Macro Photography

Let it not be said that landscape photography is the only genre I am interested in. As a wee lad I was always fascinated with the small. Given that my favourite nature documentaries were those that contained insects and spiders, it was inevitable that I would turn photographic interest to the same.

 

I have recently added a new Macro Photography category to seanmisso.com which I am starting to grow. Full size images and information can be found there. Hope you enjoy them.

Arachnophobes have been warned!

New Look Sean Misso Gallery

It’s been well overdue. The humble Sean Misso gallery has had a revamp. I have taken an interesting path and really toned down the overall design to allow the focus to be on the images rather than the site design.

To this end the images in each category are now easier to view, using a JavaScript “slide show” script that allows you to see a large scale image that will fill the screen if you wish. Simply click the image to enlarge.

www.seanmisso.com

Great Ocean Road Summary

Well, it’s been a while now since our Great Ocean Road holiday has come to an end. We could have easily spent another two weeks there (and more) exploring all the visual opportunities the stretch of road has to offer.

The images posted on this blog during our trip were fairly raw and frankly underwhelming. The image compression this blog platform utilises strips all the good stuff out.

The properly treated images from our trip have now been added to the Sean Misso Gallery www.seanmisso.com and sorted into the various categories as appropriate

Otway National Park

Another big attraction of the Great Ocean Road is not actually the coast. It is the beautiful Otway’s!

The first time we came here we swore we would be back, better equipped and with more time to do the Otway’s Justice. Well that’s a laugh as there is so much to see in the Otway’s, one could spend months here exploring and photographing. There are a plethora of waterfalls and rainforest walks that have to be experienced to be appreciated. Without a doubt the most beautiful rainforest walk I have ever done is the walk to Beauchamp Falls (not one of the easiest, but so worth it).

Our GOR trip is sadly nearing its end. In one way I wish we could spend months here, but I also can’t wait to get back to Sydney and get some of the images printed!

Great Ocean Road Holiday Update

I think it’s interesting that the poster rocks for Victoria’s Great Ocean Road are the 12 Apostles. The stretch of road around Peterborough through to Port Campbell and beyond is littered with beautiful coastal rock formations. Louise and I had some field days exploring the many interesting coastal features along this stretch.

 

It is certainly not hard to understand how this coastline is shaped once you have visited here. The relentless wind and surf are perfect tools for artisan nature!

Canon 5DII is performing admirably. I have to admit I don’t miss loading film into my medium format Mamiya with frozen fingers!

We have just been hitting the Otway National Park while we are based in Lorne.

More to come.

Great Ocean Road 2011

Look out Victoria, Sean & Louise are back. This September we will be hitting the bitumen and revisiting a beautiful stretch of Victoria’s coastline and hinterland. Apart from a much needed holiday, this will be the first serious field use of the new Canon kit.

I am hoping to post a progress of our trip both in words and images on this blog. Only a few days to go Woo Hoo!

The Passing of Film

Let’s kick off this blog with an update…

For those close to me you may know that Film has been my medium of choice for landscape photography ever since I started shooting it. Sadly, the medium format Mamiya 7II and its beautiful lenses that have served me so well are now taking a back seat to a new Canon 5D MarkII and some L Series Lenses.

This seems a strange move for me given that when I examine a 6x7cm transparency/negative under a Magnifying Lupe on my light box, my jaw drops. The sheer quality and detail present would rival and beat some of the best digital sensors in modern cameras.

So WHY the change!

Very few labs if any these days print from film in the traditional analogue technique needed to do these images justice. Transparencies/negatives are instead today digitally scanned then printed with modern digital machines. In my opinion this robs the medium format transparency of its innate quality and character. Good quality high resolution scanning can come close but is also very costly, as is the cost of buying medium format film. These factors and many others have made shooting with medium format film an indulgence not compatible with the status quo (sigh).

Thanks to an amazingly good friend who let me borrow her Canon 5D MarkII, I learned that provided you start with a good quality digital file, the end result through a completely digital process, ending on professional papers can produce a result equal to that of the medium format legacy.

The Canon 5D MarkII is a beautiful piece of kit. Its primary attributes are a larger (full frame) sensor than most other DSLR’s and 21 Megapixels of resolution. A recent 24” x 36” test print I got made from this beast was a great success! It showed lots of detail, and not a hint of digital artefact. My favourite lens for now is the 16-35 f2.8L which is producing some amazingly crisp results. Together, these form my new landscape kit.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Mamiya and I am sure it will be engaged when I feel the need to commune with the analogue world but here’s to a new era!