"Ghostly Dream"

"Ghostly Dream"

To some, life is but a ghostly dream. Not too many details, not too many dramas. Everything is calm, like the stillness of the water. Shadows of people come and go, like ghosts from distant memories. Time and space is irrelevant, a second could feel like a lifetime, or a lifetime could go by just as quick as a blink of the eyes.

To some, life is but a ghostly dream. But the question is, would you choose to live in that dream forever, or wake up to the colourful, exciting world on the other side??

"Ghostly Dream"

"The Sunset Jet"

"The Sunset Jet"

Few days before I took this photo I went to the same beach, and witnessed the best sunset ever. BUT, the problem was, I DID NOT HAVE MY DSLR WITH ME! I was so disappointed. So I was determined, to go back in 2 days and hope that it'll be as good.

The sky and clouds weren't as beautiful as that other day, but there's this jet parked just right in front of me, of course I grabbed the opportunity to make use of it and include it in my composition. I'm really pleased with the result.

I've been feeling really down lately due to not being too active with my photography, and this trip really picked me up again. I love shooting seascapes, especially during sunset. Something about the sound of the waves (despite the hundreds of people there with me) just calms me down and clears my mind. I left that day feeling content. Would've been nice if someone was with me though. :)

"The Sunset Jet"

"Soul"

"Soul"
Everybody has a soul, but I say every photo has one too!
A soulful moment by The Potbellez during the Australia Day concert.

"Soul"

Project 365 Day 24, 25

"Shoes", "Shine"

Not much to say about these two, so enjoy! :)

"Shoes"

"Shine"

Project 365 Days 22, 23

"Beats", "Man-made Disaster"

Double photos tonight! Really need to catch up on posting. I've got photos but no time to post!

Day 22, I've got a shot of the Republic of Gamers Headset that came with my gaming laptop 2 years ago. I don't use it often enough, and I'm gonna change that! The quality is pretty good! :)

Day 23, There's currently a sculpture exhibition down at Brighton Jetty. And this one really conveys a lot of message. The "washed-up" tyres with the fake plastic bags remind us how much damage we are doing to mother nature. A very meaningful one indeed!

"Beats"

"Man-made Disaster"

Project 365 Day 21

"The Watching Eye"

Do you know, that no matter where we are, there will always be a watchful eye gazing down on us. It will judge our words and actions, and will shine with our happiness and cry with our misery.

A sleepless night worrying about people climbing into my backyard to steal the camera, and 6 hours (!) worth of photos stacked together to create this star trail. 

"The Watching Eye"

Project 365 Day 20

"Tandoori Chicken with Rice and Salad"

Apart from photography, one other thing I enjoy doing is cooking. Even though I don't do it that often, I really enjoy creating something from scratch. This is the tandoori chicken that I cooked today. Major YUM!

"Tandoori Chicken with Rice and Salad"

Project 365 Day 19

"When I Grow Up"

When I grow up, I want to be like my parents;
When I grow up, I want to be successful;
When I grow up, I want the world to be a better place;
When I grow up, I want love and happiness to be everywhere;
When I grow up, I will change this world, I know I can.

"When I Grow Up"

Project 365 Day 18

"He is MINE"

Yes yes I know it's been a few days since I posted, but I actually do have the photos just couldn't find the time to post.

I'm starting to contemplate whether to only post twice a week, with each post a few day's worth of photos. With my current job it is almost impossible to find time taking photos everyday, so I don't even dare to think about posting everyday. I think I'll try posting only twice a week next week and see how I go.

Anyway my beloved dog Cappuccino just had a groom, and this is a cute little shot of him protecting his puppy toy. Enjoy!

"He is MINE"

"Lazy Sunday"

"Lazy Sunday"

I feel really bad for not taking any good photo for the Project 365 today, so I'm sharing this one as a bonus.

This shot was taken during my little adventure up Morialta Conservation Park last Sunday. This cute little koala was having a nice afternoon nap when we were returning. Such a lazy bum!

"Lazy Sunday"

Project 365 Day 17

"Man Cave"

No fancy photo today. But I would like to show you where all the magic happens!
As you can see, time to upgrade to a better system for photo processing, but budget doesn't allow it. :(

"Man Cave"

Project 365 Day 16

"Give Me A Treat!"

Goodwood Oval is one of the happiest place on earth. Everyday there will be a lot of people walking their dogs, and it's a nice little community. Even though we've moved away from the area we still often find ourselves driving back to this place just to see all the dogs and owners and have a little fun!

"Give Me A Treat!"

Project 365 Day 15

"Tiger Roll"

When you are sad, Sushi Train always takes away the pain!

"Tiger Roll"

Project 365 Day 14

"Bipolar"

I have this very interesting gear that I never use. I don't even know what it's called. But anyways I found a very special use for it. The photo below is (almost) SOOC (straight out of camera), the 2 blended sides are all done in-camera. Very interesting.

"Bipolar"

Project 365 Day 13

"Morialta's Edge"

I've conquered the sea (side), I've conquered the city.

I've conquered the streets, I've conquered the fields.

Now, I've conquered a mountain.

With a heavy morning rain I thought there would be at least some water at Morialta Falls, but I was wrong. It is our first time going there and we climbed all the way to the first fall. NOT A DROP OF WATER. We decided to challenge ourselves and climbed up to the lookout, and almost died due to being so unfit. But the view was totally worth it. I must come back during autumn/winter when there's water, as I can see it being an awesome shot already!

This is a megashot comprising of 20 different photos stitched together and then cropped accordingly to get the vista feel.

"Morialta's Edge"

Project 365 Day 12

"Vintage"

Vintage car display at the McLaren Vale Harvest Festival.

I find that with Project 365 I've been experimenting with a lot of different styles of photography. And although this may be a good thing, it also has a flip side. It makes me so diverse that there is not a style to call my own. Thomas Hawk has street, Trey Ratcliffe has HDR, Ken Duncan has landscape. Me? I'm just a regular photographer which struggles to get anyone's attention with my non-unique types of photos.

My mind has taken a HUGE turn for the worse these few days. I know it's not good but I cannot help it. I keep thinking no one likes or even bothers to look at my photos at all, and that takes the fun out of me because my main aim is to share the photos to the world and hopefully make someone's day. If no one looks, then why bother?

Anyways, I really love how this shot turned out. As soon as I saw the steering wheel I knew I had to do a B&W of it, because it stands out so much.

"Vintage"

Project 365 Day 11

"LOVE"

It's not about the quality of the photo, it's about the message behind it...

"LOVE"

Project 365 Day 10

"Onkaparinga River Panorama"

One of my FB friends David suggested that I try shooting the Onkaparinga wetlands. It is part of the Onkaparinga River that runs out into the sea. I am glad that I decided to go and explore the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park. It was really tranquil, and you could see people fishing or kayaking, or just enjoying the peace.

"Onkaparinga River Panorama"

Project 365 Day 9

"Eye of the Tiger"

"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

Risin' up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night

And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tiger"

"Eye of the Tiger"

Project 365 Day 8

"Me"

I've been struggling with ideas for my Project 365, and it is only Day 8. :(

And then I thought: HECK! A self portrait! I've never done something like this before. Sure I don't have a proper studio setup, and I couldn't be bothered trying to set one up but hey, it was fun!

And I had absolutely no idea how to process photos like that. I spent hours just exploring all different techniques I've learnt in the past, I think I managed alright.

Definitely will try again when I feel like setting up properly!

"Me"

Project 365 Day 7

"Home"

This was supposed to be posted last night, but I was too tired. I finished work at 9pm and didn't get home until 10pm. Boy was I glad to be home. I immediately started taking this after gobbling down some food.

My initial intend was to take star trails, but I didn't wait long enough so the result was not as impressive. So I've processed just one of the shots instead. There's just simply too much light pollution in the area. I need to find somewhere without light pollution and may be spend a night there!

I've still got a long way to go in terms of night photography, but I'm slowly getting there!

"Home"

Project 365 Day 6

"The Lovebirds"

在天愿作比翼鸟，

在地愿为连理枝。

              - 白居易

Loose translation:

To fly together in the sky, two birds on the same wing, 

To grow together on the earth, two branches of one tree.

"The Lovebirds"

Project 365 Day 5

"Rocks of Ages"

I hope you're not bored of seascapes yet, because I'm not!

Marino Rocks Beach is a memorable one for me, as it is where Edward and I came on our first outing. We came at sunrise and it wasn't spectacular, but I knew it has a lot of potential. So today I revisited this place for sunset.

I don't think I need words to describe when you've got an awesome shot such as this! I'm sure that I will come back here many many times to take different great photos (and memories)!

"Rocks of Ages"

Project 365 Day 4

"History"

Nowadays with all the fancy technology and digital cameras a lot of photographers strive to make their photos as beautiful as possible. Breath-taking scenery, majestic buildings/interior designs, exquisite details of portraits, etc.

Often times people forget to go back to the basics and what photography means. Part of photography is to tell a story, and this wonderful collection at the restaurant I dined in tonight is as intriguing as ever. Sure they weren't great photos with vibrant colours, nor they are street photography that are manipulated to emulate certain feel to the scene. They are just there for one reason only: to tell the history of the family behind the restaurant. Therefore I took this photo, to tell a story, a HIS-STORY.

"History"

Project 365 Day 3

"Hallett Cove Valley"

Taking a break from seascapes, today I have a panorama view of the developed valley of Hallett Cove to share with everyone. Not a great photo but I did not have the luxury of getting there at the proper time, etc. This was but a short detour after a long day at work. :)

"Hallett Cove Valley"

Project 365 Day 2

What would you give to work near a place like this?

This is Christies Beach, just right at the end of the road where I work.

"Christies Paradise"

Challenge

Happy New Year! When I woke up this morning I read a post by My Nikon Life asking people to share their Project 365 for 2013. That put the idea in me and it's been bugging me whole morning, so I thought: "Heck, why not!"

Last time I attempted this was in 2010, and I lasted 149 days. This time I intend to see it through! This will be my biggest challenge this year.

For my first day, I'm dedicating this to my best buddy Edward Chew. It was him that suggested this composition, but I never saw it through as every time I went there the condition wasn't ideal. So today I made a special trip down there just to capture this. Wishing everyone a Bright(on) Future for 2013! (The name of the beach is Brighton Beach).

Of course it will be quite lonely doing it alone, so I urge anyone reading this to join me in the challenge! Take and post a photo EVERY day for the whole of 2013! Come on, it will be fun! Can't wait to see everyone's photos!

By the way, I will be compiling all the photos and they will be available to view on the beautiful layout of my website here.

"Bright(on) Future"