Architectural Geometry

The built environment is the antithesis of nature—it’s all straight lines, cardinal points, vanishing points, and how these things shift and interplay with the effects of perspective and parallax. Some photographers have turned the visual aspects of architecture into an descriptive artform, and there’s plenty in the world to work with. I took this p=shot on the 10^th of September, 2009, in the Festival Plaza area, behind Parliament House Adelaide, South Australia,. This area has been extensively redeveloped since, with whole new buildings occupying what used to be public space, so the available views have changed a lot. This is an interesting study in geometries, on a day when the lighting conditions were not generating harsh shadows. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

One Tree Among Many

One might think a forest is the best place to photograph trees en masse, but now and then individual trees standout from their fellows and beg to be the subject of an image. I took this frame on April 16^th 2019, at Belair National Park, above Adelaide South Australia, and this particular tree’s tall, spindly conformation suited the frame shape preset for the camera-phone I was using at that point. Just as a wide landscape suits a super-wide angle, this tree begged to fill such a frame turned vertically. The sun angle was friendly and this frame required almost no adjustment—merely a minute sharpening in Irfanview. Leagoo M-9. Image by Mike.

Giant Plane, Dense Crowd

I love airshows—so photogenic, so much to see, all manner of weather conditions and lighting angles. I’ve shot in everything from dust storms to overcast, and soaring temperatures too. But there’s nothing like the smell of burning kerosine when vintage planes are on the move! I took this shot at the RAAF Edinburgh Airshow on the 10^th of November 2019, my last airshow before the viral apocalypse took hold, and had the fun of airing two cameras on the day. The resolution is of course higher than the old S-5600, and the chip handles bight light very well, but I’m not sure this unit handles low light better than the older model. Here is a view from the stands across the apron to the RAAF C-17 Globemaster III transport plane, which I first photographed at Avalon Airshow in 1997. They’re gigantic and always very attractive for their dynamic appeal. The day was hot, dusty (very dusty) and quite taxing, but an unforgettable experience. Minor tweaks in Irfanview only. Fuji HS-10. Image by Mike.