Martin Pot - Photography Blog

Book Review: Canon 50D: From Snapshots to Great Shots

Martin Pot — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:48 +0800

Canon 50D From Snapshots to Great Shots

Intro

Jeff Revell (from PhotoWalkPro) has been a professional photographer for 25 years.

His book "Canon 50D: From Snapshots to Great Shots", published earlier this year, is written specifically to teach Canon 50D owners how to take great photographs, and to learn how to use the camera's features in different situations.

Target Audience

This book is clearly targeted at people who own a Canon 50D. It focuses specifically on the features, functionality and controls of the 50D, and as a result, would not be of much use to anyone who doesn't own a 50D.

Continue reading this post...

Ant Exploring Flower

Martin Pot — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:27 +0800

One of the first photos I took with the Canon 50D when I first bought it last year, I love the soft red texture of this flower.
This was taken in the Midgegooroo National Park, in Roleystone.

ant exploring flower

Midgegooroo National Park, Roleystone, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/250 sec, f/5, ISO400

Pine Tree Bark Textures

Martin Pot — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:30 +0800

A few weeks ago, I went for a drive through Langford Park, in Jarrahdale. In between rain showers, I ventured out of the car for a few forays into the bush.
I found the colour and texture of the pine tree bark fascinating, so here's a few photos focussing on the pine bark.

Firstly, here's a photo showing the wide range of colours in the bark.

pine bark detail

Langford Park, Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 17-85mm IS @41mm, 1/15 sec, f/5.6, ISO320

Continue reading this post...

Purple Flower Power and White Petals

Martin Pot — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:13 +0800

Here's a couple of photos of some flowers, taken while in Albany a few weeks ago.

purple flower power

Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/1600 sec, f/4, ISO200

Continue reading this post...

This Way

Martin Pot — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:00 +0800

A sign, rusted by the salt spray of the ocean, points the way at Albany's Whale World.

This Way

Whale World, Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO100

Whale Tow Boat

Martin Pot — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:00 +0800

This whale tow boat is one of the sights to see at Albany's Whale World.
The water in front of the flensing deck at the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station was too shallow for the whale chasers, so they would tie whale carcasses to a buoy a few hundred metres offshore. Tow boats such as the one shown below were then used to tow whale carcasses the last few hundred metres to shore.

an old whale tow boat

Whale World, Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @34mm, 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, ISO125

Cheynes IV Whalechaser

Martin Pot — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:53 +0800

This is the final resting place of one of the whalechasers used at the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station in Albany in the 1970s. It's now one of the attractions at Whale World, where you can explore the various nooks and crannies of the boat.

Cheynes IV whalechaser

Whale World, Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO200

The Cheynes IV was originally built in 1948 in Norway, and used for whaling in South Africa for a number of years. In 1970, the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company bought it, renamed it the Cheynes IV, and used it for whaling off Albany until the closure of the station in 1978. It was towed to its current location at Whale World in 1981.

Canola Fields

Martin Pot — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:17 +0800

While driving down to Albany recently, the many fields of blooming Canola look like a yellow carpet stretching over the hills. It's a great sight - particularly if there's a clear blue sky, and the sun is shining on the Canola.

Canola fields blooming

Cranbrook, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/60 sec, f/13, ISO100

Fremantle Maritime Museum

Martin Pot — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:53 +0800

The Maritime Museum in Fremantle is an interesting building, apparently shaped like an upturned hull which is half on land, and half on water. The museum is located at the site of the first landfall in Western Australia, which occurred in 1829.

Maritime Museum

Victoria Quay, Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @14mm, 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO100

This photo was taken during an early morning shoot in Fremantle with some friends and colleagues.
After a disappointing sunrise (too much cloud), we wandered along Victoria Quay for some additional photos, including the one shown above.

Ashley Wins First Prize

Martin Pot — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:01 +0800

My 10 year old son Ashley received a letter in the mail today, indicating he had won first prize in the "Plant and Animal Habitats" category for Years 4 to 7 of Chevron Australia's Focus Environment photography competition.

As can be expected, he was pretty excited about the win, and is looking forward to the presentation ceremony in October.

Here's his winning photo, taken in our back yard with one of my favourite lenses, the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens:

explorative spider

photo by Ashley, aged 10

back yard, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO200

Update (19 October 2009): We attended a presentation evening on 15 October, where Ashley received a certificate, and a cheque for $200, as well as $1500 for his school.
All the winning photos from the 2009 competition have now been published on Chevron's website, and the winning entries for each of the categories can be seen on these pages:
        People and the Environment
        Nature's Moods
        Plant and Animal Habitats