[Photo walk] Along Flinders Street #2 (35mm only)

Ameel Khan October 22, 2023

This week I moved on from shooting at only 27mm to shooting at only 35mm (which is moving on from 18mm to 23mm in the mirrorless APSC-C camera world.)

Of all the photos I’ve shared on this blog since I got my new camera in December last year, only 5% have had a focal length of around 35mm. So as expected, shooting at only this focal length was a lot more challenging for me!

For example, there were a bunch of things I wanted to photograph that were just too big to accommodate within the frame. Like Seafarers Bridge across the Yarra River and the historic Polly Woodside ship.

Collage of two photos. One of a bridge with large, white metal arches and one of a large, historic sailing ship moored to side of an urban river. The arches on the bridge are very close to the edge of photo frame. And the tops of the ship’s sails have been cut off by the top of the photo frame.

In both those cases I wasn’t able to step back (or to the side) to get the whole-object-in-context composition that I wanted. At least not without falling into the Yarra River or standing in the middle of a busy bike path! And obviously I wasn’t able to zoom in to focus on any particular detail either.

What I’ve learnt from this experience is that the skill I need to develop the most is the ability to focus on just one part of a larger object, and then to tell a good story with this composition. Like I do with the Melbourne Aquarium sign photo below. Or the photo in which I juxtapose the scar trees with the skyscraper (also below).

Even though I struggled a bit on this photo walk, I was still able to get at least a couple of nice shots.

Pigeon outside the Crown complex

Close up photo of a pigeon standing on a wide concrete wall along a suburban river.

Old Melbourne Aquarium sign

Photo of a large, blue neon sign in the shape of two stylised fish. The sign is held above the top of a building via two tall white poles.

Scar trees in Enterprize Park

Photo of the Scar Project artwork installation in Enterprize Park in Melbourne. The installation consists of 24 vertical timber poles, somewhat like trees, that have artwork on them by eight Indigenous Australian artists. This photo is taken from inside a brick archway that's next to the installation.

Scar trees vs Eureka Tower

Photo looking up at several scar trees that make up the Scar Project artwork installation in Melbourne. In the background of the photo, and seen between the scar trees, is the 91-storey Eureka Tower building.

Eureka Tower reflection

Photo of a large puddle of water underneath an elevated train line that reflects the Melbourne skyline, with the Eureka Tower building being centered in the puddle.

The Best Banh Mi at Flinders Street station

Photo of an open store front with a large glass counter and several food preparation and storage machines. A large orange neon sign above the store front reads, in all capital letters, “The Best Banh Mi” and “Vietnamese Hot Bread”.

To get the most out of this one-focal-length-at-a-time exercise, I am alternating the spaces in which take my weekly photo walks: in the first week I take photos in a wider-open space, in the second week I take photos in a relatively narrower space.

Which means next week I’ll be walking through the city centre once again. And with things closer by, it should be easier for me to isolate my subjects within the frame at 35mm. I look forward to seeing how that goes.

[Photo walk] Collins Street, Melbourne #2 (27mm only)

Ameel Khan October 14, 2023

It’s week two of shooting at only 27mm (which is 18mm on my mirrorless APS-C sensor camera). Like I predicted last week, this focal length works much better when you’re walking through a city centre where everything is closer together. You can make the most of the wide-angle view to capture the scene/vibe and it is easier to get closer to people and objects.

Grey-blue buildings on a grey day

Photo taken from ground level looking straight up to the tops of a few tall office buildings. The buildings all have blue-grey windows and the sky overhead is overcast and grey.

Evening showers in Docklands

Photo looking up at a few tall office buildings through a glass awning in front of a build that's on the other side of the street. The glass of the awning is wet because of the rain.

Warm buns in a shelf at Breadtop

Close-up photo taken through a shop window of several, individually wrapped buns lying in a large wooden tray in a bakery.

Interesting fashion choices for a rain day

Photo of the legs and feet of a man standing at an intersection. The man is wearing shorts, calf-length black office socks (with a white pattern on them), and a pair of what appear to be rock climbing shoes with grips on all six sides (basically everywhere but the hole that the foot goes through). The man is carrying a cloth satchel in his left hand.

No one is seated outdoors on a rainy day

Photo of several wooden tables and benches lined up along the edge of a wide footpath in the city centre. There are also a few metal tables and chairs lined up next to the wooden ones. The area is covered by a couple of large, black-and-white striped umbrellas, but all the tables and chairs are wet nonetheless. Across the street is a line of several brownstone office buildings.

Umbrellas out on a rainy day in the city

Photo of a woman standing at an intersection, waiting for the light to change so she can cross. The woman is wearing a black puffer jacket and a white, patterned face mask. She is holding a domed, transparent umbrella in her right hand and a smartphone in her left hand (held close to her body so it stays under the umbrella).

Liberation can only be achieved…

Close-up photo of a large piece of graffiti painted on a wall that reads (in stylised, all capital letters) “Liberation can only by achieved through grace, radical understanding, and self love”.

Tram stops? I sure hope it does!

Photo of a large yellow road sign along tram tracks at an intersection in the city centre. The sign has an arrow pointing left and all-caps black lettering that reads “tram stops”.

You are at the corner of Queen and Collins Streets, Melbourne

Photo of a large street map installed on a tall, wide metal slab along the side of a road in the city centre. Marked on the map is a blue-filled circle that reads “You”. A larger blue circle drawn around the map is labelled ‘5 minutes walk”.

Empty benches on a rainy day in the city

Close-up photo taken from seat-height along the length of two metal benches installed along a footpath in the city centre. Both benches are wet, and so no one is sitting in them.

Wet benches on a rainy day in the city

A bike named Larry (yes, yes, I know, that’s the brand name)

Close-up photo of a race/city hybrid bicycle locked to a metal bicycle stand in the city centre. The bike frame is black, but the top of the down tube has a white section on which the brand name ‘Larry’ is written in all capital letters.

Three locks walk into a bike stand

Close-up photo of three thick and heavy bicycle locks locked to an empty metal bicycle stand in the city centre.

Wet lime

Photo of a bright lime green bicycle helmet placed on a metal pillar along a road in the city centre. The helmet is wet from the rain and has the brand name ‘lime’ written on it in white, lowercase letters.

Next week I move on to shooting at only 35mm, which I think I’ll find more challenging. I’m used to loosely composing my frame at 27mm and then zooming in or cropping a little in post to get the photo I actually want. From next week I’ll have to do all that before I take the photo. I’m looking forward to seeing how I go :)

Also, two things have changed since I started on this ‘one focal length at a time’ experiment:

I’m going to add the 4omm focal length into the mix (in addition to 35, 55, and 85mm). This is because Fujifilm have an excellent 27mm pancake lens I would love to have, and that translates to a 41mm focal length on my camera. If I find 40mm-ish works well for me, that might be the first prime lens I get.

I’m considering investing in only weather-sealed lenses and, in the future, only in weather-sealed camera bodies. I live in Melbourne, Australia where it rains 139 days a year. And because neither my current camera body nor my current lenses are weather sealed, I can’t go out and take photos when it’s raining.

In the short term I plan to buy a rain cover for my camera, so this isn’t something I need to address straight away. But if I am going to be buying a new lens in the next few months, I might as well try to buy one that’s weather sealed and, therefore, something I can keep long term.

(Assuming this is within my budget, of course, since sometimes it’s only the more professional versions of Fujifilm’s lenses that are weather sealed. That 27mm pancake lens I mentioned above is both decently priced and weather sealed, by the way, which is why it’s one of my front runners.)

I guess we’ll see which way I’m leaning by the end of this experiment.

But for now it’s time to say goodbye to 27mm and move on to 35mm. Let’s go!

[Photo walk] Along Harbour Esplanade, Docklands #2 (27mm only)

Ameel Khan October 8, 2023

The last time I walked along Harbour Esplanade in Docklands to take photos it was a cold, overcast day. But this time the sun was out and, by the end, I was walking around in a t-shirt.

The other thing different from last time is that all this week (and also next week) I am restricting myself to taking photos at only a 27mm focal length (which is 18mm on my mirrorless APSC camera).

Why?

I think you can be more creative, and also learn a great deal, when you impose restrictions or limitations on yourself
I’m considering buying a prime lens but I don’t know which one I want to get first so, over the next eight weeks, I’ll be forcing myself to shoot at only one focal length every fortnight (27mm, 35mm, 55mm, and 85mm, respectively)

The good thing is that I’m very comfortable shooting at 27mm. That’s because the main (prime) lens on pretty much all smartphone cameras is 27-28mm. So I have years of experience composing photos at this focal length.

Which I presume is why, even though I have the whole 27-85mm focal length range at my fingertips these days, 31% of my share-worthy photos from my main lens are at 27mm.

Graphic with four subheadings. On the top-left, under the ‘Camera’ heading is a photo of a black camera with the caption ‘Fujifilm X-S10’. In the bottom-left, under the ‘Zoom lens’ heading is the photo of a black zoom lens with the caption ‘Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS’. In the top-right, under the ‘Focal length usage, full’ heading is a bar chart showing the frequency of usage of several focal lengths. The tallest bar is 85mm (34%), followed by 27mm (31%) and 45mm (13%). The rest of the bars range from 2-9%. In the bottom-right corner, under the ‘Focal length usage, by closest prime lens’ heading is a bar chart showing the frequency of usage at four focal lengths. Highest to lowest these are 85mm (36%), 27mm (31%), 35mm (18%), and 55mm (15%). A footnote in the corner referring to the ‘focal length’ phrase in the headings reads “Full-frame equivalent”.

When I look through my Capture One library, though, many of the photos I’ve taken at 18mm, I’ve ended up cropping just a little.

That suggests two things:

The 31% of photos I’ve taken at 27mm should probably be lower, given I likely crop many of my photos to 35mm.
Years of smartphone photography have made me lazy when it comes to composing my photos [1]. Instead of zooming in a little with my lens or stepping closer to my subject (ie zooming in with my feet), I do a relatively loose composition because I know I’m going to crop the photo when I edit it.

When I walked along Harbour Esplanade this time, I was more deliberate with my compositions. As a result, I did either no cropping or only some thoughtful cropping of my photos this time (like ones I cropped to square).

Basically, by imposing these limitations, I’m already upping my composition game. So even if I don’t end up buying a prime lens at the end of this eight week exercise, I expect I’ll have improved as a photographer.

Anyway, enough with the talking. Here are the photos. They’re not all that good, to be honest. And at least three of them were crying out for a longer focal length composition. Oh well. This is how you learn.

Harbour Esplanade

MPavilion shade sail detail in Docklands Park

Photo looking up at a rounded, three-pointed, petal-shaped shade sail that is standing on thin, metal columns. This installation involves multiple, overlapping, fabric shade sails that are being illuminated with different intensities of sunlight.

MPavillion installation at Docklands Park

WTF is MPavillion? Find out.

Photo of a pavilion consisting of a few dozen overlapping shade sails standing on thin metal columns. Each shade sail is round, three-pointed, and petal-shaped. Combined, the effect is like that of a forest canopy. This pavilion has been installed in a park that has several tall trees in it and several tall buildings around it.

The massive Collins Square tower complex in Docklands

Photo looking up at a set of five large, but differently sized and shaped, office towers arranged in a block.

National Australia Bank’s 800 Bourke Street building

Photo of the side of a large office building with bright red, green, yellow, light blue, and dark blue coloured panelling on the outside.

Docklands Harbour and the Lady Cutler showboat

Photo of urban dock. In the foreground is a grid of several old, wooden, white-tipped pillars sticking out from the water. In the midground is a large ferry boat tied to one of the piers. In the background are several tall buildings.

Lady Cutler showboat through a lifebuoy

Photo of a large blue-and-white ferry boat, now a show boat, named Lady Cutler as seen through the hole of a bright red lifebuoy attached to a pole next to a harbour.

Fishing at Docklands Harbour

This photo would have worked so much better with, say, an 85mm lens that I could have used to isolate the subject better from the background (which would have also been blurry).

Photo of a man smoking a cigarette as he sits on a white bucket at the edge of a pier. In front of him are two fishing rods attached to poles with their fishing lines in the water.

Getting the side-eye from an opportunistic seagull

This photo would have worked better with a longer focal length lens too. I didn’t want to get closer to the woman (for obvious reasons) and I didn’t want the seagull to fly off either. So we’re stuck with lots of empty space around the subjects, instead of a tighter composition.

Photo of a woman sitting and eating her lunch on the steps of a harbour esplanade. A short distance away from her is a white seagull hoping to steal or to be given some of the food that the woman is eating.

Cow Up a Tree — John Kelly (2000)

Learn more about Cow Up a Tree, if you’re interested.

Photo looking up at a large bronze sculpture of a black-and-white square-ish cow with a tiny head that is stuck, upside-down, on top of a bare tree.

La Trobe Street

V/Line trains parked at Southern Cross rail yard

Photo taken through a square cut-out of a metal fence of several purple, yellow, and silver coloured diesel trains parked in a rail yard outside a large train station.

V/Line trains parked in the rail yard just outside Southern Cross Railway Station

Diesel engine parked at Southern Cross rail yard

Photo of a red-and-yellow diesel engine parked in a rail yard next to a few purple, silver, and yellow train carriages.

Hungry Panda delivery driver on La Trobe Street

This another photo that could have done with a zoom-in. I wanted to focus on the delivery driver and the yellow insulated box she had on her motorcycle.

Photo of a delivery driver stopped behind a car at a red light. The driver is on a motorcycle and is wearing a bright yellow high visibility vest and a white helmet. On the back of the motorbike is a large, insulated food container box with the Hungry Panda logo and the phrase “join us” written in large, all capital letters.

When it comes to street photography (which is what I mostly do) the 27mm focal length is more about context-setting and showing off the vibe of the place. Unless you get really close (or you’re already in a tighter space) you can’t get much subject isolation. And it’s challenging to focus on details – or at least arrange the composition such that the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the detail.

While I like shooting in 27mm, I think I’m going to really enjoy shooting in 35mm. But I have to wait a couple of weeks before I get there.

Next week I’ll be walking through the middle of the city on a Friday afternoon, and I think the 27mm focal length will work much better there. I’m looking forward to that.

[1] Yes, high-end modern smartphone cameras now have secondary lenses with a longer focal length. Most of these are still not as high quality as the main lens though. So it’s still often better to take a higher quality photo with the main lens and then crop, instead of taking a lesser quality photo with the secondary (zoom) lens.

Maggie in her downstairs bed

Ameel Khan October 1, 2023

As dogs tend to do, Maggie follows us everywhere we go in the house. Unfortunately, she also lives up to her ‘Underfoot’ middle name and is always in our way. To minimise her underfooted-ness, we’ve got a dog bed for her in pretty much every room of the house. This helps contain her a little.

Here is a series of photos of Maggie sleeping in what is probably her most comfortable bed (a memory foam bed, to help manage her early-stage arthritis).

Picnic at Kingsford Smith Ulm Reserve

Ameel Khan September 30, 2023

We celebrated a friend’s birthday with a picnic at Kingsford Smith Ulm Reserve in Glenroy.

I haven’t looked up the history of this place, but given it is located just north of Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne, I’m guessing they named it after pioneering Australian aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.

Here are some of the photos I took while I was there.

Essendon Fields Airport

Essendon Fields Airport control tower

Photo of the top of an airport control tower peeking out from behind a low hill, in the background of the photo. In the foreground is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve, with a road running through it.

The old fire service water tower at Essendon Fields Airport

Photo of the top of an large water tower above a series of industrial buildings at the top of a low hill. In the foreground of this photo is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve.

Monee Ponds Creek viaduct on the Albion-Jacana railway line

Moonee Ponds Creek viaduct

Photo of a railway viaduct built across a creek’s valley and flood plain. The viaduct comprises steel girders supported by steel-framed towers. Behind the viaduct is the residential suburb of Gowanbrae.

Moonee Ponds Creek viaduct and houses in Gowanbrae

Play area

Bench in the shade

Frog sculpture in the play area

Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park. In the foreground of the photo are two park benches and several vertical logs that little children can climb over and walk on. A nearby tree is providing shade to this area.

Wooden frog sculpture

Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park.

Drinking water fountain

Black-and-white photo of a drinking fountain, with some blurry shrubs visible in the background.

Tree stump

Another tree stump

Magpies

Scavenging magpie

Photo of a magpie on the ground next to a picnic table that has a few food bags placed next to it. The bird has a bit of fallen food in its mouth.

Scavenging magpies

Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table.

Singing magpies

Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table. The magpies have their mouths open, mid-song.

I guess it’s particularly appropriate to be publishing a photo of two singing magpies, given the Collingwood Magpies won the 2023 AFL Grand Final today :)

And, of course…

Selfie!

[Photo walk] Webb and Bolte bridges

Ameel Khan September 27, 2023

While walking from South Melbourne to Docklands I got some nice photos of the Webb and Bolte bridges.

I love the Bolte Bridge, but the Webb Bridge is particularly cool because it was modelled after a Koorie fishing trap used to catch eels. And it always makes me happy to see those Bandalong litter traps because they’re such a brilliant, low-tech solution to the problem of river litter.

E-scootering down the Webb Bridge

Photo of a person wearing a backwards red baseball riding an e-scooter off a curved bridge that spans a river in the middle of a metropolitan city. This bridge, the Webb Bridge, is modelled after a Koorie fishing trap used to catch eels. It is curved on one end, and this curved portion is covered (like a tube) by an organic, irregular net design made out of metal beams.

A little litter goes a long way

Photo of a Bandalong litter trap installed to one side of an urban river. This trap has collected a large amount of litter floating down this river. A sign affixed to this trap reads “"A little litter goes a long way. Keep the Yarra River clean. Bin your litter.”

Walking on to the Webb Bridge

Photo of a person walking up the ramp of a curved bridge that spans a river in the middle of a metropolitan city. This bridge, the Webb Bridge, is modelled after a Koorie fishing trap used to catch eels. It is curved on one end, and this curved portion is covered (like a tube) by an organic, irregular net design made out of metal beams.

The Bolte and Webb bridges

Photo taken along the length of an urban river that shows two bridges crossing this river. In the foreground is the Webb Bridge, a curved cyclist and pedestrian bridge. In the background is the Bolte Bridge, a large road bridge. The Bolte (as it is known) is a large, twin cantilever road bridge with two 140m tall towers that hold up the roadway that spans the width of the Yarra River and Victoria Harbour.

Heavy traffic across the Bolte Bridge

Cleaning our rivers

[Photo walk] Underneath the West Gate Freeway

Ameel Khan September 26, 2023

I took these photos while walking from South Melbourne to Docklands, which takes you underneath the West Gate Freeway and this portal (one of two) built around these elevated roadways.

It was windy, drizzly, and freezing cold the morning I took these photos. I’m glad I managed to get some good shots; made the whole effort worth it!

Portal along the West Gate Freeway

Black and white photo taken from ground level of a large concrete archway structure constructed around two elevated roadways. A sign attached to the lower roadway reads “M1 West Gate Fwy” and tells drivers that, if they turn left, they will head to the West Gate Bridge and Geelong.

Turn left for the West Gate Bridge

The messy underneath of an elevated roadway

Black and white photo taken from ground level between two elevated roadways. There is a bit of litter on the road and few small scrubs growing in the dirt patch next to the road. The whole place looks messy and grimy.

Jaunty portal, serious hotel

Black and white photo taken from ground level of a large concrete archway structure constructed around an elevated roadway. This otherwise-rectangular archway structure has been built with a slight rotation, so it looks like it is twisting anticlockwise. Behind the portal is the tall, thin building of the Novotel Melbourne South Wharf hotel. There is traffic stopped at a red light below the elevated roadway.

Oakwood Premier hotel building rises above the roadway

Photo of a tall, narrow, blue-and-brown windowed tower rises up from behind an elevated roadway into an overcast sky. In the foreground of the photo, and in front of the elevated roadway, is a deep red coloured mini SUV.

Portal and hotel, almost touching

Maggie in bed

Ameel Khan September 25, 2023

Maggie has a comfortable, fuzzy bed in the corner of my room where she sleeps for much of the day.

Gentle snores, lethal farts

Photo of a red/brown dog asleep inside a round, fuzzy, orange coloured dog bed in the corner of a room. The dog’s head and one of its paws are lying on top of the side wall of the soft bed.

Fast asleep in her bed

Close-up photo of a red/brown dog asleep inside a round, fuzzy, orange coloured dog bed in the corner of a room. The dog’s head and one of its paws are lying on top of the side wall of the soft bed.

Snoring gently

Snuggled up in a fuzzy bed

Asleep, but with one ear still up

[Photo walk] Picnic at Coburg Lake Reserve

Ameel Khan September 3, 2023

Nadia and I went for a picnic to Coburg Lake Reserve so, naturally, I took some photos :)

Reclining by the lake

Photo of two people in a park sitting on a wide, reclining bench with a small dog in their lap. The bench is facing part of a lake shore on which there are several birds, some of which are sitting on rocks in the water.

Keeping an eye out

Photo of a large, brown and white dog in a park. The dog’s leash is being held be someone seated behind a tree. The dog is looking at a couple of people with a small dog who are coming down the walking path towards it.

Ibis in flight

Photo of a white ibis (a type of bird) flying away from the photographer in a large park with a lake. The bird’s wings are pushing down to give it lift. Below this bird are several other birds, sitting on the grass.

You lookin’ at me?

Close up photo of three rock doves / common pigeons sitting on a rock wall, all of which are looking at the photographer.

Keeping an eye on the inquisitive human

Close up photo of two rock doves / common pigeons sitting on a rock wall, both of which are looking closely at the photographer.

Barbecue time at Coburg Lake Reserve

Photo of four people standing around several tables and a barbecue that have been set out in a large, grassy, public park with lots of large trees. A large volume of white, puffy barbecue smoke is blowing away from barbecue.

A dog in the garden

Ameel Khan September 3, 2023

Taking a sniff

Photo of a red/brown dog standing in a garden, sniffing a spot on the grass.

Maggie in the bushes

Photo of a red/brown dog peeking its head out from some bushes next to a fence in a garden.

A dog in the bushes

A snail in the weeds

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Players

Ameel Khan August 19, 2023

Following on from my previous post, the other half of the fun of watching a live sporting event is (obviously) watching the match itself :)

Players arrive at the USA v Sweden match

Photo of a brightly coloured bus arriving at a large football stadium, with FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 banners flying around the area.

Sweden come close to scoring a goal

Photo of two teams of women playing a football match in a stadium. The play is very close to one of the goals.

USA come close to scoring a goal

Megan Rapinoe takes a corner kick

Photo of a footballer in a while coloured uniform taking a corner kick on a football pitch in a stadium.

Sweden v USA penalties

Photo of two sets of football teams lined up along the centre line during a penalty shoot-out at a football match in a large stadium. An assistant referee stands between the two sets of players.

Goalie versus goalie at the penalty shoot-out

A goalie in green (playing for the USA) takes a penalty kick against her counterpart goalie in red (from Sweden).

Colombia v Jamaica about to kick off

Wide angle photo of a football stadium in which two teams are about to kick-off. A large video screen mounted on the side of the stadium is counting down the time, and there are five seconds to go before the start of the match. A spectator in the foreground of the photo is holding up a sign that reads “Go Jamaica”.

All quiet in the Colombia half

Photo of a football pitch in a stadium. The half the photographer is on is almost completely empty, and even the goalkeeper has moved up halfway along her side of the field.

Usme letting her goal-scoring moment sink in

Photo of Colombian forward Catalina Usme kneeling on the ground, her arms outstretched, in the corner of a football pitch.

Arias encourages the Colombian supporters to cheer

Photo of Colombian forward Carolina Arias waving her hands upwards by her side, in an effort to encourage the Colombian fans in the crowd to cheer as she steps up to take a corner kick on a football pitch.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Spectators

Ameel Khan August 19, 2023

Half the fun of attending any live sporting event is getting to attend it with thousands of people.

Taking a photo of the big screen

Close-up photo of a Swedish supporter in the stands at a stadium. The supporter is taking a phone of the stadium's big screen with her smartphone.

Half-time is a good time to take a selfie

Photo of two Colombia supporters in the stands at a football stadium. They are taking a selfie with a smartphone. The supporters are dressed in Colombian colours, and the woman has a Colombian flag draped around her. They have their backs to the pitch, and are both holding glasses of beer in their hands.

Half-time photo opportunity

Photo of a group of people taking a photo of people dressed up in costumes at a football match.

Jody Brown supporter

Photo of a man sitting in the stands at a football match. The man is holding up a large, hand-made sign that reads “Jody Brown U R Gold” and has the number ten written on it.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Behind the scenes

Ameel Khan August 19, 2023

This FIFA Women’s World Cup (football) was held in Australia and New Zealand this year, and I attended two of the round-of-sixteen matches held in Melbourne. (I did have tickets to two other matches, but work got in the way and I wasn’t able to attend those.)

One of my favourite things to do at large events like this is to document the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on. I am a producer / events organiser / behind-the-scenes person at heart, and I do enjoy seeing – and, evidently, photographically documenting! – how things are run.

Stadium

Birds on the pitch 90 minutes before kick-off

Watering the pitch

Wide-angle photo of a large football stadium. Five large water sprinklers are spraying water onto the grass along two sides of the pitch.

Grounds keepers make their final adjustments to the pitch

Photo of two grounds keepers walking across a football pitch. They each have a small pitchfork in their hands, and they are using those to push in any bits of loose soil or grass.

Grounds keepers flattening the pitch during the half time break

Photo of three grounds keepers in the corner of a football pitch. Two are picking up any small debris they find, while the third is using a small pitchfork to push-in any bits of loose soil or grass.

Doing the phone camera spectator participation thing

Wide angle photo of a large football stadium with most of the big lights turned off. Several thousand spectators around the stadium have turned on the flashlights on their cameras and are holding them up in the darkened space.

Full house at USA v Sweden round-of-sixteen match at

Photo of a large football stadium screen that reads “Attendance 27,706”.

Full house at Colombia v Jamaica round-of-sixteen match

People

Ushering spectators

Photo of an usher wearing a blue, padded jacket standing at the top of a flight of steps leading into the stands at a large football stadium. The stadium is mostly empty at this time.

The only folks not watching the game

Photo of four security guards in bright yellow, high visibility vests sitting in low chairs along the breadth of a football pitch. They have their backs to the football pitch and are, instead, keeping a close eye on the spectators who are watching the match.

Keeping an eye on the crowds

Photo of a security guard in a bright yellow, high visibility vest sitting in a low chair outside the corner of a football pitch. The guard has his back to the pitch and is, instead, keeping a close eye on the spectators watching the match.

Assistant referee

Photographers and videographers

Aligning the cameras behind the goal

Photo of a camera operator lying face-down on the grass behind a goal at a football stadium. The operator is looking through, and making slight adjustments to, one of the many cameras placed on the pitch in a line behind this goal. In the top of the frame is an assistant placing small plastic markers along the pitch (in front of a small, portable goal) for the players to run along during their warm-up before the match.

Getting ready to capture the match

Photo of several photographers and videographers in the process of getting ready to photograph and film the upcoming football match. In the top-left corner of the photo are two videographers aligning their cameras behind the goal. Along the left of the photo are several photographers setting up their equipment next to the boundary fence of the pitch. A couple of photographers, carrying cameras or wheeling them in bags, are walking along the breadth of the field as they make their way to their assigned locations.

Gaggle of photographers

Photo of about a dozen professional photographers seated on the outside of the fence surrounding a football pitch. They are all looking through their cameras at the match taking place in front of them.

Operating the primary broadcast camera

Photo of an operator standing in front of a broadcast video camera that's been set up in a bright orange, walled-off area among the seats on one side of a large stadium.

Capturing fan reactions

Photo of a roving videographer and an accompanying security guard. The two are standing next to a stand full of spectators in a football stadium. The videographer is broadcasting live video of a group of spectators.

On-camera talent

Getting ready for her live cross

Photo of a TV presenter wearing a long, light-blue coat and holding a microphone in her hand. She is getting ready for her live broadcast from the side of a football pitch.

1/3 Getting ready for their live cross

Photo of two sports commentators standing at the edge of a football pitch in front of a small, tall, round table. They are in the process of getting dressed for their upcoming appearance on camera. The woman is adjusting her tan trench coat and the man is putting on his suit jacket (which his producer producer is helping him with). Their camera operator is standing a short distance away, ready to go.

2/3 All set for their live cross

Photo of two commentators making final preparations for their live broadcast from the side of a football pitch. They are standing with their backs to the pitch, and are facing a camera, a screen, and two lights that have been set up in front of them.

3/3 Making their live cross

Photo of two commentators making a live broadcast from the side of a football pitch. They have their back to the pitch and are facing a camera, a screen, and two lights that have been set up to face them.

Happy sun dog on an otherwise wintry day in Melbourne

Ameel Khan August 17, 2023

This is the life.

Photo of a red/brown dog fast asleep on its side in a patch of sunshine. The dog is lying next to a table leg on a wooden floor.

[Photo walk] Along the entrance to the Yarra River

Ameel Khan July 23, 2023

You can get some really nice photos with a zoom lens at the entrance to the Yarra River in Melbourne.

The Yarra Queen from Melbourne River Cruises entering the Yarra River

Photo of flat-bottom, blue-and-white cruise boat making its way along a wide river. You can see people sitting in the boat looking at their surroundings through the large windows along the sides of the boat.

The Yarra Queen from Melbourne River Cruises enters the Yarra River

The Yarra Queen from Melbourne River Cruises makes its way into the Yarra River

Photo of flat-bottom, blue-and-white cruise boat making its way along a wide river. In the foreground of the photo is the near side of the river bank. In the background of the photo is a massive bridge that spans the river. Next to near side river bank is a tall, red navigational buoy pillar jutting out of the water.

A Melbourne River Cruises boat makes its way along the lower reaches of the Yarra River

Photo of flat-bottom, blue-and-white cruise boat making its way along a wide river. In the foreground of the photo are several bushes and a tree, all of which are framing the shot. In the background is a massive bridge that spans the river.

A cruise boat makes its way along along the Yarra River, heading towards the West Gate Bridge

A red, port hand mark on a navigational buoy marks the entrance to the Yarra River

Photo of a tall, red-coloured pillar jutting out of the water at the entrance to a river. On top of the pillar is a small platform on which there is a rectangular, bright red ‘port hand mark’ that indicates the direction of travel along this river. In the background of the photo is Hobsons Bay and in the foreground are several white-topped, wooden pillars built into the breakwater along the river's entrance.

Survey vessel John Norgate on its way to Hobsons Bay

Photo of a medium-sized, two-deck cabin boat named John Norgate making its way along a wide river. Just behind the boat is a green, ‘starboard hand mark’ that indicates the direction of travel along the river. In the background of the photo is a large container ship loaded with several containers.

Survey vessel making its way along the Yarra River to Hobsons Bay

Photo of a medium-sized, two-deck cabin boat traveling along a wide river. Just behind the boat is a green, ‘starboard hand mark’ that indicates the direction of travel along the river. In the far background of the photo is a large container ship loaded with several containers. These containers are being moved by several, massive, white coloured cranes on Melbourne’s Webb Dock.

Heading to Hobsons Bay

Photo of a medium-sized, two-deck cabin boat entering a large bay. Behind the boat are red and green lateral markers installed on navigation buoys that tell mariners which direction to travel along this channel. In the foreground is a breakwater that has white-topped wooden pillars jutting out of it.

The West Gate Bridge across the lower reaches of the Yarra River

Photo of a tall, massive bridge built across a wide river. In the foreground of the photo is the Yarra River and one of the navigational buoys installed along its sides.

Prepping his runabout at Williamstown Boat Ramp

Photo of a man on a runabout (a type of recreational boat) parked along the concrete pier next to a boat ramp. Parked on the boat ramp itself is a large SUV with a boat trailer attached to it. This truck has been reversed down the ramp so the trailer is under water, allowing the boat that was on the trailer to now float freely.

Navigational buoy 28 along the Yarra River, with the West Gate Bridge in the background

Skiff heading out to Hobsons Bay

Photo of a twin engine, single-deck skiff on which there are five people on board, all of whom are wearing yellow or orange high-visibility vests. The boat is travelling along a river. In the background of the photo are two large container ships.

[Photo walk] Birds (and one dog) at Riverside Spit in Newport

Ameel Khan July 23, 2023

I was in the area so I stopped by Riverside Spit – a popular fishing spot in Newport – to take some photos.

The only animals I regularly take photos of are dogs, but there were so many sea birds in the area that I figured I might as well take photos of them too. Some of the photos even turned out alright!

Long-billed (or slinder-billed) corella digging around in the grass

Photo of a white bird (a type of cockatoo) with its beak in the soil underneath some grass.

Long-billed (or slinder-billed) corella hanging out on the grass

Photo of a white bird (a type of cockatoo) with bluish skin around its eyes and reddish feathers around its breast and eyes. The bird in standing on a patch of grass.

Long-billed corellas settling down at Newport Riverside Park

Photo of a flock of birds that are landing on some grass in a park. The birds, which are a type of cockatoo, are white with bluish skin around their eyes and reddish feathers around their breast and eyes.

Long-billed corellas landing at Newport Riverside Park

Single silver gull among the corellas

Head-on photo of a single silver gull (a white sea bird) standing just outside a flock of long-billed corellas that are picking at some grass.

Birds on a fence – 1

Close photo of two silver gulls and one common sandpiper sitting on a metal fence along a popular fishing spot.

Birds on a fence – 2

Silver gull turning to land on a fence

Photo of a silver gull (a white sea bird) turning to land on a metal fence. Two silver gulls are already sitting on this fence and this third bird is aiming to land between them.

Silver gull slowing to land on a fence

Silver gull landing on a fence at the Riverside Spit fishing spot in Newport – 1

Collage of three photos showing a silver gull (a white sea bird) flapping its wings to adjust its speeds and trajectory as it lands on a metal fence.

Silver gull landing on a fence at the Riverside Spit fishing spot in Newport – 2

Collage of three photos showing a silver gull (a white sea bird) coming in to land on a fence between two other silver gulls. The bird on the left (which the bird in flight has to fly over) ducks its head in the first as it gets flown over.

Silver gull taking flight

Photo of a silver gull (a white sea bird) taking off from a metal roof. Another gull remains sitting on that roof.

Settling into a landing on the fence

Photo of a silver gull (a white sea bird) settling into a landing – wings up and one foot in the air – onto a metal fence.

Dog at the Warmies Off Leash Dog Area

I couldn’t not take a photo of a dog, right? :)

Photo of a man and his dog walking in a park. The dog is off-leash and man, who is talking on his phone, is holding the dog's leash in his hand. The dog is running alongside the man.

Straining!

Ameel Khan June 20, 2023

S T R A I N I N G !

Photo of a red/brown dog staining on its red leash to reach a mince meat Lebanese pizza that’s lying on a grassy nature strip by the side of a residential street.

[Photo walk] Flinders Street, Melbourne

Ameel Khan June 12, 2023

Overhead construction gantry on the corner of Collins and Flinders Street

Photo looking up at a large construction gantry erected two or three stories above the road. You can see the underside of the gantry and, above the gantry, is a tall, white construction crane with the Metro Tunnel project logo on it. Behind this platform is a wide hotel building.

Keeping an eye out for their friends at the steps of Flinders Street Station

Photo of two women at the top of a wide flight of steps that leads into a building. One woman is sitting on the metal hand rail that runs along the steps. The other woman is standing to the side, a few steps back from the top of the stairs. Both women are looking off-camera at the people walking towards the entrance of this building (which is Flinders Street Railway Station). In the foreground, and out of focus, is a woman on her phone walking across the frame of the photo

Flinders Street Station ready to be lit up for RISING festival

Photo looking up at the entrance to Flinders Street Railway Station. The railway station building is a brown, Edwardian structure with a large, green dome and a large clock above the main entrance. Affixed to the building, just below the clock face, are large, serif-font letters that read “RISING:”. These letters will be lit up as part of the RISING festival in Melbourne.

Keeping to herself on the banks of the Yarra River

Photo of a woman sitting cross-legged on the edge of a walking path along a muddy, brown river that runs through a city centre. The woman is looking down at her smartphone, and she has her backpack placed next to her.

Keeping to himself on a bridge across the Yarra River

Photo of a man wearing a jacket and backpack standing by the stone railing of a bridge that spans the Yarra River in Melbourne. The man has his back to everyone and is looking out across the river. Another man is walking across the frame behind the first one.

Dropped shoes at the entrance of Flinders Street Railway Station

Black and white photo of a pair of trainers lying abandoned on the floor, all by themselves, some distance from the entrance to a train station.

[Photo walk] Collins Street, Melbourne

Ameel Khan June 12, 2023

Clouds reflected off Mövenpick Hotel

Photo looking up to a very tall, blue-glass covered building. The building has rounded edges and two large curves along its length, making it look like a fancy water bottle. There are white, puffy clouds in the blue sky behind the building, and two large clouds are also reflected in the windows of this building.

Road expansion joint in Collins Street, next to Southern Cross Station

Photo of a metal, zigzag shaped road expansion joint built into the surface of a road. A motion-blurred car is driving over this joint as is drives down the road. Across the road from the photographer is the entrance to a large metropolitan train station.

Maintenance work along Collins Street

Photo taken from close to the ground of a large maintenance hatch built into the footpath of a metropolitan road. The hatch is lying open and a large piece of equipment (electric or communications?) that’s attached to a pair of well-shielded cables is lying outside the hatch. In the foreground of the photo (and out of focus) is a silver coloured adjustable wrench. The open hatch is surrounded by bright yellow, temporary, safety fencing, and this photo has been taken from underneath this fence. A bunch of cables exiting this hole in the ground are snaking their way into the back of a while panel van that's parked on the side of the road.

Down-tools at this maintenance site on Collins Street

Photo taken from close to the ground of a large maintenance hatch built into the footpath of a metropolitan road. The hatch is lying open. In the background of the photo (and out of focus) is a large piece of equipment (electric or communications?) that’s attached to a pair of well-shielded cables and is lying outside the hatch. In the foreground (and in focus) is a silver coloured adjustable wrench. The open hatch is surrounded by bright yellow, temporary, safety fencing, and this photo has been taken from underneath this fence.

Driving a coach along King Street

Photo of a driver concentrating on the road as he drives a grey coloured Irizar/Mercedes-Benz coach along a metropolitan road. You can see reflections of tall buildings reflected in the front windscreen of this large bus.

Heading home from their worksite on a Friday afternoon

Photo looking downwards the footpath at the intersection of two roads. Several people are standing in a group, waiting for the light to change so they can cross the road. You can only see these people from the waist down, and they are all wearing work pants or jeans. Everyone in the photo is wearing tan coloured, heavy, steel-capped, work boots.

[Photo walk] Melbourne buildings, part 3

Ameel Khan May 7, 2023

Walkway between apartment buildings

Photo looking up at a covered, third-floor walkway that connects the Melbourne City View Apartments to the City Lights Apartments at Flinders. In the background of the photo, behind these two apartment blocks, are elevated train tracks on which a train is travelling.

Walkway connecting apartment buildings

Photo looking sharply upwards at a covered, third-floor walkway that connects the Melbourne City View Apartments to the City Lights Apartments at Flinders. The building across from the photographer is sixteen floors tall.

Looking up along Northbank Place

Photo looking upwards along the outside of a ten-storey office building. This glass-covered building (Tower 1 at 525 Flinders Street, Melbourne) was built in 2008 and is curved to allow sunlight to reach the street below. Its design includes a bronze painted, steel girder, skeletal structure wrapped around the outside.

No thoughts, just vibes

Photo looking upwards at the top of a tall building on an overcast day. The glass-covered building has a large, blue coloured sign affixed to the top that reads ‘vibe’, which is the name of a hotel chain.

Awning at the Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne

Photo of one of the entrances to the Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne. This entrance leads to Mr Tompkins, a restaurant named for Harry Tompkins who was the architect that designed this Edwardian Baroque style building in 1913. A man carrying a bag in one hand is talking on the phone as he walks down the steps inside this entrance. A large, curved awning above the entrance is held up by two thick metal cables. Two large stone heads have been built around the place where these cables are attached to the building structure, with the cables coming out of the mouths of these stone figures.

Flinders Street station flags at half mast for Father Bob’s state funeral

Photo of the Australian and Australian Aboriginal flags being flown at half mast on top of Flinders Street railway station in Melbourne. The railway station building is a brown, Edwardian structure with a large, green dome and a large clock above the main entrance.

Father Robert (Bob) John Maguire AM RFD (1934 – 2023) was a much-loved Catholic priest whose state funeral was held in Melbourne on 5 May 2023. Flags in the state of Victoria were flown at half mast all this day.