Photographic tips, tricks, thoughts and images

4ks Komatsu...on a lonely wet night

2008-03-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Opportune shot of a Komatsu Backhoe loader. Taken in the rain late at night under a street light. Painted with an orange gel over a hand held flood. Shot on a Canon 5D.

......................................................................................

2007-10-30T01:29:00.001-07:00

Corporate brochure shoot for Stockwell International, freight forwarding company on the P and O docks in Brisbane.

Shot at f22 on an 18mm lens. 13 second exposure.

The image was taken about an hour after sunset with white balance set to tungsten to give the sky a strong blue feel.

..........................................................................................

2007-10-15T06:39:00.001-07:00

Corporate shoot for Arrow Energy Annual Report. The shot was set up in the boardroom of Arrow Energy using a makeshift backdrop and a 3 light set up. One 500w head with a hood to burn out the background and two 500w heads to light the talent.

Shot on a Canon 5D, 105mm.

Background has been increased to burn our shadow.

See more shots at www.opticgroove.com.au

Design work at www.dmwcreative.com.au

............................................................................

2007-10-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

Taken for the Health Quality and Complaints Commission Annual Report in August this year.

Shot in studio using a variety of lights originally set up for a group shot of 20 people for the same publication, I used the same lighting close up for this portrait to keep consistency.

Shot on a Canon 5D, 24 - 105mm f/4L lens with 2 x 1000x flash heads and 2 x 500 watt flash heads bounced off a ceiling reflector.

........................................................................................

2007-10-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

This image was shot for a new litter law campaign in Australia. The shot was taken on a pier north of Brisbane around noon with the sun high in the sky and bright.

The concept was to show a fisherman leaving his rubbish behind after a fishing session on the pier. This shot and others made up a series for use in posters, brochures, fact sheets and website use.

I wanted to capture the impact of the rubbish left behind from a low worm eye angle.

Using a 24 -105mm f/4L IS lens at 24mm, 50ISO with a polarising filter to deepen the sky gives the image a deep colour and focal depth.

The addition of the yellow cap against the blue sky gives some focus to the fisherman, walking away in the background, to the rubbish low in the scene in the foreground.

The shot on an angle creates some interest and a dynamic feel to the shot.

The shot was created using fill flash to emphasise detail of the foreground imagery and draw the eye to the main message.

It was a bonus to have some cloud in the sky to create some background drama.

This shot and the remaining series will be seen on www.opticgroove.com website soon.

...........................................................................................

2007-10-02T07:01:00.001-07:00

I shot this image of the leg on a dockyard crane while on an assignment for a freight forwarding company at the Brisbane dockyards.

While I was waiting for the docking ships to move into place I had a little time to snap some indulgent shots.

I looked up and was taken by the combination of the metal structure, the solid red number 5 and the moon in the background....snap! Store that for later.

To grab this shot I grabbed the 300D with a 70-200mm attached.

More of this series can be seen at www.opticgroove.com.au

....................................................................................................

2007-10-02T06:06:00.001-07:00

A young performer taken while covering a corporate event at Sirromet Winery in Brisbane.

This was shot on a Canon 300D, with a 70-200mm lens @ 200mm. ISO 1600, f/4 aperture priority. No flash, available light only.

The shoot was chaotic to say the least. There were 2 stages set at either end of the room about 25 meters apart. Each performance was followed up by the next act without a break. To cover as much of the action as possible meant literally running between stages through the (packed) crowd at the end of each song.

Lighting was poor and flash was not encouraged. All things taken into account, some nice captures were had. Although I was absolutely buggered by the end it was a most enjoyable job.

The optic groove website is being updated as we speak and a range of shots from this shoot will be available soon at www.opticgroove.com

.............................................................................

2007-10-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Shot inside a metal factory on a Canon 5D, with a 24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 40mm. ISO at 200 and shutter speed 1/15s. Aperture f/4.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the sparks in this shot. I was finishing up another shoot when this image presented itself. This illustrates how opportunities pop up when least expected. Because I was on the way out after the shoot it was a real jump in and jump out opportunity.

The subject did not even notice me taking the shot at the time. I shot the image using the tripod as a mono pod, unopened on one leg. Just lucky I hadn't taken the camera of the mount as yet.

I would have loved to stay and frame up some more images with a little more thought. Ya just gotta love sparks.

This and more industrial images coming soon at www.opticgroove.com

...................................................................................

2007-09-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Still life, painted with light. Shot in total darkness using a pen light torch and theatrical gel for colour. The swizzle stick is a kids glow in the dark light stick.

Shot on a 300D.

See more still life and light painting at www.opticgroove.com

...................................................................................

2007-09-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Super boy, super party, super shot.

1/15 sec at f8, aperture priority. Fill flash (580EX) 50mm lens on a Canon 5D.

Just a fun shot intended to illustrate the fun and movement of a childrens costume party. Some shots just happen without any planning. My philosophy in a situation such as a kids party when there is a lot of movement and action is to shoot first and ask questions later. In other words, set the camera up prior and take the opportunity when it comes.

If your shooting for journalistic applications kids parties are a great place to practice.

See more stuff at www.opticgroove.com

.........................................................................

2007-09-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

A recent shot taken for inclusion into a composite card.

This shot was taken on a 5D using a Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens. It was shot on location at a house using available hallway wall as the backdrop. The model was lit with two 500w flash units both through translucent umbrellas.

The image was opened in photoshop RAW and slight adjustments were made. Then taken into PS where it was converted to mono and adjusted using the channel mixer. Some minor retouching was conducted to remove spots and blemishes and then some additional contrast applied with curves.

See more images at www.opticgroove.com

.....................................................................

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Shot at Greazefest 2007, "Kitty". A nice impromptu portrait. Shot with fill flash on camera (580EX).

.....................................................................

2007-08-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Snapped at the recent Laverda Club Concourse day under the Storey Bridge, Brisbane. Nice chop although a little painterly overdone for my taste. Just happened to have the sunshine streaming through the trees at the right time

Shot on a Canon 5D using fill flash for the main shot. Some minor PS work with dodge and burn and slight saturation. No other enhancement.

More scooter shots can be seen soon on the revamped optic groove website

...................................................

2007-08-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

Image taken at "Fort Lytton" Brisbane, Australia. Painting with light, you can see the full moon is prominent in the background. This is a part of a series of images captured over several visits at the well maintained world war two fortress situated at the mouth of the Brisbane river.

Shot on a Canon 300D. Bulb setting and then painted with light using gels covering a 580EX and a 10,000 000 candlepower flood.

Contrast work in PS only.

More examples can be seen here.

...................................................

2007-08-02T17:26:00.001-07:00

Taken at the Railroad Workshop in Ipswich Queensland.

Taken with a Canon 300D. Using the plastic 18-55mm lens. Desaturated and converted to mono in CS2.

..............................................................