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Hooroo, Australia!

Brian M — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 23:05:59 +0000

Well, today marks four weeks since I had left the Bay Area for a whirlwind trip to Tokyo and all around Australia. During that time, I was able to meet up with some great old friends and take on some fantastic new ones. I even got to give a big hug to Gretchen Chappelle, a wonderful and artistic soul who I’ve known for a few years here on Google+ and was finally able to HIRL. I had the fortune of visiting some remarkable locations and even got to witness some of them under extremely rare circumstances. In all, it truly has been a memorable month and I sincerely want to thank Lauren Bath, Matt Glastonbury and the wonderful folks at Topdeck Travel for putting on such a great time. But now, I’m ready to kick off the 14 hour flight back home and see my family, get reconnected with my colleagues, and prep for the move back to Portland.

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos that were shared along the way. I promise there are plenty more to come! Now bring on the faster bandwidth – papa needs some fast intarweb speedz!

Join me for a Google+ Sydney Photowalk this Saturday!

Brian M — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 01:15:19 +0000

I’m in Sydney for a few more days and am putting together a photowalk with Matt Glastonbury, Lauren Bath and a bunch of friends!. We’re meeting up tomorrow, Saturday, April 12th at 2:30PM on the stairs of the Sydney Opera House. The walk will kick off at 3PM and we’ll shove off from there. I hope to see you there!

Event details & RSVP

Uluru’s 1%

Brian M — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 01:19:43 +0000

In the wake of the unprecedented amount of rainfall we experienced in Uuru and Yulara over the past few days, it turns out that this Topdeck Travel crew managed to experience an occurrence that less than 1% of all visitors ever get to see: a flowing waterfall at the Mutitjulu Waterhole. Coincidentally, the local news station here covered this rare occurrence, which is where my stat is sourced from. While it may not compare to the gushing waterfalls of the US’s Pacific Northwest, it was truly wonderful to witness this for myself. Thanks to the Uluru National Parks ranger who kindly kept a warm of other tour groups at bay, minimizing any vibrations from the metal grated floor!

Sadly, today marks the last day of our epic Australian adventure, although a small group of us are staying back in Sydney through Sunday for extended play!

When lightning greets Uluru

Brian M — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 22:16:01 +0000

I think it has rained non-stop since we arrived in Australia‘s Northern Territory. Normally, this would be a reason to be bummed but along with the rain can come some pretty epic storm clouds. Thankfully, that was the case on our last evening visiting Uluru. When we arrived here for sunset, we were greeted with one of the most menacing arrays of clouds that I’ve ever seen.

As they approached us, several bolts of lightning flashing, causing all of the Topdeck Travel photographers to shift their attention from the giant rock to capturing the crack of lighting bolts. As the storm passed over our heads, I noticed the lightning start striking closer and closer to Uluru, whereas a few minutes prior, it was literally 180-degrees behind us.

I had my Canon 15mm Fisheye Funkbuster lens on and didn’t have the time to switch to anything longer (partly because of how fast the storm was moving and because of the heavy rain that began to fall) so I had to rely on a rather significant crop, making me even more thankful for shooting with a high-megapixel FF camera. Of all my attempts, this was the best result depicting lightning striking in the vicinity of Uluru, which apparently is super rare. Editing was pretty straightforward just using Lightroom.

Uluru and the elements

Brian M — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 05:18:45 +0000

We really did have the best of intentions this morning. The alarm went off at 4:30AM, managed to get a quick shower in, and headed off to meet the rest of the Topdeck Travel photographers on our shuttle. The goal was to be the first ones at the gate of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia‘s Northern Territory (a mission that we accomplished). Being the first ones there ensured we’d get primo spots for sunrise at the designated viewing area, however the elements had their own agenda.

While there was no real sunrise to speak of, we were able to reap the benefits of this inclement weather by capturing a swath of fog rolling across the top of Uluru. Apparently, this is fairly rare to capture, so despite the steady rain that we’re having, I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to experience this phenomenon.

I used my Formatt-Hitech 10-Stop IRND filter to drag the shutter of my Sony A7 and Sony FE 24-70mm lens. All stylization was done in Nik Analog Efex Pro.

In the shadow of Uluru

Brian M — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 19:11:22 +0000

Yesterday afternoon, the we landed at Connellan Airport near Yulara. We’re spending the next few days out in the bush, exploring Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), Alice Springs, and other points within Australia’s vast Northern Territory outback. After getting settled into our rooms, we made our way to a particular lookout that is supposed to provide a great vantage point for sunset. Because the people who run the national park that Uluru is in have such stringent restrictions around where we can and can’t photograph, or even what we can or can’t photograph, we were limited to a relatively small swath of land to set up. By the time sunset rolled around, the entire place was teeming with other visitors, all clamoring to stake a place in the ground from where to nab their own photographic memories.

As you can see in this photo, there wasn’t much of a sunset to speak of. We did have some very impressive clouds roll through. One particular cloud even hugged the top of Uluru (as you can see), which was a welcome addition.

The goal for today is to get on the bus at 5AM with hopes of being the very first vehicles at the park gate when it opens. This will give us the best chance of finding primo spots for sunrise. Not much sleep lately, but thankfully there are photos that all make up for it!

Through the fog

Brian M — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:23:06 +0000

While on our Topdeck Travel shuttle coach yesterday, as we were en route to Sydney, we drove through a wooded area that was dense with fog. Everyone on the shuttle immediately began clamoring to pull the shuttle over so that we could capture the atmospheric beauty on either side of the road. Thankfully, our wonderful drive, Lee, obliged us with 20 minutes of frantic run all through the road photography time.

This was one of my favorite photos from the mini shoot. I spied this path from the bus and knew that it would be the first place I would run to. I love how much impact something as fleeting as fog can have on an image. It’s nature’s layer maker.

In any case, I was really glad to meet William Patino in person over breakfast. He’s a really killer photographer who I certainly recommend circling. Other than that, we’re now off to a crazy zoo visit, a climb up the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and a sunset shoot at Bondi Beach today. Hope you’re all enjoying your Fridays or Saturdays!

First light over Crescent Head

Brian M — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:54:00 +0000

Oh, how I love the Photographer’s Hustle. You know what I’m talking about, I’m sure. It’s that half run/half gallop that you start on when you pull up to your destination and realize that you should have been here 30 minutes earlier. That’s what our group of Topdeck Travel photographers busted into when we arrived at the parking lot of this location.

As is quickly becoming the norm, I’m realizing, Australia has some of the most beautiful weather and landscapes. And when you combine the two, especially at sunrise and sunset, you’re almost always guaranteed to be left standing there, jaw agape, and in awe.

Today, we’re off to a the Hunter Valley Resort for some wine tasting and grape stomping before making our way further south to Sydney. Tomorrow is goiang to be an intense day with special access to Taronga Zoo and media passes allowing us to bring our cameras up as we climb up the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Wooha!

First light over Byron Bay

Brian M — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:39:15 +0000

This morning, we departed Byron Bay as we continue onward, eventually making our way to Sydney, Uluru, Alice Springs, and the Northern Territory. Before actually making tracks, we headed out to Main Beach in Byron Bay to capture the sunrise over mainland Australia’s easternmost point.. True to form, it was a beautiful, serene, and picturesque sight.

My favorite from this morning was this photo of the sun beginning to break the cliff’s horizon line, with its crown of crepuscular rays, and the silhouette of the Cape Byron Lighthouse. Next up is surf camp with the Topdeck Travel crew!

Purchase this print

Early man catches the fish

Brian M — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 00:06:01 +0000

This morning, the lot of us woke up nice ‘n early and beelined it to Tallow Beach in Byron Bay, NSW to capture what turned out to be quite a beautiful sunrise. Plenty of clouds and some crashing waves added to the overall scene quite nicely. Initially, Lauren Bath and I had our focus on a lovely piece of driftwood that we (well, mostly Lauren) dragged down to the shore.

After spending about 15 minutes with it, I noticed this fisherman and his mate (who I masked out) make his way right out into the water, standing on some rocks that were jutting out. At first, I was bummed that I didn’t have a longer lens (the longest one I have is Nicole S. Young‘s Canon 70-200mm f/4IS mounted on my Sony A7) but ultimately, it ended up working out nicely. I love how diminutive the fisherman looks in the frame, really adding gravitas to the enormity of the surrounding nature.

I edited this photo earlier today during some much needed free time from our excellent itinerary put together by Topdeck Travel. I did most of the editing in Nik Analog Efex Pro and finished it up in Lightroom.