004: Australia Day baking

It’s more traditional to make a pavlova on Australia Day, but I saw a recipe for a berry sponge that looked amazing! My berry sponge looked pretty amazing too, although the sponge was not very spongy and the topping was much better than the cake. Live and learn!

We went to a barbecue at our friend Hendo’s place that day. Among other things we watched someone make beer can chicken— a unique experience!

  • Aperture: ƒ/4
  • Camera: NIKON D300S
  • Taken: 26 January, 2011
  • Focal length: 24mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Location: 33° 48.57′ 0″ S 151° 10.96′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 1/100s

003: Big Butterfly

I didn’t get a butterfly the day before, but I saw one on this day. It was a beautiful big butterfly, but I discovered it’s extremely difficult to get a photo of a butterfly while they’re in flight and rather difficult to get a really nice one while they’re landed.

It’s a nice practice in patience and perseverance trying to get a photo of subjects like these.

  • Aperture: ƒ/5.6
  • Camera: NIKON D300S
  • Taken: 25 January, 2011
  • Focal length: 300mm
  • ISO: 400
  • Location: 33° 48.54′ 0″ S 151° 11.03′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 1/400s

002: Alert Magpie

I’d noticed a lot of butterflies fluttering around our apartment building and really wanted to capture a photo of one, but I didn’t find any on this afternoon. So I settled for some magpies that were hiding in the trees out back.

I wasn’t thrilled with any of the photos that I got, but the depth of field with the leaves and the demeanour of the bird are a bit interesting.

  • Aperture: ƒ/4.5
  • Camera: NIKON D300S
  • Taken: 24 January, 2011
  • Focal length: 155mm
  • ISO: 2000
  • Location: 33° 48.57′ 0″ S 151° 10.96′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 1/125s

001: Self portrait

For my first 365 photo I wanted to take a photo of what was most important to me in this world… my husband! But he wasn’t too keen on that idea, so I thought, okay, I’ll start this project by looking at me. After all, photography really starts with the photographer: their eyes, their vision, their inspiration, their ability, their click of the shutter. And speaking of eyes — this is one of the first and few photos of me wearing my glasses.

What I learnt from taking this photo is that it is a royal pain to take a photo without remote triggering! The batteries in my wireless remote were dead, and really the worst bit isn’t not being able to release the shutter, because you can use the delay timer for that; the worst bit is focusing. So, remember to keep your batteries charged, or keep fresh batteries if they’re not rechargeable!

Also, you really need to pay attention to the light. The section of light on my right arm is a bit unfortunate, but even with that weird patch, this was my favourite photo of the ones I took because of the expression and line of sight.

  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Camera: NIKON D300S
  • Taken: 23 January, 2011
  • Focal length: 50mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Location: 33° 48.57′ 0″ S 151° 10.96′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 1/640s