Turimetta Beach, Sydney, Australia

What a gem, I have never even heard of this beach until two days ago. The funny thing is that I have been to both North Narrabeen and Mona Vale beach on either side of it. We started at the northern end of the beach and worked our way along the beach to the southern end.

The southern end has much more to offer a photographer. I will be coming back for some pre dawn and sunrise shots in the very near future.

Here are some of my shots from the southern end of Turimetta beach.



The walk back to the northern end and the climb back up to where the car was parked was a killer. Next time park at the southern end, less walking and more time for photography.

Middle Head, Sydney, Australia

What an interesting place to visit and photograph. I have always wanted to check this place out. I first saw this place in the Australian movie "Stone". The day started out fine but was overcast by about lunchtime.

So if you live in Sydney and looking for interesting places to photograph. I highly recommend that you get down there. You won't be disappointed.

Will definitely revisit to explore more of the tunnels and get more interesting shots. Here are some of the shots from my visit.




Here are some interesting facts about Middle Head.

The first battery was built in 1871 and was designed by James Barnet, a colonial architect. The fort was built on a strategic location and received many additions until 1911. It formed part of a network of 'outer harbour' defences. They were designed to fire at enemy ships as they entered the harbour. The whole area is linked by an extensive network of underground tunnels, ancillary rooms, gunpowder magazine and a disappearing gun emplacement.

High Speed Photography (Water Droplets)

Here are some of the shots from my first attempt at high speed photography of water droplets. It was kind of a hit and miss affair.

Orphaned droplets

This looks like a little guy praying

This was my goal!

More Orphaned droplets

The next thing I like to do is build a circuit to automate the whole process so I can capture more predictable/consistent results. So stay tune.

Canon G10 - Soft Case (SC-DC60A)

Just received the leather case for my Canon G10. It's a freebie from Canon, part of a promotional offer if you purchased a G10, not sure when the offer runs out. It took forever to arrive, almost given up hope as I've been waiting for over 5 weeks.



It's a soft pseudo leather case, only 44% of the case is leather. It does not have the real leather smell. It's black on the outside and burgundy on the inside. The inside looks and feels like suede but its not. The cheapest I have seen it retail for is about $75 AUD.


The case consists of two halves, the top half attaches to the bottom half via three press studs, 2 smaller ones on each side and a large one on the bottom.

The bottom half attaches to the G10 via the tripod mount using the metal knob. The knob is also threaded so you can mount it on a tripod without having to take the G10 out of its case.


The case really compliments the retro look and feel of the G10. I don't think the case is robust enough to protect the G10 if I dropped it.

I like the look of the case, the fit is snug and now I don't have to worry about scratching the G10 body when I throw it in my bag.


It took less than a minute to get the G10 into the case. Okay ready to roll!


The Canon G10 is getting cheaper.

I bought mine for $619 AUD, from here or you can go to their store, Camera House, in Parramatta Westfields.

You can get them for the following prices:
$575 AUD - scroll down to the last page.
$599 AUD

Canon G10 - More Sample Shots

Here are more shots I took on my new G10. I am very impress with the G10's IQ.





Macro
The light was poor as it was heavily overcast. I had to borrow my friend's flash (580 EX II) to take these macro shots. The flash had a gary fong diffuser attached and I used -1 EV flash compensation.

Secret Squirrel Stuff

What a great gadget for getting candid shots of unsuspecting subjects in the streets. It allows you to shoot at 90 degrees from where your lens is pointing.

Not sure about the quality of the photographs though. Similar types of devices were available 35 - 40 years ago.





Go here for more info on the Spy Lens

Hitler's thoughts on the Nikon D3x

This is a very funny video I came across on Youtube. All photography buffs should get a kick out of it especially if you are a Nikonian.
Please enjoy..

L bracket for Canon G10 from Really Right Stuff

Just saw the Really Right Stuff (RRS) L-Plate for the Canon G10. Have to add this little beauty to my ever growing wish list. I already own the RRS-BH40 ballhead and RRS BMBD200-L-: L-Plate for my Nikon D200.

BG10-L L-Plate for the Canon G10

Back view

Side view

Front view

BMBD200-L-: L-Plate for Nikon D200 w/grip

BH-40 Pro II: Mid-sized ball with Pro II

This is the exact ballhead setup that I have, the quick release plate is bought separately. The build quality and craftsmanship is second to none. I have had the BH-40 for nearly 3 years and the BMBD200-L for just on 2 years. They have both performed flawlessly in that time.

I can highly recommend anything made by Really Right Stuff. The RRS staff that I have dealt with have been extremely patient and helpful.

In the market for a excellent ballhead or L-plate?
Really Right Stuff

Thoughts on My new Canon G10

I wanted a compact camera with great IQ and can shoot raw. I checked out reviews for both the Canon G10 and Nikon P6000. Nikon's decision to use some dodgy new raw format and coupled with the less than stellar performance of the P6000 gave me no choice.

Being a Nikon boy this wasn't an easy decision to cross over to the dark side and buy Canon. It's a shame that Nikon, once king of the compacts, cannot make something to compete against the G10. I don't understand how a company that can produce the D3 and D700 can miss the mark with the P6000?

Front View

I like the retro look and feel of the G10 and its black. I particularly like the 3 control dials on the top which makes it easier to access and change the iso, mode and compensation settings without having to fumble through the menus. However, on the minus side, it is rather bulky.

Top view

The menu is rather straight forward, fairly intuitive. I managed to use most of the G10 features without resorting to reading the manual. A no-no for techos:-)

The lcd screen is very very nice indeed, bright and sharp. Shame the histogram is not RGB but its still better than nothing.

Back view

I was disappointed that Adobe Lightroom 2.1 still has no support for the G10 but do for the P6000. I use Lightroom to process all my shots and only use Photoshop when I need to. Adobe just released Camera RAW 5.2, for CS4, on the 24/11/08 which supports the Canon G10. Lightroom support to follow soon, perhaps sometime in December.

I have no idea how to use Canon's DPP, its counter intuitive. I gave up and just converted the raw files to TIFF and then edit them in Photoshop. Since Adobe released Camera Raw 5.2, I use CS4 to do the raw conversion.

This is the first digital point and shoot I've ever owned. I am still getting to grips with taking shots via the lcd screen. It just doesn't feel right. Hopefully, I will get use to it.

I have to admit that it is much easier shooting macro, hand-held, using the lcd screen on the G10 than with my Nikon D200. I seem to get a higher percentage of "pin-sharp" macro shots on the G10. Perhaps this can be attributed to the G10's IS.

macro

macro

This is my first attempt at panoramic, pretty straight forward, the G10 allows you take up to 26 shots. Next time, I will make sure to use manual rather than aperture mode to ensure that the exposure is the same for each shot. I tried both Canon's software and Adobe CS4 to stitch the shots together, CS4 did a much better job IMO.

Panoramic - Campbell Cove, Sydney

Sample Shots






The low light performance was very disappointing anything above iso 400 is not great but I don't really care. So far I am very happy with the G10 and I am looking forward to taking many more photos with it. Highly recommended.

As part of Canon's Big Red promotion, if you purchase the G10 you get a genuine Canon powershot leather case. I sent in my details over 4 weeks ago and I am still waiting.

Reviews

Here some interesting links to more in-depth and technical reviews of the G10. Check out Bill Lockhart's review it has some really amazing shots from the G10.

Michael Reichmann
Thom Hogan
Bill Lockhart - Some really awesome shots
dpreview - Not so glowing review

Sculpture By The Sea 2008 - Tamarama to Bondi

This annual exhibition started earlier this year, 16 October - 2 November, due to the new daylight saving time. This free event is staged along the Tamarama to Bondi coastal walk. The weather wasn't playing ball this year it was overcast and gloomy, definitely not conducive for great photography.

This year, we decided to go on a week day. There was less people which made it much easier to take shots without having to wait too long for people to get out of your way. Oh and it is much easier to find parking.

I reckon the sculptures this year were not as interesting as last year's but that's only my opinion. However, I would still recommend that you check it out. If you can't make it this year, there is always next year. Please enjoy the photos.

Views from the southern plyon, Sydney Harbour Bridge

Fort Denison

Sydney Opera House

Park Hyatt Sydney

boat from Sydney pilot service

southern pylon (other side)

Photographer with great taste (Nikon Camera)

bridge climbers

Bradfield Highway

Sydney Opera House

Geesh, I really need to get fit. Climbing to the top of the pylon nearly killed me. Last time that I was here, I did not have a camera, in fact, I wasn't even interested in photography. I have always wanted to come back and take shots from up here of the bridge, Opera House and the cityscape. Please enjoy..