Monthly Archives: December 2011

Warthog Black and White


As Farmer Hoggett from the movie “Babe” would say:  That’ll do, pig.  That’ll do.

Image details: ISO 400, 600mm, f8, 1/400 second.

The Response: FroKnowsPhoto RAW Edit of the WEEK 56


Check the comments on the youtube channel (under the video). The RAW edits that Adam and Jared do on my image are much better than mine – jealous!

Happy Holidays


I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported Leigh Diprose Photography over 2011.

2011 has been a tough year with lots of major changes in my life. I would like to thank you all for supporting this blog with your comments, shares and views. You all give me inspiration to continue in my creative adventures.

 

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday break. I’ll see you all again in 2012!

Fro Knows Photo Raw Edit of the week 56


I submitted my RAW image to the Jared Polin aka ‘froknowsphoto‘ in America to do a RAW edit of the week.

Check out the video…this thing is going to go viral! My image is going all over this massive earth. Thanks Jared for choosing it.

Here is my final jpeg edit (The original)

Geraldton Homes


I was given a business card by Serena, the manager and registered builder at Kevin Giudice & Co / Geraldton Homes. I wanted to give the business card a bit of a lift so I got to work and put this together for them.

If you love apple products you will love this short clip. Enjoy.

Albany Wedding


The last wedding I photographed in Albany was absolutely amazing. A gorgeous couple, bridal party and wonderful guests made this wedding such a pleasure to photograph.

Thanks to the rest of the team for making this a day to remember.

I will post some more photos later in the week so stay tuned.

Social Media and Photography


You may have guessed I’m addicted to photography and social media. People often ask me why they should use facebook, twitter or even google plus…..hopefully this post will offer some insite.

Firstly social media platforms are a tool to distribute your content. I rely heavily on all my social media platforms to broadcast my content.

The social media platforms I use are:

Facebook, Facebook Page, Twitter, Google plus, Linkedin, Flickr, Tumblr, Instragram, Friendfeed, Myspace, Blogger, Wordpress, Youtube, Vimeo, Spreecast and various photography forums.

This list of social media platforms will continue to grow. I predict in the near future I will be on 100+ social media platforms.

Each platform is linked directly to my blog on wordpress (where you can subscribe – shameless plug!)

All of the platforms mentioned offer different styles of subscribing to increase your audience. For example Twitter people follow you and Facebook people like you. It is a matter of engaging with users by developing content that drives you. Photography is the driving force for me.

It is very important for me to make this next step clear. If you are going to go down the road of social media to increase your audience then you better have lots of time on your hands. Social media borders on a full time job (same cases it is). Constantly checking every platform you post to as well as commenting and engaging with your audience is no walk in the park. When you post a photo be prepared to spend hours on the computer talking to people about the photo and offer advice where it is needed…at this point you may think this is not for me….if you think that then yes you are probably right – it isn’t for you! It takes a focused individual to engage with the online social world. The reason I do it is I get so much joy out of sharing my photographic knowledge with others. I mean what is the point of keeping it all to yourself??

So now that you have your content out on all your social media platforms how do you measure how you are going?  One word – KLOUT. Klout is a fantastic tool to measure your influence. According to Klout everyone has influence. So connect with Klout and give me a +K if this post has influenced you. (another shameless plug!)

Almost every social media platform out there has some sort of stat program attached. Although you have to be careful about stat watching…..simple answer don’t look at your stats for the first 6 months! Numbers don’t matter. You should be doing this purely for the joy that you get out of it. I mean… I love photography. I live for anything photographic. So stats don’t matter to me. It’s the joy I get out of sharing that counts.

I don’t want to go into too much more on this subject…I could be here all day. I encourage everyone reading this to get out there any share their great content armed with this new knowledge.

…I’m off to the movies now (did I mention that it is important to have a life as well?)

If you would like to know more about increasing your photography or business exposure through social media I can be contacted as a consultant by email – leighdiprosephotography@yahoo.com.au

BLAME Feature Film


There has been some exciting developments over the last few weeks that have led me down the path of researching the property where I am currently living. It turns out that a feature film called “BLAME” was recently filmed on the property.

For anyone who as visited me at the property you might recognise a few things in some of the clips below!

The film stars Damian de Montemas (The Secret Life of Us, Underbelly: Tale of Two Cities), Sophie Lowe (Beautiful Kate, Blessed), Kestie Morassi (Wolf Creek, Dirty Deeds), Simon Stone (Jindabyne, Balibo), Mark Winter (Balibo, HBO’s The Pacific), Ashley Zukerman (Ch 10’s Rush and HBO’s The Pacific). Directed by Michael John Henry (Without a Sound).

Seeking retribution for a past crime, a group of young friends invade a man’s home and set out to fake his suicide. When their plan is bungled secrets and lies are exposed that force the group to question each other’s motives.  – accessreel.com

Here are a few links about the film.

You can also see a selection of clips listed below on the  Blame Facebook Page

David and Margaret at the Movies review

Richard Wilkins – Channel 9 Today Show review

Channel 10 news story

Gday from Australia! Friday Flickr Photoset Critique


I decided to send a flickr photo set to Adam Lerner (as seen on FroKnowsPhoto.com) for the Friday Flickr Photo Critique.

I was glad to hear some constructive criticism from all the viewers and Adam about losing the photo frames around my images.

The most recent images I have posted on the blog have the new watermark on them and no more frames! YAY!

To answer some of Adams questions about the images I have put together the following:

Where the images were photographed and some of the before and after photos after my Photoshop brush got to them.

Adams Friday Flickr Photoset Critique on Youtube can been seen here:

Adam Lerner – Friday Flickr Photo Critique

My brief response to Adams youtube clip:

The first image was taken at Russell Falls in Tasmania. The final image was made from a 6 image stitch.

The second image of lavender has had some tones added to the photo

The third image was taken at the Pinnacles in Western Australia. I stood in the desert holding an umbrella protecting my camera from the strong wind. The total exposure time was 4 hours. I waited for the sunrise to get the golden light on some of the Pinnacle formations.

The fourth image has been shot against a cloudy sky. To have a clean white background. Adam you were spot on!

The fifth image of the saltlake footprints was taken near Karratha, Western Australia

The sixth image of the police officers has been heavily edited (see below)

The seventh image was taken from a hot air balloon at sunrise in the Hunter Valley, Western Australia

The eighth image has had a slight crop…roughly 2 percent of the image. I captured the Osprey with a Canon 400mm f5.6 after getting extremely close to it.

The nineth image has been warmed up to capture the sunrise. Taken at Gordon River, Western Australia

The last image was taken at Port Hedland. I got up really early for this sunrise (looking over a bay)

Below is the before and after of a few of the images….original image is on the left and edited is on the right.

Please note: The first original image of Russell Falls isn’t the original image. I don’t have a saved copy of the original edited one….this one is very similar…you should get the idea.

Thanks again to Adam for choosing my images to critique. Keep up the brilliant tutorials on lighting and general photography and I look forward to the next spreecast you do with Jared Polin (www.froknowsphoto.com).

If you are new to the blog I would love to hear your feedback…so feel free to leave me a comment.

Camera Courses


Back by popular demand!

Andrew Halsall and myself have run similar weekend camera courses in Albany, Western Australia. We have decided to run the same style of course in Perth for beginners and advanced photographers.

The course is designed to teach you how to get the best out of your equipment so if you have ever wanted to know how to take better landscapes, wildlife images or portraits then this course is for you!

This practical hands on course runs over one full day with lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea provided.

So why not come along and learn everything you ever wanted to know about photography. To find out the course information and pricing on this popular course you can speak to:

Nikola, Warren or any of the team at Joondalup Camera House – 08 9301 0707

Russell or any of the team at Midland Camera House – 08 9250 1635

Eric or any of the team at Morley Camera House – 08 9275 4646

Also additional information can be found on the following website:

www.cameracourse.wordpress.com

Rain


I was unsure what to call this image. Decided that a simple description was best.

As you all probably know by now I love my bird photography. This image is quite special to me…you see just as I finished photographing this spectacular scene I jumped back in the car and continued over the ridge (pictured in the photograph). To my surprise as I reached the crest, four massive Wedge Tailed Eagles appeared before my eyes!

Considering I went to the Stirling Ranges to look for Wedge Tailed Eagles I thought I had hit the jackpot but alas at that point the heavens decided to open. The visibility was poor and my Canon 1D MKIV and 400mm L series lens weren’t able to deal with the buckets of water falling from the sky.  I sat watching the four winged giants from the comfort of the car as they took to the sky beyond the reach of my lens…such a disappointment!

There will other opportunities to photograph these amazing animals. I intend on returning to this very spot to see if I can catch another glimpse and hopefully pull off some cracker shots.

Moon Photography


My first post from my new telescope! I must say it certainly is an experience photographing something at 1300mm!

The Moon Close Up

A big shout out to Russell at Midland Camera House! If you ever need a telescope he is the man!