Tickles @ 1

Posted on October 6, 2014 by gerry

Tickles @ 1 – (c) 2014 Gerard Blacklock
D7000 with Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @ 55mm – Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 1/1500 seconds
ISO 400
out front – mum and bubs, cake in the process of being destroyed.

proud mum and a happy baby with a fist full of cake

5th October 2014, little old tickles has clocked up a whole year, 12 months ago (and 20 hours) the sound of her cry as she came into the world (yeah i know that sounds corny) is still something that is as fresh in my ears as if it was yesterday. The feeling of relief and joy that followed that moment still washes over me whenever I think about it. Anyway, enough of that 😉 fast forward 12 months and we have gotten onto two legs, climbed ladders, climbed onto stools like a little elephant and sat there, successfully eye gouged dad several times, nearly booted dad’s teeth out with some serious ninja kicks and most importantly of all, given us lots of giggles, laughs, smiles and happy memories with many more to come.

Happy birthday tickles. enjoy your cake.

Techie data:
D7000 with Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @ 55mm – Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 1/1500 seconds
ISO 400
out front – mum and bubs, cake in the process of being destroyed.

Softness is.. North Bondi

Posted on October 3, 2014 by gerry

Softness is .. North Bondi – (c) 2014 Gerard Blacklock
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/5.6 and Shutter Speed: 248.4 seconds
ISO 400
out front – Lee Graduated Filter 0.9x, a very tall cliff and lots of rocks.

It was well past sunset and there was nothing but a warm glow from where the sun had disappeared over the city skyline, with almost no moon it was a perfect time for some long exposures without the need for filters.

I did however have a graduated filter on the sky to enable more light from the lower part of the scene to be captured, additionally with the use of a super powered torch I lit the scene from an adjacent rock several steps from to right. The rocks down in the ocean are artificially lit along with that part of the cliff face on the right. The warm tip on the cliff is from the argon street lights a hundred metres of so away.

Whilst the composition was not quite what I wanted, i do like the smooth water and punchy rocks, hence it made it off the cull list 😉 I also think a star trail view from this very spot could really make it sing, you can see a few of the star trails from the 250 seconds long exposure

Techie Love

Unhealthy Obsession

Posted on October 2, 2014 by gerry

Unhealthy Obsession – Lone Trees – (c) 2014 Gerard Blacklock
D7000 with Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @ 17mm – Aperture: f/9.5 and Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
out front – nothing, no filters, nothing but smelly fresh air, a golf course and a tree.

of lone trees on hills
I do have quite the fascination with lonely trees, whether they be on a beach, in some dunes, in the country side or in the bay, and now on the headland, they never seem to lose the appeal.
So during a further investigation of this location (with Rod) via google street view this little old tree popped up while tracking that big smelling poo cannon.

Its a pretty photogenic tree, it could however have a bit more of a lean and possibly be repositioned alittle but hey, all in all pretty sweet. I did take quite a few images of this tree including some obligatory panoramas 😉 , the first one that caught my eye was the one with the tree over looking the green, I had wanted to capture it with the golf green and hole/flag in place, but it was well past closing time and all the green hole flags had been removed.

Simple black and white vertical panorama style image.

Single image
Techie data:
D7000 with Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @ 17mm – Aperture: f/9.5 and Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
out front – nothing, no filters, nothing but smelly fresh air, a golf course and a tree.

Step in Line

Posted on October 1, 2014 by gerry

and watch the slippery stuff

So after rocking up here at Ross Jones Pool at Coogee my first thoughts were, ‘ho hum’…this increased to more ‘so ho ho hum’ at the sight of more photographers peppering the pool, who woulda thunk that this little old pool at Coogee would be so popular, even the punters passing by some time after sunrise made the observation it was a like a photography club 🙂

I do like some space and some freedom when out photographing, to be shoulder to shoulder with half a dozen other togs in quite a small area makes it a little less enjoyable. Nonetheless, one must suffer in life 😉

Its a pretty cliche scene, ie use the edge of the pool as a leading line, however on this particular morning it really just fell into place with the position of the sun peaking through the clouds, I simply put the concrete pool edge so it ran the eye right up into that sky goodness, there was even a few god rays to boot. I have a few other compositions similar to this, one with a mad looking S curve, however this one jumped out at me for having a more balanced feel and such here it is.

Techie Love
Bracketed shot (3 frames -3, 0, +3) however really only used the 0 and -3 exposures)
The -3 frame was simply used (manually blended) to retain that detail in the bright part of the sky.

D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/16 and Shutter Speed: 1 second for neutral frame and 1/4s for darker frame (bits of sky)
out front – green slippery ass mossy stuff and a pool…also wedding cake island and god rays.

Chaos

Posted on September 30, 2014 by gerry

Beautiful Chaos – (c) Gerard Blacklock

We have hit the big 5! Its school holidays and whilst the work/school/childcare is a juggle (thats a rant for another day!!) I think I can safely say that I rate spending time with my girls an absolute pleasure and privilege, the energy, spontaneity and kindness she (both of them) brings to our lives is a blessing.

With summer just around the corner, its beach time and there will snorkeling and general shenanigans to be had:)

Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Nikkor 85 f1.4 @85mm Aperture: f/2.8 and Shutter Speed: 1/3000s
ISO 100
out front – chaos

Legs

Posted on September 30, 2014 by gerry

and a serious license to use them

Whilst we have not quick cracked the running around the backyard yet and we seem to think crawling on all fours is a much superior and fast (apparently 🙂 ) means to get around, its quite a treat to witness the transition of a children from crawling to be able to walk – the marvels of the human body and development eh!

Although, i could do without the ear piercing squeals at random moments when driving.. thats kinda dangerous tickles! and while i am here, the eye gouging and kicking could also be improved upon 😉

btw, check out that belly…baby fat to the max!

Single frame
Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Nikkor 85 f1.4 @85mm Aperture: f/2 and Shutter Speed: 1/750s
ISO 800 (could have dropped that down gerry:) )
out front – mayhem on operational legs.

Cosmic poo Cannon

Posted on September 28, 2014 by gerry

Cosmic Poo Cannon – (c) Gerard Blacklock
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ 11mm- Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 60.7 seconds (151 shots)
ISO: 400

stand back, we have a new means for waste water treatment

The cosmic poo cannon, during daylight hours can be seen here https://blog.avernus.com.au/prelude/

Given the time of month and the lack of moonage, i was keen to get out and do some star trails, without having to drive a million miles to a dark place. After the failed attempt from the previous week with Rodney, I was itching even more so. I had planned to get out during the week but the fickle weather prevented it.

I have had a few potential sites in the back of my mind for while, Sydney park, Kurnell (multiple poo cannons there), malabar and North Bondi (super poo cannon), after looking at a few older shots of the super poo cannon (https://blog.avernus.com.au/prelude/) it really looked as if it had lots of potential, with the only unknown being (beside never actually having visited there) being the amount of ambient light that may spill from the adjacent apartments and streets.

After a wonderful sunrise at Coogee (Ross jones pool) with Rodney and half of Sydneys other photographers ;( I mentioned it could be on the cards if the weather was on – the rest is history.

So here we have – Cosmic poo cannon
Taken in Australias largest city with probably some of the most light pollution around – just goes to show, you can do star trails pretty well anywhere 🙂

Techie stuff
151 images stacked together using the statistics method in Adobe PS CC
The foreground shot was just a simply red LED torch applied to the path leading up to the poo cannon.
Opted for longer shutter to reduce the file numbers (read as running outta disk space)

D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ 11mm- Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 60.7 seconds (151 shots)
ISO: 400
out front – North Bondi Water Treatment plant Exhaust stack.

Lovely jubbly and thanks for looking – I welcome any suggestions, comments and improvements to my photography, they are always warmly welcomed and always appreciate the time people take to have a look and/or comment.

Prelude

Posted on September 28, 2014 by gerry

North Bondi – Cliffs (c) Gerard Blacklock
D7000 coupled with 300mm f4 @300mm Aperture: f/6.7 and Shutter Speed: 1/1000s
out front – nutter, cliffs, and water

Quite some time ago I was up on the infamous cliffs of the eastern burbs of Sydney and from a vantage point forther north of Bondi I noticed this mad looking exhaust stack stitting out on the headland, at the time I took a few snap shots to keep it in the memory bank for another day.

Now, what is even madder, is that if you look closely (this is full res version) you can see a few peeps down on the rocks, one dude doing some rock fishing, and someone else. Now, how the hell did they get down there?
This thought has plagued me on other occasions, how on earth do these dudes get down there, are they mad rock climbers as well as nutter fishermen?, I have seen the same at North head in Sydney harbour, which, by pure concidence this week end some fisherman was rescued by a the rescue chopper after falling several metres. If you know North head, sheesh man its water and cliff, nothing else!
Anyway to the important stuff, the dude was rescued by the Ambulance NSW Augusta-Westland AW139 helicopter, by far one of my more favored choppers.
I digress..
so does anyone know how people get to the bottom (alive that is by the way) of the cliffs at North Bondi? cause there are some cool rocks there which would look awesome for sunrise 😉
Stand by for some funky shots of this exhaust tower.. up close and personal.

Techie love:
D7000 coupled with 300mm f4 @300mm Aperture: f/6.7 and Shutter Speed: 1/1000s
out front – nutter, cliffs, and water

unknown

Posted on September 23, 2014 by gerry

Unknown (c) Gerard Blacklock

its not what you cant see that you should be afraid of, but what you can see
Ignorance is bliss.

and no jokes about my legs either 😉

Techie love:
single shot
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/5.6 and Shutter Speed: 2.4seconds
out front – gerrys hairy long legs
between gerry’s legs:… SB600 😉 triggered from the onboard flash (and not very well at that)

As always, I welcome any suggestions, comments and improvements to my photography, they are always warmly welcomed.

One of many

Posted on September 23, 2014 by gerry

One of Many, Paperbark Forest – (c) Gerard Blacklock

There’s a story with this image, one which only came to light many weeks after it was taken, I was down at the local large chain supermarket doing the weekly shop at a very ungodly hour which is, btw, the best time to do it since hardly anyone is there and you only wait 2 minutes for a checkout. Anyway, so I started chatting to the bloke operating the checkout, mentioning that it must be getting close to knock off time and he said
“shit yeah, can’t wait, i really hate this job”
I must admit I was a bit taken aback, so I said
“sure, buts better than doing nothing I suppose”
he then mentioned that this was true, but had spent 4 years studying at uni only to come out when the GFC hit and subsequently in a bad time in terms of trying to get a job in his chosen field.
It got me thinking a bit (which is rare 🙂 ) about how the older generation and how many times I had heard how
the rain was colder, the stones sharper blah blah blah… when in fact I would actually put it out there that the young folk of today and quite possibly the generation to come are gonna have it pretty tough, much more so, than say my parents, or myself (i still consider myself young 🙂 ) have had it.
When I went to uni there was also no guarantee of a job at the end, however it was in fact the first year uni fees went to the new scheme of different degrees costing different amounts (and surely enough all degrees increased), if I had gone to uni the year before I started, It would have cost half as much as it did when I got there 🙁
At the least though, there was still some positive aspects to getting a job in your chosen field, this was diminshing though with the ever increasing student numbers – particularly in my stream of engineering which graduated 40 odd students, of which the industry only needed about 20 (across all unis!)

anyway…so I feel for this guy, still very young, educated and yet having to work in a job that he does not like – fingers crossed buddy that your luck changes and you get that opportunity to work in the field you were educated for!
I know for sure that I am very grateful I got/have the chance to work in my field of choice – doing cool stuff with planes 🙂 and I hope my children get the same opportunity, however I suspect, their road may well be a bit harder, the rocks a bit sharper and the rain a bit colder..

Single image
Techie data:
D7000 with Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @ 17mm – Aperture: f/8 and Shutter Speed: 1/90s seconds
out front – HoyaFilters CPL and lots of dry paperbark trees like all those graduates from uni every year! (and you thought I could not relate the image to the post 😉 )

Cosmic Spew

Posted on September 21, 2014 by gerry

Cosmic Spew – The search for the Portal (c) Gerard Blacklock

The search for the Portal

In a continuation from some more recent lightpainting (https://blog.avernus.com.au/searching-for-the-portal-4/) I do not dare find out what Chaos would think of this image 😉

For this one I teamed up with Rod for some more shenanigans of the EL wire, and steel type, we managed to squeeze this in in amidst of Rodneys hunt for portal keys in

Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/8 and Shutter Speed: >200s
out front – Some fairly large bunker style munitions base.
Lightpainting: Red and Blue EL wire around the base. Steel wool spin from within the building, white LED torch selective applied.

No wildlife harmed (in particular the armies of possums) or fires started

As always, I welcome any suggestions, comments and improvements to my photography, they are always warmly welcomed.

Bioluminescent ocean surf

Posted on September 21, 2014 by gerry

D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 329.5s
ISO: 200
Outfront – a hoodie, a big f-off drop and some funky-ass wave action.

So here we are, myself and Rodney perched out on some freaking rock outcropping atop a old munitions bunker trying to get a better view on the freaky stuff happening in the ocean, my first thought was a super aerated water being more reflective (and white) to light etc however it would have appear, to the naked eye and also to the camera sensor there was some bizarre means to which the ocean seem to emanate a glow when the waves shamed on the rock shelf.

I have seen images of the crazy ones in San Deigio but they are much more prominent. Clues anyone, surely we do not have Bioluminescent ocean here?!

Ironically, in less than 7 hours I was in a boat out in that very ocean doing some deep sea fishing, which btw was was pretty successful, got me some very tasty flathead and bream, real man sized fish 🙂

Single shot
Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/3.3 and Shutter Speed: 329.5s
ISO: 200
Outfront – a hoodie, a big f-off drop and some funky-ass wave action.

Searching for the Portal

Posted on September 20, 2014 by gerry

urban fire

Its been many weeks since I have had the opportunity to do some light painting, actually to do some photography fullstop 🙂 so on a sneaky session on the way home from work I tested out a cool location which myself, tickles and chaos had scoped out during our regular parklife tours.

Chaos after viewing the image said:
“Dad, what are you doing in that picture”
I did then try to (unsuccessfully) explain and I think chaos thinks I am a bit weird now 🙂
How do you explain wandering around in a dark park with torches, lights, steel wool and colourful wire all the while taking pictures?
In anycase I am sure chaos will be keen to help out in the EL wire application for the next image, she would rather use the steel wool spin, but dad’s OHS policy will prevent that.

Single shot
Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/8 and Shutter Speed: ~200s (and yes I know the exif says 33 secs, trust me its 200 seconds :))
out front – funky ass sculpture
Lightpainting: Red and Blue EL wire on the bridge. Red LED torch on the ground to the left, white LED torch from across the pond on the left, gerry spinning wool in the centre.

No wildlife harmed (except for that jumping fish 🙂 ) or fires started

As always, I welcome any suggestions, comments and improvements to my photography, they are always warmly welcomed.

Respect, Unity and Peace

Posted on September 20, 2014 by gerry

I think in light of some the crazy stuff going on in the world and also closer to home, that this image is quite timely.

This is a sculpture in the inner west of Sydney, I think mainly for driving unity between the original owners of the land and the peeps who turned up in the last few hundred years 🙂

What I really like is the fact that this sculpture and surrounds are few from vandalism and graf, something only a very few things are immune to in the inner suburbs of Sydney. There are a few murals in Newtown/Enmore which seem to garner respect across all levels of society.

Here is to hoping peace, unity and respect can prevail in a world which we sadly call advanced.

Single shot
Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @11mm Aperture: f/8 and Shutter Speed: 150s
out front – funky ass sculpture
Lightpainting: Coloured LED torch beaming up, Blue and red EL wire used to illuminate the base of the art and ground. White LED torch (low level) from the right to illuminate the plants.

As always, I welcome any suggestions, comments and improvements to my photography, they are always warmly welcomed.

Warm Sand

Posted on September 19, 2014 by gerry

Dark Point

Techie love:
4 shot panorama (bracketed)
Exif/setup data:
D7000 coupled with a Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 @17mm Aperture: f/13 ISO 100 and Shutter Speed: various
Out front: Lee Graduated Filter (0.9) Circular Polariser and plenty of sand