Our spot had views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour, with a tiny bit of the Opera House. It was a great spot considering I live about just 10 minutes away, not having to brush shoulders with strangers all night and having worry about our camera equipment We were just next to the spot we were at last year but I think the fireworks this year was better. There was something different about it and it felt more ‘special’. Either that or I’m just getting old and content The fireworks lasted for about 14 minutes and I managed to cut the footage down to about 8 minutes to include the best parts. This will by my first all video production and I must say I really enjoyed it! I will definitely be doing more video in the future but for now, here’s the clip. If you want to watch a larger and higher quality version click on Vimeo.

Sydney has never looked this beautiful. 2010 marks the 7th year living here and after editing the footage and watching the final product, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nostalgic. Watching the Sydney skies exploding with bright colors somehow just brought back many memories. It was also a great reminder for me to never take anything for granted.

This is the aftermath of the fireworks. The wind cleared the smoke from the fireworks rather quickly.

For the technically inclined, video was shot using the Canon 5D Mark II in Full HD and also using the onboard mic. I used a regular tripod head so the movements are a little jerky. Time to invest in a dedicated video tripod head and external mic perhaps? The final product was put together using iMovie 09 on my MBP.

Thanks so much for watching! Feel free to share and pass this link on to anyone else you know who might enjoy this This one is for all my dear readers out there so I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did producing this piece!

Take care and all the best in 2010!

Best regards,
Justin Oh
justin-oh.com
justin-oh.com/blog

For example, I shoot almost exclusively with Velvia 50 for landscapes in both standard 35mm and medium format. I particularly like Provia for random street stuff for the grungy feel/color it produces. B&W film and street photography have undoubtedly, always gone well together. Not long ago, I gave a go at shooting panoramic B&W for documentary and photojournalism stuff which I am now, liking very much. The most recent example is a wedding I shot with Kodak’s E100VS which I think just works so well together. The warm but somewhat clean tones it produces makes it perfectly useable for portraits where skin tone is important whilst still producing a highly saturated and contrasty shot.

I find that I also have more keepers when I shoot in film compared to shooting digital. I think this has to do with the cost of shooting film, specifically slide film which has risen significantly over the years. This makes nailing every shot with the right exposure and composition so much more important since there’s no preview after clicking the shutter button! Shooting in film has in some way, helped me learn to think more before I take the shot. I think more about the composition, the exposure values. Would it work?  Check then recheck again to make sure I have everything dialed in perfectly.

My weapon of choice alongside the 5D Mark II for the recent wedding was my all time favourite camera (yes, more than the 5D!), the Hasselblad Xpan II, panoramic film camera. For a discontinued film camera, the XPan still commanded a very high asking price of about $3.5k and upwards for the kit with a 45mm prime lens. I was very lucky when I found one for sale which was in immaculate condition with only a 100-ish shutter count, for much less than the market price then. I of course jumped at the opportunity as this was one camera I have only dreamt of owning many years ago.

Shooting with the Xpan was a bit of a challenge since there is no auto focus and adjusting the aperture requires manual adjustment on the lens. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I will be using it more at weddings in the future

Here are some pictures of the Xpan  just after the postman dropped by

I have always been a fan of DIY stuff. It has nothing to do with doing things on the cheap or anything like that but simply because I enjoy every step of the photographic process, from clicking the shutter down to the mixing of chemicals and hanging it to dry. As a photographer, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a perfectly shot and developed strip of film after waiting anxiously for at least an hour for the film to dry. Perhaps it is the delayed gratification shooting in film which makes it so much more exciting.

Here is a photo of the setup I have when developing film at home in my bathroom. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need a dark room with red lights to develop film. However, yes, that is my washing machine!

The use of film has dropped significantly over the years. One example is when Kodak decided to stop producing Kodachrome and some time next year, the only lab in the world still processing this wonderful film will seize to do so too. I just hope there won’t come a day when shooting with film is no longer a possibility 

It was both truly inspiring and an eye opener to hear the man talk, his experiences on the creative and production side of things, his recent Sandisk campaign in Queenstown, the brutal reality of photography when it comes to clients and using passion for photography as our driving force.

Halfway through the meet we got kicked out of the bar as they were closing. I thought the meet was gonna end but then Chase said, “Let’s crash the lobby!”

We continued on and that’s when the conversation got down and dirty with the true reality of earning a living out of photography, the perceived value of one’s work from one person to another, the subjectiveness of ‘art’, and taking on jobs not because of the money but for our passion for photography . Hearing Chase, Scott and Chris share their experiences put a lot of things into perspective for me.

On becoming a successful photographer, Chase’s answer was STAMINA – to keep on shooting, continuously developing your style and perfecting your art which differentiates yourself from the rest.

Speaking of stamina, this guy is a marathon runner. Extremely sleep deprived working on the campaign, riding in a helicopter for more shots just several hours before, then flying into Sydney later – we still got to hang with him for 5 hours until 2am! I don’t know how he does it but I was getting tired just standing!

This goes out to Chase and his crew, thanks so much guys for taking the time to connect with us, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experiences and for a really great time last night! I’m sure all of us would love to have you back again so give us a yell next time you’re down under!

If you like what I posted here, I highly suggest you visit his website at http://www.chasejarvis.com and his blog to checkout the recent behind the scenes video from his latest ad campaign – super interesting stuff! Go look him on Facebook and Twitter too!

If you’re not convinced, checkout this video of Chase and the crew working behind the scenes. Awesome stuff!

Also, I almost forgot to mention this – Chase said to me that he liked my barcode t-shirt! Not once but twice too! Good times!

As I was reminiscing, this crazy idea popped into my head – why not walk back home via the Harbour Bridge?? I’ve always wanted to do it and I had all of my equipment with me including my Xpan anyway!! So, right in front of the majestic St Mary’s Cathedral, I loaded a new roll of B&W film into my Xpan and replaced the memory card in my DSLR. Before I knew it, I was making my way down Macquarie St towards the Opera House. From there, the journey began

This was the first photo along the way, off the Eastern Distributor. At this point, I felt maybe I made a mistake deciding to walk home across the Harbour Bridge. I had 4 lenses, my 5D Mark II with the battery grip on, 2 flashes, my Xpan film camera and spare batteries – a total of about 10Kg’s on my back. 10Kg’s doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, it gets heavier and heavier every step. Then again, at this point there was no turning back

I pushed on and when I got to the south pylon, I was getting excited again as I’ve always wanted to get up there for some photos. The build up of lactic acid in my calves and thighs slowly dissipated. As I went in, I was greeted by another flight of steps but I thought nevermind, almost there! When I got to the ticket counter, I had to catch my breath and my legs were slightly jelly-ish at this point. I greeted the guy at the counter, “Whoa, that was quite a climb!”, only to have him reply ” Oh mate, you’re only a quarter way up to the top!”

Anyway, I got to the top eventually – sweating in my suit, I almost couldn’t feel my legs anymore, gasping to refill my lungs with much needed oxygen! Then I saw the view… Wow, this is so worth it

This is a 4 image, vertical stitch done in Photoshop CS4. The total pixels in this: 9363X3457. This really has to be seen large to fully appreciate the amount of detail in it

I generally process my landscapes or in this case, cityscapes to best depict the actual scene/color of my subjects. The Harbour Bridge and Opera House have been photographed billions of times before so I wanted to try something different with it. I decreased the dynamic range of the shots above so the highlights were blown and shadows were black – an attempt to emulate the limited exposure range of film.

The pictures below however are the true colors of Australia’s skies and too beautiful to manipulate otherwise. When I think about it, I only started photography when I moved to Australia – perhaps the blue skies and awesome sunrise/sunsets have something to do with it

I continued my walk across the bridge and as the sun was setting, this was the view through the rails. I shot this handheld at 1/13 sec, f/16, ISO1600.

On the other side, this was the view where the sun was setting.

This shot below is the same stitch from above. I only edited it differently for a natural look.

For those interested to get up the pylon, there is a $9.50 fee and it closes at 5pm. Now that it’s still winter, you might get lucky and have some beautiful golden light while you’re up there. Otherwise, you’d have to wait till next winter. Also, don’t forget to travel light and bring some water along with you. I did neither so please don’t repeat my mistakes

I have photographed the Harbour Bridge and Opera House countless times now since I started photography several years ago. In fact one of my first few large prints were of these 2 Sydney landmarks. As more and more of my friends got into photography, we were shooting the same landmarks over and over again. It doesn’t help that I live 5 mins away from the view at Milson’s Point so whenever I wanted to test any new equipment I’d head there. It was almost like being in a photography rut as I was not shooting anything else for quite some time.

Although, during my walk back I had plenty of time to think about a lot of things. My family, my friends, living in Sydney, my business progression. I thought about how lucky I am to have all these people around me, a great life here and simply, just doing what I love doing most. This reminded me again of something we all forget from time to time – to enjoy even the simplest things in life and to never take things for granted.

The walk from St Mary’s to my place took about 3 1/2 hours, approx 9Km’s of hills to climb and descend along the way. When I finally got home it was cold and dark. I was exhausted, my shoulder and knees hurt but then, it was so worth it and I’m glad I finally did it

The dinner event, hosted by John Walsh, a partner in the Health Actuarial and Advisory Practice of PriceWaterhouseCoopers had one goal – to bring together likeminded individuals across different fields and also, to welcome Sir Owen on his visit to Australia.

On to the pictures, the beautiful dining setup that evening

Complete with Sir Owen Woodhouse Dinner Menu

Simple yet elegant with a gorgeous view of Tumbalong Park!

Sir Owen and John Walsh

Cheers to a good cause!

Dinner is served!

Sir Owen having a good time

Sir Owen’s son, Tim Woodhouse, a lawyer and partner with Baker and McKenzie

Margaret, Sir Owen’s daughter looking out for him in case he makes an inappropriate joke

On the left, Bill Shorten, Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services and Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction. Next to him is Dr Bronwyn Morkham, National Director of the Young People in Nursing Homes Alliance

John Walsh was recently appointed Chair of the Independent Review Panel, Caring Together

A handshake between Bill Shorten and Sir Owen

A hopeful Sir Owen of the times to come

Final speech before the night ended

Sir Owen was quite the superstar, signing autographs for a number of the attendees

Lastly, in the picture above, Sir Owen before the dinner event started. We only chatted very briefly before the night ended but that was good enough for me – I was somewhat lost for words anyway haha! That said though, I was truly honoured to be able to meet Sir Owen. Also if I may add a quote I read somewhere and very vaguely put it together, “A true measure of a man is not how he treats those at his level or above him, but how he treats those below or can do nothing for him”.

I believe Sir Owen is one man who exceeds all measures and as such, it was truly an honour and a privilege to meet him.

These 2 men, now 93 years of age were born just 7 days apart, Mr Whitlam being the older one. Not only that, both of their wife’s name was Margaret!

Sir Owen produced the Woodhouse report that recommended a “no-fault” accident compensation scheme when he was Chairman of the Royal Commission on Accident Compensation in New Zealand. The report is regarded as one of the most significant legal reforms of this generation.

Sir Owen also worked very closely with Mr Whitlam in the early 1970s to design a comprehensive social insurance scheme for injured and sick Australians. While the Bill passed the Lower House of Federal Parliament, Mr Whitlam’s dismissal meant the Bill went with it.

35 years on, the pair are still as passionate as ever and are hoping to finish what started in 1974 – to provide a national, publicly funded, no-fault disability insurance scheme that would provide care and support for the disabled and ill.

Sir Owen and Mr Whitlam listening on attentively.

On the right, Dr Bronwyn Morkham, National Director of the Young People in Nursing Homes Alliance.

Dr. Morkham, proponent of the Whitlam-Woodhouse ideas from 1974 explaining how those ideas are just as relevant today as they were 35 years ago.

Margaret, Sir Owen’s daughter accompanied Sir Owen on his visit to Australia. Margaret is a best selling author and founder of Magari Publishing.

It’s no fun having business without pleasure. It was a rare opportunity to have Sir Owen in Australia. The two gentlemen had a great time catching up with each other, recollecting their stories and experiences in the past.

Here, Sir Owen commented on how witty and sharp he thought Mr Whitlam was back in the day.

They also told us a story about Mr Whitlam when he was Prime Minister of Australia. Mr Whitlam made a crude comment during a proceeding in the Senate. Needless to say, Mr Speaker was not pleased but it was both interesting and funny to hear about it from Mr Whitlam himself.

From left to right: Dr. Bronwyn Morkham, Gough Whitlam, Sir Owen Woodhouse, Margaret Woodhouse.

As I mentioned in a previous post and also something worth mentioning again, I was truly honoured and priveleged to be given the opportunity to photograph these two gentlemen. It was a totally new experience for me and one I will always remember.

If you follow my blog regularly, you may have a noticed a slight difference in the way I write. I simply wanted it to be more journalistic and less jovial – just to try something new

By the way, my film developer was no longer active and thus I decided to post up the digital ones first. Hope you guys enjoy my attempt at a different form of photojournalism!

Thank you for letting us in your home, rearranging and moving stuff around and for the most part – for your confidence and ongoing support in my work. Your warmth and hospitality made it immensely easy and fun for us! Also, I don’t think I’ve laughed and smiled to myself so much while working through pictures that my cheeks now hurt! I now know how you guys felt smiling non-stop for a good couple of hours that afternoon!

Here’s a picture I really wanted to share with you guys that was pure magic for me. We took a short walk to the park nearby, both flashes setup, camera settings adjusted and at the click of the shutter BANG! Perfect exposure!! For a multiple flash setup with different output levels and ever changing lighting condition outdoors, this would normally be quite tricky to setup and may take several attempts to get it right. This time we were literally out of the park in 5 minutes before it started to drizzle! Luckily, we nailed the shot and went back in. Okay, enough bragging – here’s the shot

Some of you may remember the famous 1984 portrait of Sharbat Gula, the “Afghan girl” for the National Geographic magazine. Yes, it was shot on Kodachrome

On June 22, 2009 Kodak made the announcement of retiring this film, concluding a 74 year run as a major photography icon. The lab in Kansas will continue processing Kodachrome film till December 2010 and that will be the end of it.

Its closest replacement, the Ektachrome E100VS is easily available and can be processed at most professional labs. Coincidentally I have some on the way along with some Velvia 50 film too. While I love the colors in Velvia and shoot almost exclusively with for my landscape work, the color shift is somewhat undesirable in certain circumstances. The Kodak E100VS would make a perfect sidekick.

For those interested, here is a slideshow of some Kodachrome Moments and a collection of images on Flickr tagged under Kodachrome.

Copied from the Canon website:

Firmware Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. 1. Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies.
3. 2. Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
5. 3. Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable.
7. 4. Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.
9. 5. Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.
11. 6. Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.

Head here to download the new firmware: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

I guess now there’s no excuse to not learn Final Cut Pro anymore Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture to go along with this post but I’ll be heading to the Southern Highlands for a landscape shoot this weekend. Stay tuned guys

The journey there took us about 3 1/2 hours with several breaks from Sydney. We left dark and early that morning only to be greeted with some pretty heavy rain along the way. Midway on the M5 there was a pretty bad accident too where a 4WD vehicle ploughed through the concrete barrier from the opposite side of the road and resulted in a 5-6 car pile up on our lane. I imagine the pile up would be worse if it happened during peak hour. I hope no one was seriously injured

After dropping off the passports we went to get a big breakfast just outside Canberra Centre. What a bad choice it was, microwaved scrambled eggs and rubber-y bacon anyone? Anyway, after breakfast we decided to head to the Parliament House since we had several hours to kill. Here are some pics

Main entrance was on the right in the picture. There is another set of stairs opposite this one

Up one level, here is the foyer view from above. Quite an interesting building

The Great Hall. At the end of the hall is a tapestry based on a painting featuring a eucalyptus forest measuring 20 X 9 meters. It is one of the largest tapestries in the world which took a team of 13 weavers and 2 1/2 years to complete!

After walking around for a bit and with some directions from the friendly guards I found what I was looking for, the House of Representatives

On the other side of the building, House of Senate. If only I could be there to snap a pic with a proceeding going on

On the roof of the Parliament House, a 81 meter high stainless steel flagpole. The Australian flag attached to it is 12.8 X 6.4 meters, approximately the size of a double decker bus!

On the way to Canberra in the morning I noticed the windmills and luckily enough, it was still bright enough for photos when we were on our way back. I believe the view here is part of the Southern Highlands. It was ridiculously cold out there due to the strong wind too.

The pano above is a stitch of 5 photos, taken with the 70-200 at 200mm as the view was pretty much on the horizon. The 5DII and 70-200 2.8 IS proved to be too heavy a combo for the 141RC tripod head as it was shaking a little when I was looking through the viewfinder! 

While in Canberra, I couldn’t help but notice the slower pace compared to Sydney. Obviously its nowhere as big or as busy as Sydney city but I couldn’t help but notice how slow they drive too! It seemed like everyone was driving at 50km/h in 70km/h zones!

Anyway, we got our passports renewed on time as promised and more importantly, we made it back in one piece Don’t forget to CLICK on the pictures for larger versions