Fronting up /  by Mario Mirabile

The advent of publicly available weather radar has been a boon to many. The ability to accurately track rain and storms has great advantages for sailors, sportspeople, party planners, the weather obsessed, and even the occasional photographer.

As lunchtime approached today, a line of intense storms could be seen tracking toward central Melbourne. These fronts can be a source of dramatic pictures for those prepared to brave the weather and risk a soaking. The usual problem for urban weather watchers are sight lines. When the aim is to shoot wide expanses of sky, buildings and wires can be a real pain. Fortunately, the Docklands Precinct around my office offers several expanses of relatively uninterrupted sky down by the river. So, with lightning flashing, thunder booming, and the rain getting steadily heavier, I headed to the riverfront. When I got there, the anticipated tempestuous sky was limited to a narrow and rapidly moving frontal band. I barely had time to get off a few shots before the rain became torrential, and I scuttled for cover. 

Diva /  by Mario Mirabile

It was just an average sort of night at the Elwood Blues Club a couple of weeks back. A good headline act and the usual high standard jams featuring the EBC Allstars. I was enjoying the music, but wasn't feeling particularly inspired photographically.

That all changed when Isuela Hingano stepped to the microphone. Isuela usually fronts Blue Eyes Cry, but was moonlighting solo on this night. She only performed two numbers, and I'm not sure that it was even on the schedule originally. But she sang beautifully, with power and presence - she was absolutely electrifying. She wasn't the headline act, but she should have been. Certainly my highlight of the night.

Tech Talk
As usual for music gigs, the light was terrible. It helped to some extent that an earlier performer had been wearing a white top, which allowed me to set a custom white balance. Nevertheless, the usual crazy mix of colored LED lighting meant that much of how the light turned out depended on where the performer stood. The one colour shot kind of works with that faded 60s colour print look, but monochrome is the colour of choice here. My 35-100mm f2 is a big lump of a thing to work with, and occasionally struggles to focus accurately in this kind of light, but really came up trumps here.

Olympus E-5, Zuiko Digital 35-100mm f2 lens.

Oasis /  by Mario Mirabile

John Rogers has cricket in his blood. He has been a state player and selector for NSW, administrator at state and club level and worked in the media. His son Chris is a current Australian test player. When he retired, he took off with his wife Ros to circumnavigate the country in a caravan. On their journey, they stumbled across something which wouldn’t be out of place in a sleepy English village, but seems somehow at odds with the dry, rolling hills of the Strath Valley, some 85 kilometres north of Melbourne.

John and Ros had found the Hume and Hovel Cricket ground. It had been carved out of the bush near Strath Creek some 20 years earlier by Don and Anne McQueen, and the temptation to buy it was just too great. They renamed it The Village Green, and set about turning it into a cricket haven, not just for themselves, but for anyone that loves cricket. The manicured oval and turf wickets are available for cricket matches – serious, social or both. The picturesque pavilion can handle everything from a large catered function to Devonshire tea (fantastic scones Ros) or a refreshing beer. There is onsite accommodation (enough for two teams), so you can enjoy a few post-match refreshments without having to worry about driving home. John has a great collection of cricket memorabilia, and his happy to share the story behind each piece. It really is an amazing little oasis and worth checking out at thevg.com.au. Howzat?

Faces in the street /  by Mario Mirabile

Of all the photographic subjects, People are the most varied, fascinating and challenging. They are also the most rewarding. Photographing people in a studio with control over the light and the environment is one thing. Capturing people on the street - with or without their knowledge and co-operation - is another matter entirely.

It all starts with observation, You can look for an interesting face or an interesting situation. If you can get both, it's a bonus. Some locations - like Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, with its bohemian culture and vibrant cafe scene - offer more material to work with than most. It can be a real character like Grant, who's a more than willing subject when he's not directing customers to the local artists market. Or the elderly sidewalk bookseller, meticulously arranging and re-arranging his wares. He wasn't attracting many customers, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Or it could be the young lady who seemed about to get some oversized assistance with her texting. And they are just the tip of the iceberg. All you have to do is take the time to watch.

Wake up call /  by Mario Mirabile

If you have a tree near your window in the country, or even in the city, there's a good chance you don't need an alarm clock to get you out of bed. A flock of cockys is will be quite happy to make sure you don't sleep in.

The cocky - more correctly the sulphur crested cockatoo - is a large, white parrot native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. An attractive birds with vibrant, showy crests, they are often kept as pets and have been known to live 80 years and more in captivity. The are gregarious, raucous, and often quite destructive. They gather in large flocks which attack cereal and fruit crops, and even soft building timbers. Nevertheless, they are appealing birds, full of character. Just hope they don't come screeching outside your window at dawn.

Tech Talk
I love my 50-200mm lens. Shapp and quick to focus, it's fast enough to cope reasonably well with a 1.4x teleconverter attached. A great combination.

Olympus E-5, Zuiko Digital 50-200mm f2.8-3.5,  with and without the EC14 1.4x teleconverter

Ports of all sorts /  by Mario Mirabile

The south coast of Australia can be a wild and treacherous place for shipping. With the shortest route from Europe to the east cost lying along its often rocky and treacherous reaches, it was, and continues to be, a busy route. Exposed to the Roaring Forties, the conditions brought many sailing ships to grief. The south-west cost of Victoria, in particular, is famously rugged, so much so that it's become a tourist attraction. The few ports along its length are welcome havens when the weather turns foul.

Originally known as Belfast, Port Fairy was once a busy whaling and sealing port. The wide bay offered shelter from the westerlies, but the main port was eventually established on the Moyne River. As whaling declined, it thrived as a busy agricultural hub for the fertile Western District of Victoria, until road transport and larger deep water ports saw its importance fade. Port Campbell is perched on the cliff tops near the most treacherous stretch of coastline in Australia, aptly named the Shipwreck Coast. A small inlet opening directly onto Bass Strait  has been home to a fishing fleet for 140 years. Even in today's modern vessels, it must take considerable courage to steer a small boat away from its shelter when the wind rises. These days, the towns are primarily havens for tourists, but they retain many reminders of their seafaring pasts.

Tech Talk
Both images are multi-shot panoramas. I rose early for the Port Fairy image, hoping for glassy water and a dramatic sky. I Unfortunately I got neither, but I managed to coax a bit of colour out of the dawn light. 

I tried a similar shot of Port Campbell from a lookout just  east of town on my last visit a couple of years ago, but was never particularly happy with it. On that occasion, the light was poor and there was a dead tree just below my vantage point which interfered with the view. The light was better this time, but the tree was still there. No matter where I stood, the tree still interfered as I swept the camera through the arc of the view. So, rather than stay in the same spot, I tried taking the sequence from two different positions on the lookout. This goes against panorama best practice, and would normally be expected to guarantee a  mis-aligned sequence, but Photoshop appears to have coped admirably.

Olympus E-5, Zuiko Digital 12-60mm f2.8-4 SWD lens. Processed in Lightroom 5 and stitched in Photoshop CS6.

The King's bastard /  by Mario Mirabile

Fitzroy is a Melbourne suburb adjacent to the CBD.  It was Melbourne's first suburb, and also the first to be granted separate municipal status. The parts closest to the city were originally quite genteel, with large townhouses and gardens for the well-heeled. But, surrounded by factories and industry, it also provided an ideal location for working class housing, and the northern end became a maze of narrow streets and tiny cottage terraces. Eventually, the mansions were converted to boarding houses, and by the end of the 19th century, Fitzroy was solidly working class, and even slum-like in parts.

Like any inner city location, it has undergone waves of renewal and gentrification over the years. Today, the working class have been largely squeezed out, replaced by the hip and arty. The once grimy back alleys are now covered in exquisite street art, the factories and warehouse converted to galleries and boutique breweries. It has become one of Melbourne's central hubs for live music, art and dining. Even though it's come a long way from its down-at-heel roots, it still manages to feel a bit grimy and grungy. All part of the charm, I suppose.

Out and down /  by Mario Mirabile

It’s been something of a struggle to get out and shoot lately. Partly it’s been a certain lack of enthusiasm on my part, but mostly a lingering back complaint which looks likely to need surgical intervention. The two factors are almost certainly linked. I do need to start taking pictures, though. A new year of camera club competitions is about to begin, and with it a new list of set subject topics.

I like to use our monthly competitions as motivation to take photos, and try to use something relatively new for each of the set subject topics. I think I have the first subject (“planes, trains and automobiles”) covered. After that we move on to “from above”, for which I definitely need material. A lunchtime walk with eyes downcast yielded this batch of images. While they all fit the theme “from above”, I rather like them for “minimalism” later in the year. But I think that’s a problem for another day.

Uncovering the past /  by Mario Mirabile

It's never easy going through a departed loved ones effects. There is sadness, confusion (what the hell is this thing???), guilt (I don't want this, but it doesn't feel right getting rid of it....), and more than a few surprises. We've been through this recently after the passing of my mother-in-law. One of the great treasures, of course,  are the photos found tucked away in so many corners. I prepared the memorial slide show for the funeral, and in the process discovered many gems I've never seen before. At the time, I came across only one photo of Jeanette and Murray's wedding, which perhaps was odd give the prominence normally given to such events. It was a photo of them leaving the church in a deluge, a picture which ended up in the papers as it turned out to be one of the wettest days on record in Melbourne.

A couple of weeks ago, Trish handed me an envelope and asked if there was anything I could do with the contents. It contained nine small pictures from her parents wedding day, or at least what was left of them. My first thought was the the pictured - bronzed, faded, stained and cracked, were beyond help. Nevertheless, I took them to a restoration expert, hoping there might be some chemical solution to their condition. They said they could (for a substantial fee), scan, re-convert to black and white and touch-up the pictures. Thinking "well, I can try that", I gave it a go. With a bit of fiddling with the scanner settings and in Photoshop, the, the results are, to say the least, remarkable. The first image shows what the pictures look like to the eye, and the rest after a bit of digital magic. These were the pick of the bunch, the ones with the least deterioration which looked like they had the best chance of resurrection. The rest, while improved to some degree, are not nearly so good. Nevertheless, a win for the digital  age.

Tech Talk
The restoration expert thought these were likely to be proofs, which may explain their condition. Perhaps they were intended to deteriorate, increasing the chances the clients would buy enlargements. In any case, I was surprised how much detail my 10 year old scanner could extract. from the faded originals Scanned at 1200 DPI and imported into Photoshop, with Nik Silver Efex Pro to handle the mono conversion, Colour filters - orange in particular - removed the deep orange-red cast, after which it was a matter of some judicious cloning to remove spots, cracks and creases.

Wind change /  by Mario Mirabile

Melbourne's weather is famously fickle and the butt of many jokes (if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes...). Spring is the most changeable season, but as the summer settles in, the weather becomes a little more predictable. We are subjected to protracted spells of hot weather which can be quite oppressive, and seem to be becoming more so. But even the most torrid spell of hot weather will be ended by a famous Melbourne cool change.

If you're out in the heat when the first hint of a cooler breeze is felt, the relief can be pure bliss, especially if you've just suffered through a series of 40° days. The change usually rolls in over the bay from the south-west. It can be anything from a gentle wind change that somehow drops the temperature by 15°, all the way to a blustery gale with some wild storms mixed in with it. The more dramatic changes can make for pretty interesting photography, so when I saw a storm line approaching on the weather radar, I headed for a bayside vantage point with high expectations. The storm line dissipated before it reached me, and with it the often dramatic cloudscapes that accompany severe fronts. The wind, however, remained fierce. It was impossible to hold the camera steady, and even difficult to stand up at times. The bay is nearly land-locked and relatively shallow, so the seas are never huge. Nevertheless, even the once mighty ironclad Cerberus, long scuttled as a breakwater and artificial reef, copped quite a hammering.

We wish you a Merry Christmas /  by Mario Mirabile

Christmas can be a wonderful time of festivities and family gatherings. It can also be a time at which sadness is felt more acutely. This year out Christmas will be clouded by the passing two weeks ago of my wife's mother, Jeanette O'Neill. There is also joy in the knowledge that she lived a long, full and rich life, and her legacy will long live on. Vale Jeanette, you will be missed.

Christmas also means that a long and eventful year is drawing to a close. To all who've followed my blog through the year, thank you. I wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas and all the best for the new year.

Grounded /  by Mario Mirabile

Travel can be a pleasure - at least so I'm told. A flying visit to Canberra for a meeting you don't particularly want to attend is anything but. A 5:00AM alarm, getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport and missing my flight made a particularly bad start to the day. A brief panic before a replacement flight was arranged just added to the stress. I now had an hour and a half to kill, and airports are not the best place in world to pass the time in my book.

Fortunately, a colleague had told me before the trip that our tickets, despite being cattle class, allowed us access to the airline lounge. I was able to get a nice coffee and a comfortable chair while I waited for my flight. I got to my destination and - after a totally forgettable all day meeting - I headed back to the airport with a few colleagues for the flight home. Naturally, we had allowed JUST enough time for a quick visit to the lounge. As we had a quick drink to steady our nerves, we could see some nasty weather closing in on the airport through the picture windows, and it wasn't too long before a thunder storm delayed all flights. Last time I was weather delayed at Canberra airport, I spent nine hours wondering if I was ever going to get home. It was made worse by the fact that renovations at the airport meant none of the amenities were operating. No such problems on this occasion. I confess that Sir Richard Branson's stocks of beer,  red wine and bar snacks took a hammering, but I did propose several toasts in his honour during the two hours we took advantage of his hospitality. We all floated home safely in the end. It really is the only way to fly.

Tech Talk
Nothing special here. I traveled light and only packed my nifty little Olympus XZ-1 compact. I would have loved to get outside with an ultra wide angle lens, or even with the XZ-1, but I don't thing I would have got far if I tried to leave the terminal. As it was I had t shoot through glass, and ended up having to clean up the reflections in post. Still not a bad result.

Olympus XZ-1 compact.