Say your prayers /  by Mario Mirabile

Gardens can be productive places. In the right hands, they can bountifully supply food, flowers and leisure. If you keep your eyes open, they can also bring forth a rich photographic harvest. The suburbs are not as richly endowed as the country, but there are some gems if you have the patience to look for them. Flowers are the obvious and easy target - they don't run or fly away and keep quite still as long as the wind isn't blowing. But getting good shots of the creatures which inhabit our gardens is more of a challenge, and ultimately more satisfying when you succeed.

This praying mantis had just finished laying her eggs and was catching her breath on a garden ornament. Even though her exertions had slowed her down, she still wasn't overly interested in posing and kept turning her back on me. What she hadn't bargained on was that her resting place could easily be rotated on its spike. as she wandered off, I just kept turning her perch into a good position for me. Eventually she tired of the game, and took off to find somewhere more peaceful, no doubt muttering curses about paparazzi .

Tech Talk
Shooting insects in the wild (even a not-so-wild garden) isn't always easy. Part of the problem is that you usually have to get pretty close and risk spooking the subject. Also, if you want to avoid flash, you'll invariably end up with slow shutter speeds at the apertures required for this type of work. Usually that means a tripod and some sort of off camera shutter release, all of which slows you down. It therefore helps to have something to slow your subject down. Extreme cold is always good value (often bringing with it the bonus of frost or dew), but I don't think I've ever had assistance from the rigours of childbirth - or at least the entomological equivalent of it.

Olympus E5, Zuiko Digital 50mm macro, tripod, cable release.

Natural lace /  by Mario Mirabile

The elm tree is native to the northern hemisphere where it’s a component of many natural forests. During the 19th century, elms became a popular ornamental tree and were widely planted in parks, streets and gardens. They also spread to the southern hemisphere, carried by emigrants keen to transplant a small piece of their homelands. However, during the latter part of the 20th century, a fatal fungus called Dutch elm disease ravaged populations throughout Europe and North America, leading to the death of most mature specimens. One place the disease didn’t reach is Australia. The mature elms of Australia’s parks and gardens are regarded as some of the most significant in the world.

The golden elm growing in my front garden is probably pushing up toward 100 years old, but I doubt it’s on any register of significant trees. It’s a pretty tree that provides shade and some measure of privacy from the street.  It also provides plenty of raking and gutter cleaning in the autumn. While Australia is safe (at least for the time being) from Dutch elm disease, there are other pests which prey on these trees. One is the elm leaf beetle. Thankfully it’s rarely fatal, but it can still cause considerable unsightly damage to the leaves. I've had my tree treated, but the beetles can still spread from neighbouring untreated trees. There’s a certain beauty in the fine lacework they create, but it can’t be doing the tree any good. At least it’s not Dutch elm disease.

Back again /  by Mario Mirabile

It’s been just over four weeks since my back surgery, and thankfully everything seems to have gone well. My sciatic pain is gone, and I've been gradually increasing the amount of walking I’m doing. I’m back at work in a couple of days, and while that doesn't overwhelm me with enthusiasm, It means I’ll soon be able to get back to my lunchtime photo walks. I haven’t given a lot of thought to photography over the last few weeks. It’s been easy to just drift along doing not much, so getting back to work and a bit of structure and routine probably won’t be too bad for me.

I did find time for one little project that’s been at the back of my mind for a while. I like fountain pens, and I like ink. And these pictures sort of grew out of the process of cleaning pens when I changed inks. I played around quite a bit to get the lighting right so as to minimize reflections. Then I had to figure out a rig to hold the pen in position and played around with inks to find something which didn't disperse too quickly. To me, the ink suggests something alive and growing, and it was fascinating to watch the shapes form as the ink spread through the water. The next phase, of course, is two pens. Perhaps I should take another week off.

Tech Talk
 

Glass and photography can be a recipe for trouble, and these shots needed an absolute minimum of specular reflections to work. I also wanted to freeze the motion of the ink, so available light was never going to work. I played around with different flash setups, and found that a single light in a small home-made softbox above, to one side and slightly from the front gave the best results. The background was a simple large sheet of white paper.

The centre column on my tripod can be swung out into a horizontal position so that it forms a kind of boom. I attached my macro focusing rail to the head so that it moved straight up and down. , and attached a pen to it. The whole contraption was then placed so that the pen was directly over the glass and could be raised and lowered by operating the rail. I set the shot up with the glass empty, raised the pen, filled the glass, lowered the pen quickly, and fired away.

Olympus E5, Zuiko Digital 50mm f2.0 macro.

Backing down...... /  by Mario Mirabile

Over the last couple of years, my regular lunchtime walks around the Melbourne CBD have provided a a regular source of photographic inspiration. The ever-changing stream of places, faces and situations have been regularly chronicled here. My ramblings have been somewhat curtailed over the last few months by a back complaint which made walking awkward, and at times painful. Today, I'm having surgery to resolve the problem, so with any luck I'll be roaming the streets again soon. I decided to grit my teeth (after swallowing a few pills) and have one final stroll before going under the knife. These are the results, all from pedestrian mall in Bourke Street.

I'll be taking a break for a couple of weeks. See you all when I return.

Prickly Pete /  by Mario Mirabile

A photographic excursion can produce nothing in particular of great value, pure gold, or anything in between. It's quite a lottery in some respects. There's always an element of luck involved, but much also depends on your ability to spot an opportunity, and to make the most of it. On a recent trip to the Victoria Market, I had a few OK shots, but nothing to rave about. Then I spotted Prickly Pete.

Prickly Pete was anything but irritable. When I spotted him, he was sitting quietly among the cacti he had for sale. I was immediately struck by the strength of character in his face. To be honest, I'm a sucker for an older bloke with a beard, and the longer and more unruly, the better. They add so much detail and presence to a face - an attribute that really sets them apart from women. Fortunately business was slow, so Peter had the time and willingness to pose for a few shots, and even consented to a request to remove his glasses. Fortunately, his stall wasn't right out in the open, and his nearly empty van provided an impromptu studio. I've always considered an excursion a success if I come home with one good shot. The second image I've posted made the whole trip an absolute winner for me.

To market, to market........ /  by Mario Mirabile

Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market has somewhat eclectic trading hours. It's closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Sunday trading was a relatively late addition to its schedule. When it is open, though, it's invariably jumping, and doubly so on Saturday mornings. When I lived nearby and shopped there regularly some 30 years ago, Saturday trading ceased at 12 noon precisely, and didn't resume till the following Tuesday. Traders, especially those with meat and fish to move, were keen to clear their stocks, so some outrageous bargains could be had in the last half hour of trade.

The stalls have changed hands many times over the years, and the market has seen many renovations, but the character hasn't really changed. I'd be inclined to say that the quality of the meat and fish has improved (I got the odd green lamb chop in the old days), but the faces are still full of character and interest. Saturday morning is as busy as ever, but the traders, for the most part, seem to retain their good humour through the rush, and can even manage the occasional smile for persistent photographers. As a retail experience, it beats a supermarket hands down.

Tech Talk
The market may look well lit, but I still found myself shooting at ISO 800 or 1600. If it wasn't for my 35-100 f2, I would have had to go even higher. Apart from some of the deep shadows, the noise doesn't seem to be an issue, although the funky lighting has caused some interesting white balance problems.


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

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.