Ice cream at Warrandyte

Today we had ice cream at Warrandyte after a swim in the Yarra river. Orange and strawberry gelati on the left, boysenberry and mango ice cream on the right.

Roxanne

A quiet moment with Roxanne.

Nick and Lieu: Friends of Winter

People really don't focus on the pluses of winter. Some refuse to acknowledge them altogether. I love the softer light of the season and how it makes people behave differently. In a city like Melbourne, winter makes us appreciate spring and summer. Plus, don't you think it's nice to dress up without getting hot?

Lieu and Nick at my house. The chill of a Melbourne winter etched onto their dour faces. Are they about to tuck into borscht, made the old way with vodka or are they about to dispense with the beets and just have the vodka?

The Melbourne School of Engineering: The Garden

The front garden at the School of Engineering, University of Melbourne. I didn't have my glasses and there wasn't that much light around so focusing was a little guessy. I didn't realise there was an ant on the centre leaf.

This is a relatively tight frame on a quite open garden. But I feel like it's lacking in a way.

Fuji 120 400H
80mm/f3.5
Yashica TLR

The Melbourne School of Engineering: Bricks With Scaffold

The brickwork of the Old Engineering building, University of Melbourne. I like the vignette on this old lens.

Not sure about the composition here. But then, I find when I like the composition I know it straight away...

Fuji 120 400H
80mm/f3.5
Yashica TLR

MSO: Concert 2, 2009

Feb 14, 2009

Concert 2: conductor, Oleg Caetani, and his merry crew get stuck into the coda of Ravel's Daphnis & Chloé.

I've been waiting a fair while to see this live. The arrangement was great - it was better than that of a recording of Karajan conducting the Berliner Harmoniker by Deutsche Grammophon that I have.... which is really the only one I know... I don't actually know what I'm talking about.

Lots of chromatic aberration on the whites of the music sheets and the trumpets on the big screen... but I was quite far away. There's a 5950 x 2465 version on Flickr.

Alexander Gardens

Sitting at Riverland I took this. I love Alexander Gardens - when people aren't being mugged in them.

I welcome summer with open arms.

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 1/250 (handheld)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 1600

Weld Then Grind

July 20, 2008 at 1.10am EST
Two men work through the night on new tram tracks on Nicholson St in Fitzroy/Carlton.

I stood there mesmerised for about 10 mins. The sparks were beautiful.

I took many shots wanting to get the right amount of spark. and the men in a good enough pose.

The sparks add nice depth to the image.

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 1/800
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 640

Wistful Man

August 1, 2008 at 9.29pm EST
This guy was really interesting. So well dressed. Don't you love his tie? And those glasses are something else. Takes a very different person to pull that look off.

We were having dinner at Birdman Walking, and this guy was seemingly disinterested with the conversation around him, he stared at the unsual lighting in the restaurant.

Who knows what he was wondering at the time...

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 1/20
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 1000

Shimmery Sluice

This is a lane way near me - Sheils Lane in Carlton.

The yellow flood lighting lit up the water in the drain... 120 years ago this would have been shit and piss and other household waste.

Shot with a Canon 40D on my new Canon 50mm f1.4 lens... I'm constantly amazed by its flexibility and sharpness, and the shallow depth it allows. This shot is not possible with most other lenses out there.

1/80" f1.4 ISO1000

Lieu 96

Tonight Lieu and I went for dinner at Dessert House. I took this portrait of her as we waited for the best tram in Melbourne - the 96. It was 9ºC at the time. Cold for us Australiëns.

It wasn't until I got this foto on-screen that I realised how nice Lieu's scarves are.

I'm not often happy with my photography. But tonight, I'm happy with this portrait. Most of the credit goes to Lieu though for being a compliant model.

So we went on to Dessert House and ordered exactly the same things. Two BBQ pork omelettes on rice and two hot honey lemon teas (you have to specifiy hot in this place).

Goddam I love Dessert House. Abrupt but efficient service, fast food, fraikin tasty and everything under $10.

I've never actually had dessert there... I'm just too full afterwards. Speaking of which, it's not often Lieu doesn't finish a meal (I can't remember her not). Tonight the omelette raced her and won. Good going you omelette!


Oh, here's the omelette...

03/Jul/2008 Update

Is it bad if I went back again tonight (the next night) and ordered the SAME meal and SAME drink, albeit with different people? I won't even bother posting the pic I took... it looks exactly the same!