Droplet on Pink

I haven't posted for a while here, so here we go. This is my latest photo. Taken in the garden, a few droplets on a new pink daisy plant. 

I kept a very shallow depth of field, to keep the focus and clarity on the foreground droplet, that acts like a magnifying glass to reveal the texture of the flower's petal. I didn't crop the photo to leave the yellow heart of the daisy in the image, I think it creates a balance in colour, and is soft enough not to be too distractive

"Droplet on Pink" (c) Gilles Royer 2015

As always, this photo is also available through my +500px page, at the following link: https://500px.com/photo/123716041/droplet-on-pink-by-gilles-royer

And now you can also look at my new Facebook page (and share a like or comment) at: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianLightSeeker

Thanks for stopping by!

"Splash of Red" posted on my 500px gallery

This is a close-up of a gladiola, under artificial lighting, in my improvised garage photo studio.

"Splash of Red" (c) Gilles Royer 2015

It is also available on +500px at the following link:
https://500px.com/photo/103108843/splash-of-red-by-gilles-royer?from=user_library

Thanks!

"Boats... An Impression" - 2 versions posted on 500px and Kujaja.com

Last weekend, with the arrival of Spring, I headed off to the beach, in Sandringham, with the family. The light was really strong around lunchtime, yet it was beautifully reflecting on the water. Sailing boats were out on a race on the horizon, and the whole scene reminded me of some impressionist paintings (think Monet or Seurat), given the quality of the light.

I tried to render that impression in the below shot:

"Boats... an impression" (c) Gilles Royer 2014

The link to my 500px gallery is as follows:
http://500px.com/photo/81716257/boats-an-impression-by-gilles-royer and is also on the Kujaja.com website: http://www.kujaja.com/en/photo/36783

I also tried a B&W edit of the same image, that further conveys the subtle tones and atmosphere of the scene:

"Boats... an impression - B&W edit" (c) Gilles Royer 2014

Respective links are as follows: http://500px.com/photo/81842781/boats-an-impression-b&w-edit-by-gilles-royer and http://www.kujaja.com/en/photo/36918

Please leave me a comment and let me know which photo you prefer. Thanks!

"Morning in Melbourne - With Balloons" posted on my @500px gallery

I've now posted on 500px the second photo highlighted in my previous post (http://australianlightseeker.blogspot.com/2014/07/morning-in-melbourne-posted-on-my-500px.html)

The link is below:
http://500px.com/photo/76953623/morning-in-melbourne-with-balloons-by-gilles-royer

Thanks for your visit!

"Morning in Melbourne" posted on my @500px gallery

The series "Morning in..." continues with this shot from Melbourne CBD. Amazing what motivation can do to me - waking up at 6am for a morning photo shoot seems easy that the same on the Monday morning to go to work. Go figure....

When I got the car out of the garage, I also noticed that it as a beautiful full moon, and once again, a perfect crisp clear sky, typical winter morning. So I headed off closer to the city this time (see my previous posts in St Kilda, Bolte Bridge, and Swan St Bridge), precisely on the St Kilda road bridge.

I set up my tripod, went to Aperture priority mode to get long exposure (I wanted that smooth/mirror effect on the water), and the remote control, and started to shoot, fine tuning to get the best angle and composition. First shots are a bit too dark, not enough light yet, but I got this one at about 7.05am, so technically, just before the first lights. The moon was full, and on her path to disappearing behind the foot brings you can spot in the background.

I was soon joined by a few other photographers and iPhone snappers, so it must have been a good spot!

Here's the shot I selected to post on 500px gallery (http://500px.com/photo/76655195/morning-in-melbourne-by-gilles-royer):

As the sun rose behind me, a hot air balloon appear on the left, in the background, soon joined by a couple more, and they made their way towards the Rialto towers (those 2 towers with an electric blue light at the top - quite a landmark in Melbourne), but it was hard to get both a long enough exposure, and the hot air balloons sharp enough.

Anyway, it was worth fighting the cold (must have been one of the coldest mornings so far) to get a decent shot

Thanks again for visiting!

"Morning in Docklands" photo posted on @500px

Another photo from the series "Morning in..."

Winter is cold down here, and quite wet, but this is also a great time of year to get out early and catch the first lights, whilst the air is very clear and crisp. I went last weekend around Docklands (check the other post from the Bolte Bridge: http://australianlightseeker.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/new-post-on-500px-gallery-morning-at.html), and made my way along the river towards the city. 

By the time I arrived in Docklands, the sun was up, which gave me a beautiful warm light. I took this shot of the marina near Webb Bridge, and opted for a long exposure (6 seconds) to enhance that calm mood, and get the smooth effect you can see on the water:

I've also posted it on my 500px gallery, at the following link: http://500px.com/photo/76077427/morning-in-docklands-by-gilles-royer

Thanks for your visit!

New photo on @500px gallery - "Morning by the Yarra"

Following my new series of morning shot, this morning I woke up early to capture the lights on the Melbourne CBD, starting from Swan Street Bridge / Henley Landing. Direct link to the 500px gallery  is here.

Thanks for your visit!

New Post on @500px gallery - "Morning at the Bolte"

Inspired by the One Minute On Earth 2014 challenge a couple of weeks ago (please check kujaja.com for more information on OMOE 2014, and here or here for photos taken during that photo shoot), I decided to wake up early again today, and head towards Docklands, to get a view at the City from the West and at the Bolte Bridge (below).

This time of year (it's winter here in Melbourne) is great, as first lights are not too early, and the mornings are very crisp (which also means very cold, but those things I do to get a photo!), which lends itself very well to this type of landscape photography.

So here is the shot I posted on my 500px gallery (http://500px.com/photo/75673433/morning-by-the-bolte-by-gilles-royer) - I decided to go for a B&W edit, to enhance the mood and highlight the lights on the bridge.

Below is the actual original shot in colour

This is obviously a long exposure shot (5s). I also tried to use a new ND filter (+4), but the images above are shot without it, as I'm not yet 100% of the result. But I have a variable ND filter in the post, due any days now, so I'll give that one a try and keep you posted.

Let me know which version of the image above you prefer, and thanks for your visit

New post @500px - The Seagull and The Light

Following my shooting last weekend for One Minute On Earth project (see the great www.kujaja.com website), when I went early morning on the St Kilda Pier, I've now posted this shot of a  seagull (you can also see it in my 500px gallery: http://500px.com/photo/75113065):

This was taken about 7.50am, so 15mins or so after the sunrise, when the rays of the sun strike the water almost horizontally.

I was trying to take shots of the seagulls in full flight (quite tricky to get a sharp image, VR stabilisation or not on the lens!), and only got a few good ones. This one was shot against the water, with the sun light coming from beneath the body of the seagull, making the feather glow with a warm orange light

I also really enjoy the effect of the light on the water, which was very still that morning.

Hope you also  like it, and thanks for your visit!

The Story Behind... Blue Hour at Cowes Jetty

Back from my holiday in Phillip Island, I posted this new photo in my 500px gallery (http://500px.com/photo/65154481), titled "Blue Hour at Cowes Jetty"

Blue Hour at Cowes Jetty (c) Gilles Royer 2014 - Nikon D200 / AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm / 24mm / 3sec / f/3.8

Phillip Island is situated east of Port Phillip Bay, and is famous worldwide for hosting the Moto GP in February. But as I discovered this week, it is a beautiful spot, only 1.5 hour or so from Melbourne, and full of stunning landscapes and outdoor activities. 

On Wednesday morning, I got up early to have a go at the sunrise. Staying in Cowes, on the North side of the island (and being the main town thereof), I decided to go close, to the jetty. I took a few shots, from the beach on the western side of the jetty, then moved to this side (east) as I thought the long jetty would block most of the sun as it rises behind it. I therefore settled at the start of the jetty, and waited for the sun to point its nose over the horizon. This one was taken in the blue hour before the actual sunrise.

I had my tripod, and screwed on a polarising filter in front of the lens, and set it for a long exposure - 3 seconds - at ISO 100, to get maximum details, and get that smooth effect over the water. The light on the bottom left-hand side of the shot, on the stones, comes from the street lamp over, and helped me bring the textures of those beautiful bluestones.

Quite a few people were also walking on the jetty, so you can see some silhouettes there. That's the perfect time for fishing, not just taking photos!

Unfortunately, the sky was quite cloudy above the horizon, so I didn't get (looking towards the east - or to the right of the photo) a good sunrise. When the sun pierced through the clouds, it was already high above the horizon, and to bright to take directly. 

Hope you enjoy it. When I have a bit more time, I'll post more photos of the Phillip Island trip, as well as my (not happy) story re my jammed lens...

Thanks again for your visit! 

The Story Behind... Bouton d'Or

The Story Behind... Bouton d'Or

I've just posted a new photo on my 500px portfolio, titled "Bouton d'Or" (http://500px.com/photo/62475749)

Bouton d'Or - (C) Gilles Royer 2014 - Nikon D200 / Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1

As for most of my images, this one was again captured in natural light. Those little yellow flowers (of which I don't know the name, actually) grow in a pot, in a bush. The flowers are quite small (only  2-3cm in diameter) but the colour is very nice and strong, and I find them very elegant.

I shot this one in the afternoon, but because they are in the shade of some much bigger trees, the light was more diffused, not too harsh. The 'dew' drops were conveniently placed with the use of a spray bottle! I found that having water drops really enhances the structure and texture, so if I'm not early enough to catch some dew, I use that little trick :-)

As for composition, I cropped the original shot, only by a small amount, to remove some of the green background (and let the yellow petals stand out more), and decided to place the flower just slightly off-centre (fully breaking the rule of thirds, but rules are there to be worked around in the name of art, aren't they?). I added a bit of contrast and saturation in Aperture, to see more of the details, and opened the shadows so that the bokeh in the background shows a bit more.

Happy Sunday!

The Story Behind... Let's Have a Drink

Let's Have a Drink - (c) Gilles Royer 2014 - 90mm - f/5 - 1/60 - ISO 200

This photo was taken in my new house, which has a water feature in the front garden, being an urn with water coming up. we had a very hot summer here in Melbourne, Victoria, with a whole week where temperatures reached the 40 degrees. I noticed , at the end of the afternoon on those days, that several bees gathered on the edge of the urn, and went for a drink, just the way they would go and collect pollen from a flower. 

I found this quite interesting, and decided to take a shot of those, armed with my macro lens (the Tamron 90mm). I took quite a lot of shots, varying the angle and trying to get a sharp image, whilst opting for a wide aperture.

I selected this shot for several reasons. First, this was one of the only one where the bee's tongue (or proboscis) was really clear and sharp, and so were the eyes. Second, I quite liked the angle of the image, and the texture provided by the water overflowing from the urn (made of cast iron). The background was blurred enough with an aperture of f/5.

As always, you can find this photo on my 500px portfolio -> http://500px.com/photo/59718228

I hope to see more of these bees around, or other kinds of insects, or even birds. Actually, next to the water feature are a couple of trees, with quite a big spider web in between. The spider has been growing over the last few weeks, so that might be the next photo idea! 

Cheers
Gilles