Waverley Camera Club

Photos from David Williams

by Stephen Edmonds on Mar.04, 2010, under Workshops

As a further followup on the excellent talk from David Williams a number of the photos he took that night are now available in a gallery.

These range from the group shot taken at the beginning of the night:

through to individual portraits:

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Sunday outing at Dights Falls

by Pete Davies on Mar.01, 2010, under Club outings

For those who won’t be in Halls Gap over the weekend and are looking for something to do:

Dights Falls – Abbotsford.

Parking is in a carpark off Trenerry Cres.

A naturally occurring rock falls just below the junction of the Yarra River and Merri Creek, Dights Falls refers to John Dight who, with his brother Charles, built the Ceres flour mill, completed in 1841. The mill was powered by water from a weir above the Falls constructed to manage the highly variable river flow.

For most of the 20th century, Dights Falls was relatively inaccessible to the general public. The completion of the Eastern Freeway in 1972 involved changes to the course of the Yarra which destroyed the Deep Rock Basin and transformed the area.

In the 1990s significant enhancements included the construction of a Koorie Garden; restoration of the bluestone mill race, parts of the mill and landscape restoration around the mill site; the addition of a fish ladder to allow native fish to travel upstream to spawn; and improved public access.

In the early 21st century, canoeists ride the rapids, cyclists and pedestrians use the flood-prone Trail, and ‘urban adventurers’ explore the nearby drains.

I think it will work better in the morning than the afternoon so it’ll be a 9am kickoff.

Look up Dights Falls in Wikipedia and click on the good photo link at the bottom of the page to see what’s possible.

Cheers,
Pete

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Healesville Sanctuary this Saturday

by Pete Davies on Feb.23, 2010, under Club outings

Another new venture for this year is Saturday outings which we will kick off in style this coming Saturday at Healesville Sanctuary.

Healesville Sanctuary is open from 9.00am to 5.00pm. The total Sanctuary journey is approximately 3km and while an average visit takes three hours, you can easily spend the day. Remember to arrive at the Birds of Prey arena 15 minutes before the scheduled presentation as late entry is not permitted.

Don’t miss the amazing Birds of Prey presentation every day at noon and 2.30pm. It is a free-flying display featuring raptors such as kites, owls and falcons and Australia’s largest – the Wedge-tailed Eagle.

We meet at the front gate at 10am and by the sounds of could easily spend most of the day in there.

There are BBQ facilities available in the picnic areas but whether they are free or not is not made clear on the website. There are also a take-away food cafes and a bistro.

Adults (16 years and over) $24.40
Children (4–15 years, children under 4 years free) $12.10
Adult Concession (16 years and over) $18.50
Seniors Concession $22.00

If you think you might go to any of the three zoos more than two or three times this year it would be worth your while to check out Friends of the Zoos.

The forecast for Saturday at this stage is warm and sunny so bring a hat.

Cheers,
Pete


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Night shoot at Station Pier a success

by Stephen Edmonds on Feb.21, 2010, under Club outings

Last Friday’s night shoot at Beacon Cove/Station Pier was a resounding success with a superb sunset.

Sunset at Beacon Cove (04) Sunset at Beacon Cove (09) Sunset at Beacon Cove (13)

There were at least 14 people, though not all at once. Some arrived on time but left early, others arrived late, while others were there for the entire night.

Most of the early shift: Sunset at Beacon Cove (19)

The next night shoot will be on 19/20 March outside the Casino.

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Follow-up on portrait photography

by Stephen Edmonds on Feb.20, 2010, under Portrait & Flash Photography, Workshops

Following the excellent talk from David Williams at the last workshop evening, Ross Garner sent through the following:

After the inspiring talk from David Williams last tuesday night I have been doing some research on lenses and remote flash triggers.

I found this site had good information: Strobist: Lighting 101

The following comments are for Canon users, however I think the same price points apply to Nikon and other brand cameras.

Lenses

Canon make two (affordable) 50mm lenses:

I noticed David was using the Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM which costs about $650

Seems the Sigma is recognised as the best lens. However the cheaper Canon does get good review for sharpness on non full frame DSLR cameras.

Remote control

Only the Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter gives TTL contol of the flash. ie the flash intensity controlled by the camera.

Available 3rd party items will trigger the flash, but not control the intensity

There is a limit of about 10m between the camera and the flash

In addition to the Sigma 50mm lens (available for other brands than Nikon, eg Canon), David was also demonstrating using a Nikon D5000 (shows you don’t need the expensive camera to get great results) and was triggering the external flashes with a Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander.

Both the Canon ST-E2 and Nikon SU-800 use infrared light which is what limits their range. Recently E-TTL compatible radio based remote triggers have become available, however they are quite pricey and are a significant investment (as much or more as your camera).

If you were also inspired and want to learn more, then you should be coming along to the Portrait & Flash Photography group at its second meeting next Wednesday. The site Ross found, Strobist, was also mentioned by David Gilliver at the first meeting and I expect it to be an essential resource for the group.

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