January 6th – Nude in an abandoned building

This year got off to an amazing start as I did a beautiful shoot with a dear friend in an incredible location. Being a local of Emerald and with a few contacts who can get me access to locations the public don’t often see is a great boon for my photography. This particular location is a century old brick building of cultural significance. The things that made it special to me as a shoot location was the gorgeous textures and patinas on the walls and floor, as well as two windows, high in adjacent walls, which catch the late afternoon sun and project beams of golden light into the space. I knew it would be an amazing location for an art nude shoot, and I was extremely fortunate that Elain volunteered to shoot here with me on only her second art nude shoot. Though it was very hot, and I had to clear the floor of pigeon droppings, the shoot worked out exactly how I imagined it to! This image is my favourite from the shoot due to the beautiful lighting, the wonderful pose by Elain and the mood of the scene. I even sold a print of this image in my first solo exhibition!

You can see the whole album here: https://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Nude/Elain-Old-Building-170106

Canon 5D3
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L
1/100sec f6.3 ISO100

February 26th – Astral Projection

As is obvious by my first photo, I continued to develop my art nude photography this year, and I started to experiment with different concepts for the shoots. Art nude and astrophotography are two of my greatest passions in photography, so I wanted to bring them together. For this idea I borrowed a digital projector, and in my home studio projected a variety of my astrophotography images onto Elain who worked with me again on this shoot. Thank you Elain! You’re the best! <3

What I love about this concept is using my own images to create new images, and the message of the connectedness of humanity with the cosmos. We are all made of starstuff.

You can see the whole album here: https://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Nude/Astral-Projection-170226

Canon 5D3
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L
1/80sec f2.8 ISO320

March 31st – Rho Ophiuchus Clouds

I also continued to develop my astrophotography skills. The biggest step up this year came with the purchase of a dedicated astrophotography camera. This camera is extra sensitive to low light, can capture light normally filtered out by other cameras, and can be cooled to reduce noise levels as much as possible. On the astrophotography boot camp hosted by the Astronomical Society of Victoria I captured this image of a segment of one of my favourite parts of the sky, the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula Complex. These complex, delicate clouds span hundreds of light years and show subtle details and structures which I was able to reveal.

Camera: ASI1600MC-C
Telescope: 8“ f4 reflecting newtonian
Mount: NEQ6
Guiding: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Control software: Sequence generator pro
50x5min exposures, 4:10hrs total
Bias and flat calibration frames used
Edited in Pixinsight and Lightroom

May 21st – Kara Colourful Nude

One of the new things I began this year was to set up a Patreon page where people could support my work: patreon.com/neilcreek

As a reward for patrons who support me at the level of $10 per month, I create and exclusive photo shoot which is available to them only for three months before becoming public. This shoot with Kara was one of the first of these shoots, and it was another art nude shoot where I got to try out an idea I’ve been wanting to for a while! I love colour and I wanted to try a nude shoot where the only lights used were bright, saturated colours. We tried a few different combinations and I was very pleased with the outcome! I plan to do more like this in the future. This was also the first time Kara and I worked together, and her first nude shoot! Kara deserves a lot of respect and admiration for her courage and skill on this shoot :)

You can see the whole album here: https://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Nude/Kara-Colours-170521

Canon 5D3
Canon 24-70mm
1/125sec f5 ISO100

June 11th – Aura Vale Lake Aerial Little World

Working primarily as a real estate photographer, I need to keep up with the times and provide a variety of services to my lovely clients. With the improving capabilities and decreasing prices of drones, I was able to justify the purchase of one for my work to offer aerial photography as well. I have had so much fun with this amazing piece of technology, and have been able to create images from vantage points I would never have otherwise been able to. This ‘little planet’ 360 degree panorama is one example. Taken as a series of 32 five shot auto exposure bracketed images, the final result is made up of 160 separate photos taken by the drone as it hovered over Aura Vale Lake in Cardinia. I love the colour and light in this image, as do my friends Kate and Arvind who purchased this image for their home! A huge print of this now hangs in their dining room.

DJI Mavic Pro
32 x 5 shot AEB
Processed in Lightroom
Stitched in PT Gui

July 9th – Kancolle Battleship Girls

I do still shoot cosplay! Just not as often as I used to :) But when I do it’s always lots of fun, especially when it’s with a group of friends. On this shoot I got to work with some of my favourite people, at a scenic location in beautiful light. Never mind that it was freezing cold and most of us lost feeling in our fingers! Also on the shoot was my mate Trung with his import car covered in art from the same series as the cosplayers!

This shoot is unfortunately in my backlog to process, but I’ll update this post with a link to the album when it’s done.

Canon 5D3
Canon 135mm f2.0L
1/500sec f2 ISO100

July 18th – MacDonnell Ranges from the Air

In July I met up with family who were doing a four month driving tour of the Western half of Australia for a couple of weeks around Alice Springs. I took the drone along with me and had ample opportunity to put it to use. The scenery in the Red Centre is absolutely breathtaking, even more so from the air. This beautiful mountain ridge is part of the MacDonnell Ranges, and as we were driving along it in the late afternoon, the sunlight turned golden and made the geology and vegetation stand out in dramatic relief. I took the drone up for a few photos and this was my favourite.

The majority of the photos from the trip are still in my backlog to process, but I’ll update this post with a link to the album when it’s done.

DJI Mavic Pro
1/1000sec f2.2 ISO100

July 20th – The Whole Night Sky from Alice

While in Central Australia I took advantage of some of the darkest, clearest skies in the world and did some astrophotography. One of the shots I was keen to get was a 360 panorama of the whole sky and the Milky Way high overhead. This is my best night sky panorama yet!

You can see an interactive view of this panorama here: https://roundme.com/tour/181294/view/468835/

Canon 5D3
Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye
7x 30sec f2.8 ISO3200
Processed in Lightroom
Stitched in PTGui

October 22nd – Abandoned Country Kitchen

I love exploring and photographing abandoned locations, and while on the road in country Victoria for a stargazing event I saw a run-down and open cottage from the street. I pulled over, grabbed my camera and tripod and explored the place taking lots of HDR photos as I went. This view over the old kitchen sink to the outside through a broken window is my favourite of the lot.

You can see the whole album here: https://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Places/Abandoned-House-near-Nhill-171022

Canon 5D3
Canon 16-35mm f4L
5 shot AEB centred on:
1/50sec f11 ISO100

November 21st – The Running Man Nebula

I’ve been struggling with the complexities of astrophotography through my telescope and processing of those photos for most of the year. However I have also been fortunate to have the assistance of many talented and experienced friends to help me improve my work. I’m thrilled to end this year’s top 10 with what I think may be my best astrophoto so far, showing the fruits of that help. I know of many ways I can further improve, but I’m very proud of this shot and I know that the improvement is showing in my work. Look forward to more cool space shots next year!

Telescope: 8“ f4 Newtonian
Camera: ZWO ASI1600-MCC
Mount: NEQ6
24x5min – 2hrs total exposure
Processed in Pixinsight and Lightroom

That concludes another year’s top 10. Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and if you want to help me continue to develop my skills and spend more time on the creative side of photography than on the breadwinning, please consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/neilcreek

Thank you and happy new year!

I have always had an interest in photography, and I’d even owned a crappy digital compact camera before this one, but once I saved up and bought the Sigma SD10 photography truly became a passion of mine.

In the last 10 years photography has become more than just a passion, but a profession and a major part of how I define who I am as a person. I have met many people and made amazing friends. I have had experiences that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I have learned to see the world in ways that I couldn’t have imagined without seeing them through the lens. I have become a photography educator and helped tens of thousands of people to become better photographers themselves, and in doing so I have earned enough money (with Naomi’s help!) to buy the home of our dreams.

Photography drives me, keeps me young and creative and never ceases to give me something to look forward to, whether it’s the next shoot or what I imagine doing with the camera in another ten years. Whatever it is, I’m certain it will be as fulfilling and fun as it is today.

Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. I hope you will enjoy watching my work for the next ten!

Last week I did a cosplay shoot with long-time friend and model Siami as Vocaloid SeeU (seen here on the right). We shot at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition centre, which turned out to be a perfect location.

We were assisted by Grace, and I took a few casual shots of both of the girls before Siami changed into her costume.

You can see the full cosplay shoot here: http://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Costuming/Siami-SeeU-140219/

You can see the casual photos of Siami and Grace here: http://neilcreek.smugmug.com/Friends/Siami-Grace-Casual/

February 23rd – Flour Nude

Because this is an art nude photo, the image here is a blurred version. If you are okay to look at artistic nudity, please click on the image to see the original version.

1/160sec f11 ISO100

A very creative friend of mine suggested a photo shoot using flour as a prop, and we had a heap of fun with the idea and got some great shots. One of the mini shoots I did with this setup was an art nude shoot with Mai. I’ve always loved the idea of the human body as a landscape, and for some reason the addition of flour just added to that vision. I love how this photo came out, the lines and shapes, and how it’s almost abstract and not immediately obviously a human body. Click to see more from the shoot.

April 26th – Kat as Xiao Mei

This year I wanted to make an effort to find better locations for my photo shoots, and for this one of a pirate catgirl, a two hour trip to the beautiful rocky coastline at Portsea was just what was needed! While it was a challenging shoot with a very long drive each way, difficult terrain and limited actual shooting time, it was a lot of fun! Kat is wonderful to work with, and the sunset we saw was simply beautiful. It’s worth taking the time to find the best locations. Click to see more from the shoot.

June 7th – Ibis in Flight

1/800sec f6.3 ISO1000

While driving home from another shoot and with some time to kill, I spotted a sign for some wetlands. I turned the car around and got out for a walk with no idea what to expect. I’m glad I did! The sun was setting and golden hour was making the scene look beautiful. Water, reeds and many many birds provided ample photo opportunities. I attempted to catch some photos of birds in flight, deliberately choosing a fast shutter speed, and when this ibis flew towards the sun I was able to capture it nicely backlit. Click to see more from the shoot.

July 27th – Egg Sack

Macro – 1/125sec f16 ISO800

While working in the garden I turned over a log and found a couple of these remarkable bright orange balls. Each were about one centimetre in diameter and their colour and the delicate lace work surrounding them made them stand out against the dark wood. I brought one in and shot it with my macro extension tubes to get close. I used predominantly back lighting to highlight the white threads, and I discovered that I could see the silhouettes of the eggs inside! I’m told that these were laid by some kind of spider.

September 28th – Moonrise Over Lake Eppalock

6sec f5.6 ISO1600

Once again this year I assisted Phil Hart with the running of the Night Sky Photography Workshops. As usual once the students were confident in their skills and were shooting the sky at their own pace I was able to take photos for myself. This time I stayed up very late with several others to watch the moon rise over Lake Eppalock. We were fortunate that the lake was very misty that night, creating a truly other worldly scene. Click to see more from the workshop.

November 10th – SNK Police

1/125sec f2.8 ISO160

Some friends wanted to do a crossover cosplay shoot from two series I hadn’t seen, but when they sent me some reference shots I knew I wanted to go for a badass modern movie look, and it suited their outfits very well! I really pushed the dramatic lighting and pushed even further in processing. They loved the results and I felt like I had ramped up my cosplay photography to a new level. I think I was able to maintain that level for the remainder of my cosplay shoots for the year. Click to see more from the shoot.

November 26th – Mel Glow

1/30sec f3.2 ISO12800

I had fun and success with a UV reactive glow in the dark body art shoot earlier in the year, so I wanted to do more shoots like it. For this shoot I asked Mei to create the art, and it was a truly spontaneous creation, unplanned from start to finish. Mel made a gorgeous model and her white bikini provided a gorgeous blue glow to contrast with the orange art. Add in some christmas lights and I got this photo. Click to see more from the shoot.

November 30th – Rosie as Lara

1/400sec f8 ISO160

For this shoot I was able to find possibly the most incredible location at which I’ve ever been able to shoot. I never would have thought I could find a desert in “The Garden State”, but the Big Drift is vast and just being there was an awesome experience. The photos of Rosemary as Lara Croft (and Mei as Yoko Littner whom I also shot at the same time) looked particularly given the setting and it was a super fun – if tiring – experience for us all. Click to see more from the shoot.

December 8th – Annalisa as Rei

1/50sec f2.8 ISO6400

This was something of a dream shoot, working with the always lovely Annalisa as Rei Ayanami from one of the first anime titles I watched (Neon Genesis Evangelion), at a location perfect for a sci fi scene – the beautiful Melbourne city skyline. The shoot was a little short, and we were dodging bad weather, but we both had a vision and worked well together and were able to nail shot after shot. Adding the iconic huge moon that appeared in the series elevated this photo from a good cosplay shot to one of my favourites for the year. Click to see more from the shoot.

December 20th – Fairy Lights Grace

1/40sec f1.8 ISO3200

With christmas approaching I was inspired to do a fairy light themed glamour shoot, and Grace was thrilled to be the model. Working only by the fairy lights and a couple of candles it was a very dark and very challenging shoot, but creating an intimate, sweet mood was very easy. Grace was beautiful in her outfit and the photos came out better than we had hoped. Click to see more from the shoot.

Plus two extras

It’s always hard to cull your work for a year down to just ten photos, so it’s become something of a tradition for me to post a couple of extra photos I just couldn’t leave off the list completely.

April 13th – Bladerunner Inspired Fashion

1/6sec f6.3 ISO400

December 20th – Fairy Lights Grace

1/40sec f2 ISO3200