Manly

Underwater at Shelly Beach

Underwater at Shelly Beach

I recently started diving again. So in between races, I decided to do an underwater photography course with my local dive shop Dive Centre Manly. They got on board the talented Pete McGee to run the course. Pete put the course together, which went from photography fundamentals and touched on the more advanced topics of strobes.

Whilst I knew the fundamentals it is always good to have such things reinforced and explained from a different viewpoint I believe. The lessons on strobes underwater were invaluable to me though as strobe placement underwater is quite different to how I would use strobes on dry land.

I missed the first dives due to being ill but Pete kindly let me do the dive section at a later date. While the water quality was rather poor with lots of sediment floating around making visibility limited the dives themselves were fantastic. the 2nd dive was my longest dive to date being 98 minutes underwater. What bliss!!!! Nudibranchs, Wobbegong sharks, Giant cuttlefish, the big Blue gropers and even a Banded Coral Shrimp were all out to play.

If you’ve got an interest in learning about underwater photography I’d highly recommend this course with Pete. Since it’s not a PADI course, Pete can be more flexible with what he teaches and can, to a degree, tailor the course to your skill level.

Posted by Richard in Nature, Travel, What's going on
Pace Athletics Run Club

Pace Athletics Run Club

I’m always up for a quick shoot somewhere. It gives me the chance to play around with my lights and get some practice in. Each Tuesday evening the Pace Athletics Run Club meets at Manly.

I have managed to get down for a couple of visits now and have been shooting them on what is known as Snake Hill. I went down for a quick visit again last night. There is quite a few familiar faces in the group that I have seen from shooting races like the Coastal Classic and Rafferty’s Run with Outer Image. The group is led by Matty Abel, the owner and head coach of DBA Runners. So if you are looking to getting a bit more active or polish up a bit on your running fitness be sure and get down there and join in the fun. You never know I might see you there next Tuesday.

You can check the  full gallery from the afternoon here but for now here’s a couple of shots to whet the appetite.

Posted by Richard in Trail Running, What's going on
Shane Yates, Highlining at Manly. POTM

Shane Yates, Highlining at Manly. POTM

Shane Yates walking a highline at Manly on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Shane Yates walking a highline at Manly on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

I took this photo last weekend at Manly. We had planned on a sunrise shoot but it never worked out that way. The sun just didn’t want to agree with us first thing in the morning and hid behind the only cloud in the a beautiful blue sky. I chose this image from all the ones I took on the day because of the boat. I think it really gives you some idea of just how high the highline is. Highlining is like a slow motion action sport. It all takes place at a very relaxed pace but it has all the adrenalin and focus of the faster sports.

Posted by Richard in Sports, 1 comment
Surfing Deadmans and Wild Weather

Surfing Deadmans and Wild Weather


Wild weather has lashed the Sydney coastline these last couple of days. Winds up to 130km/hr have whipped up a huge swell which is throwing itself onto the coast causing damage up and down. Only a brave few have taken themselves out into the water to chase the waves. I spent the day shooting around near Deadmans on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Although the waves were some what infrequent they were big, solid and impressive when they did roll in.

Posted by Richard in Surfing, 0 comments