Rodney Campbell's Blog

I took a couple vertical panoramic compositions of the milky way streaking overhead above this basalt spire at Bombo quarry. This one with more of the water coursing over the rock wall after the waves have crashed on the other side.

One more look before we leave…

Galactic Falls

NIKON D750 + 14.0 mm f/2.8 @ 14 mm, 30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 4000 x 5 Frames

Some mornings are just spectacularly amazing – with blazing red skies and perfect cloud structures.

Red Dawn

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 112 mm, 1/50 sec at f/8, ISO 400

It’s a very rare occurrence that the weather gods align and you get amazing light, perfect clouds and spectacular colour when you are out landscape shooting. Sunrises especially are teasingly difficult to predict. You’re normally travelling to location in complete darkness and arrive and setup an hour before the sun is to rise. So basically you really have no real idea what it’s going to be like when that golden few minutes arrive when everything is at it’s peak. Or as is much more typical – nothing really happens.

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

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 122 mm, 1/30 sec at f/8, ISO 400

You wish for conditions like these but really I’d say it’s like once in every hundred outings that it’s really what I’d call “Epic”!.

So what is worse is when you wake up one weekday morning and look out the bedroom window only to see THIS!. I mean what a complete waste – why isn’t it like this on the weekend when there’s some chance I’d be out there shooting a sunrise.

Ah well, might as well document the infinite red to prove it actually existed even if it wasn’t put to good use… :(.

Handheld and purposely underexposed to make it more “silhouetty” and pretty much SOOC :)…

With the sun now set it was time to switch to “real” landscape photographer mode…

Actually – sadly – pretty much all my shots with the D-SLR this evening were rubbish.

I’ve Been Here Before

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 18 mm, 134 sec at f/11, ISO 100

This one is the pick of the bad. A two plus minute long exposure towards the end of twilight with Sydney’s fabulous cityscape on the other side of the harbour. Looking down Bradley’s fantastic old stone jetty towards the famous harbour bridge and Opera house. I know I’ve been here before…

Bradleys head near Sydney’s famous Taronga Zoo is a popular spot for a picnic, weddings and all visitors.

Picnic on Air

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 186

I’d come with some friends to shoot sunset but before the sun went down I took the drone up for a little spin above.

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

Bradleys

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 190

This shot from above includes the three major features on the headland… Namely:
– it’s old stone jetty with it’s embedded rail tracks
– the foremast of the cruiser HMAS Sydney, renowned for taking part in the Royal Australian Navy’s first ship against ship engagement in World War I
– and an active lighthouse, Bradleys Head Light, constructed in 1905

Ink Blot

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 227

Another view looking back at the headland from the air

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 253

On cue just on sunset the skies turned to lovely pastels looking away from the sun over the ocean. It was all pinks on green. There was a thin band of puffy cloud down low right above the horizon. I wanted to focus the attention on this so it was time to try a handheld stitched panorama at a longish focal length (160mm).

Pinks on Green

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 160 mm, 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 720 x 8 Frames

Eight (8) horizontal frames later we have this stretch of the horizon which goes from almost north to south.

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

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 4000

The light was beautiful behind them so it was time for a few quick portraits of the girls before it got way too dark. This is when a softbox and a strobe would have done wonders.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 4500

And by the time we got back to the car we had a fantastic show of colour to the west as day drew towards night. Not even the mass of power lines and poles could spoil the splash of colour.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1600