Rodney Campbell's Blog

I wasn’t really planning on going to Sculptures By The Sea last year but at the very last minute (read 7PM on the very last day) I got a message from Gerry that he was doing some light painting and maybe some starry skies at Sculptures.

My eldest daughter had told me she was interested in going to see the sculptures so I invited her to join me and off we went to Marks Park at Bondi.

We arrived around 8:30PM and the sun had already set but the clouds had really moved in so it looked like stars were off the table. We made our way across to where Gerry was, over around near Tamarama beach. By the time we got there he was already shooting this particular sculpture. I joined him for the last two takes (the image below being the final take – my first test shot was woefully underexposed).

Hazah

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 362 sec at f/5.6, ISO 160

Then we headed almost all the way back to Bondi beach checking out various sculptures on the way (in the dark – of course – the only way to see them :)). This one below shows a whale in a hand sticking up out of the rocks right on the ocean. It’s all made from chain link – like chain mail armour. It didn’t require much to light this one so processing was a breeze.

My Heart

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 239 sec at f/5.6, ISO 160

Then it was back to the point at the end of Marks Park where we always go during sculptures. There’s this spot there right at the point of the cliff where there’s a circular lookout area. Each year during sculptures there’s usually something pretty interesting there and it’s in a really good spot to shoot with the clean ocean and horizon in the background.

The sculpture there this year was this curved semi circle wall of mirrors.

We decided first that we’d shoot if from the inside looking back towards the city. The light pollution from Bondi and the city was going to be a problem with the long exposures but we figured we’d give it a try.

Our first attempt at just over five (5) minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 160 was a bit overexposed so I opted for us to stop down a touch (f/6.3) and drop the ISO to 100 to kill the ambient just a little.

Techno-Tetris

NIKON D750 + 14.0 mm f/2.8 @ 14 mm, 290 sec at f/6.3, ISO 100

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.

I covered the ground with the blue EL wire fire whilst Gerry added the green EL waterfalls and we both added various coloured torchlight to the mirrored sections. Finally Gerry added some white light to the top sections. The final result was a very colourful rendition of this sculpture. If you look closely you’ll also see that there’s a Gerry selfie there in the image, or at least a shadow of one :).

That complete it was time to shoot from the traditional side – the outside looking in to the east out to sea.

Back in Sydney after our long trip away, this was my first early morning sunrise seascape shoot. I was still somewhat in holiday mood but I braved the early morning to join a number of friends from my local photographic club for a sunrise session at North Narrabeen tidal pool.

I’d shot here before a couple of times but I hadn’t shot here for some time.

The Cutting Edge

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 21 mm, 123 sec at f/13, ISO 100

The morning was very very calm and still, you can see here from this vertical of the tidal pool edge how still the water is. This little sliver of concrete is the edge of the main pool. The pool area is on the right and is quite large, however there is also this large body of shallow still water on the rock shelf to the left. The fantastic and unique thing about this spot is the wooden boardwalk which runs through the middle of the pool cordoning off a rectangular swimming area.

Still In Your Thoughts

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 15 sec at f/11, ISO 100

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.

There was very little cloud this morning – which usually isn’t all that great for sunrise or sunset photography. We did however have a heavy thin patch of cloud right on the horizon. The upside here is that it lends a nice heavy red glow to the pre dawn twilight and I was expecting some nice strong pastels to follow.

Counting Down the Moments

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 13 sec at f/14, ISO 100

Having exhausted my shooting opportunities at the pool itself I headed out onto the rock shelf at the end of Narrabeen Head to look for something I could include in my foreground. There are a few channels in the rocks but nothing really grabbing my attention – the rock shelf is pretty large and flat. In the end I settled on this patch of greenery and looked to craft a composition with it in mind.

I’ve added a touch of light painting with my head torch to bring out the foreground and make it pop off the dark rocks.

Greenery

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 20 mm, 10.00 sec at f/14, ISO 100

It’s still seven (7) minutes till sunrise and by now there were a few high whisps of cloud being lit by the sun over the horizon. But with such little cloud around it was too few and far between.

With the sun now rising through the bank of cloud on the horizon there was just enough time to check out the main incoming channel at the end of the rock shelf. The spot wasn’t all that conducive to putting together a good composition but this tiny patch of greenery being lit but the low sunlight allowed me to craft this diagonal composition with the nice flow of water between.

Patch of Sunshine

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 20 mm, 8 sec at f/16, ISO 100

I discovered this place during a little pre location research before heading to stay at Port Fairy. The Craggs is an amazingly rugged and wild section of Victoria’s coastline and it is just 12 kilometres west of Port Fairy.

A visit to The Crags will give you a good understanding of why this area is named The Shipwreck Coast, with menacing rock formations jutting from the seabed. The calcarenite cliffs, formed thousands of years ago as water “percolated” between shell fragments, fossils and sand.

The Lane

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm, 1/80 sec at f/11, ISO 160

We actually visited the spot briefly on our initial drive over from South Australia – just to do a quick recce and see if the area showed promise for a later visit. It did so I’m back now before sunset to have a lazy afternoon ‘scaping here.

It’s interesting coming here so late in the day – I didn’t leave till after dinner, arrived around 7:30PM and I’m still way early for sunset which won’t happen till around 9PM!.

The road coming into The Craggs is pretty cool so I spent a little time trying to get a good shot with the road leading off to infinity first.

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.

Primeval

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 247 sec at f/16, ISO 50

Then it was a quick walk out to the cliffs and I started looking for compositions. It was so very very windy and there were quite a lot of clouds. It was still daytime so I spent my time with the heavy ND filters (Lee BigStopper and LittleStopper) for a while for some long exposure love. The crazy jagged rock formations here are quite spectacular, it gives a really primeval look to the coastline.

The wind was so strong and gusty I had to do something to hold down the tripod.

Pro Tip: I’d previously purchased some dynamic bungee rope for this purpose which I keep in my camera bag. I made a loop of it and attached it to the hook at the bottom of my tripod head and put one foot in the loop near the ground with the rope stretching tightly inbetween. The rope is not static but a little stretchy so it applies a nice downwards force on the tripod driving those legs into the dirt and sand.

Still even with this added stability of the tripod I could see with each strong buffet of the wind the camera and lens vibrating as the gust of wind hits it. As a result sharpness will have suffered a little in some of my images from this evening.

Dreamscape

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 18 mm, 139 sec at f/11, ISO 100

The image above is actually a manual layer blend of three exposures. One short (2 sec) exposure without the Little Stopper stopped down a little for maximum depth of field and aiming to get a sharp foreground and rocky landscape without the vibrating camera movement. Then two long exposures with the Little Stopper which I used for all the sky and most of the smooth water.

This last image below was taken just moments before sunset with the Lee Little Stopper. The clouds were still reasonably heavy in the sky but I was hoping to get some good twilight colour. Here at the Craggs I wasn’t to be dissapointed…

On Alien Soil

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 185 sec at f/13, ISO 200

After my sunrise shoot I took a stroll the long way back off Griffiths Island to check out the rest of the island. After breakfast with the family they all decided that they too would like to take a look at the island. So we returned mid morning for a nice stroll around the loop track (in the reverse direction I took earlier in the day).

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 220

My youngest two daughters posed nicely for me here so I could get the lighthouse in the distance.

And when we got to the lighthouse all the girls and their cousins sat still only long enough for a frame or two :).

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 42 mm, 1/100 sec at f/7.1, ISO 100

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.

Weathered Tides

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/8, ISO 500

Having circumnavigated the whole island twice in one morning I definitely had my step count up for the day :).

Heading off the rocks and further around this little bay I was looking for some more interesting foreground interest to include in some vertical compositions. Where the rocks curve around to the west I can see these fantastic jangles covering the black rocks. By jangles I mean these bright golden yellow seaweed bundles. I’m pretty sure Gerry coined the term “jangles” but I’m stealing it here as it seems appropriate…

On my way around the rocks I spied these nice lichen covered rocks and coupled with the Lee LittleStopper to draw the exposure out to nearly five (5) minutes.

Griffith Dawn

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 278 sec at f/16, ISO 200

Then it was time to see what I could do with those fantastic jangles…

Pro Tip: When shooting with moving water, timing the flow of the water and the waves is key and can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your final image. Here I have three identical compositions and the only real difference is the timing of “when” to take the image. Other factors could also make a difference. For instance the choice of Aperture which would affect the depth of field. More importantly the choice of shutter speed which would affect how “frozen” or sharp the water would look vs how stringy it might look (e.g. the last image) vs a smooth look (the middle) or even a very smooth or even misty look if I was to go with a really long exposure (e.g. 30 sec to 5+ minutes). The three images I’ve included below primarily show what a difference selecting “when” to start the exposure might make.

In this image I’ve waited till the water has calmed and it’s slowly being pulled out to sea. The jangles have been fully exposed and the little pool of water at my feet is still and you can see through to the sand and rocks below.

Jangles

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 2.5 sec at f/11, ISO 100

In this image I’ve waited till a large wave of water has surged in and is now pulling back out to sea. I’ve timed the shot so the water is lowish, the jangles are relatively exposed and the water is slowly being pulled back out to sea but before another wave comes surging in.

Afterlight

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 2 sec at f/11, ISO 100

In this image the timing is for when the water is at it’s peak surging towards me so I get maximal flows. Using a slowish but not too slow shutter speed enables me to get more texture and stringiness to the water.

Surging Light

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 1.3 sec at f/11, ISO 100