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Archive for the ‘Australia’ Category

I am enjoying the results of converting an HDR image to black and white.

The strong colors and tonal range of an HDR image seem to be a perfect base for B/W conversions. As I have several B/W Lightroom presets on my site for free downloads, it is worthwhile having a play with several of them.

The results you see here stem from the Red Filter Preset. The HDR was processed in my normal fashion, in this case using Photomatix, then blended in Photoshop with the original to tone down noise and get a more realistic look. The coulds in the sky get accentuated in this process which is one of the effects of HDR I really like.

After trying several of my B/W presets, I decided I liked this one best. It presents good blacks and contrast and the sky looks awesome (IMHO).

About this picture

You are looking down onto the Sydney Aquarium, that building in the center with the curved roof (the sign that says “aquarium” sort of gives it away too). It is located on the edge of Sydney’s famous Darling Harbour, a fantastic, cosmopolitan part of the city. Great restaurants, cafes, a park and the location of many activities during the year.

The aquarium too is awesome and is one of the best in the world. They have two underwater walkways through enormous tanks. One is full of giant rays and grey nurse sharks. The other is where you can see seals. They also have a Great Barrier Reef display complete with coral and beautifully colored fish. If you are every in Sydney, make sure you visit this fantastic aquarium.

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Experimentation with Fractalius, a Photoshop Plugin. This application can create some amazing surreal images.

This image is of a eucalyptus forest in the Blue Mountains, Australia. The trees, affectionately referred to as "gum trees" have a white bark and can provide a ghostly appearance anyways (in fact, there is a tree called Ghost Gum). Using this plugin, that effect is accentuated.

Hope you like it.

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One of my most favorite places in the whole world! I lived there for about 15 years, a beautiful and vibrant city.
This view is from Macquaries Chair looking over to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Central Business District. You can see Sydney Tower (aka Centrepoint Tower) on the left.  There is a revolving restaurant at the top with, of course, magnificent views of the greater Sydney area.

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Cockatoo Island lies in the middle of the beautiful Sydney harbor (the Aussies write harbour), Australia. The island used to be a shipyard and the first of its two dry docks was built by convicts and was completed in 1857.

The island’s maritime industrial activity ceased in 1992. In 2005, the island was opened to the public and you can now take a ferry ride and wonder around the island. The island offers some stunning views of the Sydney harbor.

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Sofala is the oldest surviving gold mine town in Australia and lies about 241 km north-west of Sydney. It lies along the Turon river and dates back to 1851 when gold was found at Summerhill Creek. There are still people living in Sofala, but not many and the town has a number of these houses and shacks that have almost fallen down. With a population of only 100, Sofala can easily be mistaken for a ghost town. I visited there with some good friends and we had a great lunch at the Solfala Gaol which is now also a B&B.

Here are two of the old buildings that still stand today (but only just).

Not the sign above the door on this next picture “Welcome Stranger”. While appropriate for an inn, the “Welcome Stranger” is also the name given to the largest gold nugget in the world (look it up) which was found in Australia in 1869. It weighed 3523.5 troy ounces.

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