[Photo walk] Along Harbour Esplanade, Docklands #3 (55mm only)

We’re still on step four my ‘one focal length at a time’ exercise because I didn’t take any photos last week. That means I’m still at 55mm (which is 35mm on my mirrorless, APS-C camera).

Since I know I’m not going to buy a new 55mm prime lens any time soon (I already own one), I figured I’d repeat the photo walk I started this whole exercise with so I could do a bit of a direct comparison.

27mm vs 55mm focal length comparison

I took three matching(ish) photos to see/demonstrate the difference between 27mm and 55mm.

The weather and, therefore, the light was different when I took these photos, so you’ll notice that I edited them differently.

I don’t have anything to say about these photos, by the way, I just wanted to do the comparison!

Subject framed within a foreground object

Photo of a blue-and-white ferry, now a show boat, as seen through the hole of a bright red lifebuoy that’s attached to a pole next to a harbour.

Subject some distance away from the photographer

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 boat tied to one of the piers. In the background are several tall buildings.

Subject in the foreground

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. In the background is a harbour, a bridge across this harbour, and some tall buildings.

My thoughts on the 55m focal length

I don’t have any strong feelings about 55mm.

I enjoyed being zoomed-in a little more and I enjoyed being able to isolate my subjects from their surroundings a little more than usual.

But I also struggled with not being able to capture the surrounding context that I enjoy showing in my photographs.

I know I’ll get comfortable with 55mm if I stick with it for a while, but honestly, 40mm focal length was much more my jam :)

For now I think I’ll stick with 55mm for portraits and the like.

Photos from my walk

Lady Cutler showboat through a lifebuoy (55mm)

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.

Docklands Harbour and the Lady Cutler showboat (55mm)

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 boat, the Lady Cutler, tied to one of the piers. In the background are several tall buildings.

Cow Up a Tree (John Kelly, 2000) with the Bolte Bridge in the background (55mm)

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. 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. More about ‘Cow Up a Tree’, in case you’re interested.

Public art and practical bike stand combo on Harbour Esplanade, Docklands

Photo of a metal bicycle stand bolted into the concrete footpath. Instead of a simple upside-down U-shaped ring, this bike stand has been bent into the approximate shape of a bicycle (though with additional bends and waves so that multiple bicycles can be attached to it).

Receiving a crane-full of construction supplies

Photo of a tall building that’s under construction. A large platform is jutting out of one of the upper floors of this building. A construction worker in high visibility clothing and safety gear is standing on this platform, awaiting the building supplies that are being brought up by crane. A large pallet attached to a cable is being pulled up by a tall crane that is outside the frame of the photo. The pallet is about to reach the platform that the worker is standing on.

Frankston train approaching Southern Cross Station in Melbourne

Photo of a yellow-and-blue electric commuter train traveling through a rail yard that has about a dozen pairs of railways tracks running through it.

Done with the inspection of the V/Line train

Photo of a rail worker wearing an orange high visibility vest. The worker is walking across a rail yard towards a pedestrian walkway. The worker is next to a purple, silver, and yellow train that is parked on one of the tracks.

Working on a diesel engine V/Line locomotive

Photo of a rail worker wearing an orange high visibility vest standing on the walkway that runs the length of a diesel locomotive. This red and yellow coloured locomotive is parked at a rail yard.

V/Line train approaching Southern Cross Station

Photo of a purple, yellow, and silver diesel commuter train traveling through a rail yard that has about a dozen pairs of railways tracks running through it.

Rail worker at the Alstom West Melbourne Depot

Photo of a rail depot with seven large train maintenance sheds, one with an ‘Alstom’ sign/logo affixed to one of its walls. There are also several trains parked in neat rows outside. A rail worker wearing an orange high visibility vest is walking along one of the yellow-lined pedestrian footpaths that weave themselves around tracks across the whole yard.

Taking a break after completing his deliveries

Photo of a white panel van parked on the side of a road. This delivery van has its side sliding door open. In the back of the cargo space are several empty, white, plastic crates that have been stacked on top of each other. The rest of the cargo space is empty. A delivery driver wearing a yellow high-visibility shirt is sitting in the cargo space with his feet sticking out of the open sliding door. The driver is looking down at a phone in his hands.

Next week I move on to shooting at only 85mm. I’m looking forward to that, since 85mm was my most frequently used focal length over the last year.

[Photo walk] Collins Street east #1 (55mm only)

We’re on step four of my ‘one focal length at a time’ exercise, which means this fortnight I’m shooting at only 55mm (which is 35mm on my mirrorless APS-C camera).

I could have skipped this step because I already have a 55mm prime lens, so it’s not like I’ll buy another one if I fall in love with this focal length. But then I’m not doing this exercise just to figure out which prime lens to buy, I’m also doing it for creative-constraint reasons. And that aspect of this was fun.

I didn’t have a very long photo walk, though, so I didn’t get as much time with this focal length as I would have liked. But I do like how I can use it to focus on just one subject in a somewhat crowded location.

When I go out next week I’ll play around with using a shallower depth of field to further isolate my subject from their surroundings. The lens I’m using can go down to f/2, and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can achieve with that. (Given the type of photography I do, and the limitations of my existing lenses, I typically spend most of my time between f/4 and f/5.6.)

Dymocks bookshop in colour

Photo looking down, next to a set of escalators, into a large bookshop.

Dymocks bookshop in texture

Black-and-white photo looking down, next to a set of escalators, into a large bookshop.

Koko Black baristas on Swanston Street

Photo of two baristas wearing black boots and black dresses making coffee at a footpath coffee shop branded Koko Black. Two other women on the footpath are looking at what the baristas are doing as they walk past.

Old baby change room at Melbourne Town Hall

Photo of a sign that reads, in all capital letters, “baby change” affixed below an archway that’s between a dark brown wrought iron fence and a lighter brown stone wall. The wrought iron fence separates the entrance to the baby change facilities from the public footpath that runs alongside the historic building. Just outside this sign is a woman talking on her phone as she walks along the footpath.

Bell tower of St Michael’s Uniting Church

Photo looking up at a tall, square bell tower of a polychrome brickwork church building. There are round Romanesque arches built into the building. Along the left side of photo are the leaves of the trees that grow in front of the church.

Cell tower between taller buildings

Photo of a cell tower installed at the top of a five storey building. There are several thin, vertical, white coloured antennae affixed to the structure at the top of this building. There are much taller buildings on all sides of this shorter building. At the very top of the photo frame you can see a jet passenger airplane in the sky.

Spaghetti Tree sign on Bourke Street

Night-time photo of a neon sign in a window that that reads, in stylised lettering, “Spaghetti Tree Restaurant”. The words “Spaghetti Tree” are lit up in red neon while “Restaurant” is lit up in green neon.

[Photo walk] University of Melbourne, during semester break

I had some time, so I did a quick photo walk in and around the University of Melbourne. This was on a Saturday afternoon during semester break so the campus was pretty empty.

It’s been years since I’ve spent any time on campus so it was nice to be back, if only for a little while.

Safety mirror at the Lygon Street tram stop

Photo of a large, convex safety mirror affixed to a pole next to the pedestrian crossing between a tram stop and footpath.

Bicycle hoops at the McCoy Building

Photo looking through six rectangular bicycle hoops installed in a brick pavement next to some bushes.

Bicycle hoops at the McCoy Building, but now zoomed-in and in black-and-white

Black-and-white photo looking through five rectangular bicycle hoops installed in a brick pavement next to some bushes.

Espresso Bar heated area at the Ian Potter Museum of Art

Photo of a glass partition enclosing the outdoor seating area next to a building. A sign on the glass partition reads “Heated Area”, below which are graphical depictions of two red, hot chillies. You can see the reflection of the photographer in the glass partition, though the photographer’s face is obstructed by the text and graphics.

Empty tables at Castro’s Kiosk

Photo taken from table-surface height of a couple of large, outdoor, wooden tables under some umbrellas.

Working from Deakin Court on a lovely Saturday afternoon

Photo of a woman sitting on metal outdoor furniture in a brick court. The woman is on her laptop. In the background of the photo is brick building with several wide, rectangular, ivy-covered support pillars. There is colourful art drawn on the exterior wall of this building, and a door to the side has a sign that reads, “Old Physics”.

Pillars of the Old Arts Building

Photo of a covered courtyard under a historic building that is being held up by several stone pillars.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of Wilson Hall

Photo of a 3-4 storey brick building with windows all along one side of it.

Frank Tate Building (Building 189)

Photo of the rounded end of a three storey, 1920s art deco brick building.

Enjoying the sun outside the Frank Tate Building

Photo of a person wearing a hoodie sitting in a lawn outside a 1920s art deco brick building.

University of Melbourne logo at the Sydney Myer Asia Centre

Photo of the University of Melbourne logo (crest and word mark) in the top corner of a university building.

Cuddling in the sun

Photo of a young man and woman sitting on a park bench outside a brown brick university building. The woman is resting her head on the man’s shoulder. And the man is, in turn, leaning his head on the woman’s head.

[Photo walk] Lygon Street #3 (40mm only)

Here’s part three of my recent Lygon Street walk.

Conclusions about this stage of the exercise are at the end.

Statue of Zelda D’Aprano (2023) at Victorian Trades Hall

Photo of a large bronze statue of Melbourne feminist activist Zelda D’Aprano, founder of the Women’s Action Committee in Melbourne. The statue is holding a large sign in her right hand that reads, “No more male & female rates. One rate only.” while in her left hand she holds a broken length of chain.

Front façade of Victorian Trades Hall

Photo of the light brown façade of historical Victorian Trades Hall that was first built in 1859 and then upgraded between 1874 and 1925.

Sprinkler booster that looks like a robot with large eyes

Photo of a red sprinkler booster that’s part of a fire fighting system installed in front of a building. The sprinkler booster is a large metal pipe sticking out of the ground with a red two-headed terminator at its top. The two fire hose attachments of the terminator look like large eyes. A sign affixed to this apparatus reads “Sprinkler booster. Working pressure 900 kPa. System tested to 1400 kPa.”

Carlton Audio Visual, the fanatic’s choice

Photo of a large blue sign attached to a wall above the entrance of a shop. The sign reads ‘Carlton Audio Visual’. A light blue sign above this shows the street number of this store (164) and reads ‘Fanatics choice’. Smaller signs painted to the left and right of the main store sign read “Hi-Fi sound. Home theatre. Projection room.”

Closed for the weekend

Photo of a several stacks of outdoor chairs next to several outdoor tables, all of which are lying in the outdoor seating area of a restaurant that is currently closed.

Local area map at the corner of Grattan and Lygon Streets

Photo of a tall, wide sign on a sidewalk. The top of the sign reads ‘Grattan Street’. Below this are sections with arrows pointing up, right, and left. Listed under each arrow at the points of interest that a visitor can get to if they walk in that direction. Below all that is a map of the local area, with a large circle drawn around the sign's location on the map. The circle has a label that reads “5 minute walk’.

Cakes at Brunetti’s in Carlton

Photo of two shiny, rounded, pale yellow coloured cakes for sale in a refrigerated display window.

Cake in the Brunetti’s display window

Photo of a shiny, rounded, pale yellow coloured cakes for sale in a refrigerated display window.

I find that I’m so comfortable with shooting at 40mm that there’s no point in sticking to just this focal length for another week. So I’m now going to move straight to 55mm.

Why am I going with 55mm instead of the more standard, ‘nifty fifty’ 50mm focal length? Well, technically, I’m going with neither :) I’ll be shooting at 54mm.

The sensor on my Fujifilm S-X10 mirrorless APS-C camera has a 1.53 crop factor. Meaning if I wanted to shoot at a 50mm full-frame equivalent, I’d need to shoot with a 33mm lens (because 33 × 1.53 = 50mm).

Fujifilm does make 33mm prime lenses, but I already own a 35mm prime lens (the cheap and cheerful Fujifilm XC 35mm F2) so I might as well use that for this part of the exercise. And since 35 × 1.53 =54mm that’s the focal length I’ll actually be shooting at.

It’s easier still to refer to this as 55mm, and so that’s what I’ll continue to say going forward.

I might try shooting at 50mm in the future (now that I’ve sped up this exercise by shooting at 40mm for one week instead of two) but for now let’s go with 55mm and see how I do there.

[Photo walk] Lygon Street #2 (40mm only)

Here’s part two of my recent Lygon Street photo walk.

Bench at Argyle Square

Photo of a park bench under a large tree in an urban park.

Front façade of Building 56 at RMIT on Queensberry Street

Photo showing the regular red brick and grey concrete façade of a university building.

Front façade of Building 56 at RMIT on a sunny day

Photo looking through green shrubs and trees at the regular red brick and grey concrete façade of a university building.

Abandoned shopping cart at RMIT Building 56

Photo of an abandoned shopping card at the bottom of the basement stairwell of a red brick university building.

Reflections of the city

Photo of a large glass skylight that shows the reflection of several tall buildings.

Victorian Trades Hall framed by buildings in the Melbourne CBD

Photo of a historic brown building that is partly hidden by several tall trees growing in front of it. There are three flags flying on this building, the Australian Aboriginal flag, the Torres Strait Islander flag, and the red flag (signifying left-wing politics).

Delivery driver in hi-vis on Victoria Street

Photo of a delivery driver on an electric cargo bicycle waiting to turn right at an intersection. The driver is wearing white sneakers, high visibility fluro-yellow pants and jacket (with hood), and a grey bicycle helmet. The cargo section of the e-bike is holding a large, insulated, soft shell, fluro-yellow coloured food delivery box.

[Photo walk] Lygon Street #1 (40mm only)

I know some of this has to do with the location, the time of day, and how much energy I had at the time, but I found it much easier to take photos at only 40mm (which is 26mm on my mirrorless APS-C camera) than at only 35mm (which I’d been doing for the last two weeks).

In case this is the first time you’re reading about this, I’m in the middle of conducting a creative exercise: for a fortnight at a time, when I go on my photo walks, I’m taking photos at only the 27mm, 35mm, 40mm, 55mm, and 85mm focal lengths.

Aside for the creative challenge of shooting at just one focal length at a time — which I am really enjoying and also learning a lot from — by the end of this exercise I should have a decent idea about which prime lens I’m going to buy next.

I managed to take a bunch of decent photos at 40mm on my last photo walk, and so I’ve split this into three posts. Here’s part 1.

Regular menu and the day’s specials at an outdoor café

Photo of a café menu in the form of a brown leather binder that’s lying on top a single sheet of paper. Both of these are lying on a wooden table in the outdoor seating space of a café.

Readings bookshop

Photo of a large sign on a shop awning that reads ‘Readings’. A smaller sign affixed below the awning reads “Readings. Melbourne’s own since 1969. Books. Music. Film.”

Entrance to Readings bookshop

Photo of the entrance of a bookshop. A woman with her hands on her hips is looking at the books arranged in the display window. A man inside the shop is looking at books displayed on a bookshelf. Entering the frame from the right, and slightly blurry because of the movement, is a small child being pushed in a pram.

Cocktails, pasta, vibes on Faraday Street

Photo of a sandwich board sign next to the outdoor seating of a café. The sign reads (across four lines), “Open all day. Cocktails. Pasta. Vibes.” The café is located inside a wide, red brick building with doors and windows that have been painted green.

Seating outside Vintage Cellars on Lygon Street

Photo taken just above the surface of a wooden table that’s part of the outdoor seating of a liquor store named Vintage Cellars.

Pasta display

Photo of five different types of pasta arranged on a wooden chopping board in the display window of an Italian restaurant.

Gelato at Gelatissimo

Photo showing the inside of a gelateria, with various flavours of gelato on display.

Outdoor heater

Close-up photo of a large, outdoor space heater that is used to warm customers sitting in the outdoor seating area.

Semantic arguments as a last line of defence

Recently I’ve seen people in various online platforms insist that what Israel has been doing in Palestine isn’t apartheid and that what they’re doing now isn’t genocide.

My initial reaction was to think, “how fortunate you are that you can discuss semantics like this from a distance”.

But mostly it reminded me of when the American media refused to name domestic terrorism as ‘terrorism’. Or when they called terrorism that happened in their country ‘terror’ instead.

What they were really saying, of course, is that terrorism is what non-white people do in foreign countries. Stuff like that isn’t done by white people, and it’s certainly not done in our country.

It also reminded me of when people say things like, “Oh he can’t be the one who committed the sexually assault. He’s a victim of sexual assault; he would never do that to anyone else.”

They’re clinging so hard to their beliefs that they have to fall back to semantics to defend their positions.

At no time can they see the reality that:

  • Some white people can and do commit terrorism.

  • There is terrorism in countries with predominantly white populations.

  • Some sexual assault survivors can and do commit sexual assault.

  • Some Jews can and do commit genocide.

But why?

The reason they dig their heels in is pretty obvious. It’s the same reason people insist on sayings things like “not all men”.

Because if they acknowledge that, yes, all men do benefit from patriarchal set-ups, then they might actually have to do something about it.

Or, more likely, they’ll lose the moral wiggle room to do nothing (or the bare minimum) about it. When they’re one of the good guys – one of the #NotAllMen – then they don’t have to do anything more, right?

Similarly, if these people are forced to acknowledge that Israel is an apartheid state that currently is committing genocide against the Palestinians, then they lose the ability to say things like, “what Israel is doing is horrible, of course, but they do have the right to defend themselves.”

Because right now what they’re really saying is, “I can excuse the mass casualties of civilians, but I draw the line at genocide.”

Two-frame screen grab from the television show ‘Community’ in which a white female character says, “I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at animal cruelty.” To which a black female character replies, “You can excuse racism?!”

An aside about a theory

Which then reminds me of one of the theories about why Hamas attacked Israel in the way that they did.

You know when a child keeps needling their sibling till the sibling overreacts? And how parents often shout at the sibling for the overreaction and not at the first child for the initial provocation? That’s possibly one of the reasons Hamas carried out their most recent attacks.

The theory is that they wanted Israel to overreact to such an extent that the world had no choice but to acknowledge Israel’s ongoing, escalating war crimes (along with their continued crimes against humanity).

Of course Hamas did this without the consent of the people of Gaza and at the cost of thousands of Palestinian civilians, many of them children…but that’s a whole other issue.

On a lighter note…

To leave on a lighter note, because I live on the internet, when I see someone digging their heels in about not using the words ‘apartheid’ or ‘genocide’, this meme is the first thing that comes to mind :)

  • It’s only apartheid if it’s from the Apartheid region of South Africa, otherwise it’s sparkling institutionalised (racial) segregation.

  • It’s only genocide if it’s from the Genocide region of Poland, otherwise it’s sparkling intentional destruction of a people (in whole or in part).

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

It is week two of shooting at only 35mm (23mm on my mirrorless APS-C camera) and I did not have a very successful photo walk.

There just weren’t as many people walking along the stretch of Bourke Street where I was – the bit that goes from Southern Cross station to Swanston Street. There was a good crowd of people from Elizabeth Street onwards, but by then I was tired and in a bit of hurry to go home so I only got a couple of decent people shots before I caught the train from Melbourne Central.

Oh well.

Bourke Place tower in the Melbourne CBD

Photo looking up at the rounded corner of a tall, 46 storey office tower located at 600 Bourke Street in Melbourne. A large AMP logo has been installed at the top of the tower.

Negative space

Photo looking up at the blue sky above a medium-tall office building on a sunny day. The photographer is standing at an intersection in the central business district. Behind, to the left, and to the right are all very tall office buildings. The only corner of this intersection without a very tall office building is the one in front of the photographer.

Everyone else was looking down at just their smartphones

Photo of a woman sitting on a stone bench with a metal back support next to a tram stop in the middle of a city. There are several people walking and standing around the tram stop. The woman is working on a Windows tablet with an attached keyboard that she's placed on her lap.

Waiting for the next delivery order to come through

Photo of a food delivery driver sitting on an electric bike on a wide footpath in the middle of a city. The driver is wearing a bike helmet and a bright yellow high visibility jacket. Attached the the carrier on the bake of the bike is a large, neon-yellow, insulated food transport container. Attached to the front of the bike is a smaller insulated container for transporting cold items.

Next week I’ll make my way quickly to Swanston Street (which is always full of people) and then spend a good amount of time taking photos along there.

Will I stick to 35mm for a third week though? Probably not.

I know I haven’t spend enough time at 35mm to get a good feel for this focal length, but I also want to keep moving through the exercise so that I’m done by the time we get to Boxing Day and the lenses I want to buy go on sale.

So next week I’ll move to 40mm. That way I’ll cover 40mm and 55mm in November, and then 85mm in the first half of December. That’ll leave me with enough time to repeat a focal length or two before Boxing Day comes around and I need to make my decision.

Also, I want to spend more time at 40mm than 35mm because my preference is to get a pancake lens and Fujifilm only offers those at 27mm (18mm in the APS-C system) and 40mm (27mm) for their X System cameras.

I already find 35mm a little awkward to shoot at (mostly due to lack of experience) so I’m dying to see how comfortable (or not) I feel at 40mm!

View from the 29th floor in Docklands

Crane operator, as seen from the 29th floor

Photo taken from a long lens looking down at a crane cab that's attached to a tall white, red, and blue construction crane. The crane has been installed high above the ground next to an urban river. The focus of the photo is on the crane operator who is sitting inside the cab.

A roof, a boat, a crane chain

Photo taken with a long lens from a high vantage point looking down towards an urban river. In the bottom-left corner of the photo is the top if a multi-storey apartment building that has faded green synthetic turf installed on its roof. There are also potted plants and white outdoor furniture on this roof. A white centre-console boat is making its way along the river. From the top-right corner of the photo frame a thick chain is dangling from a tall construction crane that is outside the frame of the photo.

A crane, a boat, a bird

Photo taken with a long lens from a high vantage point looking down towards an urban river. A white centre-console boat is making its way along the river. In the foreground of the photo is tall construction crane that's been installed next to this river. Flying in the space between the boat and the crane is a white seagull.

Asleep, but alert

Maggie takes an afternoon nap in the retreat that’s between my study and Nadia’s study – where we each work from home – so she can keep an ear on both of us.

Photo of a red/brown dog on a dark brown towel that's been placed on the seat of a dark grey sofa. The dog is asleep, with its head nestled between its front paws; however its ears are pricked.

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

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)

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

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.

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)

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:

  1. The 31% of photos I’ve taken at 27mm should probably be lower, given I likely crop many of my photos to 35mm.

  2. 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

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 with a wave-shaped roof.

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

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

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

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, and you can see several blue paint and red brick houses behind the rail line.

Play area

Bench in the shade

Photo of a brown park bench in the shade of a few large trees in a park.

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

Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.

Another tree stump

Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.

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!

Selfie of a man and a woman at a park/reserve. The man has a mostly-white beard, and is wearing glasses and a straw hat. The woman is wearing a small necklace and sunglasses. Both are smiling at the camera.

Nadia's book has been launched!

Nadia’s book, The Djinn Hunters, has officially been launched!

Photo of a poetry book lying on a wooden table. Next to this is a metal-and-glass lantern with a lit candle inside it.

The turn-out was excellent, and a lot of our friends and Nadia’s colleagues attended.

Nadia was thrilled about it :)

Photo of a woman standing in an event space. The woman has long black hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing wearing a blue dress; black jumper; and round, gold coloured jewellery.

Instead of the speeches and readings you’d see at a typical book launch, in this one the publisher and editor (Jessica Wilkinson) asked Nadia and Will — the two authors whose books she was launching — a bunch of insightful questions. She also got them to read some of their poems that helped illustrate their answers. It was good format and it worked really well.

Photo of two people seated on wicker chairs in an event space. The man on the left is speaking into a wireless microphone that he is holding in one hand, while in the other hand he holds a folded-over book. The woman on the right is looking at the speaker. In her lap she has a book with several sticky-notes sticking out of it.

A whole bunch of people bought Nadia’s book.

Photo of two piles of books lying on a table, with a portable payment card reader and a tumbler of lemon, lime, and bitters lying next to the books.

And there was a long line of people who wanted her to sign their copy :)

Photo of a woman sitting in a wicker chair and leaning over to sign her name in a book that she is holding open on top of a table next to the chair. A small lamp shines a pool of light over the table top.

All told it was a fantastic evening, and then a bunch of us made our way to the pub down the street to have dinner :)

[Photo walk] Webb and Bolte bridges

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

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.

Cleaning our rivers

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 “Cleaning our rivers”. In the background of this photo is a cyclist and pedestrian bridge that spans this river.

[Photo walk] Underneath the West Gate Freeway

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

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.

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

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. Because of the perspective of this photo, a tall, wide hotel building (Novotel Melbourne South Wharf) that is much further back from the portal looks like it is the same height as the portal. And because the portal is twisted towards the left, it looks like their tops are almost touching each other.

Maggie in bed

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

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.

Snuggled up in a fuzzy bed

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.

Asleep, but with one ear still 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.

Nadia's book is out!

Nadia’s book, The Djinn Hunters, is out!

You can buy it online and, if you’re in Melbourne, you can join us at the book launch on Tuesday, 26 September 2023 at Crystal Palace in Carlton North. The event is free, but you do need to RSVP.

This is poet Kevin Brophy’s blurb from Nadia’s book:

‘Nadia Niaz dances worlds into being. Hers is a rich and heady poetry, unafraid to play with form, spun for us across contrasting worlds, languages, time, customs. It’s a poetry to savour, gasp and marvel at for its spirit of sustained and generous observation.’

—Kevin Brophy

Hope to see a bunch of you at the launch!