Kicking off the new year with a bang of beautiful blue day time photos, the more people in them the better enjoying the summer sun (when it is out and not raining).

Big things planned for 2012 with the opening of our Commercial Retail gallery later this month. Trips away interstate, hiring staff, going to be a busy year.

Will post the big things on the blog, but for all the in between stuff, new shots etc its all on Facebook.

This is a shot from last night when I ran my last private course for 2011. 15 minutes after sunset it was moonrise and with the right angle it added a nice element to the shot.

5 image stitch on the 5D Mk II

This image can be found in my Newcastle Gallery section on my site.

Quite a strange name for a beach, but it is a great location about 5 min drive south of Crescent Head. This was sunset on day one of arriving. The forecast was for late thunderstorms that never eventuated but the cloud made for an exciting sunset.

5D MkII | 24-70mm lens | 8 image stitch run through PtGui Pro and processed in CS5.

Click image for larger view.

This is an 8 image panoramic stitch taken from the golf course. Edited as colour but I decided to go the black and white option. Quite a mix of things to get the final B&W look but quickly it was.

1. B&W adjustment layer set to High Contrast Red and tweeked.
2. Two Channel Mixer adjustment layers, one for the ground another for the sky set at different opacity levels.
3. Mode change to Duotone and a Pantone colour added and tweaked with curve.
4. Several selective dodge and burn layers.
5. Soft glow effect added and then masked in leaving the edges more soft than the rest.

Follow me on Facebook: see what I am up too in between blog posts

The Mid North Coast, NSW Gallery can be seen here.

This is a quick video I put together of the equipment I use to print and coat my canvas. Currently printing using the Epson 9800. Looking to upgrade to the 9900 soon and the most critical piece of equipment is the Falcon F60 laminator that applies using heat and pressure an ultra strong, UV protective, gloss or matt coating to the canvas. This process cant even be compared to the messy, non durable roll on or spray coating that is used by most in the industry. You can rub a screw drive on the laminate and you wont scratch through it. The laminate isn’t cheap nor is the laminator but the final perfect application and durability for customers is worth the extra cost.

In 2012 I will be offering my canvas printing to photographers and the general public and the pricing will be ultra competitive with others in the market who are offering spray lamination.

Even photographers who can print their own canvas I will be offering a lamination service.

Will post more details in the coming month as my site gets geared to accept online image uploads and orders.

THE DIRECT VIMEO LINK

Snapped this one last month when out and about adding new shots and compositions to the main gallery. This location is in the Watsons Bay area of the Eastern Beaches of Sydney.

Shot on the Fuji GX617 | Veliva 50 slide.

To keep up to date with recent shoots, trips away, on location shots and images. Follow my facebook feed.

Just back from a quick trip to South West Rocks on the Mid North Coast. Got some weird weather pouring rain then it clears then come the afternoon it is cloudy again. Made for some interesting light and shooting. This shot is a cracker of a location at South West Rocks. This is exactly what it looked like at the time.

A digital panoramic of the location really did it justice instead of using the 90mm lens on the Fuji GX617.

This image is added to the Mid North Coast Gallery.

This shot was taken today when there was some overcast skys around 10.30am and I happened to be at the iconic Bondi Iceburgs baths. I decided to get creative with my shutter speeds and also how I was going to put the final composition together. This shot is about 7 different images of varying shutter captures.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW LARGE

Early last month (August) I had the privilege of having on my Blue Mountains course a freelance journalist who was writing an article on photography courses you can do in Sydney and around NSW. The article he wrote which uses my courses as the feature is published in todays edition of the Sydney Morning Herald in the Traveller section.

CLICK THIS LINK TO HAVE A READ

10 years of shooting landscapes and early on I decided against releasing limited edition shots as I wanted to price my work so the majority could afford it. But over the last couple of years I have held onto a shot or two to release as Limited Edition. I have no release date for these but thought I would share one with you.

Taken earlier this year at Turimetta Beach on the Northern Beaches of Sydney on sunset.

Shot on the Fuji GX617.

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER