Meme It Up!

I went to a party on Saturday night where the theme was to be dressed as a meme. For those of you unaware, a meme is a popular picture that has been thrust into the internet limelight and has had humourous text put on top.

I went as Bear Grylls of piss drinking fame.

Because I'd been to the apartment where the party was being held two times previously, I was ready for the lighting conditions of the place, namely that the lights were yellow. Really, really yellow.

This time though, I brought out the flash and thus the photos turned out quite pleasingly nice thanks to the cream coloured walls and the flash light which naturally comes out a bit cold. 

The night was quite fun and there were some really good costumes. It's unfortunate that I had to leave early because of work the next day but I stayed long enough to have a good time.

I've also applied to be a photographer on upallnight.com.au

Nightclub photography seems like quite an interesting and fun field. Definitely wouldn't mind doing it for a little bit, especially if it allows me to perve on chicks a bit and get paid to do it.

The NAIDOC XPT

Whilst not my first assignment within RailCorp, the NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) XPT (Express Passenger Train) proved to be quite challenging for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the weather wasn't great. In fact it was pretty miserable and the sky was a pale shade of grey as a result. 
Secondly, I was limited in space for moving around as I was restricted to shooting from the platform which was about 6m deep. 
Thirdly, the platform area was undercover which proved to actually be a curse as they had not turned on the lights which meant that the photos either turned out to be over exposed or under exposed. There seemed to be no happy middle ground as the camera's light meter was constantly thrown off. 


With all the excuses being said, it was still satisfying to find a couple of gems amongst the many bad photos I took. I would estimate that about 80% of the photos I took were deleted but that's also because I would take multiple shots of a scene "just in case". 


As for the event itself, RailCorp was unveiling an XPT that had been decorated to celebrate NAIDOC week. It was a decal of the Rainbow Serpent winding it's way across Australia. One of the GMs presenting commented on how apt it was as the train also made numerous journeys across Australia. There was also a couple of traditional Aboriginal dances, the ribbon cutting and then finally group shots.


For this shoot, the Tokina 11-16mm was quite a godsend as it allowed me to get all the elements into one frame without moving too far back.

How It All Started

Way back in February of 2012 I was about to go on a long, long holiday to New Zealand and Hong Kong. Somehow I decided that it was time I bought a camera so that I could record all the fun times I'd be experiencing. Having had no previous photography experience apart from trying to get an archaic Sony DSC-F828 to do what I wanted (I failed) and "artsy" food shots with the RetroCam app on my Desire HD, I really didn't know what I wanted. 
After some research I decided that a Sony NEX-C3 was the way to go as I wanted the option to change lens without the bulk of a big black DSLR. 

Sony NEX-C3 with 16mm and 18-55mm lenses

Before the trip, I went out with the camera and tried things out. I tested out Aperture and Manual control and by the time the holiday rolled around, I was able to get quite decent photos.
However, as time went on, I realised that the Sony range of lenses weren't the best and I wanted to take my photography to the next level. So naturally I bought a big black DSLR.

A D7000

The D7000 is a sweet thing and I knew I couldn't go wrong after seeing the spectacular images that my friends produced whilst also using D7000s.
Just recently I also added another camera to my collection. The wonderful Olympus OM-D EM-5.

Awesome looking thing

I've started doing more and more photography, both in casual and professional capacities. Working for RailCorp has allowed me opportunities to get out of the office and experience different events and I aim to cover both past and future assignments on this blog. I also bring my cameras to a lot of restaurants and parties and so those will also be covered. I guess I aim to be a bit like Robin Wong's blog in that I'll talk a bit about what I'm covering as well as the challenges of the particular environment. Finally, I hope to present to the reader something different in terms of a photography blog. Something that's not purely street, wedding, landscape, portrait, architecture, HDR, food, etc, etc.

Hopefully you find something you like and stay for the ride!