Using your mobile phone for pet photography!

The saying goes, “…the best camera is the one with you!” - for most of us that would be our mobile phones!

Photography is part of everyday life and what an uncomplicated, fairly easy way to capture memorable moments, than using the powerful pocket rocket camera available on most mobile phones today.

Mobile phones come in different shapes and sizes, and offer a wide variety of lenses, wide angle, macro and even take panoramic shots. You can use them on auto, or get into the professional settings and shoot in manual.

Some tips for using your mobile phone for taking stunning images

TIP 1 - Clean your lens

Most of us keep the phone in our pockets or handbags which have loads of dust and fluff that easily stick to the nooks and crannies of the phone. Our hands and fingers also leave smudges when handling the phone. So, in order to get good images it is important to clean our lenses. You will be surprised at the quality after a good clean!

TIP 2 - Focusing

If you just pick up your phone and point and shoot to get an image, your phone will decide what it thinks is the focal point and that might not be what you were thinking the subject was. So, it is a good idea to use the manual focus on your phone, this will give you control on where you would like the focus to be.

TIP 3 - Exposure

Manually set your exposure to set your images brightness the way you would your photo to appear. This is a simple as clicking on the screen and moving your finger left or right to adjust the brightness.

TIP 4 - Composition

Try and compose your images creatively and try and move away from always placing your subject dead center. Your screen on your phone will have a grid dividing your composition into 3 rows with intersecting lines, in technical photography terms this is called the rule of thirds. When first learning about composition, using the rule of thirds is an excellent way to train the eye to position the subject on one of the interesting lines of the grid. This is pleasing to the eye, and most of the time is a natural leading line for our eyes to take.

TIP 5 - Rule of odds

Another way to compose photos on the mobile phone is to use the rule of odds. So, simply put, when you have many subjects in your frame, try and limit them to 3, 5, 7 etc.

TIP 6 - Horizons

When taking a shot, ensure that your horizons are straight. A pet peeve for many photographers is seeing a cracking shot, but the horizon is skew. Simply use the grid on screen when composing your image to ensure that your horizon is straight

TIP 7 - Lighting

Photograph in natural light. There is something special about using natural light and at different time of the day you will get different effects, so play around with when you would get the best light. The golden hour is pretty good, when the sun is rising or setting, but you can get great images at any time of the day.

TIP 8 - Editing

There are fantastic editing apps on your phone or you can access many others online. My favourite is SnapSeed. You can really take your images to the next level using these apps to edit your images.

Finally, the best advice is, HAVE FUN! Enjoy and capture those special moments!

Practice on your pets, and if you have farm animals….they are the best subjects, so unpredictable and candid!

Ducks having fun!

Why do I photograph?

This question has been on my mind lately….Why do I photograph? I am not a professional photographer spending my days out in new exotic locations, teaching workshops or creating content for a YouTube channel, WHY?

I am just a humble ordinary girl with a regular 9-5 job! So, what is it about photography that draws me in, that gives me a buzz, and makes me go back for more of the same?

We all strive to become technically skilled in the operation of our tools….the camera, the gear we use and the post processing to bring our photos to life, to add emotion and tell a story, but why?

The other day I was shooting down at the beach, trying to get waves at a slow shutter speed. I had my camera on the tripod with ‘Big Bertha’ my 100-400mm lens on the front. My eye was looking through the viewfinder….I was in the ZONE, so much so, when a passer-by stopped to chat, I nearly jumped out of my skin….I never heard them approach or knew they were there! I was lost in the moment. This is not the first time this has happened.

This to me feels like an escape, a feeling of complete solitude (good solitude!) …this is when my creativity awakens and my emotions become part of the images I create.

The same way listening is different to hearing, seeing is different to looking!

Embrace the senses…be still - don’t rush! Capture your feelings in an image…..this is why I take photos! I can capture and share my emotions in a moment of time in a frame…to cherish forever! This is why i do it…..this is what makes getting up early, shooting in the rain all worth the effort!

For me this process comes naturally and I intuitively fall into this cycle when I photograph.

Ansel Adams has a well known quote - ‘When people ask me what photography equipment I use, I say, my eyes!’ - well I take that one step further, I say, my heart!

This is why I photograph. You can’t see this with the naked eye!!

Till the next adventure!

Autumn Amble

The photography club that I frequent scheduled a trip down to the Golden Valley Tree park or arboretum to photograph the autumn foliage. It is about a 2 and a half hour drive south west of Perth, so day trips are definitely possible.

The colours and the landscape through the little farming towns and valleys were breath taking….at one point it felt like we were in the Yorkshire dales! Breath taking even!

This was my second visit to the park, I had previously made the trip down in the summer and had photographed my silver birch in the bright summer sun. This time I got to see my beautiful birch in her soft pastel yellow gown…looking enchanting against the soft baby blue sky.

We took an amble around the international trees surrounding the duck pond and were mesmerised by the contrasting hues splashed about as if on Renoirs canvas. Needless to say we all got drawn into the moment, and lost in our passion of photography.

This image below, was my first of the day. This is the Swamp Cypress with her wonderful root system exposed due to the lack of water in the pond. The rich brown colours of the empty pond and roots, with the autumn yellow leaves scattered aimlessly around perfectly offset the orange glowing gown adorning this beautiful tree! Can’t wait to see you next time, when you have dancing reflections in the winter pond!

Till the next adventure!

Trees Aging Gracefully

As tree grow old, they age just as we humans do. Our skin wrinkles and sags, a similarly so do trees.

The skin of trees is called bark. It protects the the sensitive inner organs from the outside world. Trees contain as much liquid as we do, so without the bark the trees would simply dry out.

A break in the bark of a tree, is as uncomfortable for the tree as humans wounding the skin.

As do humans, the tree expands its girth every year, you would think that this expansion would split the bark, but to ensure this does not happen the tree renews its bark.

Not all trees shed in the same way. There are some species that shed continuously, and others with restraint.

You can identify who is doing what, when you look at the outer layer of bark, which is dead and forms an impervious exterior shell. By looking at this bark, you can also tell different species apart.

The information provided in this blog is taken from the incredible book ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ written by Peter Wohlleben.

Wow, wow, wow…..this book is so worth the read!

Below are a couple of images portrayed in a collage showing a couple of the trees in my park as they gracefully expand their girths and shed their skin!

Backdrops and surfaces for flat lay product and food photography

Big clean-up in my shed, so that I can turn it into a creativity haven/studio for my photography.

As part of that I have purchased a C-stand and tethering cables to try out some flat lay product and food photography.

This will all be a necessary part of my ‘Recipe Book’ project!

BUT, I needed appropriate surfaces and backgrounds……so DIY backdrop was next on the agenda.

I did some research in YouTube of course……you can find just about anything in there!!

I found Joanie Simon of ‘The Bite Shot’ - what an awesome channel she has…..everything you need to know!

Check out her video on backdrops - this is what i followed to make mine

So a Bunnings trip was a must to get started. Bought some plywood and some multi purpose joint compound. And spray paint. Make sure you get the matte finish, to avoid glare and shine when you are photographing.

Paint

Premium Plywood 1200x810x3mm

Joint Compound

Using a paint scraper I applied liberal amounts of the joint compound onto the plywood, and spread it all over until it covered the whole surface. I played around with the texture to add a slightly uneven surface.

I wanted this particular surface to be reminiscent of the ocean, so made little wave-like movements using the scraper. I then allowed this to dry for 24 hours.

Compound waiting to dry

I applied the Navy Blue as my base colour

Once dry, I add some white acrylic paint….not a lot, just a few splodges! Then I used a brush to brush into the blue.

I then used a sage green spray to lightly cover the surface area with a little more white and brushed this all in

Lastly, I used a Clear matte coating to protect the surface.

And Voila…..Ocean Spray was born! First back drop complete….and what FUN!!

A little bit of creativity with action figures

With things getting back to almost ‘normal’ again, my photography club had the AGM and a new schedule was proposed for 2021 filled with great challenges. The first one being action figures.

I did a fair bit of research on YouTube and the web to get some ideas and inspiration. There is a raft of material to source out there. Then once I decided on the theme, I put the word out that I was looking for toys to use in the images.

My niece Gemma managed to find some toys that the young owner wanted to part with, for 5 bucks….!

A plane, a jeep, some action men….perfect for what I had creatively envisaged for my project.

How cool was that!!!

I needed to purchase a few items from my local Bunnings to make this all come together…rope, wire etc.

But all up, this little project cost next to nothing.

My thought process was to use older images as background to give the effect I needed.

• For the ‘May Day….May Day….Going Down’ image I used a spectacular morning sunrise image taken a few weeks back and blended the 2 images in photoshop.

• And for the corvette, I chose one of my Perth skyline images.

• The ‘Comic jeep’ was photographed against natural elements found in my garden and processed in Lightroom and Topaz studio.

• I used a cloud image to act a snow in the image created of the soldiers.

I wanted to have the toy plane look like it was actually flying, so tied some rope around a tree and a pole. In this way I could suspend the plane in mid-air. Knowing could remove the rope in post processing. This is what the set-up looked like before I started shooting

Plane suspended in air using rope

I also wanted to have a dramatic background - like the plane was going down in a war zone! Not an easy feat, when you are doing this in your backyard. BUT, I had a brainwave….I had the perfect image to blend into the background to give the effect I was after!

Spectacular morning sunrise

Once I had the angle and perspective I needed, I took the shot….and the rest was magically created in Lightroom and Photoshop, using techniques learnt from Adam Williams and Easy Way Photography https://www.easywayphotography.com.au/ - If you haven’t see this brilliant tuition yet (Where have you been?) - do it…do it NOW! If you want to know how to post process images like the pro’s….click on the link. You won’t be sorry!!

Check out the Easy Way Photography Facebook page for more details https://www.facebook.com/australianphotographer

My final image….was EPIC….just what I was after! And was so easy to do and process…..and more importantly, it was such FUN to do.

‘May day…May day….we are going down!

Doing something different that I could do at home during lockdown was the perfect remedy to get my creative juices flowing, it also forced me to think outside the box and let my imagination run wild!

Hope you enjoy the images, as much I enjoyed taking and processing them!

57 Corvette against the Perth Skyline

Snow Storm!

G.I. Joe - The Comic book

Till the next adventure!

A Moment of Magic!

You have all heard of the saying ‘The best camera, is the the camera you have with you!’ - Well for the most part, this would be the camera on your mobile phone.

As I have been downsizing my camera gear (From my heavy Canon 5d MK iii to my Fuji XT-3) I thought about my macro images, and how I was going to still do macro on occasion without all the gear.

So, I did a little searching on YouTube and came across a fellow ex-South African Liesl Huddleston, who now resides in Dallas, Texas

Do yourself a favour, check out her brilliant YouTube channel - not only is her work sublime, but she has the most amazing voice, and tells her story in the most captivating way! (and the accent is great too!)

I was so impressed by what Liesl achieved with her phone and a moment macro lens, that I ordered one to try out! Well, needless to say, I was blown away!

The lens itself is about 20cm in diameter and fits snuggly onto your phone, and weighs a couple of grams - talk about down sizing!!

I had been wanting to photograph moss - but to showcase the moss, as a tiny forest and this mobile set-up with the moment macro lens was going to be the perfect way to achieve this. I practiced in my garden, and managed to get a portfolio of images I call ‘Le petit forêt’ - Loved how these turned out!

Our camera club had planned to meet out at our local botanic park in the Perth hills, called Araluen, as the annual tulips were out in full bloom - I thought, what a perfect spot to look for moss, in the lush gardens of the park.

I got there early, the park opens at 9am, met up with a few of the club. then got lost in the immense beauty of the place, and the bustling crowd of visitors to the park. I wondered around photographing the tulips and the trees, and then found a bench and rested with my flask of hot milo.

As I sat, I noticed the low lying sun started to peer through the trees and dust the floor of the woodland with the most incredible amber light. I noticed how the ground was lighting up, so took a closer look and saw the moss, and saw these new elfin-like shoots stretching up to meet the golden glow, shimmering with delight!

Well, out came the mobile with the macro lens and my series called ‘Ambre’ was born!

Hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Till the next adventure!

Mobile phone macro images

Summer Sojourn

About 200kms south of Perth is the quaint little town of Balingup, beautifully neat and a tourist attraction of note. It is also home to the Golden Valley Tree Park, a sixty hectare landscaped haven, nestled in picturesque hills of Balingup

My intention is to visit this tree park in each season to capture the change in the landscape.

I am partial to the Sliver birch trees....i love their white trunks, so will be paying them special attention during these visits

It was a mild day, but still stiflingly hot during my first meander around this gem in the South West!

The leaves on the trees were sparkling like jewels in the morning glow, the sun bright and bold, even though it was still early in the day, which made conditions tricky for photography.

Summer silver birch

PERTH

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

Christmas 2020….what a year it has been.

Who would have thought the world would change so much in such a short period of time.

So much has changed in the way we think, the way we go about our daily lives, the way we plan our holidays even….the world and the people in it seem nervous, there is a strange surreal feeling about the place.

As Christmas draws near I am in silent contemplation about the reason for the season…so to speak. God is at the forefront of my heart and soul during this time, as we prepare for his nativity.

My prayers are for a joyous and blessed Christmas to you all, and for a peaceful ‘COVID free’ 2021.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas 2020