Smarter Blogging

This is another test of Blogging direct from Picasa.

The current theory for the next trip is to:
(a) Load photos from camera into Picasa on Laptop.
(b) Select photo and "Blog This" in Picasa (opens blog post)
(c) Edit the post
(d) Upload other photos to Web Album

Pro's - easy and quick

Con's - must be online for all editing

Upload from Flock

Testing editing of a blog post in Flock.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Direct upload from Picasa

Testing the direct upload to Blog link in Picasa.

The picture was taken near Mansfield.

In Search of a Peloton

The Tour de France has become compulsory viewing on TV over the last many years, to the extent that it occasionally prompts the thought that I might even try to see it live at some point.
The combination of magnificent scenery, tactical intrigue, and human against human physical effort is powerful. But I had never seen a peloton. I needed to sample a spectator's experience of a road race before pursuing the notion.

The opportunity arose on Wednesday, during the Herald Sun Tour 2008 in Victoria.

The website showed the course of Stage 3 from Warragul through the Yarra Ranges to Marysville.
Google Maps helped determine that Reefton was probably the best spot to get a decent photo of the race passing by, without being amongst a crowd.

Two hours driving got me to a picnic spot on a bend at Reefton @ 11am. It was absolutely silent among the towering trees where the trickling Yarra is deciding to become a river.

The first sign of any activity was a van pulling up for two guys to put up directional signs, marking the start of the King of the Mountain section of the course. They said to expect the riders @ 1pm.

The next hours saw a regular stream of the advance guard of police escorts, motorcycle scouts and support vehicles making their way to Marysville.

A vehicle with a PA passes announcing the 2 man breakaway is 2 minutes ahead of the main group.

The leaders arrive:

They are gone in a flash!

Precision is called for if I hope for a photo of the Peloton passing.

They arrive

They pass

They're gone!

 

All that's left to do is take shots of support vehicles.

At the time, my impression is of a single mass of white blurring past in seconds.
I can only hope the images taken worked.
It's not until after the 3 hour drive home and downloading from the camera that the paradox of the peloton is revealed.

In total 7 hours of my life were devoted to the quest - 5 hours driving and 2 hours in the serenity of Reefton. When the moment the peloton arrived all anyone could see was a stampeding mass of bikes, colour and energy for a matter of seconds.

It's only hours later that I discover that I forever have an image of an Australian sporting hero, Stuart O'Grady, wearing the leader's yellow jersey in the Herald Sun Tour 2008.

Yet another lucky accident - but one that wouldn't have happened without planning, time and investment in equipment.

Analysis of the photographic exercise:

1. Scene selection - the particular site selected was good to get the bend and the effect of the approaching mass. And, to get the shadows if the sun came out.

2. Lens - the telephoto enabled the close up that shows the cyclists concentration, energy and effort, while getting the peloton mass as it approached the bend.

3. Camera settings - left entirely on auto - apart from the shot of the police motorsyclist.

Satisfaction level - delighted, because the time and planning made a lucky accident able to happen.

Will I go to France to follow Le Tour?

No way!

The only way to follow it is on TV at 1am. Trying to get just one vantage point on the route would be pointless without being able to control any of the elements.

Oh, and the paradox of the Peloton?
Having a peloton pass you is an amazing, must-do experience.
But you cannot capture the experience in a photo.
Nor can you see the detail of a peloton as it passes.
A photo of a peleton shows but a millisecond.
And the detail is only visible in the photos!

Tiptoeing Amongst the Tulips

It was a poor, overcast day but I had to take some photos of the colourful scene.

From Tulips

The flowers are the stars but needed some objects to put them in context.

From Tulips

From Tulips

This closeup was the favourite.

From Tulips

From Tulips

Outcome:
1. Lots of general shots of fields of flowers, but few of subjects that were precise enough. Apart from the closeups, all shots needed an additional subject - detracting from the point of taking the photos, which was the mass of colour.
2. I had trouble getting the bright red as it "bled" in every shot - more learning required.

Outcome of Tuesday Practice

1. Went to predetermined location, Flinders St. Station, Melbourne, before dawn :

[NB. You can double-click on any image to see larger version, then use the back arrow to resume the blog.]

2. Played with unfamiliar camera settings and  succeeded in getting the target photo of a tram moving in front of the station (but I could not get one with a clearly defined tram and a clearly defined station). :

 3. But I liked a close-up of the clock as a better, more interesting photo:

Lesson learned: There is a difference between a reasonable general "travel snap" shot (which can be quite OK if it's needed for a travelogue) and a reasonably good photo.

So I then walked down  to Princes Bridge and the Yarra, which was a hive of activity in the miserable overcast dawn.

Continuing the theme, the postcard shot of the view downriver under the bridge is OK considering the gloom :

But again I preferred the detail of a closeup of the bridge:

My previous style of a general shot containing multiple points of interest for a travelogue ...

... was losing out to attempts to get better, closer shots of a single subject :

After a coffee and a little shopping, I then made my first visit to Melbourne's redeveloping Docklands.

The (new) "Best" photo was this one ...

... because of its' detail, but also because it's of an old Sydney ferry that has been poorly renamed for a Melbourne audience.

[The above shots are drastically reduced jpeg's for the purpose of the blog.

For several originals with better reproduction click on the Flickr badge.]

Tuesday Practice

Today's mission will be threefold:

1. To go to one predetermined location with one predetermined subject and come back with at least one good photo.

2. To experiment with Shutter speed (Tv Mode)
To take a half decent photo of a moving subject with a blurred background
To take a half decent photo of moving water

3 To experiment with Aperture value (Av Mode)

The Location? Flinders & Swanston.
The Target? A tram moving in front of Flinders St Station.
Why? An iconic image of Melbourne.

Trial Checklist

1. What is the subject?
2. Is it in focus?
3. Is it where it most belongs in the shot?
4. Is it in detail?
5. Have all distractions been eliminated?
6. Is the horizon level?
7. Is this the best photo I can get of it?

BetterPhoto.com's Top 10 Tips

Not surprisingly, it seems I've missed the single most important step in all photography : discerning your subject before you get your camera out!

I've been delighted to get out early to capture the amazing effects of sunrise, or be in a famous place etc. but I have never deliberately taken anything but a "general surroundings" shot as opposed to a bolt on the Eiffel Tower or anything specific in a scene.

My Photographic journey to date

It's probably not accidental that each turning point on my photographic journey has been connected with trips or journeys.

Until 2001 I'm not sure I even had a camera, and the only photo I'd taken worth keeping was a lucky accident - at dawn in Tasmania at the moment my son landed his first fish.

[Dunalley]

Then lighthouses

Then  first digital Scotland 2003

Then better digital Rose, Shamrock & Poppy 2006

To now Digital SLR Brisbane Aug 2008

It's about time I learned what I'm meant to be doing with a camera in my hand!
My better photos have just been better "lucky accidents" taken with progressively better equipment.

My mission is to be able to deliberately go off on a photo session and deliberately take a good photo.
Hopefully then the lucky accidents will be a great photo.

Purpose of Phlogging

This is yet another selfish Blog - this time to analyse, critcise and hopefully improve the quality of my Photography.

Again it's primarily for my benefit - to get my thoughts together and diarize them - but with the added advantage(?) of having photographic evidence attached to each post.

The blog's title is deliberately ambiguous - I'm trying to figure out whether it's possible for me to create photos worth logging or whether I'm just flogging a dead horse!