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)

Ramblin' Man

The title is an obvious reference to the make of car, and a less obvious reference to the Allman Brothers 1973 release of "Ramblin' Man"; the chorus;

Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Trying to make a living and doing the best I can..

from which started going around and around in my head when I spied this vehicle. It was one of a number of "old" cars in a car-park adjacent to the lake in my suburb, about to whisk a heap of Year 12 students to their formal at the Greek Club. I have no idea as to the pedigree of this motor but the chrome, blue duco and white sidewall tyres which grabbed my attention, I think lend themselves nicely to conversion into this monochrome image.

The owner happy to pose with his pride and joy.

Tender

This shot represents another whimsical moment in my photographic journey. I often walk to work via the riverside boardwalk, and this time I paused at the end nearest the Botanical Gardens. The dis-used ferry jetty is now the main access to land for the yachties who moor their boats along the City Reach. I particularly like the way all the tenders were together ajumble, a wonderful metaphor for the different styles of yacht to which they belong and, in turn, the owners who call them home. (OM4, zuiko 135mm f3.5, f11, FP4 @ 125)

Ode to Vince

A good mate of mine turned 60 recently and he is obsessed with all things bicycle. Having no clue about what to get him for his birthday, I decided that I would try to do a series of photos for him. I really wanted to explore square format, and went ahead to mount the results of wet printing each in a frame with a 5in X 5in window in the cut board. These are digital interpretations of the finally presented prints, although I think that digitising the negatives has degraded the feel of the images somewhat. I rejected for the final series a print of Brake that I took during this session and posted a little while ago. I find this type of project quite invigorating and that it gives a certain amount of purpose to my hobby. (OM4, zuiko 50mm f3.5 macro with extension tubes, HP5 @ 400)

Brake

For a bit of fun today I set myself a task of taking some bicycle component shots (thanks Lydia for providing the model). I thought that cogs and chain, alloy and carbon fibre could make for some interesting compositions with a square crop in mind. I couldn't quite envisage what to do with a brake lever, but I thought that I would persist to try and get something worth posting in relation to my series on lines. So, although not my regular architectural piece, I like the way the the machined alloy catches the light to take on a fluid appearance—almost abstract but still identifiably a brake lever. (OM4Ti, Tamron 90mm f2.5 with 21mm Extension tube, f8, HP5 @ 400)

In & Out

A blast from the past that fits my "Line" theme. I shot this image with Fuji Superia 100 in late 2004 but I have never been happy with it in colour. I thought that I would play with the scanner, desaturate it and let the graphic elements shine in black and white. If you are wondering, it is taken from the top of the walkway at the Regatta Hotel Ferry Stop. It is not my usual type of shot, but it is sometimes interesting to revist early frames to see how your style changes over time. I hope you enjoy.

Special Assignment 3 – Transport 3x3

(Click this link to access the individual photos)

People live in cities. People need to move around and need to move things around. Transport, therefore, is needed for life in cities to survive and thrive. Three photographers, Nicole, Martin and Boyd, have captured aspects of boat, bicycle and rail transport within Brisbane.