While the surf itself was nothing to write home about particularly, by all reports it was genuinely fun.  While I’m not producing outstanding images as those seen by another local surf photographer, Stuart Gibson, here’s a small collection of my images from the day.
This also highlighted my need for a longer telephoto lens…

All the shots were taken at Port Arthurs, Remarkable Caves, quite a sight in themselves, and one of the Tasman Peninsulas many sight-seeing attractions.

The view from the rocks, just a small walk down the embankment, through the undergrowth from the main car-park and lookout.

Also note Cape Raoul in the distance, which was used as target practice by the British Navy in WWII.

One of the boys, Ty Hibberd

And the other, Robert Boost

This glass and steel plaque was designed, constructed and installed by a group of the local surfers and crew. In memory of one of our friends, Eli Horsman, who passed well before his time a few years ago. This was a favourite spot of his to surf, so this seemed a fitting location for a small memorial.

I need say no more….

And by the end of the night, it was all too much for some….

Oh, and there’s always one……

Preview at www.Dpreview.com CLICK HERE

Luckily I got in before the coming price rise and also managed to bargan a substantial discount from the salesman at the time too.

The “External” type flashes (as opposed to those that are built into the camera body) are far superior units, as they have a number of great features such as.
-The flash is physically further away from the lens, which eliminates the “Red-Eye” problems as seen with compact cameras and even the built-in flash on SLR’s
-The Speedlite has much greater lighting output power to cover a much larger area and distance, as well as giving you the ability to “bounce” the flash off a ceiling, wall or other reflector for a much more diffused and natural light.
-The speedlite is also able to be swiveled and tilted away from the subject to give much more “dynamic” looking images, as opposed to the flat and washed out images that are ususlly assosciated with flash photography.

Anyway, for further techincal info and techniques, I found this link the other day, which i found very interesting and helpful in understanding the basics of flash photography.

Flash Photography

She will heave her first serious outing this weekend, when i’m shooting a wedding for some friends of mine so i will be very intertested in the results that i achieve.
Watch this space for some sample shots from the wedding.

This week, RedBubble are having a special promotion which includes FREE Shipping on your order.

So if you like any of my work, or any work from the other great artists/ photographers on the site, follow the links below and have a browse…..

I have just ordered some stuff last week myself…… dammit!!

PS – I almost forgot – the coupon code to receive the free shipping offer is ‘100000masterpieces’ – just enter this during the checkout process to receive the free shipping offer.

anywho, check it out…

The 30V also has a system called Eye Control Focusing. It works simply by “knowing” which part of the viefinder you are looking at, and it will focus on the nearest AutoFocus Zone to where you are looking.
Generally a point and shoot camera will focus at the centre of the image all the time. SLR cameras have multiple focus points that are usually selected manually by the user by pressing buttons, or the camera can automatically select the “best” point. But the Eye Control Focus lets the user slect the point manually by simply looking at the desired point of the frame.
For example if you’re shooting a group of people standing in a line, you would compose the image so as to fit everyone in the frame as desired, but if you want to highlight the focus on one particular individual, you would simply look at that person through the viewfinder and press the shutter release to take the image. Very neat system when used in the right places.

I have always loved the “suprise” of opening a pack of freshly printed photo’s that were shot with film, and there is something just plain fun about shooting film.

I also love black and white, especially for portraits or groups of people, which I feel digital lacks the character that B&W film can deliver.  It also adds a little elegance to portraits, and also highlights the technical attributes of a picture.  Rather than being reliant on bright/ saturated colours to grab your attention, your composition, lighting and perspective must do the attention grabbing instead.

Thanks to Nige Honey for suggesting I see Alan at PhotoForce in Hobart (free plug) to discuss what options for film would best suit my needs.

So hopefully I have somthing worthwhile to share in the near future.

“EF Lens Work III, The Eyes of EOS”

it’s a publication by Canon, which details the entire EF lens range as well as a world of information including -Choices of lenses for different types of photography

-Full Technical specifications on the EF and EF-S lenses

-Theory of light including, reflection, refraction, optics and lens theory

-Construction and technical operation of the IS (Image Stabalisation) and AF (AutoFocus) systems.

There is also a downloadable version (in parts) available for those unaware of books!!

It can be found HERE

From what i’ve read so far, it’s a brilliant learning resource combined with an array of Canons marketing material. It is even very beneficial for the non-Canon users out there who would like a little more depth into the how and why’s of lens operation and science.