Cowboys & Indians - P.O.T.D 21/09/2014

Here we ave another art installation from the 'Work In Progress' art exhibition in Hong Kong. This one is created using a chisel to chisel away the existing wall into this art piece. Cowboys and Indians are definitely well know and the artist uses juxtaposition here with the 'Rise & Fall' in the background to create this piece. It was definitely cool to see up close how much work goes into it and how amazing other artists are.

I used the 16mm fisheye for this shot to get a wider field of view and to put more emphasis on the subject. The settings were 1/100 sec f/2.8 and ISO 400. I hope you enjoyed the photo and feel free to check out my portfolio here.

Jonathan

Dawn - P.O.T.D 20/09/2014

Finally it paid off, getting a photo at this location with a slightly better background. I have been to this location numerous times, but more often than not the resulting image is not ideal. I tried it yesterday morning and they sky finally gave me some nice clouds to work with. This needless to say is the Sydney Opera House and I took this photo from the other end of circular quay for those who are interested. 

The settings were 2 minutes and 22 seconds exposure at f/8 and ISO 100. This was taken around 5:30 in the morning and I think they key to nice sunrise picture is to get there before sunrise, because that's when the colour is at its richest and you will be able to get some amazing colours if you are lucky. This shot is a testament to how luck favours the prepared, so don't just sit and wait at home for the picture to come to you, go out and create it today! 

Jonathan

Troy Bayliss - P.O.T.D 19/09/2014

Troy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. He was racing at the Top Gear Festival 2014 and I got this picture of him leaning through the corner.

I have used the d800e with the 70-200 f/2.8 lens and the settings were 1/320 sec f/8 at ISO 200. Motorsports photo are always fun to shoot and it takes some time to get the focus and panning right. You can find my blogpost about Top Gear Festival here for more details and tips on shooting these types of events.

Jonathan

Moss - P.O.T.D 18/09/2014

Sunrise is one of my favourite thing to photograph just because of the serenity that you experience while watching the sun rising from the horizon. That feeling is quite amazing and I definitely would recommend it anyone to give it a try from time to time because that feeling is truly magical. 

This photo was taken at Turimetta Beach, one of my frequently visited location for sunrise because it is a massive beach, there are always different spots to shoot and also the weather is different every time. This is an HDR images with 4 shots, each with 1 stop exposure apart and fused together in post processing. I enjoy getting the image right in camera, but sometimes the dynamic range is just too high for your camera to capture, so HDR is a useful technique for those occasions. I hope you enjoyed the photo and feel free to check out my other P.O.T.D's here.

Jonathan

Gathering Spot - P.O.T.D. 16/09/2014

With the weather getting warming here in Australia, it is time to go and hang out again. I want to share this photo today because I found it interesting and I am trying to edit slightly differently to create a different look. 

I hope you enjoyed the photo and don't forget it's important to hang out with people you care about from time to time because some of your life should be for pleasure and enjoyment! 

Jonathan

Myrmecia - P.O.T.D 16/09/2014

Myrmecia, commonly know as bull ant, is a genus of ants. Almost all of the 90 species are endemic to Australia so it is not surprising to find one around here. They are known for their aggressive behaviour and powerful stings and their venom has the potential to induce anaphylactic shock in allergic sting victims, so they are definitely not insects to get too close to.

This shot was taken with the micro-nikkor 200mm f/4 and the settings were 1/200 at f/22 ISO 100. This any was resting on the wall, so it gave me a lot of time to compose my shot. It was pretty much all dark, so it was lit with a ring flash. I used the modelling light to get focus and slowly work my way to the ant as it is quite a scary subject given its massive jaw. I think it was definitely a scary but rewarding experience, so I think you should try it next time! 

Jonathan

Macaron - P.O.T.D 15/09/2014

Macron is a French confectionary, it is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond power and food colouring. The name is derived from the Italian word macarone, the Italian meringue.

Even though I don't have much of a sweet tooth, I do enjoy a macron once in awhile. This photo was taken with the 200mm f/4 macro lens. It was lit with a flash to the camera left and the settings were 1/160sec at f/8 and ISO 400. I think we can definitely take food photography to the next level and capture the nice food that you are about eat, so try to turn your meal into something creative next time!

Jonathan

Burn Out - P.O.T.D 14/09/2014

American muscle cars are always featured in blockbuster movies and I can definitely understand why. With their timeless design and powerful engines, they are definitely a force to be reckon with. This car was fitted with a modified engine which generates enough power to burn out its own tires. 

I used the d800e with the 300mm f/4 for this photo and the settings were 1/1000 at f/4 and ISO 200. Photographing cars has always been a passion of mine as they are definitely a great combination between art and engineering and when they work well together, they can great amazing machines that becomes an icon not only in field of motorsports but in out culture. If you are into cars, you can check out my coverage at Top Gear Festival by clicking here. I hope you enjoy it. 

Jonathan

Hong Kong - P.O.T.D 13/09/2014

Hong Kong, one of the most populated cities in the world is full of amazing views. I love Hong Kong because it is where I spent majority of my life living in this wonderful place. This is the iconic view of Victoria Harbour from the Peak and it is a spot that you must visit if you are visiting Hong Kong. 

I cannot enjoy more using the x100s, the colour and quality within this small camera is just amazing and I love carrying it around where I go. The settings were 1/30 sec at f/2 and ISO 800, this shot was actually handheld and because of the shutter design, it doesn't cause much vibration within the camera making it great to use in low light. Although a tripod is probably a better idea in this case, it still works wonderfully in difficult situation. I hope you enjoy this photo as much as I enjoy being in this great city. 

Jonathan

Goat - P.O.T.D 12/09/2014

Goat is one of the earliest animals to be domesticated and they can be used for milk, meat, hair and skin all over the world. There were more than 924 million goats all over the world in 2011 and there are over 300 breeds of them.

I made this picture with the X100s during my visit to a zoo in china. I found this cute little goat sneaking around and eating some leaves. This small camera allows me to get up close and personal with the goat and I like the intimate connection. The settings were 1/250 sec at f/2 with ISO 800. I enjoy photographing animals because I am always curious what they think about us on the other hand. I hope you enjoy this photo and feel free to check out more Photo Of The Day here. 

Panda - P.O.T.D 11/09/2014

Panda is one of the national treasure of China and who doesn't look these cute black and white bear. This panda exhibition showcases more than 1000 paper molded panda to raise awareness for environmental issues. It is quite a scene on its own but the joy these cute animals brings towards really is something you have to experience yourself.

I have taken this photo with the Fuji X100s and I love how portable it is. Since Pandas are already black and white, black and white seems to be right edit for this and It brings more focus to the panda and not the background. Getting down low and shoot at the level of your subject is a good way to show a different perspective. I hope you enjoyed these cute little pandas! 

All Aboard - P.O.T.D 10/09/2014

Train is one most common form of transports and you can find them pretty much everywhere around the world in developed countries. There are plenty of variations for the train since it was invented, from the historical diesel powered train to modern day bullet train. A train system is literally the bloodline of the city carrying people from one place to another.

This photo was taken with the Lensbaby Composer Pro with the Edge 80 Optics. It allows me to tile the lens to get a slice of focus which creates the miniature effect. I took this photo around close to sunset because it shines a golden colour onto the subject adding some nice colour to it. I hope you enjoy the photo even if you don't enjoy the train system!

Jonathan

Jumping Spider - P.O.T.D 09/09/2014

The jumping spider family has more than 5000 described species which makes it the largest family of spider accounting for 13% of all spiders. They have some of the best vision among arthropods and most species are capable of very agile jumps. 

This photo was taken with the d800e and the 200mm f4 macro lens. The settings were 1/250 sec f/11 and ISO100. I have always enjoyed macro photography because it makes you slow down and appreciate the little things that we so easily miss on a daily basis. You will be amazed with what you can discover when you slow down and actually look closely to the environment around you and appreciate its beauty. I hope you enjoy the photo as much as I enjoy creating this image for you to see.

Jonathan

Peak - P.O.T.D 08/09/2014

Black and white architecture photography is something that I have been wanting to try and I found the opportunity to do so last week. I took this photo at Macquarie University because I saw the lines and patterns which I think would work well for this type of photo.  

I used the D800e with the 70-200mm f/2.8 to take this photo, but the most important piece of equipment is the 10stop ND filter which is essential for this type of photography. The settings were 1 minute 45 seconds at f/16 and ISO 50. As you can see there, with the ND filter I can slow down to the shutter speed to blur out the clouds in the background. It was definitely fun to create this photo and I will put together a blogpost about the details once I get more familiar with shooting this type of photos, but for now, I hope you enjoy this sneak peak. 

Jonathan

Fujifilm X100s - P.O.T.D 07/09/2014

Fujifilm brought out this revolutionary camera that not only has the look of a cool retro rangefinder camera but also the modern digital imaging technology within that body. After the X100, Fuji works hard to improve the fine details that made x100s a great camera for street photography and other many other things.

I enjoy using this camera because of its portability and the nice retro design. I want to try something different and I decide to tried some light painting with it. The background was light up using the iPad and the camera was lit with a torch showing you just how you can create photos with what you already have. If you want to learn how to take these type of photos, you can find my tutorial here. 

Jonathan

The Coathanger - P.O.T.D 06/09/2014

Sydney Harbour Bridge was built and opened in 1932 and it is the 6th longest spanning-arch bright in the world and it is the tallest. It is called the coathanger because of of its shape and it is one of the most famous Sydney landmark.

This photo was taken with the D800e and the 14-24mm f/2.8. I was there waiting for the sunrise as you can see a little bit flow in the bottom left corner. The light stream came from a boat passing by and I am so glad that I took 3 photos of it passing by because the final results is a stacked image of the 3 and it allows me to have that long trail of light without using an aperture too small that the images look soft. I think the moral behind this story is to be there early and shoot more. You never know when the other boat is going to pass by and you never know what you can do with multiple images, so keep shooting! 

Jonathan

Spiral - P.O.T.D 05/09/2014

This spiral is a made by a street artist and it was part of the Work In Progress street art exhibition. I found this installation very interesting as it was 3 dimensional and also its black and white simplicity. 

This photo was taken with the D800e and the 24-70, the settings were 1/80 sec at f/2.8 and ISO400. I tried to focus on the light and shadows to showcase the depth and contrast of this artwork. I think as a photographer, we also need to appreciate other artists and their work because you never know what inspiration you can draw from them, so be sure to check out other artist's work whenever you have the chance to. 

Jonathan

Pyro - P.O.T.D 04/09/2014

Pyrotechnics, even though it is a dangerous art form, it is very memorising because of how fire looks in motion. Human eyes in many regards are better than camera, but it cannot see long exposure like camera can. The loops of fire that was being created is like a pen on canvas. It lights up the dark frame and it brings a unique texture to the photo. 

The settings used for this photo was 2 sec and it was handheld shooting from the hip. It was definitely challenging and it would have been better with a tripod. But on the bright side, handholding give you more flexibility. I found this photo is the most dynamic, probably because the three loops have different depth. I hope you enjoyed this photo and feel free to check out other photos of the day here!

Jonathan

Red Mist - P.O.T.D 03/09/2014

Once again it's the iconic Sydney Opera House! It is a very great place to shoot and I do enjoy watching the sunrise because of the serenity of it and occasionally you get amazing colours like this picture. What's amazing about this is because the colour was only there for about 10 minutes and it's gone, so it does make you treasure the moment because you never know how long it will last.

This photo was taken with the Nikon D800e and the 24-70 f/2.8 lens. The settings were 5 second exposure at f/4 and ISO 250. People often say it's a lucky shot and I am not saying that luck has not part in it, but prepared people get lucky with these shots because they put themselves in the situation to take advantage when the opportunities come. I have been to this location numerous times and more often than not, the weather didn't turn out as good as expected, but by placing yourself there, you can be ready when the nice light and colour present itself! I really enjoy photographing around Sydney and you can check out my album here, hope you enjoy the photo!

Jonathan

Clock Tower - P.O.T.D 02/09/2014

The Clock Tower is one of the many landmarks of Hong Kong. Located at Tsim Sha Tsui, next to Avenue of Stars, it is definitely one of the most visited place for all tourists and locals. It wasn't easy to get a shot without tourist but a rainy night did the trick, so rain might be a photographer's friend at times.

I took this photo with the Nikon D800e and the 24-70 f/2.8. The settings were 1/10 sec, f/2.8 and ISO 400 and looking back now since I was using a tripod, I could have drop the ISO down to 100 and increase the shutter speed to 1/2 sec. I prefer the black and white version over the colour because I found it eliminates the distraction and put more focus on the lines and structures. I hope you enjoyed the photo and feel free to share it around if you like it.

Jonathan