My Facebook posts were disjointed and inadequate in telling the story about my move from Bateau Bay to Queensland. It was impossible to stay current while I dodged the quirks and roadblocks that my trip was throwing at me. So I’m recounting it here in an orderly fashion. I normally only write photo articles on my blog, but I felt … Read More
How to carry out a geographic magazine assignment – Part 3 – Approaching people
Even when I’m in that high vibrational state, where I feel at one with the environment and where the art of photography seems like innate intuition, it’s not. It’s like driving a car: you can cruise on auto-pilot but that’s only because you’ve put in many miles of experience behind the wheel. Photography only comes easily after you’ve shot thousands … Read More
How to carry out an assignment for a geographic magazine – Part 2 – Being in the moment
I started shooting the story on pearl faming in New South Wales before I’d even signed the contract with the magazine. That was because a key event was happening immediately – an event that could not be rescheduled or wait for the convenience of a photographer — seeding the oysters. On one beautiful warm morning, as the first flush of … Read More
How to carry out a geographic magazine assignment – Part 1 – Finding a great subject
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to get a call from an editor asking you to do a photo assignment. But sometimes you have to initiate the contact yourself. If your relationship has developed over the years to one of mutual trust, then chances are high that the magazine’s editors will listen to your idea and commission you to carry it out. … Read More
Photo Detective Challenge – How was this “shot” taken?
I only recently installed MacOS Catalina, even though it was released 7 months ago. Apple as usual, uses a stunning landscape photo of a California landmark for the wallpaper. That evening, I sat and admired it on my huge 27” Retina screen, just revelling in the crisp, fine detail of the photo. Just endless eye candy. Then something funny happened. … Read More
What the Ranger Revealed
Talking about rocks (well, I was – in the last blog post), our Meetup group had a lucky encounter at one of our recent events. But it didn’t start out that way. Normally I do a reconnaissance before leading people to an obscure location. But this time I thought: oh, I’ve been there before, I’m sure I’ll find the place … Read More
Add More Sparkle to Twilight Shots
Talking about night time events, well, dusk really, one of the key things a photographer has to prepare for is the need to add light, that is, more light than is available from the sky. At one of our recent Meetups, we started at The Haven in Terrigal. There were birds, boats, waves and people. The best part was the … Read More
How to Turn Daylight into Night
There are several reasons to shoot at nighttime. Sometimes you want to create a gloomy, scary or heavy atmosphere. Sometimes the story or subject you want to illustrate occurred at night. But what to do if you are at your location in the middle of the day with no chance to return later? That’s what happened to me. It was … Read More
Outdoor photographers – why we do what we do
I can understand why outdoor photographer Matthew Dwyer got blown off Bluff Knoll. I’ve been to the peak twice myself. At the top, the winds are fierce, as this tree can attest. I tend to take risks myself, but it’s nothing to what my ex-husband, Jean-Paul Ferrero used to do. In this photo, he had climbed out to photograph a … Read More
Making great people photos
There are so many factors that go into good “people” shots. People photos for geographic magazines are a bit different from standard portraits. Sometimes they are raw photojournalism, but usually they fall into a genre called “environmental portraiture”. I’ve done this for so long now that I’ve come to really love it. The essential elements are: a) the lighting, b) … Read More