A Tyronne W blog

Golden eyes

2010-11-22T17:37:00.001+10:00

Golden eyes, originally uploaded by tw.techlist.

This is just the seventh day out with my new Canon 100mm f2.8 L IS lens ;-)

a clock tower

2010-10-07T01:05:00.001+10:00

a clock tower, originally uploaded by tw.techlist.

This was taken last march when I was in London.

Fishing alone

2010-07-09T23:23:00.001+10:00

Fishing alone, originally uploaded by tw.techlist.

Another visit to Wellington Point..

Spiky

2010-07-09T12:50:00.001+10:00

Spiky, originally uploaded by tw.techlist.

This was taken a couple of years back using my old Canon 400D.

Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens

2010-07-05T02:02:00.001+10:00

Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens, originally uploaded by tw.techlist.

I still don't have proper macro lens but enjoy myself a lot with what I take using my standard 24-70 F 2.8 L zoom lens.

This one was taken at Mt Cootha botanical gardens, a couple of weeks back. :-)

Hobart at night

2010-05-07T23:58:00.000+10:00

I took this photo some time back and it was on my flickr page.. just thought of copying it over here.. ;-)

To be precise, I took this picture almost a year ago, May 20ish 2009

New Year Fireworks - Brisbane

2010-01-01T17:46:00.000+10:00

New year celebrations at Brisbane.. Didn't edit tune any of these images .. ;-)
Enjoy

Wellington point, Queensland

2009-11-21T02:39:00.006+10:00

I managed to visit Wellington point, Queensland over the first weekend. This was my first out, since I bought my new Canon 7D cam.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70L F2.8 ; 1/500, F5.6, M, ISO 100]

The camera is really cool and I liked it a lot. Less noise with the new generation controls made me purchase this ahead of 5D which has a full frame sensor. I really wanted to move on to 5D, since I have bunch of L series lenses.

[Focal Length 14mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 1/60, F8, M, ISO 100]

But I couldn't justify myself being a generation behind with 5d. The guys at Brisbane Photography helped me a lot, in making the right choice.

I bought it from Photo Continental, with an Aussi warranty. The quality of service they offer and customer care is simply awesome. Way better than Ted's. ;-)

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 1/200, F8, M, ISO 100]

As usual, I couldn't bring my tripod. Hence, couldn't take the jetty with the nice shades of its own during the sunset.

River Fire 2009 - Brisbane

2009-09-13T14:37:00.017+10:00

River Fire - 2009
After waiting patiently for over 12 months, I managed to find a *better* place to shoot this year's RiverFire. But not the best. Hence, I had to use my wide-angle lens Tokina 11-16 F2.8, ahead of Canon 24-70 F 2.8 L. It was bit sad, but I had to focus on the F-111s dump and burn , not just the fireworks. (You can click on images to enlarge them, I'm bit lazy to install lightbox, which does the same)

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 13, F9, M, ISO 100]

I went to the city (Brisbane) around 11:45am to find a suitable location to do my shooting later in the day. But to my surprise, at 11:45am, most of the handy places were occupied by hundreds and hundreds of people/families. It was filled with thousands and thousands by 2pm. I had to give up getting myself somewhere around the Story Bridge or around Kangaroo Point.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 13, F9, M, ISO 100]

I left home for the RiverFire around 6:00pm, just an hour ahead of the scheduled time. I managed to take a cab and got myself into an "ok/ok" location just 10minutes before 7pm.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 15, F9, M, ISO 100]

I was at South Bank, near Kurilpa Bridge, one of the ugliest bridges I have ever seen. I couldn't go any further down as the crappy bridge obstructs my view, unless I get on top of it.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ; 5, F5, M, ISO 100]

Taking pictures of the fireworks wasn't my main objective but to capture F-111s doing dump and burn, across the river. I'm satisfied with what I've got, given the context how hard it was to find a better place and also based on the place I was in. ;-)

What is RiverFire/Dump and Burn ?
RiverFire is an annual festival hosted in Brisbane city to mark the end of the winter season. A large number of fireworks are displayed during the show where most of them are placed on building tops as well as on the Brisbane river. The highlight of the show is, dump-and burn performed by F-111 bombers.

The jets ignite fuel while dumping them off its tail, creating a massive flame. This is widely known as "dump and burn" among those who are familiar with F-111s. However, this is the final dump and burn, you could ever see off F-11s as they are decommissioned by the end of this year. Also, the RiverFire is the curtain raiser for the RiverFestival, which spans for couple of weeks.
You could also find more pictures of F111s, performing dump and burn off my older posts : Amberly Air Show 2008

-TW

Conrad Treasury Brisbane

2009-09-07T22:24:00.008+10:00

Conrad Treasury Brisbane

This was taken awhile ago. Was missing somewhere between my laptops and just managed to get hold of this in my backups. :-D Taken on 29th March 2009.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 20, F22, M, ISO 100]

I didn't have my wide-angle lens by the time these were taken. Haven't modified much, just converted using ufraw. Generally, I'm not good at post processing. It's such a time consuming work.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 20, F22, M, ISO 100]

There weren't much vehicles since it was a Sunday. Couldn't get the beam I was hoping to get. Not totally disappointed at least I managed to take my tripod and take some pics :-;

vacation in sri lanka pics-II (April/2009)

2009-07-02T22:45:00.005+10:00

it's been a couple of months ever since i got back from my vacation in SL. however, couldn't publish most of the pics which i took during my stay there. mainly due to the disappointment i had where i left my tripod at home, in brisbane. anyways, thought of putting the second set of pics. couldn't go thru all the pics i took as i was bit busy over the last few days .. but thought of putting these on.

[Focal Length 35mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/1000, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

i took this, on my way back. somewhere between nuwara-eliya and pusellawa. also the one below this. cool misty weather ... calm and quite environment .. fresh air.. water streams .. what else could you expect ? hmm... i wish i should go into the wild one day .. just like christopher mccandless. i have no words to express how much i love nature, wild, forests and to live a bit haunted life .. ;-)

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/400, F3.5, M, ISO 100]

[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/4000, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

i took this one at the victoria park, nuwara eliya.. on the last day .. during our stay. i can't remember we went to haggala. normally, i don't like flower gardens.. sucks! but when you're in a group, you can't say "no" to your friends.. what to do.. poor me :-(

[Focal Length 58mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/200, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

same venue .. there was a flower exhibition .. managed to take this shot, while idling around . i like the abstraction. however, had to crop the image a bit to get rid of some crap around it .. ;-) the even organisation was very bad and premitive .. it was more like an event organised by a bunch of grade 10 students..

vacation in sri lanka pics-I (April/2009)

2009-05-12T23:57:00.010+10:00

it's almost been a month since i went to sri lanka but couldn't upload most of the pics i took there. i wanted to take my tripod with me, but at the last moment i realised that it cannot go into my check-in baggage. which left me with no options but to keep it at home, in brisbane.

i didn't realise that decision was going be so costly, as i missed out so many great opportunities to shoot, at its absence. however, i did my best to do the justice to take as much as possible with what i've got with.

i stayed four nights and five days where the big mountains are. one night at bandarawla (bandarawela hotel) and three nights at nuwara-eliya (grand hotel).

[Focal Length 64mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/500, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

this portion of the land and the cattle belong to the "ambewela farm", located ~20km off nuwara-eliya. nothing much in this pic, but the cattle reminded me some of the politicians in sri lanka, so i thought of paying tribute to them by putting it over here. ;)

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/400, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

the adisiom palace, located ~10km off haputale, sri lanka. this was built by a "brit" a century and a half ago.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/13, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

baker's falls, bit of walking required off the main entrance at the horton plains. to be precise 2.5km. you need to drive ~40 km from nuwara-eliya to here. the road isn't all that good and bit narrow.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/1600, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

i took this on the move by train, around ohia *again*, in sri lanka. i love this view. this is one of the reason why i always prefer to travel by train. ;)

first cup of wide-angle photography

2009-05-10T13:45:00.011+10:00

well, i don't need to state how much i miss shooting with having a wide angle lens. a wide-angle lens is a must for someone like me, who's into nature/landscape photography, specially when i'm using a crop body.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8L ; 1/500, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

plan for a wide-angle lens was pulled into two directions. norm was providing me with valid ingredients to stick to a full frame body, where there's no need for a wide-angle lens. but taken just 12000 shots off this crop body, doesn't let me dump it or use it as my backup body.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8L ; 1/1000, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

after missing loads of nice opportunities where a wide-angle would have been a handy option, i picked tokina 11-16 f2.8 77mm lens yesterday. cost me $ 1100/= for the lens + hoya super 77mm filter.

this is the first non-canon lens i bought probably going to be the last as well. i'm not happy with the curve and soft pictures they produce. i went around south bank and took a few pics. the content looks fine but the picture quality, sharpness are not quite there.

[Focal Length 11mm, Tokina 11-16 F2.8L ; 1/1600, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

there's a *HUGE* difference between the pics i have taken with my canon L series lenses and with this one. yeah, no wonder why we call them L series lenses and the cost.

i rang suncorp and added to my insurance package. had to pay extra ~ $ 26 and didn't spend more than 8 mins to complete the entire process. hmm their customer service rocks!

on the move - somewhere around ohiya, sri lanka

2009-04-22T04:24:00.004+10:00

i'm bit disappointed for the fact that i didn't bring my tripod. my calculations went wrong as i couldn't fit it in my bag, forcing me to leave it at home, brisbane. at the very last moment. (i generally pack my bags just a couple of hours prior to the scheduled departure time)

a trip to bandarawela was always on the cards as i landed on this beautiful country, sri lanka. i went with prageeth (forward), roy (midfield) and christy (defense) off the great soccer team ever produced by my school . the train was bit packed until we reached nanu-oya. however, i managed to grab a seat and take couple of pics on the move..

[Focal Length 25mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/1000, F5.6, M, ISO 100]

i believe i kinda like this one after bit of post processing, on which i'm not good at. ;)

it's all about clouds

2009-04-02T00:18:00.007+10:00

it wasn't so long ago when Dave (David Stephan) told me that the best times for nature/landscape photography are mornings and evenings. Dave works with me in our team. who's done some good photography during his stay in the uk. but now, he's retired from it as well as from friday night beer sessions ;)

he told me this, a few days back and it reminded some of the pics i took a couple of months ago. now, i want to put them over here :

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/10, F2.8, M, ISO 200]

i've got a very nice italian made tripod but i keep on missing that, when it's needed most. i feel so lazy to pack it in my camera gear. i wanted to take these shots with having the motion of vehicles but couldn't do that without using a tripod.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/8, F2.8, M, ISO 200]

all these shots were taken by a hand held camera. i reached the lowest ever possible shutter speed without increasing the iso value. i hate to go beyond iso 200. i took both these pics around 18:30 -17:00 hours AEST. :-)

steam train sunday

2009-03-31T01:19:00.018+10:00

first, i should admit that the given pics are not off the best breed but thought of publishing them for the history involved with the steam train. when i first heard of this steam train, the snippets of memory hooked up with tin tin's adventurers. i had the luxury of seeing the first steam train on tin tin books, thanks to herge. :-D

[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/1250, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

when i was running out of things to do with limited time/distance around QLD, i thought of investing one of my sunday mornings for the steam train to go back in time. to refresh my imagination i had of steam trains.

[Focal Length 38mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/250, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

to my surprise, not much difference to what i had seen in tin tin books. :-) almost the same.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/80, F2.8, M, ISO 200]

i couldn't enjoy much time taking pictures as i was disturbed by a railway officer. inviting me to the engine room to exploit it with my L series lenses. actually, it wasn't just that, the guys were kind enough to detail me the entire process. how does it work, the steam engine!

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/13, F2.8, M, ISO 400]

the interior were old fashioned, but well maintained. this train has commenced its maiden tour in 1900 AD. couple of years before our sister Isuri was born. :D

[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/320, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

the entire journey lasted about 1 hour, which wasn't boring at all. it was more like going back in time, using a time machine.... to taste bit of history..

Indy Car 2008 - Gold Coast, Australia

2008-11-19T21:46:00.000+10:00

It's been a while since I posted something here. Busy schedule kept these pics on hold more than what was expected. Here we go again...

Indy Car 2008 was held at sunny and lovely Gold Coast on 26th October 2008. Initially, I was bit hesitant to get there as I failed to do the hotel reservation in time. As my friends kept on encouraging me towards this, I made a last minute decision ..

[Focal Length 200mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/2000, F2.8, M, ISO 200]

Yeah, I'm good doing all these unplanned things.. which is part of my life, which I truly enjoy .. also this tour. Unplanned ones are the ones which offer you bit of excitement .. the kind of excitement which you'd remember for years to come ..

[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/2000, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

I took this one just 4-5 meters away from the track, one of those spots where I found no obstructions.. on the object. Again, the car was driving at over ~ 200kmph . I'd love to take a few spanning shots but I forgot to bring my tripod.

[Focal Length 110mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/1250, F2.8, M, ISO 100]

I couldn't take any shots, capturing the front view, due to a number of reasons. I couldn't walk to position myself through the crowd for it was fully packed and I was exhausted very badly.. specially after the V8 tournament.

Defense Force Air Show 2008 - Amberley, QLD

2008-10-05T23:37:00.000+10:00

I was told about this RAAF defense force air show, back in August, during the riverfire. This was well planned as Tim W joined in. Tim is attached to our sister division Metamatrix, who brings bit of fun and laughter, indeed a very nice person to work with. Importantly I should state that, he's a spoiled Apple addict, where I'm on the opposite camp.[Focal Length 200mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/3200, F9, M, ISO 800]

My teammate, Dave couldn't make it as he had to under go for a mandatory childcare training at home. :-)
[Focal Length 135mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/2500, F3.2, M, ISO 100]

On Saturday, 4th October, Tim was just in time with wheels at the office to pick me up for the show. The traffic was pretty heavy, turned the road into a car park where it ended up taking 2.5 hours to get there, to travel 45km off the Brisbane city. Which is quite unusual, but I was never bored.
[Focal Length 75mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/2000, F3.2, M, ISO 100]

I was quite surprised to see the crowd, I should rather say (in realistic terms) that half of Brisbane was there.
[Focal Length 200mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/4000, F5.6, M, ISO 400]

Coming back to the pics I've taken during the show, I'm totally disappointed with them. I have a small problem in holding the camera when Canon 70-200 IS 2.8 L lens is on. Since the lens is bit heavy, I have to put bit of effort to hold it tight where I ended up pressing the ISO button unintentionally and increasing the ISO value, resulting crappy noisy images.[Focal Length 155mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/4000, F5.6, M, ISO 400]

I have proposed myself to buy a Canon 5D Mark II camera which has 20.1 MP. Norm has already paid an advance for it and we assume that it could come out around ~$4000/= by mid November. Importantly, it doesn't have this ISO flip problem and the controls are very well designed.[Focal Length 115mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/4000, F5.6, M, ISO 400]

With messing around with the silly ISO button, MISTAKENLY some of the pics were taken at more than ISO 100. :( Hence, I'm not quite happy with these shots due to the noise they have generated.
[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 70-200 F2.8L ; 1/3200, F6.3, M, ISO 400]

Oh! by the way, these jets were flying at the speed of 30kmph to 40kmph, so I had _ample_ amount of time to get them ~~ ha ha ha ha ha

What sums up on this event is, it tells me a couple of things to consider i) I have to go for a Canon 5D Mark II ii) should consider getting Canon 100-400 F 4.5-5.6 L IS

One of the 'professional' photographers offered me his Canon 100-400 F 4.5-5.6 L IS to have a look through (after seeing that I'm using a couple of L series lenses). And I'm quite pleased with it, you should definitely carry a lens like that to take long distance pics, which is badly missing in my armory.

The news update I have on the event is, you'd see no more F-111s flying across the city during riverfire next year. The 35 year old F-111s are supposed to retire early 2009.

Gold Coast - Surfers Paradise

2008-09-25T20:44:00.000+10:00

The plan I had in my mind for last weekend(20th September) was Byron Bay. But, proving that the best journeys are made unplanned, I had this Gold Coast tour to be so.

The Gold Coast is located ~80km south of Brisbane, a lovely beach with so many activities. Well, it is truly a happening place. If you're relying on public transportation, Train is the best way to get there. It takes around 70mins to reach Nerang.[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/100, F14, M, ISO 100]
Once you reach Nerang, there's a connecting bus (Route No 745) to the Surfers Paradise (~20mins). Gold Coast has many places/outskirts. Surfers Paradise was my pick of the weekend.
[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/800, F7.1, M, ISO 200]
I managed to stay at Marriott Courtyard, on the 32nd floor. The hotel is situated at just 100m from the beach. It gives you the "birds eye" view over the city. Though I was asked to pay extra $30 to have the sea view, they never charged it from me but upgraded my room with no cost at the end.

The beach is indeed an awesome, a clean nice sand strip. There are a few shops around, but I didn't see any branded shops like G-Star Raw or Esprit around the corner. So, you need to carry your clothing for the cloths at alternative shops are sold at a slightly higher price. The Woolworths/Coles get closed at 5pm on Saturdays, so you have to buy your stuff way before that. This place is not for shoppers to hang around, but for those who have entertainment souls.. yeah .. this is it..
[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/320, F8, M, ISO 100]
Just around 1730hrs, I walked across towards the west side of the city to take some picture of the clouds/shades and the patterns you'd get during the sunset.[Focal Length 70mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/200, F8, M, ISO 100]
I'm not totally disappointed with what I've got. The man made craps are obviously taking the gloss away from the pics/subjects. But, there's nothing more I could do.

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/30, F2.8, M, ISO 200]
There are plenty of pubs and clubs around, and they open till 0600hrs next day morning. The famous Hard Rock cafe is indeed a cool place to be in, with your special someone. :-)

[Focal Length 24mm, Canon 24-70 F2.8L ; 1/15, F2.8, M, ISO 200]
Though I went alone, I met two photography maniacs (just like myself). Later on the day, they joined me for an extensive beer tournament, which lasted till 0300hrs, leaving me with just two hours to sleep, to capture the sunrise.

Sadly, didn't find many people doing some real surfing. But the atmosphere and the place is indeed an exciting one to spend your weekend... i could write a lot more on the view you get when traveling by train.. but in short.. it's awesome!!

Lone Pine - Brisbane

2008-09-07T15:48:00.000+10:00

I was thinking of going to Byron Bay, but failed to have some time for that. I had to visit a property at Greenslopes so that took my entire morning session. The day wasn't that bad since the property clicked, was a clean and a tidy place. Fingers crossed, until I get the final word from property agent. I should definitely have more to say, in case I get it.

However, soon after the property inspection, I went straight down to the city for my combined breakfast and lunch. At 10 mins past noon, when I arrived at the bus stop carrying the stand number 40. I took #445 from the Adelaide Street to Lone Pine sanctuary park.

I don't like shooting animals much, since I see many on the road :D But, I had no choice as I was running out of options. I opted to visit this place and started shooting some real animals (not the ones in cloths).

It's not good as much as I thought of it, it was very disappointing but managed to get a couple of pics.

I took this guy during the show, using my 70-200 F2.8 L with IS Mode 1 in operation. This was taken at 1/1250, F 2.8, ISO 100, focal length 70mm and i had to crop this twice, hence the noise is tolerable.

I took this one using the same lens at 1/1600, ISO 100, F 2.8, focal length at 70mm. Both shots were taken at fully manual settings. Both converted, from RAW format and this one cropped just once.

Took few more shots and it's a lazy sunday for me to convert them from RAW, it's 1610 hrs, still no breakfast or lunch, surviving with snacks and juices, lazy indeed.. no wonder why.. after watching movies until 0500am. Should go out for that now. :-)

At Mt-Cootha, once again

2008-09-01T21:54:00.000+10:00

I bought my new lenses after taking over 4000 shots using the given useless kit lens. I had to shoot with the given crap for a while to define/convince myself on picking the correct focal length for me.

Those 4000 shots with kit lens include some pics which I truly remember for years to come, but the compromise is there with lack of quality. However, I went to Mt-Cootha gardens to get some pics to play around my new lenses on sunday the 31st Aug.

Generally I don't like shooting ants in the pants, flowers and birds due to a number of reasons, ( mainly there are millions of pics of such and I hate doing that). However, I had to take a few of those as well.. since I was so lazy to move out to get some goodies :(

Just took this one about 25-40 meters away from the object using 70-200 F 2.8 L IS. Raw image converted to jpg + cropped. Focal length is 200mm, F 9, 1/1200 sec, ISO 100, full manual, Neutral mode.

This was taken using the same lens, afaik. It's very detailed and i like it for the sharpness it offers at F 2.8 , focal length == 200mm. Awesome!! This is cropped, converted from raw with my lack of skills in this area, photo editing. :P

This is not cropped but converted from raw, can't remember the lens I used on this one. Probably the 24-70 F 2.8 L. Can't remember much info, can't get the exif info, feel lazy to search it from the backed up lot.

Riverfire-2008 August 30

2008-08-31T00:52:00.000+10:00

I didn't have much choices in finding a slot to set myself up. As I reached the city around 1545hrs AEST, the South Bank was a packed house. Which indicated that there had been people from 1400hrs.

However, with roads getting closed and to prevent myself getting caught at the middle of nowhere, I had to stick to a place So the known devil is better than the unseen god!! Got myself located at South Bank.

I brought my new Manfrotto tripod but it couldn't stand tall with the push it had from all directions. I should give full credits to the Brisbane CBD Gov folks for organising this event to near perfection. I got myself at South Bank by 1620hrs and had to wait more than a couple of hours, but it was never boring with the kinda music they played "on air".

The rocking riverfire got started when an F11 flew at a very low altitude over the river city. Wakeup call was given when the F11 pilots countdown was aired to those who were waiting to witness this amazing event.

Moments later, as the F11 whistled away. the fireworks erupted painting the sky with blistering colors. Whatta moment that was and the created atmosphere!!

I've never captured fast moving objects, again at night time, on an event like this. It was a testing time for me, to learn and produce goods. Sadly, I couldn't get the best out of my 70-200 F 2.8 L IS beauty as I failed to get the distance right.

Had to shoot with 24-70 F2.8 L and I wish I had more distance, but managed to get a few of those.

The finale was marked the same way as how it got started, the same F11 taking its usual low altitude route. However, despite the push and pull I've got from the crowd, I managed to shoot this time, though I missed this great shot at the curtain raiser.

It was a long day for me, as I had to wake up in the morning at 0830hrs AEST on a saturday to inspect 1BHK flat. I made it in time and got back home around 1300hrs AEST before for I had to be there for the riverfire.

Riverfire - Brisbane

2008-08-28T00:06:00.000+10:00

The much waited river fire begins for this year on 30th August at 0700 hrs AEST time, which is going to last for 30 mins until 0730hrs AEST. The river fire takes place annually during this part of the year, where fireworks decorate the sky of this beautiful river city.

Norm has taken an amazing shot of the jets flying over city at a very low altitude, last year. Which is the curtain raiser of this event. This is a great opportunity for me to get the maximum use of my new lenses, to capture the best possible.

The biggest challenge going to be, finding a place to position myself for shooting. South bank , Kangaroo Point are the best options for the time being. However, I've been pulled by these two locations, not knowing what to pick.

As most of the roads are closed during the event, you've got to stick to the place where you pick and get the best out of it. This is not only a good opportunity to capture some magnificent shots, but a real test for my photographic skills. I've got to do the justice for my lenses , utilizing them meaningfully, taking the best out of them. :-)

Lens Hunt

2008-08-27T23:49:00.000+10:00

Over the last few days, I had to hunt down for a good lens. Investing on a lens is worthy compared to a camera body. I'm satisfied with the 10.1 MP DSLR I've got, but not with the ugly kit lens I've got to stick with. However, finding a good lens to cater what you want is like finding a *good* girl.

When you get the speed, you don't have the focal length sufficient for your work, when you have them both, IS (Image Stabilization) is missing. It's like, you get the beauty but not the quality, when you get the quality, you don't get the beauty, when you get them both.. then the virginity is missing. -- This is a common Sinhala saying, in Sri Lanka :-)

රුව ඇත ගුණ නැත
ගුණ ඇත රුව නැත
රුව ගුන ඇති තැන
පතිවත එහි නැත

The best example for this is the L-Series canon lens, 24-70 2.8L. This is a great lens but not a perfect one, it covers the distance having a good speed, but NO IS. :( While dealing with these confusions over a good lens, Norm, the Linux Kernel Guru, also the best model photographer I have seen to the date, who's working with us, gave me the correct guidance to get what I want exactly.

My lens search ended (for the time being) with having two L-Series lenses,
1. 24-70 F 2.8 L A$ 1589/=
2. 70-200 F 2.8 L with Image Stabilization A$ 2300/= (with two 77mm filters)

This is what I've bought :-)

This being said, I'm eagerly waiting for a wide angle one with having 10-22 focal length in L series. True, they do have one for the time being but, the durability of that lens is very questionable. The other issue I have is the EF-S mount it has :(

Why L-Series ?
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With my limited knowledge on lenses, they do have a good glass with less glare made for professional photographers with superior picture quality. The metal weather-shield body ensures durability and less maintenance during the long run also the mount it has. That's all what I could express with my words. If you ask the same question from a professional photographer, you'd get an answer like this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_L_lens

Image Stabilizer is not that helpful
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I had a close contest between 24-70 F 2.8 L VS 24-105 F4 IS. When it comes to 24-105 F4 IS, it's very handy and appealing, giving you a good range but, there's a compromise on the speed and the image quality. Again, having IS won't help you much.

The reason is, IS is there to absorb a small shake of the camera at a lower shutter speed but this does NOT help you to take pictures of fast moving objects. If you have a good tripod and much concerned about the quality, then what I have picked is the best bet.

Cost
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If you don't earn money out of the pictures you take, then... you're wasting lot of money over the quality. Indeed, I'm doing the same. I'm not a professional photographer and don't earn a cent out of it. But this being my hobby and as a person who's quality conscious on everything he does, I opted for these two beauties and I'm truly amazed by the pictures they have produced.

I'm truly happy the decision I have made and I owe a huge thank to Norm, Norman Murray for moving me towards the right direction. Also the small sessions we have daily during lunch and in between our free times.

Reading reviews
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If you're trying to read reviews in order to make a decision, you're going nowhere. Remember, a lens is perspective. Again, it's identical to marrying a girl. :-) You need to know and sure about yourself, what kinda photography are you into. What kinda images are you going to take. ie , Nature, Birds, Models, Weddings etc.

The best way to define what you want is to work on a low quality cheap lens for a while to identify your need. Take a few thousands of images and check where your focal length reads mostly. Some of the reviews are bogus and don't provide much useful information. Since most of the reviews and choice of lens selection is perspective, first you need to have enough brains to understand how to identify their (review writers) prospectives and read them with having that in your mind.

Next
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What's lined up next is to go for two more lenses :
1. 50mm prime with F1.4 L
2. 10-22 F 2.8 L (On my dreams list, not available in reality)