Checkout my little video (5 min) explaining my setup of layers in photoshop for a client and good friend. Below that are my setup and final images. grab a coffee and relax!

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Another year at one of my most favorite sports and that’s rodeo. Usually I gather with a few photography mates every year, tell stories around the fire and chase cowgirls. But this year I had to run it alone as everyone seemed busy and/or sick.

The rodeo has always been a great place Read more »

I nearly missed a job yesterday, I was sitting in my rags at home when I got this call; hey Muzza did we book you for Freshwater connection thus arve… I was like ah shit see you in fifteen. Two minutes had passed and I was backing down the driveway at forty miles an hour, dressed in blue – bell bottom jeans a nice collared short sleeve shirt dress shoes and that funky hair style which everyone pays heaps for (mines just natural). F#$* I looked trendy.

Anyway got to the bottom of the driveway and noticed a cardboard parcel in the letterbox, being four guys living in the one house I was pretty skeptical that a parcel of this nature and size could be mine. Although I did order a DAM book Read more »

I’ve been working with Smithfield Shopping Centre in Cairns for the last two years, they are entering the national shopping centre awards for 2008 and asked me if to capture certain aspects and angles to promote the centre. The above photograph is of the newly redeveloped southern entrance, with the advent of a new playground in the shape of a dragonfly thats their logo, large chess pieces, gardens, chairs and the addition of more shops along the front.

All of this might sound quite easy, just whack up your camera and wait for the right light… right? Well yes that’s the last part. First of all I organized that the cleaners left the chess pieces, tables and chairs out during Thursday night shopping, which doesn’t always happen. Checked with security to tell them I’d be creating havoc. Luckily dad left me his 4×4 Landcruiser ute while on his round the world trip, which I positioned over a medium strip and onto a park. Once the camera is lined up, this is where i run around moving trollies out of site, picking up rubbish and making sure every thing is in position like chairs and cars.

Now for pressing the shutter bit. I put my Gitzo tripod on the roof of the cruiser and used the bubble level to get a perfect horizontal pan. Placed the camera on the tripod head in portrait to get a wider (higher) angle of view, that means I put the camera on its side. I have a special bracket for that. Then adjusted the zoom,hyper-focal (maxium focus), exposure and ISO. The exposure settings were ISO 100 3.0sec @ f11 ending up in a nice sharp clean image. This shot comprises of nine separate images rotated 15% each time on the tripod. I processed this image in Photoshops>Photomerge but that’s a whole other story.

Thanks for reading this through my friends, please feel free to leave a comment. All the best Muz!

A friend of mine offered to take me up in a hot air balloon, funnily enough Jay (pictured above) is a crewman for a company called Hot Air. The deal was to meet him at 4:40am in Mareeba, which is an hours drive from Cairns so we could capture the setting up of the balloons.

1stly they put up a couple of party balloons you know the small ones at your kids party and attach a candle to check the winds direction and speed at different altitudes. Once decided on a launching location the guys lay out the baskets, rigg the balloons checked the burners, stretch out the balloons, fill them with hot air and just as the balloons were rising the excited clientele rocked up all keen and eager to jump in for there morning ride. These guys have this so finely tuned you could almost call it art.

The balloon ride was nice, although having done a heap of extreme sports myself it felt like the travel before you get to the climax of action. There was a mix of clouds on the horizon which the sun popped through occasionally being a less than average sunrise. Out of the whole experience I enjoyed the setup and early morning rise knowing most were still tucked in there warm beds.

After landing Jay latter told me while  a crewman in South Africa that, the lions would often watch the balloons like they were chickens in a basket.

A photographer friend of mine collects prints from photographers. He has asked me to print the two images above, which I happily accepted. The sun rise photograph of Mt Bowen was captured on my 2006 Hinchinbrook Island Trek. The next is a colour photograph of the Cairns Esplanade during the 2004 storms and floods. (Click to see more).

The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) holds many workshops around Australia for (as the name hints) professional photographers.This was my second time attending a workshop at the James Cook University research station on Orpheus Island. Orpheus is located 120km NNE of Townsville surounded by reef and rainforest on the mainland.

The main aim of this workshop which I dedicated my time to was the art of processing photographs after they have been captured and printing them into a fine art. While on the island I captured this beautiful sunset of Yankys Jetty back to the mainland and hinchinbrook Island to the right and the existing jetty spiked up to the left.With the time invested into Photoshop techniques I was able to produce this stunning image where the luminance just bounces out of the ocean.

The print looked even better and was chosen to be presented to the managers of Orpheus. All in all five days in paradise was worth the experience.