SAINT MARY'S AISLE

Sydney

At the time I took this photo, I wasn’t sure I was permitted to photograph the interior. Some religious establishments don’t allow this. I thought the colloquially St Mary’s Cathedral would be no exception. Officially, it is the Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians and is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, currently Anthony Fisher OP. More interesting reading over on Wikipedia.

3 images | 62 mm, 1 second @ ƒ/8, ISO 100

St. Mary’s Cathedral is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I remember having a hard time finding a good composition outside to photograph. I was just getting into photography back then. The inside was a different story. Firstly, though I wanted to photograph the interior, I had no idea if I was allowed. Then, as soon as I walked in, the grandeur of the place pushed me to take this obvious composition. The cathedral was empty, not a soul in sight, I quickly checked outside to be sure nobody was coming. I was alone. I quickly setup my tripod, framed, took three bracketed exposures and quickly packed up my gear. Now the mistake I made was to have zoomed in too much and compose horizontally instead of vertically. I can’t remember why I did that but if I hadn’t I would’ve had a lot more scene within the frame. I was inexperienced and didn’t want to get caught though I found later that photographs were allowed inside the cathedral. Oh well, next time I’m in Sydney I give it another shot.

The photo was taken with the Fujifilm FinePix S9500, a bridge camera I had bought just before coming to New Caledonia. When used within it’s limits, the camera can produce good quality images, though a little on the soft side. I can’t recommend it as it has been superseded and there are much better cameras now for the same price.

OK, take care and hope to see you for the next post.

Sony a7 III body only.jpg — **SONY a7 III**

24MP full-frame mirrorless camera from Sony’s Alpha series. Also does 4K video. A great all-round camera.

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Tamron 28-75mm ƒ:2.8.jpg — **TAMRON STANDARD ZOOM LENS**

Tamron E 28-75 mm ƒ/2.8 Di III RXD is a standard zoom lens for E-mount camera. A perfect match for the Sony a7 III.

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Vanguard VEO 235AB tripod.jpg — **VANGUARD TRIPOD**

The Vanguard VEO 235AB with TBH-50 ball head is a 5 section tripod. It’s sturdy, reliable and stores compact for travel. This tripod has served me well for the last few years.

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SONY NP-FZ100 battery.jpg — **SONY BATTERIES**

Sony’s NP-FZ100 lithium-ion from it’s Z series are reliable and long lasting. I always have a second battery with me at all times.

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SANDISK Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC 95MB:s.jpg — **SANDISK MEMORY CARDS**

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC memory cards are fast and reliable. With 128 GB you never run out of storage for photos or videos, 4K included. It’s what I choose to use.

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PRVKE 31 lt. travel/camera backpack from WANDRD. Has a laptop sleeve, a tablet sleeve, a hidden pocket, room for a camera insert and storage to spare. Also extends to provide 6 lt. of extra storage. It’s my everyday carry.

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COCKINGTON MINIATURE VILLAGE

On the way back to Sydney from the Snowy Monaro, I thought the kids would love to see the Cockington Green Gardens in Canberra (Australia). It’s a miniature village of buildings, everyday scenes and activities from a round the world and even a steam train. A must visit if you’re ever in Canberra. Give yourself plenty of time though as there is a lot to see. Little details you don’t want to miss. I think it took us just over two hours. The kids absolutely loved it.

I think the photos came out quite nice. I’m very happy with this hand picked collection. I took many others but I didn’t want to bore you with fifty plus photos.

Again, if you’re ever in Canberra, take some time to visit the Cockington Green Gardens. The kids will feel like Gulliver in Lilliput and love you for it.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTDecember 5, 2018australia, canberra, canon, christophe hervouet, christophe robert hervouet*, cockington, cockington green gardens, Cockington Miniature Village, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, gardens, miniature, new south wales, nsw, photoshop cc, small, tiny

NIGHT ZOO

As I mentioned on my last post we had dinner at the cafe in Taronga Zoo in wait for it to reopen just after dark for Vivid Taronga Zoo. It’s beautiful and amazing and a must do if you’re ever in Sydney while it’s on. And the kids will be inthralled.

A little challenging for photos especially for positioning and framing. You’ve got to have a lot of patience. Many times I had to wait for people to move and a few times for photographers as they had the perfect spot for the shot I wanted. Because there are a lot of people around, you need to be aware your surroundings. You don’t want someone bumping into your gear or taking a kid out with your tripod or backpack. Be careful and tolerant. And talking about the tripod, a must as all of my images are long exposures. It’s the way to go if you want sharp photos.

A big thank you to my friend and her kids for their patience. They endured the cold temperature for at least an extra hour, instead of being warm and cosy back at the hotel, to give me the chance to capture everything. Merci.

DAY ZOO

A must do in Sydney, especially if you have kids, is visit Taronga Zoo in Mosman (Sydney, Australia). It was a beautiful sunny day, so we (my friend and her two kids) took the ferry from Circular Quay to get there. It’s also a nice way to see the harbour and the city from the water. You get great views of the city from inside the zoo as well. There’s a lot to see there so give yourself plenty of time. At least four hour if you don’t want to rush to see the koalas, wallabies and wombats before closing time. Talking from experience.

I took a few photos but saw later that my focus was off for a number of them. I concluded that the auto focus was off about a third of the time. Not by much but enough to matter. I use single point focus for precision but as you can see on the lizard photo, I focused for the eye and it missed. I’m a lot more careful now and try to review the photos as soon as I take them but that’s not alway possible.

There are a number of photos that I particularly like from this collection. The giraffe about to enter it’s enclosure is one of them because it show the height of it on the frame. Another is the adult and baby elephant playing with the blue barrel. The little guy was so funny. The black bear, on the other hand, seemed so unhappy. I mean I don’t know if he was but that’s the impression I got. Love the majestic pose of the sea lion though. He got into position just as I framed him. The poser.

I can highly recommend the cafe at the entrance too. We had dinner there as we waited for the zoo to reopen, just after dark, for Vivid Taronga Zoo. Now you know what the next post will be about.

STROLLING VIVIDLY

Who remembers Vivid Sydney? Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to photograph the iconic buildings during this event and I’m sure you’ve seen them either in person or through social media already. I managed a few photos. We (my friend, her two kids and I ) had decided to check out the lights in Circular Quay on the way down from Woy Woy since it was the last day of Vivid Sydney. We had spent the day up there visiting my sister and her little family. It was thanks to a man that had struck a conversation with me, while I set up for my first photo, that I found out about the Botanical Gardens. Well, we had to check it out. I was disappointed I wasn’t able to take many photos along Circular Quay. It was just too crowded. There were thousands of people doing the same thing as we were. It was a lot better once we entered the Botanical Gardens though. And I’m so thankful to the man that approached me as the stroll was just magical. There is so much to see, hear and do during Vivid Sydney that I’ll have to dedicate a trip back just for that. The little we did was such a great experience.

Just a quick shout out to my friend and her kids for their patience. I know it was exhausting for them to wait while I set up my gear, waited for the right moment to capture an image, reviewed the image and do it all over again if I wasn’t satisfied. Especially after an already long day. Thank you very much to all three of you.

CHINESE GARDEN OF FRIENDSHIP

My friend’s eight year old daughter is captivated by everything asian. Especially the Chinese and Japanese people, cultures and languages. She was thrilled when she saw they were staying in Chinatown (Sydney, Australia) for their holiday. A must to visit, of course, is the beautiful Chinese Garden Of Friendship in Darling Harbour. We got there just after midday and, I think, because it was lunch time, there weren’t many people in the garden. And talking about lunch, they have a restaurant in there as well. You quickly forget your in a big city and I felt relaxed… zen?! the first few minutes I was there. I think we spent almost two hours wandering around and the kids had a lot of fun searching for the hidden Chinese Zodiac animals. I highly recommend visiting the Chinese Garden Of Friendship if you’re ever in Sydney.

JONES BAY WHARF

In this photo you can see in the background, the buildings from my last post. From a different angle though. This is Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont (Sydney, Australia). There are a few restaurants and cafes with other businesses located in those warehouses. The old warehouses is what grabbed my attention with the modern yachts around it. If you’ve read my last post, you might have guessed this photo was also taken from the top deck of the P&O Pacific Pearl cruise Ship.

I tried to get the shot centred but I missed it by that much. A simple, hand held exposure (except for the timing of the shot, apparently). The photo is nothing to brag about but I like the subject and it’s not every day you see things from this perspective.

Again, if you would like to see more photos of the cruise, just pop over to my Instagram @christopheroberthervouet or to www.christopheroberthervouet.com which will direct you there as well.

1/200 @ ƒ/8, 38 mm, ISO 200

E STACK

Wanting to continue on the Australian theme, I found this photo I took back in 2014. It’s taken from the P&O Pacific Pearl cruise ship as we were heading into White Bay (Sydney, Australia). Shot from the top deck, the perspective is very different than on ground level. I found these buildings quite interesting with the contrast between the foreground and background buildings, their architectures and the grid effect they have.

The photo was taken around 90 mm but I cropped further in to isolate this area and fill the frame a little more. Converting to black and white pronounced the grid effect of the buildings, which I like a lot. But here again, I added a cool split tone colour just to the shadows. I find it gives a cooler black and white image and renders it a little on the silver side. I love it.

The cruise was fantastic and if you’d like to see more photos from it, just head over to my Instagram profile @christopheroberthervouet or to www.christopheroberthervouet.com which will get you there just the same.

1/320 sec @ ƒ/8, 92 mm, ISO 200

COOGEE BREAKS

This photo shows the choppiness of the water that I mentioned in my last post. You can’t tell how windy it was down here at the Coogee Life Saving Club (Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia) but you can see how rough the water was. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember seeing any surfers out. I’m not a surfer but I can guess it was because the waves were breaking very close to the shore.

With this photo I wanted to show motion in the water as well as a bit of drama in the waves. It was impossible to freeze the action of the white-wash and the splashes as well as getting motion in the foreground but I think I got a nice balance between the two with the half a second shutter speed (I don’t know why I closed down my aperture further though). I did bracket the exposure but I only used the normal one for this photo. It was enough for the results I was after.

The sun was going to pop it’s head over the horizon in about fifteen minutes and I left about twenty minutes after that. There weren’t any clouds in the sky and the colours disappeared quickly too so I packed up and left to get some breakfast. Coogee has so many great cafes and they open pretty early too. It took me longer to choose one than to eat my breakfast. Mmm so delicious!

0.6 sec @ ƒ/22, 18 mm, ISO 100

COOGEE PODIUMS

I find it so hard to get up in the morning. But I did it. Headed down to Coogee Beach (Sydney, Australia) to shoot sunrise. I didn’t have any composition in mind but there’s plenty to shoot down there. I just needed a beautiful sunrise. I had shot here before a few years back so I wanted to find a composition elsewhere first but when I saw the waves smashing into the pool’s walls on the south end of the beach and over flowing it, I was just drawn back to it.

At first I used a fast shutter to capture the waves splashing into the air but there’s something about long exposures that give certain images a surreal look. So that’s what I tried here. I closed my aperture down further than I usually do to get a longer exposure. The chaos and drama the wind was causing in the water just disappeared to a calm and simplified scene. I wish there were more clouds in the sky, catching that morning light, I think it would have made for a moodier image. Sometimes less is best. Talking about the sky, because of the long exposure it was now blown out. I was bracketing my exposures so I knew I was able to recover it. Only needed two exposures, one for the sky and one for, well, the rest. I used Photoshop to blend and match the exposures then I jumped back into Lightroom to finish the edit. It was fairly quick and simple. Pity the photo is slightly out of focus though.

Ten minutes after I started shooting, people were arriving to take photos of the sunrise too. Some came with their smartphones, others with point and shoots and a couple with DSLRs but only one with a tripod. Lucky I arrived early. And no one impeded on my composition (Yoohoo!). The tripod dude and I left about twenty minutes after sunrise.

6 sec @ ƒ/16, 18 mm, ISO 100

BREAKWATER YARRA

On my last post I mentioned I was at Yarra Bay Beach (Sydney, Australia) and that I had moved spot just after sunset because of, well, swimmers. As I mentioned, I moved about thirty metres to my right where there were hundreds of these boulders and cement blocks piled together to make a breakwater. I thought the contrast of these rocks with the dead white shells on them made for a good foreground. Then either the water or the breakwater could be used to lead the viewer to Port Botany in the background.

It was still windy and the water was choppy so I went for a long exposure to smooth out the bay. I did capture it during blue hour and edited for that but I wasn’t really satisfied with the image. So I made a copy and edited it in black and white. Now I was getting an image I really liked. Actually, the photo isn’t purely black and white. I added a dark blue split tone in the shadows. Just a touch to give it a silver effect. I have to say I discovered that by accident. I remembered reading somewhere that split tones are great when used on black and white images. So I tried. Now I like to adjust my split tones individually. I would find the colour and saturation of the highlights first, note the numbers and reset it. And once I’ve got the shadows sorted out, I would add the highlights back and play around with the balance slider to my liking. But I liked so much the effects of the shadow’s split tone, I didn’t even bother adding the highlights back in.

It goes to show, you should always try something new. I learned something from it.

1.6 sec @ ƒ/11, 18 mm, ISO 100

WINDY YARRA

I dropped my mum off at a lunch rendez-vous she had with friends at the Yarra Bay Sailing Club (Yarra Bay Beach, Sydney, Australia) and was pleasantly surprised by the area. I remember passing through here once before, a long time ago. So I decided come back the next day for sunset.

Sunset was around seven-forty-five, I arrive around seven o’clock. Straight away I found this composition. There were people swimming but luckily they were a fair way to the right. No where near my shot. It doesn’t show mush on the photo but it was very windy. Once I setup, I was trying to take photos whenever the wind died down a little. It was very difficult as the wind never stopped blowing. The shot I wanted was just after the sun disappears below the horizon. I had a bit of time on my hands so I chilled out a bit and snapped away whenever the colours in the sky changed.

About fifteen minutes before sunset, a family of five or six come strolling down the beach. They noticed me and you can’t miss the tripod and camera but I couldn’t help thinking ‘they’re not going to walk into my frame are they? I mean they can surely see that I’m photographing the sunset’. And funny enough (not!) they walk into my composition all the while looking at me. Unbelievable! I calmed down and thought maybe they’re just here for a quick swim and they’ll be gone before sunset. Nope. Lucky for me the beach drops a bit behind those rock before reaching the water so I couldn’t see them when they were in the water. They had put their towels on the rocks but thank goodness, out of sight. They were going in and out of the water constantly and it hard to get a shot without them it. I got this one though. The sun was disappearing below the horizon and it didn’t look like they were going to leave so I did. Not far, just thirty metres to my right for a possible blue hour photo.

I was trying to avoid the wind but not having the choice gave me a good photo. Not the photo I was after but a nice one nonetheless. I love how the wind’s blowing the sand between these rocks giving the image a dreamy effect. The lack of drama in the sky and it’s pastel colours, I think, add to that effect. I like it.

1/500 sec @ ƒ/11, 18 mm, ISO 100

TAMARAMA SUNRISE

I though I’d share some photos I took last year in December while on holiday in Australia. This first shot was taken at Tamara Beach (Sydney, Australia). I arrived around five o’clock as sunrise was due at five-thirty-five but I was surprised to see a steady stream of runners and walkers passing by. There’s a path that runs from Bondi Beach along the coast to Maroubra Beach. I don’t know how many kilometres long it is but with breathtaking views along the way, I’m sure it’s worth the exercise.

I bracketed all my shots that morning. I usually do that when there’s a lot of contrast in the scene. Bracketing is when you take two or more shots of different exposures. Your aim is to get a good exposure of the highlights and the shadows within those shots so that you have a higher dynamic range to edit with. Sometimes the contrast in a scene is too vast for the camera to capture in one exposure thus you either loose detail in the highlights or the shadows. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, I only ended up using one normal exposure for this photo. I’m not thrilled about this image though. I like it but I don’t find it captivating. I was hoping for a more dramatic horizon with clouds on fire but as you can see, no clouds whatsoever.

As you know from my last posts, I’m not much of a morning person but when I have gotten up for sunrise shoots I’ve never regretted it. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve gotten the shot I wanted or not. The air seems fresh and crisp, everything seems calm and peaceful, there’s not a lot of cars or people… though, I did head down to Bondi Beach after the shoot for breakfast and to my surprise, no parking available anywhere. The beach and the promenade were busy with people working out. It was a marathon of people doing exercises. Unbelievable! Anyway, I had breakfast elsewhere and I always think to myself, my day is just beginning. I have so much time to do more things. And I’ve just spent two hour watching a sunrise and taking photos. For me that’s like meditating and doing yoga. Landscape photography taught me to slow down and appreciate my surroundings. The moment. To notice the details, the subtle changes of light, colours and mood around me. It relaxes me. It’s therapeutic for my soul. And I don’t do it often enough.

1/13th sec @ ƒ/11, 20 mm, ISO 100

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTJune 9, 2018australia, beach, canon, dawn, eastern suburbs, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, morning, new south wales, nsw, park, photoshop cc, sunrise, sydney, tamarama, tamarama beach

TEARDROPS ON A TEARBUD

Back in February I posted a couple of photos. One titled The Vella Bouquet which showed the, nearly, fully bloomed flower and the other, Purple Hearts, showing the first moments of blooming of this bud. They're called Agapanthus and I thank Ben Caledonia over on Flickr for the name of this flower. And also to Chris Thomas on G+ for an interesting fact. These flowers are often planted around homes in areas with high fire risks. When the flower is dormant, their base leaves are very waxy and great as fire retardant. They won't stop your house from burning down but may give you those few precious minutes to save the house or get to safety. And funny enough, this photo was taken in the backyard of my friend's parents place up in the Blue Mountains (Australia).

I decided to go black & white on this photo because of the high contrast between the bud and the background. In colour everthing was in the green tones and wasn't separating the bud from the background enough. Here, the bud has all the attention.

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTMarch 17, 2018agapanthus, australia, b&w, black & white, blue mountains, bud, canon, christophe robert hervouet, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, flowers, monochrome, new south wales, nsw, photoshop cc

TORI

My sister's dog, Tori. I have no idea which breed it is. I'm sure someone can tell me in the comments below. I saw Tori standing there like a statue in an alert stance with her eyes fixed on father and son playing football on the other side of the fence. I had all the time in the world to take the shot.

CHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTFebruary 25, 2018alert, australia, b&w, black & white, canine, canon, central coast, christmas, dog, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, guard, monochrome, new south wales, nsw, pet, photoshop cc, portrait, profile, stare, staring, tori, watching, xmas

PURPLE HEARTS

I visited my best mate's parents (my second family) up in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales, Austalia) over the holidays. I was hoping to get some sunset and sunrise shots but the weather was horrible. Constant drizzle and fog. I couldn't see farther than hundred metres in front of me. But, there was beauty to be found in their backyard. With a long stem and a small bud, this early bloomer stood out amongst the others. I framed it with the pink flowers in the background, not only, to bring more colours into the photo but to contrast with the colours of the bud. To make it stand out a little more. I think it worked, what do you think? And does anyone know the name of this little beauty?

AustraliaCHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTFebruary 15, 2018australia, backyard, blue mountains, bud, buds, canon, drops, ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is II, eos 1300d, flora, floral, flowers, frontyard, garden, new south wales, nsw, photoshop cc, purple, rain, stems, yard, yellow tip

CENTURY 21

This scene with the old sandstone building, the modern yet old school scooter and the real estate with the modern name of Century 21 was too good to just pass by without taking a shot. I've wanted to photograph this building for a long time now but was never satisfied with what I saw. That scooter changed everything. It's not a great photo, I admit, but I needed the photo to tell a story. And not just be a photo of an old building. I might try a sunset shot the next time I'm in Randwick Junction (Sydney, Australia).

THE VELLA BOUQUET

It was the end of the day and sunlight was coming through the forest trees to illuminate parts of my friends' shaded garden. I just couldn't resist trying to capture some of these beautiful backlit flowers. This is the best of the different compositions I had taken. I was so concentrated on getting the flowers in the backgroung in the shot that I didn't realise the bright light, in the top right corner, would be so distracting. And the lens flare as well. But I still like this photo quite a lot. Which is why I'm sharing it with you.

ETTALONG GLASS WORK

I stumbled upon these gorgeous stained glass windows while walking around Ettalong (Central Coast, Australia). I saw an entrance to quite a large complex that includes the Cinema Paradiso and the Ettalong Boutique Markets. Restaurants, bars, boutiques and even a tourist resort can also be found there. These stained glass windows were along a corridor leading to a reception or conference room of some sort (if my memory serves me right). It's a beautiful building to wander around. With small alleys leading in different directions, small open courtyards and tiny foot bridges. My first impression walking through I felt I was in a little Italian village. I was there mid afternoon thus very quiet and secluded. I'm sure it gets very busy in the evenings and weekends. A must visit if ever on the Central Coast.

CHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTFebruary 21, 2017iphone, iphoneography, 4s, photoshop cc, christophe robert hervouet, ettalong, nsw, new south wales, central coast, australia, stained, glass, windows

REFLECTING ABOVE APPLE

I captured this shot in 2012 while walking through the streets of Sydney's CBD (Central Business District). This is the skyscraper above the Apple Store on George Street (Sydney, Australia).

CHRIStophe Robert HERVOUËTDecember 22, 2016b&w, black and white, monochrome, building, reflection, architecture, sydney, nsw, new south wales, australia, city, apple, iphone, 4s, iphoneography, photoshop cc, christophe robert hervouet

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