Rodney Campbell's Blog

I recently gave myself a mini project – one of limitation really – to go out and shoot with just one lens, one focal length for one hour in one location, on a nice overcast day to see what I could come back with. That trip with a fisheye lens to the architectural wonders of the Queen Victoria Building resulted in a handful of images I was fairly happy with – two in particular

I’ve decided to continue this project and will head out to other architectural locations in Sydney, again with just the 15mm fisheye lens for a maximum of 1 hour and will process the images to a similar monochrome feel as the others with the aim of producing a portfolio of similarly toned images held together by the underlying project theme

This location was nearby Central Railway Station at the southern end of the Sydney CBD

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

Looking straight up under the main clock in the central hall

Look into mine Eye

Mars Awaits

Empty Columns

Me and My Shadow

Actually this is where the new light rail system stops

Light at the end of the Rail

Shroom

During my bushwalk with my father in along Bomaderry Creek where I played in my youth.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

It was very lush and I wanted to convey just how green and vibrant it was down near the creek – and I couldn’t pass up that awesome green moss covered log on the left – this one a panorama stitched from seven (7) vertical source frames

Verdant Streams

The morning session at Cathedral Rocks at Kiama Downs on the NSW South Coast was one filled will excellent opportunities. The spires of rock thrust up out of the ocean at the edge of the sea are just fantastic subjects. Whilst sunrise itself was a total non event (very heavy cloud on the horizon hid the rising sun completely) the light show both before and after sunrise was on the excellent side.

The light was still quite strong so I was forced to bracket my exposures so I could blend them in post – I’m not yet proficient at all in Photoshop so I’m utilising Exposure Fusion techniques for these but I was happy with the results. All three shot with the Heliopan CPL stacked with the Hitech 0.9 Reverse Grad

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

Last shot of the morning – a quarter of an hour after sunrise and the sun is finally breaching the top of the cloudbank on the horizon and I’m timing for the waves

Glass Cathedrals

Minutes before sunrise and I’m down in the sand in this narrow channel trying to avoid some of the larger oncoming waves so I can get a nice shot with the golden reflections on the wet sand as the water pulls back out to sea

The Face of Dawn

Just minutes after 6AM and we’re right on scheduled sunrise

Pointing Skyward

and about 5 minutes after sunrise I’ve got a composition I like better with some nice weed and greenery in the rock pools up front

Reaching for the Sky

Shot handheld with the Sigma 50-500, from the street in front of my parents house :). I don’t shoot birds in flight very often but when they are readily at hand…

This Eagle and a Magpie duelling in the sky – I know this might look like a composite but this is a single shot as the birds passed as the magpie swooped at the eagle (I know you were thinking that the eagle was trying to take out the smaller magpie but in this battle the maggie won and the eagle was the one escaping to open skies)

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

The Duel

I took my eldest daughter for a drive to visit some sights one afternoon and nearby Cambewarra mountain lookout offers excellent and uninterrupted 180˚ views over the Shoalhaven region. It was incredibly hazy on this very overcast day but the view was spectacular so it wasn’t going to stop me trying a stitched panorama from the top.

Nine (9) frames stitched using the 24-70 at 70mm – that’s Coolangatta mountain (the twin peaks) over on the left with the Shoalhaven river snaking it’s way from the ocean delta at Shoalhaven Heads to Bomaderry and Nowra townships (on the opposite sides of the river) towards the middle and the right with the famous Jervis bay off in the distance in the middle of the frame. As you can see this is coastal farming land and it was surprisingly green.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

Shoalhaven Panorama