Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:08AM 
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 11:25PM 
Down at Echo Beach in Canggu, Bali. Sunset on 30th December 2011. Watching the surfers surf the end of the year away happily grabbing the few last waves of 2011.
The good 'ole 100-400mm lens having to check the lighting constantly as it quickly got darker - trying to keep the shutter speed as high as possible.
Check out the full stream here on Flickr.
Monday, December 19, 2011 at 07:15PM 
This Sunday involved getting out the strobes, lightboxes and trusty onOne software on the iPad. I had reviewed this in an earlier blogpost and again it came to the rescue in getting the lighting right and previewing the shots.
After a shopping spree the day before, and all the great summer fruit that is now here on the shelves from down-under (including some of the best nectarines I have had in over a decade) it was out with my two trusty flash units to try some food photography.
Inspiration came from Nicole S. Young (Nicolesy) - author of Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots and (micro)STOCK: From Passion to Paycheck. Links to these can be found on her blog.
I have put the best shots up on the select project gallery here. On editing the images it also becomes clear that a single image can create many moods with different crops.
There is still plenty of room for improvement but it was good to try and prove the fact that backlighting food is always a must and use of softboxes to ensure a directioned but soft light was key to preventing harsh lightspots on the shiny fruit.
It was a grey drizzly day which helped keep the ambient light consistent and soft so I wasn't fighting harsh shadows on the display table.
In the meantime I have put the best of the best up here on 500px. While Flickr will still hold a large number of my general shots, I am aiming to use 500px to host the ongoing best works over time.
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 12:01PM
I spent a weekend in Hanoi in early August. Hanoi still remains an awesome city in my eyes and the few days I spent there and the people I met who helped me around - Mrs Kieu Phuong (a wonderful local guide) and Ngo Vi Phong (a fellow photographer) - were wonderful people who I hope I continue to meet every time I go.
Just outside of Hanoi are small villages specialising in hat making, frames for tables, lights and birdcages, as well as noodles !!
Hanoi is unpretentious, warm and friendly which I think is representative of the modern Vietnam.
My main portfolio is here @ 500px - a new website for real images above and beyond the happy snaps of Flickr and Facebook.
You can also see my second choice set here at Flickr.
Enjoy - and if you get the chance - spend a few days in and around Hanoi - you wont be disappointed.
I do recommend Oriental Bridge for guides for novices in the area.
Friday, November 18, 2011 at 10:32PM While I normally prefer an aisle seat, on a trip to Hanoi in August I decided to grab a window seat. Mainly because being a short flight i decided I would spend my time checking my camera out. Reading the manual again - never any harm in doing this a few times. And the window avoids having people constantly reaching across you and passing food and drinks over the camera.
The bonus appeared to be a bright clear sky and an emerging sunset that bordered on spectacular. After firing off a few test shots I settled down to try and get the intense pattern of light with the aircraft wing neatly silhouetted on the left hand side of the shot.
Lesson learnt - dont leave the camera in the overhead compartment and get a window seat !!