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:-)
