Mona Vale rockpool. I had been waiting a while for a high tide to coincide with sunrise at this unique rockpool. I had marked it in my calendar after scanning through the Pocket Weather AU iPhone app looking for a suitable time. I wasn't disappointed, the surf was huge, so big the pool was actually closed, perfect for several shots I had envisioned for several months before.

Mona Vale rockpool

Mona Vale rockpool upclose

Mona Vale rockpool looking South

I don't think I will ever be good at getting up in the morning. Even with these late starts, as winter finds its way South, I struggle. On Sunday high tide pretty much coincided with sunrise so myself and another local photographer Nick Fletcher decided to shoot Mona Vale rock pool. Arriving at 6am (45 minutes before sunrise) we were surprised to see five photographer already there. Photographing on the weekend in Sydney's Northern Beaches it can get busy so everyone try's to be mindful of this and stay out of each others composition. I delighted with the results as you will see below, the gaps in the cloud were just enough to put on a spectacular display. I also had a bit of fun shooting a 360 degree video of the location, something I hope to do at all shoots I go on from now. Click on the video and drag your mouse to look around, check out the spear fisherman getting onto the deep water where I was shooting.

Please leave a comment and don't forget to share.

Mona Vale, Sydney

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 100

Mona Vale, Australia

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed: 2/5 sec
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 100

The waves were massive at Dee Why when I arrived, I knew they would be big but hadn't see anything like it for a while. The great thing about Dee Why is that you can literally stand only a few feet away from the surfers as they ride the break near the rock shelf. Around the back of the rock pool there are some interesting rock formations. Getting to them can be precarious with the rocks being extremely slippery, non the less I ventured toward the sea finding new compositions, waiting for the right waves and light. It didn't take long until the onlooking crowd spurred me on to get too close resulting in me getting smashed by two waves, coming out wet head to toe and with a wet camera. Left shaken (didn't let the crowd know that) I decided I had chanced my luck enough and retreated for the evening.

Dee Why, Sydney

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 50

Dee Why, Australia

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed: 1/1 sec
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 29 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 100

I had a suitable morning to get up early so decided to head to good ol' Turimetta to catch the sunrise. I always feel getting up for sunrise is a gamble as you never know what the clouds are doing when its dark. This morning a bank of clouds sat just above the horizon, enough for a bit of sky interest. Scouting for locations, and trying to work with the little pre dawn colour I did have I found myself drying my gear (filters, camera, lens) more than I was taking photos. The waves were slapping against the vertical rock shelf that make Turrimetta so photogenic and dousing me in sea water. Retreating and dying my gear I would go back only to get wet again. Lesson learnt, take something more substantial to soak up water and a couple lens cloths for fogging/cleaning. Thankfully I managed to come away with one keeper. Due to the dynamic range of this shot and the wetness of my filters I actually took several different exposures and blended them in Photoshop.

Turimetta in all it's green glory. This wide angle panorama, photographed shortly after sunset shows the nights sky glowing a beautiful purple which contrasts against the green moss covered rocks.

A popular spot with local photographers, Turimetta can get somewhat crowded. The beach is constantly evolving with sands being dumped and stripped from its shores with a changing tide and the seasonal green moss covering its rocks adding colour.

Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D
Shutter Speed: 6 sec
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 100

I'm pleased to share a short film I produced of last weekends Cole Classic, Australia's biggest ocean swim taking place in Manly, Sydney. This film comprises of a few thousand still images, one taken every second using a stills camera (Canon 5D MkII). For more information on the techniques used in this short film please subscribe to this blog for email updates. I plan to release an ebook in the coming weeks and will share lots of other tips in future blog posts, stay tuned.

Cole Classic, Manly from Lee Duguid.

Comments are more than welcome, thanks for stopping by.

Update:
So I've got permission to shoot this weekends Cole Classic Australia's largest ocean swim. I pick up my media pass at 7am from Shelly Beach, now all I need is somewhere to shoot from. Emails to local estate agents have not produced anything, Manly Council are dragging their heals and I'm running out of time, can anyone help?

I shot some more time lapse footage last weekend to test out the new camera and more settings. I figure a frame every 1 second should be perfect, after all it's as fast as my camera remote will allow. I'll post more about that in the coming days, plus some footage.

By the end of this (blog? life? paragraph?) I hope to produce a nice, arty video filmed in and around Manly, Sydney....where I call home. I'm doing this for love, I've seen many great tilt shift videos and thought why not do one of Manly. No idea what a tilt shift video is? Below is my first ever, shot in New Zealand.

Port of Napier, New Zealand from Lee Duguid.

Not bad huh (well I think so). I made some mistakes which hopefully I have learnt from.

Note to self:
1. Lock the focus, auto-focus is bad mmmk!
2. Only use M, not Av, Tv or Auto.
3. Shoot RAW or set the white balance

Here are some shots I took earlier last year when I went through my last time lapse phase. I'm not going to use them but I'm posting them to generate some interest and to show you the sort of thing I plan to make. Again I made some mistakes.

Manly, Sydney from Lee Duguid.

Mistakes made:
1. Frame rate too slow, either take more frequent photos or drag the shutter speed - people appear in one frame and not the next.

So onto the plan.

What am I going to shoot?
I want to show all aspects of Manly, the beach, the ferry, the people, the lifestyle, the buzz, the nature, the beauty, everything that I can fit into a short film :).

Where will I shoot?
I have numerous locations planned, many I will need to get permission for as I will try and cover multiple angles shooting from above generally. If you know someone that lives in a high rise that has roof top access around Manly PLEASE get in touch. Here are some of the locations I'm looking at:

Next step is to get one or two more photographers on board to help shoot from different angles (need walkie talkies) and get permission from property managers, property owners, and Manly council (sigh!).