We are very grateful to this beautiful family that we are able to show you some of their portraits.
Before we went off to Balmoral Beach for family portraits we spent some time photographing at this family’s home focusing on portraits with 10 week old baby brother. The late afternoon sun filled their lounge room and created lovely diffused light. Here we have captured the eldest of three boys sitting on the edge of a sofa. We have used a narrow depth of field to throw the background out of focus and highlight his adorable eyes and gentle personality.
Outgoing 6 yr old brother had lots of fun being photographed. By meeting at their home we were able to build rapport and chat about what favourite toys they had. We were in awe of their neatly arranged leggo collection.
Big brother and 10 week old little brother adore each other. This was an unplanned moment captured when big brother thought he would help amuse his little brother.
Big brother photographed here at Mosman’s famous Balmoral Beach. At the end of the day when the strong sunlight has dropped behind the rise, there is a short pocket of time for 20 to 30 minutes where the light is magical. There are no harsh shadows to be found on faces, and it is therefore easy for people to smile without squinting or frowning from the glare on the sand and water. At this time of the evening the light is gentle on the water and provides a calm, relaxed setting. Doesn’t this young boy have the most stunning eyes! I have used a narrow depth of field like I did for their home portraits so our focus stays on the boy.
Sorry we aren’t able to show you any family photographs with mum and dad due to privacy reasons.
Meet Blue, the Short Haired Border Collie, recently photographed at our studio in Brookvale, Sydney.
When we met Blue we were fascinated and intrigued by his eyes, one being blue and the other being brown.
We also took family portraits with 13 year old Blue at home with his family. Pictured at their Freshwater home are Mary-Louise (centre) and her children Sarah and Harry. Blue has been a part of their family since he was 6 weeks old.
Mary-Louise said he is a very loyal, obedient dog who loves everyone and everyone loves him! It is not hard to see why he is a well known and adored ‘celebrity’ at Freshwater Village on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Blue is a true gentleman, and was a pleasure to photograph.
Newborn portraits of darling 4 week old Mona with her wonderful parents Hanako and Mark, photographed at their home at Cremorne, Sydney.
Families find the experience of having their family portrait at home an easy option. It is a familiar environment for baby and they have everything they need at hand. We allow lots of time for photography, sleeping and feeding to make the session as relaxing as possible.
Placid baby Mona is seen below chilling out at home in the lounge on a bean bag. Hana commented that she was surprised and pleased to see how we made use of simple items in their home like their bean bag, a bed sheet placed over their piano stool for Mona to lay on and their bed, all of which made great settings.
Isn’t Mona sooooooooo divine! She was an absolute treasure to photograph. With all of newborn portraits shown here we have used natural window light along with a reflector. We also brought along professional studio lighting but it wasn’t needed.
Pregnancy portrait of Hanako with Mark as the sun sets at Cremorne Point, Sydney one month before baby Mona was born.
Meet Hunter and his one year old pet Dog Duchess the Groodle. We photographed the beautiful pair at their home near Balmoral Beach, Mosman. The photo shoot was hilarious and was like a comedy act as they both loved being centre stage. Hunter’s parents Pam and Steve have a commercial video production studio at their home so this is where we photographed them. Instead of using our own studio equipment we made use of their continuous video lighting and the lovely natural window light.
Duchess has a very happy, friendly and loving nature. If you have never heard about the groodle designer breed before and are wondering, they are a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. I am told that when these delightful dogs are fully grown they reach 65cm and can weigh between 30-45kg.
Talk about this little darling dog melting our hearts! We photographed this beautiful Schnauzer dog at our professional photography studio in Brookvale on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Read about Pebble’s story as told by her proud owner Gillian (below).
Gillian explains how she came to be Pebble’s loving parent. ”My husband Mike put our name down with a Schnauzer dog breeder as there is usually a 6 month wait for pure bred puppies. I had no idea that he had done this. I was still grieving for our previous dog Chopper that had died aged 6 years old from a tumour on the spine. I was rather vehement about not having another dog, thinking I could never love another.
When Mike got the call that they had a puppy for us just six short weeks after Chopper had died, he literally had to drag me there to see Pebble. I remember hardening my heart and saying I would look after her, but never love her as I had Chopper.
Well of course, that took Pebble about a day to overcome. Born in a very large litter, and labelled rather cruelly I think, the ‘runt’, she was incredibly tiny and in constant need of being held close to the heart to settle her. She had, and continues to this day to have, a real knack for connecting with women. I think it is this need of hers’ to be protected and nurtured, very much like a small child, that calls to women.
Pebble is now 7 years old (born in May 2004) and has got the middle age signs of greying hair and stiffer joints. Call me biased, but I think she can still turn a head or two!”
Montana, my photography assistant and I were sooooo taken by Pebble with her human like expressions, placid nature and adorable big black eyes. We first met Pebble earlier this week when she was quietly starring in Gillian and Mike’s family portrait at their home in Collaroy. Pebble was most comfy nestled in close to Gillian’s heart with both front legs on Gillian’s chest (just like Gillian explained Pebble has done since puppy days). Can you hear us gushing at how gorgeous she looked!!! Our ‘behind the scenes’ video footage from both shoots was hilarious.
In the last few months in Sydney we have seen excessive rain and earlier in the month there were two magnificent lightning storms that lasted for at least an hour. I have always loved the idea of being able to photograph the lightning from the comfort of a sheltered area without getting wet or being struck. Lucky for us our home offers this option out on our balcony.
My teenage step-son Aiden pointed out how spectacular the lightning was and that we should all photograph it on our new cameras. The whole family captured still and moving footage. The kids each used their sturdy new Panasonic Lumix Waterproof cameras and gorillapods cleverly secured to the railing (a scary thing to watch as any mishaps would see their cameras falling 15 metres). After taking a series of stills on the Canon 5D Mark II professional Digital Camera I tried some moving footage on my new Canon PowerShots G12 (a compact camera that offers professional options). The movie setting has an auto exposure. It captured the light show perfectly.
On checking the camera data details of the image above, it showed it was created at 11.59:36pm on 5th January (only seconds from midnight). CAMERA SETTINGS: ISO 1600 | Exposure 2 seconds at f/5.6 | Focal Length 24mm.
Because the sea was pitch black other than when it was illuminated by the unpredictable lightning glow in the sky, I needed to focus manually and guess the point at which future lightning would be correctly focused. To be honest it was really calculated guess work, as I had never photographed lightning before. I set the lens distance to infinity and then rotated it back a touch from infinity.
This technique worked well. The lightning was perfectly in focus. I recall as a young photographer in the mid 1990′s (pre-digital camera days) seeing an incredible image of lightning taken by Canon EOS Master Michael Langford in a remote area of the Northern Territory. I was intrigued to know how he was able to press the shutter at just the right moment to capture the lightning. With a big smile and a laugh, Michael explained that he set his camera to ‘bulb’ which means the shutter is open and he would then use his cable release to close the shutter once lightning had appeared and had been captured.
Remembering Michael’s tips from 16 years ago I thought I too would put my camera on ‘bulb’ setting. I quickly realised that the difference between Michael’s shot and our balcony was that my land/seascape was already partially visible with the street lights and buildings in the foreground of my image, whereas Michael was in an area that was pitch black without any hint of urban light to expose his capture until the lightning appeared. I then opted for a high ISO and a short two second exposure as mentioned above.
Whilst in New York we spent lots of time at the magnificent Museums and Galleries. I entered two images from this trip into the 2011 Australian Institute of Professional Photography Awards and received Silver Awards for both.
The image below was captured outside The Rose Center for Earth and Space at The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. AWARD: AIPP Silver Award Landscape Category 2011. CAMERA SETTINGS: 1/250 sec at f/8, focal length 50mm, ISO 100.
We stumbled upon the planetarium when leaving the museum via an alternative entry. The six-story high glass cube encloses a mammoth 27 metre illuminated sphere surrounded by planets. Reflecting in the glass are buildings from West 81st St.
This Museum is one of the largest in the world and is difficult to comprehend its scale in just one visit. There are 25 interconnected buildings that house 46 permanent exhibition halls, research laboratories, and a library.
You could visit a dozen times and still not get to see all exhibits. We found ourselves happily lost in the Culture and Mammal Halls. The fact that we were allowed to take photographs of any exhibit was a ‘heavenly’ treat. We were enthralled by the artifacts, folklore, and artwork in The Native American Halls. This exhibit included exquisite totem carvings, clothing, tools, and masks.
At the Pacific Peoples Hall we were surprised to find New Zealand Maori and Aboriginal Australian Indigenous Performers on stage. It was quite a bizarre, yet novel experience to meet, greet and listen to Maori people from my home country and see an Aboriginal performer interacting with and mesmerizing visitors with his stories and tribal dance.
Pictured above is view looking directly upwards from the ground floor of The Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. AWARD: AIPP Silver Award Illustrative Category 2011. CAMERA SETTINGS: 1/125 sec at f/8, focal length 24mm, ISO 800.
This museum offers a unique viewing experience with its spiral architectural structure. We took a lift to the top floor and slowly followed the spiraling exhibits down to the foyer whilst viewing the exhibits. We were treated to Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art.
It is easy to understand why the Museum is one of the 20th century’s most important architectural landmarks. In awe of it’s phenomenal architectural design, we visited twice. The fact that we could sit relaxingly around the edges of the central foyer made the experience of taking and composing each photograph so satisfying.
Having lived in Sydney for 17 years and never photographed the sensational Sydney Harbour fireworks, I thought it was about time to see if the show was as easy to capture (photographically) as it looked (aah… no it wasn’t quite). We live in the seaside Sydney suburb of Manly, just a 15 minute ferry ride from the city of Sydney, so in theory it sounds like an easy escapade. That is if you are patient and are happy to arrive much earlier.
Unless you are invited to visit friends with luxurious views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, then you need to flag prime harbourside spots at least 10 to 16 hours earlier with your picnic rugs. Very keen friends who wanted to experience the show from the heart of the operation alongside the Opera House, were told to be there by 8am as only 5000 people were allowed into the fenced off area. There was a stage with Australian talent to entertain the crowd. In past years it has been known to take 2 hours lining up in queues for a ferry back to Manly after the event, so that really wasn’t an enticing possibility for our family to be a part of.
We were very lucky to have the option of a more relaxed environment to watch local fireworks on the Manly harbour 3 hours before midnight. It was fun to share the evening with a bunch of friends and their children without the ordeal and claustrophobia of venturing into the city. I thought I had the best elevated spot in front of the Manly Art Gallery, with plenty of room for my tripod, however we discovered only when the fireworks started, that the barge the fireworks were set on, was in an obscured area of the harbour for us.
We could only see a glimpse of the show over the roofs of the two storied Manly Aquarium and Manly Pavilion Restaurant. After taking a bunch of very ordinary photos in between palm trees, street lights beaming into my camera, and the odd uninvited heads blocking my view, we decided to make a mad dash to find a spot on the boardwalk in front of the Pavilion. My lovely friends boldly managed to find us a little area big enough to set my tripod down. I managed to grab a bunch of images for a couple of minutes before it was all over. The first of two Sydney city fireworks were simultaneously going off in the distance and created a beautiful glow in the sky behind our local fireworks.
I will remember to read the local Manly Daily Newspaper next year so we know where the fireworks will start from and where to hang out for even better photos.
We walked home before the renown midnight New Year’s Eve Sydney harbour fireworks in time to watch the live telecast. We had a lovely surprise to find that we could see these fireworks high in the sky from our new apartment (we are on the 7th floor and on one of the highest points in Manly) along with the distant Bondi and Botany Bay fireworks.
For those interested in my camera settings and post production steps here they are:
CAMERA SETTINGS: 1600 ISO, exposure .4 second at f/5.0, lens focal length 24mm (Canon 24-105mm lens). I focused manually. I set my focal distance to infinity and then moved it off infinity a touch as a starting point, then kept checking how I was faring, and just tried to focus when I could catch a glimpse of the barge. Most of my images were sharp, apart from a bit of ground movement from people walking past on the old wooden planks of the boardwalk.
POST PRODUCTION OF IMAGES: I used the Nik Software Plug in for Lightroom (also available for Photoshop and Aperture image editing software) to reduce the ‘noise’ in my images (not that it was very visible at web size but more so when magnifying).
To explain the term ‘noise’, virtually all digital cameras inherently create unwanted imperfections known as noise. The amount or type of noise in an image typically depends on the quality and type of imaging sensor with which it was created. Fast or high ISO speeds and low light levels can add noise to images. Nik Software’s ‘Dfine 2.0′ gives you control over exactly how much and where to apply noise reduction. This makes it very easy to eliminate noise in your images while maintaining detail and sharpness, thus improving the quality. Visit here to try it for yourself (free for 14 days).
I also used another Nik application to finish the images (turning one to black and white and tweaking the tone in the other) called ‘Color Effects Pro’. It is my favourite comprehensive image enhancement tool and is exciting and easy to use Nik Software - this one is free to try also. Just so you know, I am proud to be an ambassador for Nik Software and am a ‘Team Nik Photographer’ for Australia. I am not being paid to say I love their tools. You will find thousands of Photographers throughout the world who rave about Nik too!
WHAT I WOULD DO NEXT TIME: Next time I photograph fireworks I would experiment with using an even higher ISO and a faster shutter speed. I must confess, I assumed I would need a slower shutter speed than I did as I didn’t anticipate the fireworks would radiate such intense light as they did. It was incredible how much the glow of the fireworks lit up the Manly foreshore, and added a perceived extra dimension to the image captures. The experience was valuable and most importantly it was fun! The motto of the exercise for future new photography experiences [that have been done brilliantly by thousands of other photographers before] is to take advantage of ‘on-line tutorials’ on ‘how to shoot…’ before you actually do:-)
I just had my first experience of being interviewed live by San Francisco based photographer Catherine Hall and Tech Guy Leo Laporte. To watch the episode see the link below. http://twit.tv/show/twit-photo/38
Here’s what Catherine Hall posted:
Tania Niwa is an inspirational artist, in addition to being a phenomenal businesswoman. With elements like her original paintings and unique sculptures adding character, her portraits have the air of fine art photographs. For our final episode of the year, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography Master (with 4th Gold Bars) winner shared stories behind her most moving photographs and the secrets behind her successful business. We discussed the benefits of digital versus film and got a look at Tania’s stunningly rich film photographs of indigenous cultures. First, she awed us with the beauty she has captured in-camera with film, then she moved into a live Photoshop demo with her modern digital portraits. Watch the episode to learn the depth of the photographer’s connection to her tribal heritage and how she exposes it in her art. Plus, she explains how she presents family portraiture to her clients using ProSelect software.
My portrait of artist Stephanie Brown with her own self portrait.
Stephanie thought it apt to call this image “My former self”. I received a GOLD DISTINCTION at the NSW State Professional Photography Awards recently. Judges were unanimous in awarding the image with the distinction scoring 97 out of a possible 100 points, (which doesn’t happen very often).
One judge, Daniel Capobianco was fascinated at the composition. He commented that having Stephanie perfectly set in front of another painting gave the impression that she was in fact a painting too. He also noted that her assertive stance with her arms like and ‘A’ shape mirrored that of an easel.
Another respected guest judge from QLD Ian Poole commented that the wooden screen on the left draws the viewer into the image and acts as a frame for the portrait, and that the image was very ‘real and honest’ (and not giving the feeling of being highly retouched, which it certainly wasn’t).
Stephanie and I decided to use her garage as the setting for her portrait which had just had walls patched ready for painting. Just like Stephanie has transformed in her personal self confidence in her ability as an artist, her garage is about to be transformed into a beautiful working studio/gallery space. It seemed like the right place to use as her setting.
For interested photography enthusiasts here’s how I set my lighting… I used three lights: a snoot on Stephanie (placed to the left side of her and up high pointing down to her) that also spilled onto the painting to let the painting glow, on the right side behind me I positioned a simple umbrella on a flash head to fill in the shadow area created by the snoot, on the lime green painting behind Stephanie I used a grid (looks like honey comb) on the flash head.
Thanks Kayell Australia for letting me try to grid set – a must have for any studio kit.
