27
Mar
2016
AIPP State Awards 2016

AIPP State Awards 2016

A new rule this year for entering the Australian Professional Photography Awards meant that I must first enter the NSW State round in order to qualify for the national round.

I previously did not have much knowledge of printing which let me down somewhat in the last national round. Despite it being an important part of photography I never had much of a reason to print before. I would send my photos off to clients and such and see them when they came out printed in magazines or ads and the like. That for me was the printing process. Although my prints did ok last year they fell just short of scoring a silver that i would need to qualify for this year

In order to try and improve my scores I met with some industry bigwigs and had them review my print entries from last year. All pointed to certain points in my printing that I needed to keep an eye out for and improve such as black point and paper choice.

I spent a more time choosing pictures and preparing prints this time around. My printing process and knowledge was aided greatly by the wisdom of Angus Benham of Gusha pro in Brookvale. Angus’s help was invaluable in pointing me in the right direction and helping me with everything from choosing the best paper, running numerous test prints on different types of paper and overseeing the final production of the prints themselves.

I needed at least two 80s to qualify for the national round. I’m happy to announce that out of my 4 images I selected to enter I received an 82, 81, 80 and a 76.

Bring on the Nationals!!!

If you need to get the best prints possible from your images be sure and check out Gusha Pro here for your fine art printing needs

 

Posted by Richard in What's going on
05
Mar
2016
Superflow: Ourimbah

Superflow: Ourimbah

The first round of Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Superflow Gravity Enduro took off last weekend at Ourimbah. There was a great turnout for it with almost 200 riders in the pack.

I was up there under the guise of Outer Image again to getcompetitor shots for all involved. Gil was away for the weekend so in his absence I called in the talents of Jaime Black to give me a hand. Jamie settled in on the downhill track and I moved to cover the all-mountain trail. Having shot at Ourimbah so many times before I was wondering where I might find a new angle but there is always going to be a spot or angle out there. I soon found a nice rock section where people are jumping over and tested a couple of different angles on it until I found one I liked .

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
04
Mar
2016
James Williamson Enduro

James Williamson Enduro

For the second year, I was invited down to the wonderful Wingello State forest to cover the James Williamson Enduro or the Willo as it’s more commonly known. I would have to say that this is one of my favourite races on my calendar. The forest scenery that they race through is truly magnificent and both years that I have been there a fog has blanketed the area adding to the atmosphere and ambience.

Being the First race in the National XCM series the race draws in some great riders from around the country but despite the competition, there is great camaraderie. The event is held in memory of James Williamson who did a lot to progress the sport. Proceeds raised at the event go towards the development of young riders. To find out more about the charity and James swing over to the James Williamson Enduro event website

After the event and after everyone else had seemed to leave I stuck around the forest for another night and explored the area. Despite the areas of pine forests being cleared by the Forestry Commission it is a stunningly beautiful area. It backs on to Morton National Park and the forest gets wilder as you get closer to the edges. Lyrebirds roam the forest floors and seem to spend most of the day singing away.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
02
Feb
2016
Jetblack 24hr: James Estate

Jetblack 24hr: James Estate

Torrential rain and howling winds were what preceded the Jetblack 24hr this year. For me it occurred as I was driving to James Estate winery, the location of this year’s race, for those who had arrived earlier and had already set camp it meant destruction of tents and marquees as gale force winds tore through the camp.

With this in mind it was great to see morning dawn crisp and cool. All signs of the afternoon before had been cleaned and the campsite was filling quickly with racers and supporters alike. The got off on schedule with a great field full of familiar faces. Gil, my colleague at Outerimage, set off in one direction and covered the first half of the track while I went and covered the second half. I had shot through this half quite a bit but I had ideas of different angles and shots that I hoped to improve upon. As the sun rose so did the temperature and humidity.

I stayed out for a while after the sun had dipped below the surrounding hills. I found myself back at an old favourite spot which is a classic view of riders, vineyards and the setting sun trying to capture the lights of the riders bikes. After a quick dinner back at camp I went back out though I stayed close to the camp. Since the camp was well lit and, although I chose a dark corner, I hoped my flashes wouldn’t have to much of a detrimental effect on the riders night vision. I covered my flashes with with some coloured gels and played around with different lighting.

After a short sleep I headed back out for the early morning light. Gil and I swapped track halves and I found dead myself in a section of vineyard that was new to me. I’m always amazed at the stamina of the 24hr solo racers and although there was definite signs of fatigue creeping in on many there was also determination showing as well. After only a couple of hours sleep fatigue was starting to sink it’s claws into me too. I drifted around finding some great spots and getting stuck in others where I couldn’t find a good angle. By my last location I was really struggling to keep awake.

Despite the lack of sleep I really enjoy the 24hr races. I love the fact that we get to shoot in all types of light, from the soft early morning to the harsh midday to the black of night. It offers the full spectrum to play around in.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
03
Jan
2016
Kanangra Boyd National Park

Kanangra Boyd National Park

I had a couple of days off over Christmas and decided to head away. Knowing that this can be a crazy period for camping with the Christmas crowds I wasn’t overly thrilled by the idea but needed to get out of town for a couple of days anyway. We decided to head west and give Kanangra Boyd National Park a try, it’s an old favourite of mine. Thankfully there wasn’t many people set up at the campsite so we pitched our tent and made base.

Kanangra Boyd is a beautifully rugged national park to the west of Sydney. It is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area. It is a designated wilderness area which means if you are don’t know what you are doing it certainly doesn’t pay to stray far from the path as there is a high chance you won’t be seen again.  The National parks and wildlife service describe wilderness areas as “large, natural areas of land that, together with their native plant and animal communities, remain essentially unchanged by modern human activity.”We spent a couple of days here and just had a good look around although we didn’t stray from the paths ourselves.

One day was also spent driving out to the silver mining ghost town of Yerranderrie. Considering its close proximity to the outskirts of Sydney (probably around 50-80kms as the crow flies) this is one little remote town. It took us around 2.5 hrs to drive there from the nearest town along some beautifully scenic roads. Though a 2 wheel drive vehicle can make it a 4wd is suggested and would probably be a must on bad weather days. It’s an interesting little piece of history. As there is a campsite out there and it is such a long drive I would suggest to anyone looking to visit to spend a night out there and have a good look around. There is not a huge amount to see but it is a wonderful drive and you would almost certainly have the place to yourself as the sun starts to set.

The trip was finished off by what was supposed to be a quick visit to Jenolan Caves but it took a lot longer than we thought it might. We wanted to top out water bottles with some of the cave water and be on our way but we picked the wrong day for a quick visit. It seemed like half of Sydney had also picked that day to visit, all carparks were full and people were jamming the roads as they drove around looking for places to park. we just pulled over by the side of the road higher up and waited for the crowds to thin a bit.

Jenolan Caves is the one of the subterranean limestone jewels near Sydney.  Being the most easily accessible it attracts the crowds, especially on the weekends and holidays. Its a beautiful spot and well worth a visit though I would recommend doing so through the week if it is an option. Another nearby option is Wombeyan Caves which though can be busy is not as bad as Jenolan can be.

Posted by Richard in What's going on
23
Dec
2015
Stromlo National round and the Brindabella Range

Stromlo National round and the Brindabella Range

A spur of the moment trip to Canberra to go shoot at the National Round of the Downhill saw me paying a visit to the nearby Brindabella range. I have visited these mountains a few times now but still think I am only scratching the surface of what they have to offer.

I arrived late in the afternoon and spent the night at the top of Mt Ginini which was as far in as I could drive. Thankfully I had been unable to find my summer sleeping bag and had taken my warm on as the temperature dropped to 3C despite the fact that it was mid-summer. In the morning I rose to being enveloped in the clouds so there wasn’t any real sign of sunrise. I spent the best part of the morning driving around and enjoying the beautiful scenery. I stopped off at Mt. Franklin and walked to the site of Australia’s first ski lodge. I could quite happily have spent the whole weekends drifting around in the hills.

Although I missed most of the practice runs of the National series downhill i made it down for the main event. As is normal for Stromlo someone seemed to have turned the thermostat up. The action was great with a lot of Australia’s best racers screaming down the hill.

 

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, Places, Sports
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