The rope on the front deck of the Rivercat taken with the nifty fifty.

Whilst back in the mountains for a break from uni I got some mates to come on a photography adventure into Sydney with the only real purpose to see the  Sydney Morning Heralds 1440 Photos exhibition at the State Library.

We were armed with:

• Pentax K100D Super + SMC Pentax-DAL 1:3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL
• Pentax K-X + SMC Pentax-A 1:2  50mm
• Canon 500D + Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II

To enhance the photography adventure we caught the Ferry from Parramatta. Although it was actually Rydalmere as the water level was too low for the ferry. It was about 50mins to Circular Quay with a better view than what Cityrail could offer.

Once off the ferry we blended in with our DSLR’s, a lot like ninjas. It didn’t feel as awkward to take random photos as about 80% of everyone else in the city was doing the same thing. I used the cloning technique that I had previously learned to create the skateboarding photo and also utilised some HDR techniques for the Centrepoint shot.

The exhibition was held at the State Library. The majority of photos were significant moments captured in time from around the world. A lot of the photos came across as being in the ‘right place at the right time’ but the text detailing each photo was both interesting and sometimes disturbing. As the city lights switched on and the day turned to night it led to some interesting night photos.

We couldn’t go into the city and avoid taking photos of the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House. The 50mm prime lenses came into the spotlight in the lower light conditions.

A long walk to Chinatown led us to an array of restaurants with plenty of Chinese girls trying desperately to coax us into their restaurant. It was slightly annoying getting a menu shoved in your face every 3 metres. The way to deal with them was to simply take a photo of them, they didn’t like this too much. After reviewing some of the menus we were still hesitant on where to go so we consulted to the 20c coin toss. She didn’t like that either, but it was her lucky day and we made our way up for the $16.50 per head banquet that consisted of:

Entree:

• Springs Rolls
• Dim Sims
• Chicken & Corn Soup

Main:

• Satay Chicken
• Mongolian Lamb
• Beef & BBQ

The only thing missing from Chinatown was dessert but we had that covered and took a walk to Darling Harbour to arrive at Pancakes on the Rocks just before closing time to finish the night off.

Actually, there was an old drunk on the train that provided us with Cityrail entertainment for a good half hour that finished the night.

Constructed in 1885, the reservoir has a diameter of 20m and a height of 6m with an original capacity of almost 2,000,000 litres. The reservoir was decommissioned in 1990. Source: http://www.hunterwater.com.au/1012.aspx

Photo number #26 wow, that’s halfway through the year since starting this challenge! I was told about this location from another photography enthusiast and it was well worth the effort to take a look. The HDR gives a surreal feel to the pics. Newcastle also gets some great sunsets and when I spotted a few clouds on the horizon I was certain I’d get something good. The sunset shots haven’t been altered, just cropped. Below is an old construction photo I found whilst researching the reservoir.

This photo has been created using high dynamic range photography (HDR). This has been my first successful time shooting for HDR and the results turned out impressive. The image shows the underneath of the Victoria Bridge crossing the Nepean River. Notice the detail in the pilons and how the graffiti shows up.

Ross and I went down to the Nepean River Weir for this photo adventure. It has been raining a fair bit lately and the weir was overflowing. As we walked along the banks Ross spotted a Eastern Water Dragon. I thought it was pretty amazing to see such an animal in this type of environment as there was plenty of rubbish and pollution in the area.

Pentax K-X HDR Test, originally uploaded by UltimaRB.

Testing out the in camera HDR feature of my new camera. Came up
alright for just a quick shot handheld. Looking forward to playing
around with the new features.

As there seems to be a bit of interest in this post I will try and add some more Pentax K-X HDR photos. Here is a comparison straight from the cameras HDR setting on 2 and a Photomatix tonemapped HDR.

Pentax K-X HDR

Photomatix Processed HDR

Non HDR

720p Video Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crwWAI-9RIQ