Tamika and Khia’s Photo Shoot.

 

This morning I did a photo shoot with Tamika and Khia with some guidence from Mark Hamilton from his home studio in Darwin.

The morning started of with shooting some informal shots and both girls and experimenting with various poses and clothing outfits. Both girls were fantastic to work with and were just naturals in front of the camera, after a few changes upstairs we went outside while there was a lot of cloud cover and did some work in the pool using just one vivatar light through a unbrella on a stand. I was so happy with how the flashes worked and made the girls look that you really can’t go wrong for the cost of the flashes.

I am looking forward to doing some outdoor location work with Tamika and Khia again once I get myself some flashes.

Both shots of the girls have been shot with a 85mm F1.2 seies II lens and not cropped at all.

Gloucester Tops Forest Floor, New South Wales

Last month over my Xmas holiday I had the pleasure of catching up with fellow photographer and friend Rod Thomas and I went up to Barrington Tops to capture some of the waterfalls in the National Park.

But it wasnt until our way back that I asked Rod to pull over so we could maybe look at taking some photos of the road that was filled with thick forest and fog. As I was taking photos of the road Rod trekked up into the bush to see what he could find, well after he came back he said to me that I should come up and have a look as its was pretty nice, so what turned out to be just a 5 minute stop turned into a 2hour shoot.

This is just one of the many shots we got that day and I love how the floor is evident of the many seasons, the burnt black tree’s, the leaves of Autumn and also the signs of regrowth in the middle of it all.

Thanks Rod for taking me up there and I wouldn’t have anywhere as many photos as I do if it wasn’t for your hospitality during my stay.

Edith Falls, Northern Territory

Tonight I decided to head back up to Edith Falls and see what impact that the rain over the last 2 days has had, well I wasnt expecting this much of an impact from just 2 days of rain. But Katherine Gorge did go from just under 3 meters to now running at 12 meters, so I am guessing that Arnhem Land has coped quiet a bit of rain as well.

I took these from the second gorge and the one that is still open to go a visit, but not swim for obvious reasons. And these were also taken as the sun was setting and it gave a nice warm glow as I was taking these last shots before cutting my losses and getting back before it goo to dark and dangerous as I have a huge fear of running into a snake along the way.

I will go back again tomorrow as well and shoot mostly with the linhof before the water levels drop again. But it is pretty impressive to watch the amount of water running down there at such a great rate.

Somersbsy Falls, Central Coast

Today I spent the better part of today down at Somersby waterfalls with Rod Thomas and Brett Campbell. We went down last week but were strapped for time, but today we spent a good 5 hours getting to the bottom falls and working out way back taking shots as we made out way back up. The top shot is from the second falls and the bottom shot s from the first falls , but the second falls and is the pick of the bunch thats for sure.

Mariner, Nelson Bay

Yesterday I arrived into Sydney for a 2 week break and today I took a trip down to Nelson Bay to take some photos, as its been over 6 years since I have been here, a lot has changed in that time. And as it was pretty busy because I was told that Sydney and Newcastle have received a lot of rain and yesterday was the first bit of sunshine in the last week and everyone was out to get some sun and sand.

I took this shot on my Canon Mark 3 and this is a 13 stitch image that has been edited in PT Gui, I also took the same photo but not as wide on my linhof, but I will wait till the end of my trip before I send in the film.

Northern Territory Wet Season

Well it’s been a long time coming this year, as the wet season finished in late Feb early March this year and it looks now it has only just started in the last week,  the beginning of that was caused from a low depression of the coast of Darwin that recorded 350mm of rain in 2 days which is the normal amount for Dec.

So now as regular as clockwork, the storm clouds build up during the day and around 4.00 or 5.00 the serious clouds roll in dumping huge amounts of rain over the NT. This will happen for the next  50 -90 days over summer and the area changes in no time from a dry brown to a rich green. And its great to experience it, be it good or a bad wet. Not that I have been here for a bad one.

This shot was taken from just around the corner from my place at an old abandoned airport as the storm front came in from the Katherine Gorge region. A 3 stitch from the Canon.

Printing Services of CFL, Erina

Handcock Gorge

Over the past few years I have used a couple of printing labs in Adelaide and Sydney to print my panoramic images and although I was reluctant at using Created For Life in Erina, I thought I would give them a try on the advice from Rod Thomas as he has been using them for quite a few years now.

So about a months ago I put in an order to have a shot from Karijini  printed to 75in, and from the time I put in the order till I received the framed print was no more than a 3 week turn around. And I live in Katherine so it’s a bit of a trip to get the print here in that sort of time. It now stands very proud in my lounge as a feature wall as it is a 2200mm print. And on Sunday I received an order and that night I put in the print files through the FTP service that is available on their website, which is very easy to use.And 5 days later I have the print here at home. Now it’s that sort of speed and service that you just cant beat from a lab and it’s why I have no hesitation in recommending them.

It’s not only the speed of the printing, the quality of prints in the way they are wrapped and you open the package to find not one dust mark, a scratch or any oil marks anywhere. It’s also that kind of quality that I am looking for as well, and at CFL they give that no question at all..

So if you are considering changing labs or just looking for a print lab, then give Glen or Josh a call and the will be only to happy to help you with your needs no matter how big or small.

http://www.createdforlife.com/

Springvale Homestead Spring Leaves.

Over the past year that I have been shooting family portraits, weddings and model shoots, Springvale has been one of the most favored locations to use as a backdrop. But it wasn’t until yesterday that when I was shooting Peter and Lisa family that we crossed to the road and took a shot under the trees here. Well my first thought was wow how nice is this in here, so today I came back and did a stitch using the 85mm lens. The file came out at just over 300mb and is pin.

I also shot this on the linhof as well, but I waited for total shade before I took those shots.

Lan’s model shoot

 

Today I had the pleasure of doing a shoot for model entrant Lan from Darwin who came down to Katherine so I could shoot her. Lan is currently in 3rd place for the Miss NT Model Competition. It was also a chance to get updated photos of her portfolio to show case to future model agencies in Darwin. This is just one of various locations that Lan and I went to this afternoon. To see more of the shoot click on this link. http://caseysmith.zenfolio.com/p547627899

Phoebe’s Portrait with Canon 85mm F1.2

This afternoon I had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot with Phoebe using my new lens. While I have used it a couple of times now with a wedding and family portraits, It wasnt until today that I used it in very low light of the late afternoon shade under the overhanging tree’s. The first shot was under the cover and shot at F1.2 and wow the amount of depth of field was very shallow to say the least, it extend from the left hand side of her eye to the edge of her nose. But it left nothing in the background sharp what so ever. Plus I have also found that the edges at F1.2 are a little dark and I have been told that shooting at F2.0 will give a better result, but I like the challenge of shooting at 1.2 and I love the effect that it give.

There is no question at all that this lens is an amazing lens for shooting portraits and I have found that I am now leaving my 70-200mm in my bag now for in favour of the 85mm.

This second shot I shot near the surrounding fence of the park and this one is shot at F2.0 and still you can see quite strongly that the background is way out of focus. I asked Phoebe to give me a sultry look and at the time after looking at the shots on the back of my camera she was of the opinion that she didn’t pull it off, I beg to differ and think she did a great job, and this was her first time for doing this kind of shoot. Great work.