d, 55-250mm)

City Reach revisited

I know that I have posted City Reach previously with an image from almost this same spot, but with a new camera and some time on my hands, what was one to do?

I had some spare time when on my way to collect my daughter from a school outing and was going past the Kangaroo Pt cliffs. This was really an excuse to continue to learn some of the characteristics of how the Canon 450D reacts to some long exposures using the kit 18-55mm lens towards its longer end.

Not much more to say really, so I hope you enjoy.

Oxley Creek Windmill

Had a chance to use the new 450D for some sport shots (swimming) this weekend and it seems to be quite satisfactory for the task at the Chandler indoor pool.

Bailey's running group was at Oxley Creek Common rather than UQ this week, so I took the camera in the hope to learn more about its performance and see what I could see.

A prominent feature of the area is the Southern Cross windmill. These are a symbol of rural life and are dotted all over the country. I find this one particularly interesting because it is not just decorative and has a working pump attached to draw water for the amenities at the park.

With a stunning blue sky as background and late afternoon sun on its face, I thought that I would try out the shutter priority mode to get the vanes in motion but all else still ... I know that I should carry a tripod for these types of things, but leaning against a pole is almost as effective, if not quite as convenient. (Canon 450D, 18-55mm zoom)