It was Good Friday, so there were people everywhere…but hardly anything open.

Where people were in the picture I used a Hoya neutral density filter so as to blur the teeming crowd out somewhat…it’s a bit ironic that the relatively stationary folk are the ones who add movement and dynamism to these compositions.

Tech info: Images taken with a 10 – 24 mm lens at 10 mm, with a polarising filter. The panorama was stitched together in Photoshop CS5 using 5 separate raw images. The raw images had a mild ‘shadows & highlights’ adjustment applied to each first. The stitched image was then cropped into a clean rectangular shape. Then the panorama was finished off in Lightroom 3 with +6 on fill light & +3 on blacks to increase the dynamic range further,  a bit (+7) of clarity which increases the mid-tone contrast, a bit (+15) of vibrance which selectively increases the saturation of muted colours,  a bit of hue adjustment (+8) on yellows to make the vegetation look even more lush, and a very little bit of darkening adjustment (-2)  in the blues to make the sky and water punch even more as well.

The result is not at all subtle, but it seems to really convey the feeling of the Australian countryside at mid-summer.

Mallyveen would have been one of the original properties when the Toronto waterfront area was first developed – the lot is enormous and is pretty much level at the western end. Most nearby properties have been subdivided.

The driveway is flanked by Agapanthus and avocado trees.

Here’s the front pathway.

Original lead-lighted front door…

The house is wrapped with verandahs, top and bottom.

The rear yard has been terraced and features a swimming pool.

The original living areas are on the upper level. Generous spaces, high ceilings, and lovely timber detailing.

Lead-lighted casement windows and French doors are typical of this era of Australian architecture.

The house has a north-easterly aspect on to Lake Macquarie.

The kitchen and family room are on the lower level and I suspect were first fitted out at a later date than the original top floor. But the whole place has been completely renovated just a few years ago.

The master bedroom opens on to the top verandah and has views over the lake.

The main bathroom is sun-drenched via a skylight…

The property comes complete with a boat shed and private jetty.

This house!

But don’t worry, all those carbon emissions are going to a good cause. This house is an entrant in the 2012 Santa’s Warehouse Christmas Lights Competition, and proceeds go to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

]]> http://eye3.com.au/2012/12/16/christmas-lights/feed/ 0 eyethreephotodesign IMG_6341web IMG_6347web http://eye3.com.au/2012/11/10/nobbys-near-sunset/ http://eye3.com.au/2012/11/10/nobbys-near-sunset/#comments Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:32:39 +0000 Eye3PhotoDesign http://eye3.com.au/?p=1118 ]]> Just a few shots taken late Monday along Nobbys Breakwall.

I was playing around with a Hoya NDX400 neutral density filter….it’s almost as dark as welding glass!

1929 Indian

Chicks Who Love Guns

Marianas Trench

Hey Geronimo

Wheatus

Grinspoon

Pond

Good Charlotte

The Cultural Centre-Captain Cook Fountain-City Hall axis works well at night, especially with the extra pyrotechnics. (and no Laman St. fig trees).

I tried for about an hour (without much luck) to get some decent candid people shots. It was pretty busy and hard to be inconspicuous, so most of my intended ‘candid’ shots failed, with the subject instead staring at me with a ‘why-is-he-pointing-that-camera-at-me’ face. I was going round in circles chasing shots, and eventually got fed up and instead stood in one spot and let the shots come to me.

An event like this is probably most fun for the kids.

It was cold for Newcastle, but warm enough for people to have fun with a snow machine.

As always, young kids make great subjects, especially with lighting such as this.