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Monthly Archives: April 2010

A Friday night in town

Last Friday I went, with some friends, to a nice little place in the Melbourne CBD called Baraki” (Baraki homepage). The plan was to have some eats (Friday after work – people were quite hungry), and enjoy the live music.

Live at Baraki
A standalone artist performing in the lead up to the main event.
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 35mm Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 1/30 ISO: ISO 10000
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED


The plan worked out only half way. The food was only average, and we ate what we ordered more because we were starving, than for any other reason. The ambiance, and the music, on the other hand, were very nice. By the time the main act, by a band called Motif , had started, everyone was having a very good time, despite the, slightly, confined space.

Motif - Live at Baraki
Motif – Live at Baraki
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 58mm Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/250 ISO: ISO 10000
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED


Motif - Live at Baraki
Motif – Live at Baraki
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 14mm Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/160 ISO: ISO 10000
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED


We slowly made our way to Zoe’s car, to drive home. On the way, we passed a few horse carriages, of which Swanston St has plenty, and all of which are out in force on a busy Friday night.

Don
Don’t be afraid
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 70mm Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/180 ISO: ISO 9000
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED


The girl was, at first, curious, but soon she became very tender towards the beast.I literally saw this scene with the corner of my eye, as I was discussing with Zoe something that had happened earlier. It was, quite literally, almost a reflex action to reposition myself and try 3 frames to make a good photograph out of this moment.

It was a beautiful scene, the girl was so curious about the horse, which, in turn, was very relaxed.

Melbourne at night – Second High ISO test with the Nikon D3s

Recently I went on a photo walk around the CBD. There are few places that I haven’t visited, or photographed, by now, if I’m honest. However, there’s always the opportunity for new perspective.

This shot, for example, took me several minutes, and several tries, to get right. I liked the look of the corner, the lighting, and I wanted to capture the train in motion as well. The biggest hurdle, once I had decided on composition specifics, was get the right type of train, on the right set of tracks, and at the right moment (who wants to see carriage links).

Busy corner
Busy corner
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 70mm Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25 ISO: ISO 1400
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II


This shot was one of several I took of passing trains. I was at the far end of the tracks, near Flinders Street Station (Wikipedia), where there is a gate that is always open. The gate just so happens to lead on to the tracks. I have been there before, in daytime, and I have made a couple of other good photographs of various fixtures in the area around/between the tracks. This time, however, I was there at nighttime, and I wanted to see what I could make of it.

When the first couple of trains had gone by, I had decided: this was going to be a panning photograph.

The speed
The speed
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 200mm Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/20 ISO: ISO 7200
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II


Here you can see the Flinders Walk, a very serene little strip of mostly straight line along the Yarra River (Wikipedia). The Rialto Towers (Wikipedia) can be seen in the distance. Until recently, they were, in fact, the tallest building in Melbourne, until the Eureka Tower (Wikipedia) came along and took the crown for the entire southern hemisphere.

Flinders Walk
Flinders Walk
Capture details
Focal Length (real): 24mm Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25 ISO: ISO 9000
Captured with a Nikon D3s and a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED


It is also noteworthy that the Nikon D3s has, once again, really shone. Handheld photography at night is as easy as shooting during the day.