Colblue Photography - Blog

Ross Bridge

2009-08-13T14:15:00.000+10:00

Guide Falls

2009-07-20T10:20:00.000+10:00

Map to Guide Falls

Latrobe Monument

2009-07-06T10:55:00.000+10:00

Leven Canyon

2009-06-28T17:12:00.000+10:00

Liffey Falls

2009-06-25T19:10:00.000+10:00

Liffey Infrared

2009-06-17T10:05:00.000+10:00

I haven't been updating my blog of late. No real reason for it, I've just been slack. The worst thing is I haven't been keeping up with reading/commenting on my favourite blogs. I hope to rectify that in the coming days.

I still have quite a few images to process from my little excursions around the north of the state a couple months ago. This shot is a start at least.

I've had a few people mention of late that I have a distinctive style to my shots. I would say that my shots and processing is influenced by the photographers and images I look at. I do have a fascination with water and feel much more at home shooting with water in the frame. To be honest I'm not sure I have a style as such and some of the time I don't like the results I come up with. I think I'm still searching for "my style" and with each image I'm getting closer to it, whatever "it" is.

Rivers

2009-05-24T19:30:00.001+10:00

Hobart Dock

2009-05-21T11:10:00.000+10:00

On The Move

2009-05-20T20:15:00.000+10:00

As it happened

2009-05-05T14:25:00.000+10:00

I realize that my last blog post might seem a little cold but, I had to write it like that to try and understand what had happened. It was a horrible thing to type out!

I want to thank everyone for their words of condolence and encouragement during this time. I really appreciate it!

I want to try and lighten the mood a bit after the awful happenings this past weekend. As I mentioned I was trying to think of a funny blog post that covered my last few weeks. So, I will try and do that now. I wanted to come up with funny one line tags that hinted at what I’d been doing, but made things sound much more important than they really were.

So here we are in chronological order.

The 2009 pole felling championships.
Not long after Easter I was sitting at my computer reading an email from Rob Sargent about the next generation of sniper rifles. I was in the process of writing a reply (not sure if it ever made it through) when I heard a loud thud outside. I quickly ran upstairs to the window just in time to see a Red Toyota Ute speeding off up the street.

What had happened?? Well, this idiot had somehow run into the phone pole outside my house and knocked it down. It looked like the pole had broken off at the base clean. In the process it ripped the phone lines out of my house and 4 of my neighbours. He probably thought he had got away with it but I got his rego number. :D The cops took care of him!

Unfortunately it took a full day for the phone lines to be reconnected so I had to go do something else for 24 hours. I wasn’t a happy camper.

Slip at the falls.
During the week after Easter we had quite a bit of rain. After the idiot in the Red Toyota knocked the pole down I had some time on my hands and I could only think of one place to go. Liffey Falls. Liffey Falls is situated near Deloraine, nestled in the Great Western Tiers. It’s about an hours drive from Launceston.

There is a discussion about which waterfall in Tasmania is the most beautiful, Russell Falls in the south or Liffey Falls in the north. I’ve been to both now and I’m still not sure. I think if there was plenty of water going over Russell falls then it would be the more spectacular of the two, but they are both fantastic.

Anyway back to my heading. I had just spent a lot of time at the base of the falls taking pictures and had climbed back up the hill. There are three waterfalls in the Liffy River and I stopped at the middle falls on my way out. I could see a cool shot if I could get close to the edge. I’ve seen similar shots before and really wanted to get my own.

As I said, we had had a lot or rain over the past few days and the river was flowing well. I found a track to the river’s edge and started stepping out to make my way to the edge. That’s when my left foot slipped out from under me. I quickly scrambled for my footing and caught myself before I slipped away to my death.

I’m not exaggerating this. If I had gone down I would have gone over the edge of the cliff! Needless to say after that I keep my distance from the edge.

Guide falls with no injury.
A nice title! I drove to the Guide Falls just past Ridgley in the north west of Tasmania. With all the rain we had during the week I expected a good flow over the falls, but there wasn’t as much as I had hoped. The trip was still worth it and I think I got some good shots while I was there. It was a trip without incident but I liked the title.

Taking is better than processing!
I’ve known this for a while but, taking photos in more enjoyable than processing them. It’s not that I didn’t like the shots I had taken of Liffey falls and Guide falls, I just had more fun while I was shooting them.

An English sunny day.
In the second week of my holidays it was still raining. The weather finally broke for a few days so I grabbed my gear and headed out. Unfortunately the day I went out was an English sunny day. What does that mean you ask? Well, the sun was out but you never really saw it because of the cloud cover. That’s Tasmanian weather for you. Rain, sun and everything in between!

Pain by the river.
About eight weeks ago I injured my back helping my grandmother move some LARGE flower pots around. I had been feeling quite good for about a week at this time when I went out to take photos. I was heading in the direction of Leven Canyon when I saw a nice river scene I wanted to try and capture. I pulled over, got my gear out and headed to the river bank. The light wasn’t great (it was the English sunny day), but I still took some shots in the hope that I might get lucky.

I had just taken some shots when I saw a better position to shoot from. I made my way over to the spot and set the tripod up. It was set at about 5 feet high angled downwards; I’m 6’3” tall so I had to bend over a little to see through the viewfinder. I leaned down and felt a sharp pain run through my lower back. That is all it took. My back was saw for another week after that.

Attempted sprain at canyon.
Again, same day as the English sunny day! Actually, there are a lot of things that happened that day!

I got to the canyon and was moving to the back of the car to get my gear out when I slipped on the loose gravel and nearly went over on my ankle. Thankfully the walk to the lookout worked any pain out of my ankle.

I sometimes think I’m accident prone.

Wrong way turn back.
Nothing new here, I took a wrong turn. I seem to take a wrong turn on most of my photo excursions. I blame googlemaps!

Close encounters of a farming kind.
After leaving Leven Canyon and taking a wrong turn I was finally on the road to Devils Gullet. It was a winding road through the hills that had a nice drop off to my left. I was heading up a small hill when I saw a farmer on a old green tractor. It had some very imposing forks sticking off the front of it which you would want to mess with.

Anyway, as I got closer to him he violently turned towards me. I was no more than a few metres away when this happened and all I could see was the forks on the front of his tracker aimed right at my head. I slammed on the brakes and swerved to the left a little (not too much or I would have been over the edge). As you can imagine I swore a bit at this. I looked at him and he acted like nothing had happened. Stupid old bastard!

It looks further on the map.
Once I got past the old farmer I made it to the road that lead to the turn-off towards Devils Gullet. On the map it looked like a fair distance to the turn-off but in reality it was very short.

Can this road be any rougher?? *bang* OK, I guess so!
The road into Devils Gullet is a forestry road. It was all gravel and dirt and it wasn’t all that smooth. I’ve driven rougher roads but this seemed to get worse the further I went. Maybe I’m driving the wrong sort of car for the terrain I cover!?!

I thought the sign said 4km not 14?
At the turn-of f I swear the sign said 4kms to Devils Gullet!! But in reality it said 14kms. I was driving thinking I had gone the wrong way because I wasn’t at my destination yet. Thankfully I came across another sign on the way in that eased my mind. I still think the sign said 4kms!

Remote cliff rescue.
This has to be my favourite title!! It is essentially correct but certainly not as dramatic as it sounds.

Devils Gullet is a sheer cliff face that looks out over the central highlands of Tasmania. The lookout at Devils Gullet is covered in a metal grate to stand on. The holes in the gate are quite large but not so large that you could put a hand through it. Well I set the tripod up and put the camera on top of it. I had a look at the lens and decided that it needed to be cleaned before I took any shots. I reached into my pocket and got my cleaning cloth out at which point I heard something hit the metal platform. I looked down to find my remote camera release lying at the edge of oblivion.

It was sitting about 3 feet under the platform which was well out of my reach without assistance. I couldn’t just leave it there it cost too much to replace it. So I got my tripod and stuck one of the legs under there and started to move the remote. Suddenly it slid down towards a crevasse that would have been the end of the rescue effort. From that point on I had to take it very carefully to maneuver the remote close enough for me to grab with my hand. I managed to rescue the remote and will never put it in the same pocket as my cleaning cloth ever again.

The barometer looks broken.
As the end of my holiday quickly approached the heavens opened up and bucketed down with rain. It rain for most of my last weekend off only stopping for a short period of time during the day. The barometer on my wall was so far around the dial I thought it must be broken.

This is going to hurt!
Pennant season has started this year and I’ve been playing in the Div 3 team. I was coming up to the second round when I re-injured my back taking photos. I went into the day knowing that my back was going to hurt at the end of the day but I couldn’t let the team down.

For most of the round my back held up to the strain well. But there were three shots late in the round that hurt like a mother! On the 12th hole I had to stop my swing halfway through. This isn’t something easy to do and it really hurt. The next few swings after that weren’t pleasant. Then on the 14th hole I had two shots where the ball was well below my feet. I couldn’t get down to the first shot and on the second shot I made myself bend lower than my back was allowing and just gritted my teeth and swung the club. I let out an anguished moan after that and was glad that I got the ball onto the green. Thankfully I managed to win the match on the 16th hole because I’m not sure my back was going to hold out much longer.

No, please, let me give way to you!
On my last day off I made the trip to St Columba Falls towards the east coast of Tasmania. They were quite a sight!! On the way back home I was barreling down a straight when I saw a cattle truck approaching on a side road. I thought “he isn’t going to stop for me, is he?!?”. The answer to that was NO. I was lucky that I anticipated what he was going to do or I would have run straight into the side of him. Bloody stupid country drivers!

Internet slowed again.
I seem to be using my internet allowance up every month of late. When this happens my internet connection speed is reduced to bugger all and I can barely surf the net. A lot of the time I can’t check my emails because the connection times out on me. It happened in March and again in April. I hope that it doesn’t happen in May because I’m getting very sick of it!

Who steals a bin full of rubbish??
Who does steal a bin full of rubbish? I put my rubbish bin out for pick-up the night before and when I got up to go to work the next day it was gone. It was found two days later several streets away, empty. It had to have been taken while it was still full of rubbish. Why would anyone do that?

Pennant off to a flyer.
After three rounds of pennant the Prospect Vale div 3 team is sitting on top of the ladder undefeated. It is a long season with another 7 rounds to go but, we are setting ourselves up for a big year and possible season victory. I’ll be sure to do a more comprehensive write up after all the round three results come in.

Gone at 51.
That is how old my cousin was when he was cruelly taken from us. It really makes you think about not wasting time. You are a long time dead! You should get out and live life while you can! His funeral will be held this Friday. I expect it to be huge. He was well liked by everyone and I’m sure everyone will be out to pay their respects.

Gossy

2009-05-02T14:00:00.001+10:00

I had planned to update my blog with a light hearted post that covered the last few weeks. I guess that will have to wait for another time now.

I started yesterday trying to think of something to write to a grieving friend that would help her through the pain and sadness. I never got around to sending her anything because I found myself distracted with my own grief. The day ended with my own reflection on life and how to deal with the loss of a loved one.

I got a phone call from my mother at work telling me that my cousin “Gossy” was in ICU after suffering a stroke earlier in the morning. At that point little was known and only the immediate family were being allowed in to see him. The doctors induced a coma to help him recover, but it didn’t sound good. As the day progressed I heard some information that he was going to be okay but sadly that was only wishful thinking.

When the blood clot dislodged and caused the stroke it ended up in his brain. It lodged itself in the part of the brain that controls breathing, movement, speech and so forth. In the process it killed off that area of his brain leaving only the life support machines keeping him alive.

At this point he will be kept on life support till Monday at which point the machines will be turned off and he will most likely die. There is a do not resuscitate order in effect should he get worse during the weekend.

He looks so peaceful right now, just like he is sleeping.

You will be missed Gossy!

Hobart Buildings

2009-04-09T23:30:00.000+10:00

During my past visits to Hobart I had some time to wander around the city near the waterfront. This part of the city has a lot of older style architecture which made for some nice shots. With more time I'm sure I could find some remarkable photo op's, however for now these will have to do.

Happy Easter everyone!! :)

Ross Church

2009-04-03T12:30:00.000+11:00

I took these after spending the day in Hobart taking photos of the Botanical Gardens and venturing back up Mt Wellington. While I was driving home I could see some brilliant cloud formations but had nowhere to get a good shot from. But I thought if the conditions held until I reached Ross than I'd stop and get some shots.

Japanese Gardens

2009-03-31T13:41:00.003+11:00

I got a chance to spend some time in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hobart a couple months ago. The gardens are spread out and each area seems to have its own theme, these images are from he Japanese Garden. I didn't have my tripod with me which is a shame because I would have benefited using one on many shots in the garden. This area is quite beautiful and I hope to go back one day, tripod in hand.

These two shots are fake infrared images. This first image reminded me of the "War of the Worlds" with everything turned red. With the other image I was going for a darker feel. Almost monochromatic but with a hint of colour.

HMAS Stuart

2009-03-25T08:00:00.000+11:00

My previous post was about ReDynamix and this post is also about it. This time I'm showing a couple images that have been created a little differently.

What I did with these was create a fake HDR in Photomatix. I did this by taking the original image and making two copies of it, one 1exp higher and 1 exp lower. This made them look like they had been bracketed.

Next step was to generate a flat looking HDR in Photomatix and then save as a 16 bit tiff. From there I open the tiff up in photoshop and apply ReDynamix to give he image some pop.

This is the HMAS Stuart, an Anzac class frigate. I only wish I could have gotten to other good vantage points to shoot this vessel. I have a fascination with warships, I like the powerful look of them. I remember seeing the Missouri when it was docked in Hobart. I got to walk on the deck and see the big guns. I don't remember a lot about it, it must have been 17 or 18 years ago. Maybe longer. But I do remember seeing the plaque commemorating the end of World War 2. Another photo opportunity missed.

ReDynamix

2009-03-22T20:15:00.000+11:00

I've been playing with a photoshop plug-in called ReDynamix. I wasn't too sure about it to begin with. The results were interesting but it created a lot of noise in the process. I have since found a couple ways of reducing the noise created by ReDynamix and I'm very happy with the results.

All of my original images don't get touched/altered, I import them into Lightroom and export Tiff's and Jpeg's to work on. The first way I have found to reduce noise is to export as a 16 bit Tiff. Then in photoshop change the bit amount to 8 bit so the plug-in will work. This saves quite a lot of detail.

These images were done before I came up with the 16bit tiff idea. They only show what detail can be found in images that may look rather poor to begin with. They were all taken during a 3 hour Eco Cruise around the Tasman Peninsula coastline. During this trip I felt rather sea sick due to the fact I was forever taking photos. In other words, I was always looking through the view finder. This had an adverse effect on me. I didn't feel too good by the end of it but the trip was well worth it!

The sun doesn't always shine

2009-03-16T12:30:00.000+11:00

Hello all. I am still here I just haven't got a lot to say or show you at the moment. There are no photos today. However, in the mean time I thought I would tell you about a little photo excursion I took a while back. Enjoy! :)

On my recent trip down to Hobart I managed to have a little adventure. It’s not unusual for me to have things happen when I got out taking photos but this one could have been worse.

I was staying with a mate in Hobart. On the last day, Tuesday morning, I planned to leave early and get to the top of Mt Wellington for the sunrise over the city. I went to bed early and got up at 4am. I packed my bags and headed out to the front door. This was when I realized I didn’t know where the exterior light switch was.

I didn’t want to wake anyone so I felt my way to the door while carrying my big travel bag. I opened the door and the screen door and stepped out onto the small landing. That’s when things went horribly wrong! I thought I was still stepping on the landing but my foot went off the edge and I was plummeting towards god knows what in the dark. I ended up face first in his garden. :)

I can laugh now but it could have been a lot worse. I got up and loaded the car then went back inside to see what damage I’d done to myself. I had wood chips all over me, a couple were stuck to my face. I was also bleeding for my right arm a little, nothing much but it has left a bruise.

So stunned and tired I headed up the mountain. It was going well till I had almost reached the top. That’s when I hit a huge cloud bank that was hanging over the top of the mountain. I couldn’t see more than a few metres in front of me but I knew there was a big drop to my left. I got to the top and it was bizarre. I could see weird lights in the clouds that were there for only a moment. Other than that I couldn’t see much. It was freezing cold! I was glad I had trousers and a lined raincoat.

I wondered around for a few minutes trying to get my bearings. I knew the sun wasn’t far away from coming up and I also knew the cloud wasn’t going to lift in time. So I made the decision to head back down without any shots being fired. So I went through all that hassle for nothing, typical really. :)

This story disproves the theory that Tasmania always has great weather for photography. In fact the story doesn't end here. Two weeks later I travelled back down south for the day and made the trip back up the mountain to see what I had missed. Once I got to the top I was greeted with freezing gale force winds and rain. At this point I was beginning to think the mountain had something against me.

I did get some rather bland shots from the lookout platforms which I will process someday. I haven't processed them yet because they really didn't excite me. The most exciting part about the second trip up the mountain was the wind. I tried to climb the short distance to the very top of the mountain but, I was beaten by the elements. I'm almost certain that if I had spread my arms out I would have been blown off the top and would have landed somewhere in Hobart.

IT WAS BLOWING UP THERE!!!

I was very glad I was wearing a wind breaker or I would have completely frozen to death up there. I mean I was cold but I saw some stupid young girl wearing very, very short shorts, thongs (that is flip flops for my American viewers) and a tank top. I can only imagine how unbelievably cold she was.

Anyway I do hope to get some more photos posted soon. I did get some good shots while I was down south. I just need to get motivated to process and post them. :)

Launceston Seaport

2009-02-28T10:00:00.000+11:00

I think I can take a better shot of Launceston seaport, but as I don't have many shots of my home town, this will just have to do for now. I remember when this was a seaport, now it's full of restaurants, bars and accommodation.

Meander River Deloraine

2009-02-16T08:00:00.000+11:00

Table Cape Lighthouse

2009-02-12T08:00:00.000+11:00

Table Cape is much like the Nut at Stanley, the remains of a volcano. There is a lighthouse and tulip farm on top of Table Cape which are worth having a look at. Unfortunately I went in the wrong month. The tulips are in full bloom in October during the Wynyard Tulip Festival. (The same time of year when I play my Golf Club Championships)

I'll have to make an effort to get here in October this year!

Buried by the Beach

2009-02-06T08:10:00.000+11:00

The Stanley cemetery is right beneath the Nut and beside the beach. Not a bad resting place.

Stanley Cows

2009-02-05T09:00:00.000+11:00

This was a funny shot. I was driving around the roads of Stanley when I found a paddock full of cows. It's not a great shot but they tried so hard to pose for the shot. Unlike the sheep who ran away from me, the cows came closer. :)

More Flowers

2009-02-04T19:10:00.000+11:00

Stanley, NW Tassie

2009-02-02T10:00:00.000+11:00

I'm not sure which of these first three compositions I like the most. I guess I'll pick a favourite eventually. I'm leaning towards the first one! It would have been better with a high tide!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-01-30T08:00:00.000+11:00

These are probably my favourite shots from my recent trip to Stanley. So I thought I'd share them today on my Birthday.

Going up the Nut

2009-01-28T09:00:00.000+11:00

Stanley is situated on the far North West Coast of Tasmania. The major attraction of Stanley is The Nut.

The Nut itself is 152m (500 ft) tall, and was formed when lava cooled to form basalt rock. It is possible to either climb The Nut by a walking track, or take a chairlift to the top. The Nut was known as Moo-Nut-Re-ker by the Tasmanian Aboriginals, and by 1851, sailors had come to know it simply as The Nut.

I choose to walk the Nut basically because it didn't look that steep. I was wrong! My heels didn't touch the path as I walked up the track, that's how steep it was.

I stopped several times in the pretense of taking photos of the scenery, I was really catching my breath. :)

This is shot from about one third up the Nut.

This is roughly the halfway point.

Finally at the top!

Shaggy Stacks

2009-01-24T16:45:00.000+11:00

With the unplanned day off yesterday I wasn't sure what to do to fill in my time. I went to the golf driving range for a quick bucket then started back home. That's when I thought I'd head towards Ben Lomond. I haven't been up there before and wanted to do some recon for the future.

Once again I found a rough dirt track leading up to the resort. My car really isn't designed for that sort of road, but that doesn't seem to stop me. I got up there and was absolutely freezing! And to make matters worse the lookout track was closed due to engineering concerns, so I didn't get any good shots for the trip.

However, on the drive out I came across more haystacks, this time they were shaggy. Of course I had to stop and take a couple shots. That is Ben Lomond in the background of the first three shots.

Low Head Lighthouse

2009-01-22T22:45:00.000+11:00

This was the last stop after the Tamar River and West Heads. Low Head lighthouse, on the eastern side of the Tamar river. I have been here once before and since then had been thinking of going back. The previous time I was there I didn't venture down past the lighthouse but I could see some potential for some good shots.

I made my way through the gate and carefully walked down the step hill. I was walking past some large bushes when I came across two sheep grazing (the area is used for grazing by the owners). I saw them and they saw me. I brought the camera up nice and slowly trying not to spook them. I got the focus and exposure almost set when they decided, much like the sheep in the paddock, that they weren't having any of this and did a runner.

I proceeded down towards the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks. I was having fun jumping across the rocks finding different angles to shoot from. I didn't get too close to the waters edge since I was going to have my back turned to the waves. The last thing I wanted was to be drenched. I finally found a good spot to shoot from and found I had to clean the lens, it was covered with sea spray.

The walk back up the hill was a heart breaker, especially on the last few steps. But it was all worth it because these shots were my favourites from the entire day. I still want to go back there close to sunset, the light should be better then (or at least closer to what I had pictured in my mind) and should provide more dramatic shadows. But that can wait for a later date.

West Head Lookout

2009-01-21T08:20:00.000+11:00

This was my next stop after leaving Bradys Lookout on the Tamar River. I was much calmer after taking the shots of the Tamar but I was behind schedule. I had planned a drive to different locations to coincide with the sun. Due the the fact I was already 2 hours behind I changed my plans and only managed to hit two other places. This is the second of the three spots.

I drove down the west side of the Tamar and arrived at Greens Beach. From here I took Gardners Road out to the West Head lookout. It's in a national park so permits do apply. The lookout looks over Anderson Bay towards Badgers Head.

I can tell you it was blowing!! The trees aren't leaning inland for there health. :) A couple of times I found it hard to keep my eyes open while taking photos. I had to take my hat off or it would be lodged in a sand dune by now.

At this point I had almost forgotten I'd been at work earlier in the day. It was a very nice feeling!

Flowers and Things

2009-01-19T08:20:00.000+11:00

These are more shots I took with my 50mm F/1.8 lens. These are cropped. I couldn't get close enough with the 50mm but I still like the results.

This bee was huge!!! I ducked when it took off. It sounded like a plane taking off!

Campbell Town Bridge

2009-01-16T08:15:00.000+11:00

Tamar River

2009-01-14T20:00:00.000+11:00

These shot were taken at Brady's lookout on the West Tamar Highway.

These were taken in the last week of '08. I had just left work after being tied up for 2 hours longer than I had planned. I wasn't in a good mood at the time but after I took these I suddenly calmed down and started taking much better shots (they will be coming soon).

Garden Flowers

2009-01-12T19:00:00.001+11:00

Edit: These were taken with my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens. I hadn't had much chance to try out the shallow DOF so I gave the flowers a go. I couldn't get close enough with the 50mm so I had to crop these a bit, but they still came out alright.

Poppies Aplenty

2009-01-10T10:00:00.001+11:00

Shaded from the Midday Sun

2009-01-08T10:00:00.000+11:00

I saw this scene while I was driving out the back of Evandale. I had hoped to get more shots of the sheep relaxing in the shade but they didn't like my presence. I only got two shots off before they all made a bolt away from me.

I really don't know what their problem was? I was at least 50 metres away from them and had a fence between us. Oh well.... Enjoy!

Making Hay

2009-01-06T13:00:00.000+11:00

New Years Fireworks

2009-01-06T12:40:00.002+11:00

Poor old Launceston doesn't have the grand fireworks display of Sydney but, this is what it could look like if we did.

2008 Colblue in Review

2009-01-01T19:45:00.002+11:00

2008 was a strange year for me with my photography. As the year started I was taking a lot of motorsports images but, all the while I was growing bored with them, as a result I soon gave them away after Easter. I wanted to spend more time taking landscapes so I planned a east coast holiday and spent a week taking photos. I managed to get some really good shots in that one week period, which is lucky because I didn’t get out to take another landscape for the rest of the year (till last week, anyway).

I spent a lot of my time working at my full time job and playing golf. Because I wasn’t getting out taking photos I started thinking I wouldn’t get back out there. I still took some shots in that time; all of them work related, product photos mainly. Then something extraordinary happened, I started getting my photos in company calendars. When that happened I got a rejuvenating shot in the arm and wanted to get out and take more landscapes. Unfortunately I still couldn’t find the time for them (it was driving me crazy).

In the last three months of the year I did some paying jobs that at least got me using my camera again. I even bought some extra goodies for it! But as I mentioned, I didn’t get out to shoot anymore landscapes till the last few days in the year, they will be shown in the coming weeks! I was so glad to finally get back out there. It was a very calming experience to just shoot for me! I didn’t get as many shots as I had hoped but it was still enjoyable.

So on to my favourite shots of the year 2008. Many of these shots were taken in that one week holiday I took earlier in the year, seven of them to be exact. I’ll try and put them into a chronological order.

This was one of the first shots I took for the year of the January full moon. I had never taken a shot of the moon with so much detail before.

These shots were taken in the months leading up to Easter.

In April I finally got away for a week down the east coast of Tasmania. It was a good trip which saw me almost get my car stuck on a beach, I found every dirt road ever made, get sea sick, take a wrong turn, and take some of my best ever photos. It was eventful!!

This is one of the rare shots I’ve taken in my home town of Launceston.

One last shot from my last photo shot of the year. This was an unplanned shot that I managed to capture.

Well, that was my year. I don't know what is in store for me in 2009 but, I hope it will involve taking photos and seeing more of this wonderful state, Tasmania.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T00:38:00.002+11:00

Happy New Year everybody!!

The Enterprise

2008-12-28T10:00:00.000+11:00

The Enterprise quietly sailing past huge cliffs on the Tasman Peninsula.

Encore Theatre - Hair

2008-12-27T10:00:00.001+11:00

Man of the Year 2009

2008-12-26T10:00:00.001+11:00

The title is very tongue and cheek! ;)

Through some contacts at work I was able to get several of my images into three different company calendars for 2009. In the coming year I will have 13 images displayed around Tasmania. Two in the Tasmanian Alkaloids calendar on the months of February (Richmond Bridge) and July (Safety Cove Sunrise).

The other two company calendars I'm in are filled exclusively with my photos. Gunns has Safety Cove Sunrise (the only image to double up), Port Arthur, The Hazards Sunset, Mt Roland, Picnic Rocks and Freycinet Boats. FRM has The Entrance to Georges Bay, Government Gardens, Albert Hall, Tasman Island Sunrise, Evercreech and Safety Cove Yellow.

I am very excited to have so many images appearing in calendars next year. I'll have to get out and take more photos next year, otherwise I'll have nothing for the 2010 calendars. It would be nice to have at least some of my images in each of these calendars every year, and maybe some other calendars as well.

2008 Senior Medal Winner

2008-12-25T20:00:00.001+11:00

I have been a golfer for many, many years now and I’ve been a member of the Quamby / Prospect Vale GC for the last 9 years. I’ve won my share of prizes in that time, this year I decided to give something back to the club. The club has grown in the last three years since we moved to Country Club Tasmania and a large number of the newer members are seniors. With that in mind I choose to donate a prize for the Senior Medal.

The inaugural winner of the Senior Medal for 2008 is Denis Lockwood! The prize is a 12” x 18” framed print of Safety Cove. Congratulations Denis!!

Safety Cove

2008-12-23T12:30:00.002+11:00

This is another calendar I've put together. All the images were taken at Safety Cove on the Tasman Peninsula. I found this place on my visit to Port Arthur 2 years ago, I've been fascinated with it ever since.

This calendar shows the dramatic scenery I witnessed during my short visits.

Clicking the image will take you to a preview page where you can purchase it.

Old Trout

2008-12-21T12:30:00.001+11:00

Recently we had a client come in to work look to get his painting reproduced on the printing press. This gave me an idea!

Working in the printing industry I've learned a few things that most of the public ignore. The most prevalent lesson is that we have trouble reproduce oil and water colour paintings in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black). The colour gamut is very small in CMYK printing. We have to try and reproduce the colours of a painting while compensating for the colour of the canvas behind it compared to the paper stock it's being printed on. It's a difficult time consuming and, at times, painful experience.

The general way to get the painting into a electronic images has been for a local photographer to shoot if with a film camera and give us a transparency. From that we have to scan it in on a high-end scanner. The problem with this is the transparency is rarely colour correct to the painting, and the scanner sees some colours differently to the human eye. this means that the colours are completely out of whack by the time we show the client a proof.

Knowing all the problems involved with a painting of this sort gave me the idea to try and shoot the painting myself with my digital camera and cut out the extra handling. I used a couple different light set-ups combining natural light with diffused flash.

This shot below is what I think is the closest to the original. It was taken in the shad with a direct diffused flash (thanks to my sb-900 and Gary Fong Lightsphere). I got the white balance correct by using a WhiBal white balance card.

As I said, this is the one "I think" is the closest to the original, the client chose a different image which I think is too blue. But the customer is always right (unless they are wrong ;) ). Either way it has made my job at work much, much easier!

My Tasmania 2009

2008-12-19T12:45:00.000+11:00

I have had some success with calendars this year, which I will cover in a later post, but I decided to create my own for the year 2009. This is probably too late for Christmas but it's still in time for the new year.

It has landscapes from all over Tasmania. I've tried to put a good spread of image into it with sunrises, sunsets, HDR and a little infrared.

Clicking the image will take you to a preview page where you can purchase it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed taking the images!

C Family

2008-12-19T12:30:00.001+11:00

I was asked to do my first family portrait shoot a couple weeks ago with an extended family of 10!! It was a good experience and I hope that it's not the last.

The day was nice except for all the wind. It made for some difficulties, particularly with hair blowing over faces but, the end results were still very good. This is a sample from the shoot.

Golf Tasmania Centenary Gala Dinner

2008-12-18T21:00:00.001+11:00

This is a quite a bit late but, better late than never.

Last month Golf Tasmania celebrated it's centenary. Part of the centenary celebrations was a dinner and the first Tasmanian Golf Hall of Fame Induction. I was lucky enough to be there to take photos of the event and the following are a small selection from that night.

It was a great night! The inductees were very good and the comedian was a good laugh!

Winner!?!?

2008-12-18T20:30:00.001+11:00

There I was Wednesday morning waiting for an email for a client when I received an email from Jen Rinaldi. The title of the email was "FWD: Tasmania Sweepstakes Winner".

Earlier in the year I told her about this competition to try and win a trip to Tasmania. I thought it would be a long shot but you never know your luck.

So there I was, reading the line and getting very excited about the possibility she had actually won the competition, because quite frankly that's the way it reads to me. So my first thought was "no way?", which quickly became "this could be awesome!". Filled with anticipation I clicked on the email only to find she hadn't won. It was all about "the winners" exploits in Tasmania, not "you are the winner".

I've got to say I was disappointed! I was thinking that the email would say something like "I'm on my way to Tassie, my flight gets in at xxxxx.....". Wishful thinking I guess?

Oh well, it got my full and undivided attention (at least for a few moments). :)

Movember 08

2008-12-02T13:00:00.001+11:00

It was a long month but in the end it was all worth it. Here is my Mo for 08!

With the help from several people I was able to raise $300 for Movember. Thank you to each and everyone of you!!

Mo Week 3

2008-11-25T19:30:00.001+11:00

Not long now, only a week to go for the MO! I have to say that I'm starting to like the look of my mo now. It was looking a bit poor after two weeks but now it's starting to get some real form to it. It's still not fantastic but it looks the part.

Thanks to everyone who has donated to my Mo, I really appreciate it. I've now cleared $200 mark but I'd like to think I can still get a bit more before the end of the month. Well done everyone!!

Donations can still be made via this link.

New Gear

2008-11-17T20:00:00.001+11:00

I've finally added to my equipment list. A SB-900 flash, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and the Gary Fong Lightsphere Universal.

The SB-900 is a nice bit of kit but it is bloody huge!! It's even bigger with the Lightshpere fitted. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of fun playing with these new items. The Flash and Lightsphere has already had a full nights workout with decent results.

Mo Week 2

2008-11-17T13:00:00.003+11:00

Donations can still be made via this link.

So it begins

2008-11-02T16:15:00.004+11:00

Donations can still be made via this link.

Stained

2008-10-31T12:40:00.001+11:00

Movember

2008-10-29T20:25:00.005+11:00

To Mo or not to Mo, That is the question! I’ve done both in recent times but next month the Mo makes a return.

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I’ll be growing a Mo. I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against men's depression and prostate cancer. But growing a Mo isn’t going to help unless I can raise some donations for the Movember Foundation.

If you would like to donate to my Mo and help me in this worthy pursuit you can: Click this link https://www.movember.com/au/donate/donate-details.php?action=sponsorlink&rego=1421076&country=au and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account.

All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

More information is available at http://www.movember.com/.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

I’ll be sure to keep the blog updated each week with a new Mo photo. The photos will start Friday when I give myself a clean shave and start Movember!

My Other Blog

2008-10-28T12:30:00.001+11:00

After some thought I decided to create another blog. It will look different to this one but they will be more or less the same.

Stop by and check it out!

My other blog!

Highbury Apartments

2008-10-27T20:31:00.001+11:00

I had a busy Thursday afternoon/evening. I had the Stormy Seas shots to do later in the night and I also had a photo shot to do at Highbury Apartments.

They were mostly looking for interior shots of the apartments but I also took some exterior shots. The lighting conditions outside weren't the best. It was overcast and blowing, but I did the best I could with what I had to work with.

The following are the better shots from the shoot.

Stormy Seas

2008-10-27T20:30:00.001+11:00

Last Thursday night I had some product photography to get done for work. This isn't the first time I've taken shots for Stormy Seas. However, it is the first time I've shown the results on my blog.

Mt Roland

2008-10-24T13:00:00.000+11:00

Late Moon

2008-10-23T12:50:00.001+11:00

Championship Results

2008-10-21T06:55:00.001+11:00

Well, I tried but failed! I bombed out in the quarter finals against Matt Thomas, 2/1. Unfortunately I had him beaten early, but then some small errors crept into my game and the rolls were reversed. Between us, we had a very good match. We traded pars and birdies throughout the round, but we also had our fair share of bogies.

Matt went on to play-off in the final against Phil Pears. Pears was the eventual winner by 3/1. This is the second year in a row he has won the championships.

In B and C grade. The B grade final was between Glen Duncan and Mitchell Britton-Thomas. Glen Duncan won 2up. C grade was fought out between David Mosely and Doug Burge, Mosely winning that one.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Golfing weekend

2008-10-15T18:51:00.005+11:00

Golf, just another four letter word! It’s the pursuit of perfection but, perfection is unattainable. The sooner one comes to this realization, the more enjoyment you’ll get out of it.

These past couple of weeks has been taken up with qualifying for my golf club championships. I didn’t do very well last year but, this year was much better. I was leading after the first week but, finished up qualifying 3rd. This week we have the quarters, semis and the final. I don’t know how far I’ll get, or if I’ll win the championships, but at least I have a chance.

The 8 qualifiers are: The top half of the draw-
Phil Pears v Duncan MacFarlane
Phil Exton v Matt Millwood
The bottom half of the draw-
Justin Ryan v Duane Morgan
Colin Butterworth v Matt Thomas

It will be a busy weekend for whoever makes it to the final. The quarter finals are on the Saturday and the semi finals and final are on the Sunday. With a bit of luck I might win a third championship.

Speaking of golf….

The new Drummond Golf store is having their grand opening this Saturday 18th. They have been open for several weeks now and, from all accounts, are doing well. The owner/manager is a friend of mine, Michael Jordan. He has spent a few years working for Drummond on the mainland and now he has his own store. A real case of local boy makes good!

Another good friend of mine is one of the sales people in the store, Corey deBruyn.

If you get the chance you should stop in and checkout their fantastic store. As far as I know, Brett Ogle is meant to be there for the opening, so you should stop in and say hello. They are situated at Unit 19, Cambridge Park, 66 Kennedy Drive, Cambridge Tasmania. (Just off the Tasman Highway)

View Larger Map The map doesn't show Cambridge Park, the aerial shots were taken well before it was constructed.

Perth War Memorial

2008-10-09T11:47:00.000+11:00

Fountain at night

2008-10-07T12:38:00.001+11:00

Top Dog

2008-09-30T07:47:00.001+10:00

Strahan Harbour

2008-09-16T15:31:00.002+10:00

HDR Escort

2008-09-16T15:27:00.003+10:00

Government Gardens

2008-09-11T11:13:00.002+10:00

Government Gardens of Port Arthur

Calendar Boy

2008-09-09T12:39:00.003+10:00

A while back I posted that I was submitting some images for a Calendar. I can now say that I got two images chosen for the 2009 Tasmanian Alkaloids Calendar. I am Mr February and Mr July!

The two shots are Richmond Bridge and Safety Cove Sunrise. I am thrilled that they have been used.

I've already seen the printed sheets and they look great. I can't wait to see the final collated calendar. Thanks to Tas Alkaloids for using my shots!

Port Arthur Shipwrights

2008-09-08T12:45:00.003+10:00

Richmond Bridge

2008-09-04T07:55:00.002+10:00

Albert Hall, Launceston

2008-08-27T08:23:00.001+10:00

Framed Print Sale

2008-08-25T08:59:00.002+10:00

A few weeks ago I got some of my favourite prints framed. I've had several prints done in the past but never got around to framing any of them, so I decided now was a good time.

I had some big areas of blank wall space I wanted to fill so I choose three of my large prints. I choose 1 - 20x30in print (of Safety Cove) and 2 - 18x24in prints (of The Nut at Stanley and IR Lake). When I got them home I found I didn't have the space for all three.

Luckily I had an idea. I knew someone was interested in purchasing the "The Nut" image. So I offered it to her and she jumped at the chance to buy it. She took possession of the print on Friday.

This image doesn't do it justice. It really looked fantastic!

These are the over two prints that were framed.

HDR Alter

2008-08-21T18:07:00.003+10:00

Moonrise over Tasman

2008-08-20T12:37:00.003+10:00

You might have noticed that I really like the Tasman Peninsula. I've made two trips down there in the last couple of years, and plan to return again in the future.

This shot was taken earlier this year from the deck of Sea Change at Safety Cove. I was in my room getting ready to go out for dinner and after go on the Port Arthur ghost tour, when my host, Rex Mapley, came knocking on my door. He wanted me to see this great view of the moon rising over Tasman Island. I quickly got my gear together and headed out to try and capture it. I couldn't get everything exposed properly so I decided to take two shots and put them together later. The main part of the image was taken with my Nikon D80, while the moon was shot with my Panasonic FZ30.

This shot is the third incarnation. I did the original combo a while ago but, wasn't completely happy with it. Sometime after that I started to tweak it but still wasn't happy. Then last night I had another look at it and NOW I'm happy with the results.

Enjoy! :)

Freycinet Boats

2008-08-19T12:35:00.003+10:00

This is another image that I've reprocessed. I felt the original shot had too much contras. The shadows were closed up and some of the highlights were close to blown. This incarnation has been tone mapped through Photomatix. I think the result is much better than the original.

Reprocessed

Original

What's been happening?

2008-08-18T12:38:00.009+10:00

It seems that time has gotten away from me in the last few months. I haven't had time to get out and take many new photos. I haven't even had time to keep up to date on the net. It's just a case of life getting in the way of life.

I have been doing a few things during these past months but, I wont divulge everything in one post. I need to keep something to talk about.

I have been doing some product photography as part of my day job. That hasn't been too bad and I have got another job lined up for something similar, not through work. We just have to workout some times and places.

Other than that I've been going through some of my old and not so old photos. I have found a couple shots that I liked but needed re-processing. The results have been quite good.

All of these shots are from my trips to the Tasman Peninsula. The first two were shot on my old Panasonic FZ-30, about 18 months ago, and put through Photomaitx. I'm very pleased with the results.

The third shot was taken with my Nikon D80 earlier this year. The original processing of this shot was a bit flat for colour, so I increased it!

These shots and more can been found on my website www.colbluephotography.com

Round 6 Pennant

2008-08-13T21:35:00.002+10:00

Well the final round has come and gone quite some time ago. The club won one
pennant (Div 8), and had two runner-up’s (Div 3 & 7).

It was a fantastic effort by Div 8 to win their pennant, with a play-off
deciding the day.

Division 3 Played Greens Beach, at Prospect Vale for the final round. Both
teams knew they had no chance of winning the pennant this year. That hounor
had already gone to Bridport. The team was Corey deBruyn, Duane Morgan, Paul Martin, Duncan MacFarlane, Matt Millwood, John Murray, Matt Adams and Nic Bauld. The winners were Duane Morgan, Paul Martin, Duncan MacFarlane, Matt Millwood, Matt Adams and Nic Bauld. A big victory in the last round but, too late to change the season.

The other game in Div 3 was Bridport v Exeter. Bridport won 6/1

Division 7 played Tam O'Shanter at Tam O'Shanter. This was a big day for the
team. We held our destiny in our hands, win and win the pennant, loose and most likely loose the pennant to Scottsdale. The team was Colin Butterworth, Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Dan Scott, Mitchell Britton-Thomas and Justin Ryan. I was confident in the teams ability to win away from home but we fell at the last hurdle. The winners were Colin Butterworth, Denis Lockwood and Justin Ryan. The team lost two of three play-off's (they are the one's that hurt).

The other game in Div 7 was Mowbray v Scottsdale. Scottsdale won 5/2

Division 8 played Bridport at Bridport. This was a grand final of sorts. They were the only two teams that could really win the pennant. The team was Richard Lawson, Stephen Clarke, Glen Duncan, Leon Towns, Steve Burris, Peter Gardner and Neil Chenhall. It was a close day with the result decided with a play-off. In the end Prospect Vale were victorious 4/3 and clinched the pennant title. The winners were Richard Lawson, Glen Duncan, Peter Gardner and Steve Burris.

The other game in Div 8 was Exeter v Launceston. Exeter won 4/3

The Final Ladders

Div 3
In the end Prospect Vale finished the year in second place behind Bridport. It's not a win but it is a good accomplishment. The team used 14 different players during the course of the season. They were Corey deBruyn, Matt Marston, Colin Butterworth, Richard Lawson, Matt Adams, Nic Bauld, Justin Ryan, Paul Martin, Duane Morgan, Matt Thomas, Steve Lovegrove, John Murray, Duncan MacFarlane, and Matt Millwood. A BIG thanks to everyone who played for the team!

As a side note, there were 6 undefeated players in div 3 for the season. They were Colin Butterworth, Matt Thomas, Steve Lovegrove, John Murray, Duncan MacFarlane and Matt Millwood. That could be the nucleus of a new team!?! ;)

Bridport 5-1 28/14
Prospect Vale 3-3 25/17
Greens Beach 3-3 20/22
Exeter 1-5 11/32

Div 7
So close but so far away! That was our season in a nut shell.

To win the pennant we needed to beat Tam O'Shanter on their home track. Not an easy task. The team had one change from the previous week with Justin Ryan coming in for Pete Gardner. we had a strong team but Tam O'Shanter were just as strong.

It was heart breaking to loose the day 4/3, especially with the amount of play-off's we had. The day was made worse when we finally found out that Scottsdale had beaten Mowbray.

We used 11 players for the season, they were Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Adam Pawson, Daniel Scott, Denis Lockwood, John Cullen, Mitchell Britton-Thomas, Richard Fleming, Peter Gardner, Colin Butterworth and Justin Ryan. Thanks for playing guys, maybe we can do one better next year. I think we have a team capable of winning a pennant, we just need to work harder next time.

We had 3 players undefeated in the team, Adam Pawson, John Cullen and Justin Ryan.

Scottsdale 4-2 27/15
Prospect Vale 4-2 26/16
Tam O'Shanter 2-4 18/24
Mowbray 2-4 13/29

Div 8
Div 8 came from nowhere to win their last 4 rounds and to win the pennant this year. They shattered the hopes of several teams on their march to glory, most notably that of Launceston. They struggled to get a team on the field one week, they also struggled to keep the same players in the side each week due to other commitments. However, the end result was positive!

They broke the long streak of years without pennant victory and I hope they can do it again next year.

They used 15 players for the season, they were Don Mackie, Steve Clark, Glen Duncan, Scot Limbrick, Steve Burris, Neil Chenhall, Leon Towns, Glenn Summers, Owen Smith, John Burt, Andy Barnes, Barry Pearn, John Cullen, Richard Lawson and Peter Gardner.

They had 6 players that were undefeated for the season, they were Glen Duncan*, Glenn Summers, Andy Barnes, John Cullen, Richard Lawson and Peter Gardner.

Glen Duncan gets a special mention for winning all 6 of his games for the year. A fantastic achievement!!

Prospect Vale 4-2 27/15
Launceston 3-3 20/22
Exeter 3-3 15/27
Bridport 2-4 22/20

The Examiner is Wrong!

2008-05-22T08:30:00.003+10:00

How wrong can one paper be??? The local Tasmanina newspaper "The Examiner" run a column about golf each week, and with the pennant season in full flight they tend to centre the column around that. This would be fine if they actually gave a shit about any division other than the top Divisions.

I've been covering Divisions 3a, 7 and 8 in my blog because my golf club have teams in these grades. I know the situation and likely outcomes for each but apparently, according to the Examiner, I've got it wrong.

"In Division 3a, Bridport has a handy lead and can win that section with victory at home against Exeter".

This is true, however, Bridport have such a good lead in Div 3a they don't have to win to seal victory in the section. If they win any two individual games they win the section, so victory isn't required in the last round.

"In Division 7, it is Prospect Vale (formerly Quamby) who has also enough in hand to win the pennant regardless of the danger match at Tam O'Shanter on Sunday".

That is completely wrong!! Scottsdale are breathing down our necks and can still win the pennant if they beat Mowbray and we lose to Tam O'Shanter. That is the reality! We (Prospect Vale) need to win at Tam O'Shanter to win the pennant. the only way the Examiners statement comes true is if Mowbray beat Scottsdale, which might happen. But I would rather win round six and be sure of pennant victory.

"The result in Division 8 sees Prospect Vale and Launceston with three wins and both facing critical away matches on Sunday".

This is true, they both have three wins for the year, but it doesn't paint much of a picture about the division. Prospect Vale play Bridport this week. There are three teams, Prospect Vale Launceston and Bridport, that can still win the pennant. Prospect Vale can seal the deal with only two individual wins on the weekend. For Bridport to win, they would need to hold Prospect Vale to one individual win. For Launceston to win, they would need to win all seven matches (thats unlikely) and have Bridport win 6/1 or better against Prospect Vale.So, the pennant is really out of Prospect Vale and Bridport, with Prospect Vale sitting in the easiest position to win.

So what is my point? Well, if you a going to the trouble of writing an article in the paper, at least do some research and get your fact straight before publishing. Their article did nothing to inform the competitors of these divisions, and is some cases may have given some players the wrong idea.

Bridport Div 3a have the section sewn up. They are playing the bottom side, at home, and only need two wins to win Div 3a.

Prospect Vale Div 7 are close to victory but still need to win this week to seal the deal. Our fate is in our own hands!

Prospect Vale and Bridport Div 8 will fight it out for the win, Prospect needing 2 wins, Bridport need 6! Launceston have a slim chance but I don't see them winning

Good luck to both Prospect Vale (a.k.a. Quamby) teams this week! I hope we can both celebrate pennant victories!

Round 5 Pennant

2008-05-19T20:59:00.001+10:00

I said it after the last round but, what a big round for the Quamby Golf Club! This week we saw both Div 7 and Div 8 continue their home course dominance, Div 8 more so. For Div 3 their season came to an end at Exeter in a very tight match.

The last time Quamby golf club won a pennant, was the year 2000. Now the club stands on the brink of winning two pennants to end our long suffering drought. To be completely honest, I thought Div 7 was going to have the best chance of winning but, I was wrong. Division 8 only has to win two individual games to secure the title. This is fantastic but it’s not a certainty. I’m sure they will be out to win the day to stamp some authority on the division.
For Division 7, we need to win! Any four (or more) winners and we will win the pennant. There is some hope that Mowbray will beat Scottsdale at home, but we don’t want it to get to that. Win and we will know we have it!

Division 3 Played Exeter, at Exeter this week. Quamby went into the round knowing they had to win the last two rounds to have any chance of winning the pennant. Exeter hadn’t won a single round and would be desperate to change that. The team was Corey deBruyn, Duane Morgan, Paul Martin, Matt Marston, John Murray, Matt Adams and Nic Bauld. The winners were Duane Morgan, John Murray and Matt Marston. The result wasn’t what the team was looking for. The games were very close but, in the end Exeter got 4 winners over the line to get themselves on the board and end Quambys season.

The other game in Div 3 was Greens Beach v Bridport. Bridport won 4/3

Division 7 played Mowbray at home. The team was Colin Butterworth, Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Dan Scott, Mitchell Britton-Thomas and Peter Gardner. This was a potential danger game. If we had lost we would have very little chance of winning the pennant. The team performed well and registered a good 5/2 victory. While I would’ve preferred a 7/0 victory to give us some breathing room, at the end of the day a win is a win. The winners were Colin Butterworth, Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood and Daniel Scott.

The other game in Div 7 was Scottsdale v Tam O’Shanter. Scottsdale won 6/1

Division 8 played Exeter at home this week. They went into this match looking to continue the clubs home course dominance. The team was Richard Lawson, Stephen Clarke, Glen Duncan, Leon Towns, Steve Burris, Scott Limbrick and Neil Chenhall. Division 8 seems to have found the secret to winning all their home matches. Once again they won 7/0 and have taken a huge step towards winning the pennant this year. They will be looking to win next week at Bridport but, any two or more individual victories and they will win the pennant.

The other game in Div 8 was Launceston v Bridport. Launceston won 5/2

The Ladders after round 3

Div 3
After five rounds the results are academic. Bridport will host Exeter at home where they haven’t lost this year. This should mean they will win the pennant. Greens Beach plays Quamby at Quamby. There is the slimmest chance that Greens Beach could still win, but I don’t see it happening. Quamby have been very strong at home and for Greens beach to have a chance they would need a substantial win (5/2 or better). I still say Bridport will win!

Bridport 4-1 22/13
Greens Beach 3-2 19/16
Quamby 2-3 19/16
Exeter 1-4 10/26

Div 7
It all comes down to the final round!

Golf is a solitary game, you generally play for yourself and that’s all. Pennant is one of the few times that golfers can come together and play as a team, and play for each other. These are the things you look back on in the future with pride. Pride in the accomplishment, pride in your team.

After our fourth win, Quamby sit in the box seat to win the pennant. Scottsdale aren’t giving up, they have given themselves a chance to win this season. I keep saying it, if we win this week we win the pennant. We have to show we are the real deal this week. We took it up to our nearest challenger twice this year and came away with the wins. Now we have to stay focused and not get ahead of ourselves. Tam O’Shanter won’t be pushovers on their home course and we should be ready to fight for the victory.

I personaly think we will win! We have a great bunch of players in Div 7, we all play for each other. I know I’ll be out there to win for them, for the club and for myself. It’s a long time between seasons and if we don’t take advantage of our chances, we will be very disappointed. I’m fired up for this round and I look forward to the challenge!

Quamby 4-1 23/12
Scottsdale 3-2 22/13
Mowbray 2-3 11/24
Tam O'Shanter 1-4 14/21

Div 8
As has been the trend in div 8 this year, all the home teams won. The biggest winner was Quamby with another 7/0 victory. Both teams at the top of the table travel away from home in the final round, which means they will have it tough to win. Quamby has the easiest and best chance to win the pennant this year. They only need to win two individual matches to have the pennant sealed up. They should have a strong team for this round and I think they will win the pennant.

Quamby 3-2 23/12
Launceston 3-2 17/18
Bridport 2-3 19/16
Exeter 2-3 11/24

Undefeated players
We have 1 player that has won 5 out 5 games so far this year, Glen Duncan. He is going magnificent and I feel will give himself every chance to go undefeated this week. I wish him the best of luck!

It’s been a long time between successes for the club but, we have the chance to change that! Division 7 and 8, go out there and finish what you’ve started. Don’t give your opponents any chance! Fire up and bring some long awaited glory to your team, your club and yourselves!

Go Quamby!!!

Tasmanian Flora part 2

2008-05-13T20:37:00.002+10:00

I have a few more shots I want to share. All of the images in these two posts were taken at Port Arthur.

More of my Flower images can be found here.

Tasmanian Flora

2008-05-13T20:19:00.002+10:00

I don't take a lot of photos of flowers but, while I was away on my holiday I made an effort to do so. Here are a couple of my shots from the trip. I still need some practice with this medium but I like the results.

More of my Flower images can be found here.

East Coast of Tas

2008-05-09T12:32:00.002+10:00

I mentioned before that my car had a set of white wall tyres after driving on all the dirt roads around St Helens. I have proof just in case you all thought I was stretching the truth.

When day two started I wasted no time in getting lost. This was my first time at St Helens and I was a little turned around with my bearings. Even so, I figured out the location I wanted to get to for the sunrise (St Helens Point). I had to walk out to the point via the track that was signposted at the start. It said in this order, St Helens point, Beer Barrel beach return walk approx 30 minutes. Now maybe I’m an idiot but I would’ve thought that if St Helens point is listed first it would be the first place I would come to first. I was wrong! I headed up the track till I got to a junction. To the left was Beer Barrel beach. To the right there was no sign posted but it did head in the general direction of the point. So I went right. I bashed my way through the trees and brush until I couldn’t force my way any further. I turned around and headed back the way I came only to see the sunrise over the tops of the trees in a beautiful blood red. I was very disappointed to miss it!

After the mornings debacle I headed back to the shack and packed the car up. Since I was already up and had nothing to do I took off early down the coastline. Once again, this was the first time I had travelled down the coast. I saw some wonderful beaches and had to catch myself a couple of times or I would’ve driven into the sea.

I didn’t stop to take any photos till I got to the Freycinet National Park. I drove into Cape Tourville to have a look around and I finally took some photos. The cape has quite a view!

From there I drove into Coles Bay and the Edge of the Bay Resort to get shots of the Hazards. By that time most of the morning had gone, so I finished taking shots and headed for the Tasman Peninsula.

I had planned to drive through the Wielangta National Park just past Orford. It was all dirt road, so after the previous days dirt road excursion I decided to take a different route. I headed towards Buckland but, I didn’t want to go the long way around so I turned off towards Nugent. That was a mistake! As I took the turn off saw a sign out of the corner of my eye. It said something like “road not suitable for ????? Vehicles”, I missed part of it. Anyway it turned out to be a rough, tight, winding, dirt road. Lucky me! For part of the journey I was stuck behind an 18 wheeler which was covering my already dirty car with another layer of dirt. Now for the really ironic part of this tale. At the end of the dirt road it joined the National Park dirt road I had previously chose not to take. That road was at least three lanes wide and in very good condition, I’ll know better next time.

Once I got back onto the main highway it wasn’t long before I reached the Peninsula. I made a stop at Pirates Bay Lookout which takes in views of Eagle Hawk Neck and the East Coast of the Peninsula. Unfortunately the Forestry was burning off the forest, so I had a big smoke cloud in my shots. I also had to fight the continuous smoke haze for the rest of y trip.

I got to my B&B at Safety Cove just after 3.30pm. I settled down for a while waiting for the Port Arthur Ghost tour that night. It was the second time I had done the Ghost tour. I’ve got to say, the first time was much more enjoyable! I think because I had already done it and new the stories, it took some of the excitement out of it.

Then it was bed. I had another long day coming up and I needed some rest. Stay tuned, the story and photos will continue.

Calendar Submission

2008-05-08T20:51:00.005+10:00

I've been busy lately!

About a month ago I approached the printers of the Tasmanian Alkaloids calendar about getting some of my images into next years calendar. I was told I had a good chance of this. At the time I had my Photography Anthology book as my portfolio, this got me a foot in the door. They asked me to put some photos together for consideration and thats what I've been doing this last week.

After my trip down the east coast I had some very good landscapes but, I still had plenty of images from the trip that I hadn't processed. I knew some of them would be good chances of making the calendar so, I went through and processed a select few.

For my presentation I put another book together with only Tasmanian Landscapes in it.

Tasmanian Land...

www.colbluephotogr...

Book Preview

Many of the images in the book have been seen on my blog before or are on my site. Some are still sitting on my computer waiting for me to upload to my site at a later date. They cover a wide area of Tasmania. Strahan, St Helens, Freycinet, Tasman Peninsula, Port Arthur, Richmond Bridge, Russell Falls and Mt Roland. I hope that I will be successful in getting some images in their calendar.

Safety Cove HDR

2008-05-01T12:36:00.004+10:00

I was trying to go through all my holiday shots in the order I took them, but I got impatient last night.

I decided to go straight to some HDR shots from Safety Cove beach. On my previous trip to the Tasman Peninsula I stayed at Sea Change at Safety Cove, a little B&B that is almost the last building on the peninsula. I returned there because a: I absolutely loved the views and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, b: I knew I could get some good shots on the beach and surrounding area. I would recommend staying here to anyone!

I had two mornings to explore the beach area and take the shots I wanted. The first morning I got onto the beach and found that the small rivulet I had found on my last trip had been filled in. That was unfortunate but I found other areas to shoot.

This shot was taken on the first day on my way to Eddystone Point. I drove down to a flood way and found this scene waiting for me.

The rest of these images are from the beach at Safety Cove.

These images and more can be found in my HDR gallery.

I'll have more images processed in the next few days. Keep an eye out on my site!

St Helens

2008-04-29T20:52:00.006+10:00

Last week I went on a holiday to St Helens and the Tasman Peninsula. I headed out for St Helens on the Monday morning going via Scottsdale. I was lucky enough that my neighbours let me stay at their shack at Akaroa, just outside the township of St Helens. I got there around lunch time and after off loading the car I went exploring the area.

My first destination was further up the St Helens Point Road. This was the first shot I took on my holiday.

From there I headed to Binalong Bay and the start of the Bay of Fires. I found a nice little beach area that I could explore by myself.

From Binalong Bay I drove to The Gardens which is about the mid point of the Bay of Fires. I looked for a place to park and almost got my car stuck. After extricating myself I found a better parking spot and went for a walk on the beach. While I was watching the waves hit the beach I had a huge shadow pass overhead. It was a very friendly Molly Hawk! He circled around me several times giving me a chance to get a good photo of him. He wasn't worried about me at all!

More shots of him can be found here.

I spied this little flower as I was walking back to the car. This was the first of several flower shots I'd take in the next few days.

From the Gardens I went back to Binalong Bay and took the turn off towards Eddystone Point. This was a gravel road all the way to Eddystone point. My car which started the day clear was soon very, very dirty. My tyres looked like they were white walls! By the time I got to Eddystone Point it was begining to get late. I took some shots of Picnic rocks and then called it a day.

I ended the day back at the shack and got this sunset shot from the front yard.

At the moment I've only processed the photos from the first day. I still have a lot of images to go through. I hope to get some more done in the coming days.

Round 4 Pennant

2008-04-29T18:26:00.004+10:00

What a big round for the Quamby Golf Club. All three divisions got a win this week, and all took a step towards winning their respective Pennants. Almost every game in Div 3, 7 and 8 were won by the home team, the only upset was (Div 7) Quamby defeating Scottsdale away from home.

Division 3 Played Bridport at home this week. Bridport hadn’t lost a round and Quamby were desperate to keep their season alive. At the end of the day Quamby narrowly defeated Bridport 4/3. With that win Quamby stay in the hunt for the Pennant. The team was Corey deBruyn, Duane Morgan, Paul Martin, Matt Marston, John Murray, Matt Adams and Nic Bauld. The winners were Corey deBruyn, John Murray, Matt Marston and Matt Adams.

The other game in Div 3 was Greens Beach v Exeter. Greens Beach won 5/2

Division 7 played Scottsdale away from home. The team was Colin Butterworth, Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Dan Scott, Justin Ryan and Mitchell Britton-Thomas. This game had a lot at stack. Who ever won would have the best chance to win the Pennant. We went into the round with an unchanged team and confidence. At the end of the day the round was decided by one game, both sides had three wins with one game still going. Anthony Burrows held his nerve and won the day for Quamby on the first play-off hole. This was the first time he played under this much pressure and he came through it very well! The winners were Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Daniel Scott and Justin Ryan.

With this wonderful result we have our destiny in our own hands. Win the next two rounds and we have the Pennant won!

The other game in Div 7 was Tam O’Shanter v Mowbray. Tam O’Shanter won 7/0

Division 8 played Launceston at home this week. They went into this match looking to continue the clubs home course dominance. The team was Don Mackie, Stephen Clarke, Glen Duncan, Leon Towns, John Cullen, Scott Limbrick and Neil Chenhall. The team had a huge win against Launceston! With this win they move into a position to win the Pennant this year.

The other game in Div 8 was Bridport v Exeter. Bridport won 6/1

The Ladders after round 3

Div 3
Heading into the mid season break Briport holds the ladder lead. Quamby evened up the score with their second win and Greens Beach joined Bridport with three wins. The next round after the break will see Greens Beach host Bridport in what will be a very big game. If Bridport win they will probably win the Pennant. The best result for Quamby is for Greens Beach to win at home. Quamby will need to win their last two rounds to have any chance of winning the Pennant.

Bridport 3-1 18/10
Greens Beach 3-1 16/12
Quamby 2-2 16/12
Exeter 0-4 6/23

Div 7
A big win by Quamby over Scottsdale has us sitting a full game clear on top of the table. We have our last home game after the break against Mowbray. We need to win this game! Win it and we will be one step closer to winning the Pennant. With Mowbrays loss on the weekend that leaves only Quamby and Scottsdale with the best chances to win this year. The perfect result for Quamby would be for Tam O’Shanter to beat Scottsdale and Quamby to beat Mowbray. That would seal up the Pennant but, it probably won’t happen that way. We will need to win both our games to make sure we win the Pennant.

Quamby 3-1 18/10
Scottsdale 2-2 16/12
Mowbray 2-2 9/19
Tam O'Shanter 1-3 13/15

Div 8
This week Quamby has fought their way off the bottom of the ladder into a position to win the Pennant after the last two rounds. They had a huge 7/0 win over then ladder leaders Launceston. Each round has seen the home team win. If this trend continues in round five, that will leave Quamby the chance to win this year. They will have the chance to win at Bridport and doing that should win the Pennant. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.

Bridport 2-2 17/11
Quamby 2-2 16/12
Launceston 2-2 12/16
Exeter 2-2 11/17

Undefeated players
The number of undefeated players has shrunk. They are John Cullen and Glen Duncan. However, John Cullen isn’t able to play any other rounds this year so Glen Duncan has the best chance to remain undefeated this year.

We also have some players that are undefeated for one or two matches. They are John Murray for two rounds and Adam Pawson, Peter Gardner, Glenn Summers and Andy Barnes.

Congratulations to Don Mackie, Stephen Clarke and Leon Towns for getting their first wins for the club.

It’s fantastic that all our teams have a chance to win Pennants this year. Best of luck to all our teams in the next round!!

Round 3 Pennant

2008-04-26T12:08:00.004+10:00

Round 3 was almost a full week ago. It's only now that I've been able to write up the results. I have been away on the East Coast of Tasmania for most of the week taking photos. I'll be posting some of them in the future.

But back to golf! Round 3 saw the Pennant teams of Quamby continue to their seasons in good fashion. Division 7 won it's second round against Tam O'Shanter. Division 8 got it's first win against Bridport and Division 3 narrowly lost to Greens Beach.

Division 3 Played Greens Beach away from home. They went in with the strongest team they could but were unable to get over the boys from the beach. The team was Corey deBruyn, Duane Morgan, Paul Martin, Matt Marston, John Murray, Matt Adams and Nic Bauld. The team lost 4/3. The winners were Paul Martin, John Murray and Nic Bauld.

The same team will meet Bridport at home Sunday. We will be looking to square up the ledger and go into the break 2-2.

The other game in Div 3 was Exeter v Bridport. Bridport won 4/3

Division 7 played Tam O'Shanter at home. The team had a couple of changes for this round with the inclusion of Colin Butterworth, and the return of Steve Lovegrove. The team was Colin Butterworth, Steve Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Dan Scott, Justin Ryan and Mitchell Britton-Thomas. After some tight matches the team managed to run out winners 5/2. The winners were Colin Butterworth, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Justin Ryan and Mitchell Britton-Thomas.

This was a fantastic result for the team! We now have 2 wins out of 3 rounds and go into Sundays game against Scottsdale with some momentum.

The other game in Div 7 was Scottsdale v Mowbray. Scottsdale won 7/0

Division 8 had it's first home game against Bridport. The team was in need of it's first win and had a very good side on the course. The team was Don Mackie, Stephen Clarke, Glen Duncan, Leon Towns, John Cullen, Steve Burris and Neil Chenhall. After some very close matches the team won 4/3. The winners were Glen Duncan, John Cullen, Steve Burris and Neil Chenhall.

This week div 8 has it's second game at home against Launceston. Like Div 3, Div 8 will be looking to even up the score at 2-2 before the break.

The other game in Div 8 was Launceston v Exter. Launceston won 6/1

The Ladders after round 3

Div 3
Round 3 saw Bridport continue their winning ways by defeating Exeter away from home. Greens Beach had a hard fought win against Quamby and Exeter remained win less. With three wins Bridport are in a very good position to win the season but they face Quamby this week. Quamby will be out to win this week and keep their chances alive for the rest of the season. Greens Beach hosts Exeter and will be looking to continue their home ground advantage. At this point Exeter have no chance of winning the pennant this year.

Briport 3-0 15/6
Greens Beach 2-1 11/10
Quamby 1-2 12/9
Exeter 0-3 4/18

Div 7
Quamby sits at the top of the ladder by the narrowest of margins. The dominant wins by Scottsdale in the past two rounds have them right behind us. This weeks match up of Quamby and Scottsdale will be a big game in the context of the season. If Quamby can win we will be in the box seat to win the Pennant. If Scottsdale win they will be in the box seat but, Quamby will still be in with a good chance. Mowbray also have a chance to win the Pennant but they are trailing in individual wins, this may hurt them later in the season. Tam O'Shanter look to have no chance to win the Pennant this year.

Quamby 2-1 14/7
Scottsdale 2-1 13/8
Mowbray 2-1 9/12
Tam O'Shanter 0-3 6/15

Div 8
After a big win by Launceston they take the top of the ladder this week. Quamby got it's first win for the year, now they need to keep winning. They have another home game this week against Launceston, that will be tough match. At this point the division is still up for grabs but time is running out fast. Both Quamby and Bridport need to win this week if they want a hope of winning the Pennant this year.

Launceston 2-1 12/9
Exeter 2-1 10/11
Bridport 1-2 11/10
Quamby 1-2 9/12

Undefeated players
After three rounds the club still has some undefeated players. They are John Cullen, Glenn Duncan and Colin Butterworth.

We also have some players that are undefeated for one or two matches. They are Paul Martin for two rounds and Adam Pawson, John Murray, Peter Gardner, Glenn Summers and Andy Barnes.

Also congratulations to Nic Bauld in getting his first win for the club.

Best of luck to all our teams this week!!

Hole in one, Cullen

2008-04-19T17:21:00.003+10:00

After years of no hole in ones at my golf club we have had plenty in recent months, the most recent was today. John Cullen made a hole in one on the 15th hole of the Country Club Tasmania course.

Well done John!!

Round 2 Pennant

2008-04-14T20:36:00.005+10:00

Round 2 saw the club going up against the AFL. The event conflict meant that a lot of our players were unavailable because they wanted to attend the football instead. We can only hope that the NTGA will get the idea and not book pennant rounds on days the AFL play in the state.

Australia has four football codes, Australian Rules Football (AFL), Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer. In the Southern and Western states AFL rules! Tasmania only gets 4 games a year out of 176 matches. The crowds are generally around 20,000+ and many of the spectators come from Launceston and the surrounding area. The same area where the Pennant golfers come from! It’s no wonder that clubs find themselves struggling to find players when the AFL is on.

We had a lot of people fill in for the club this week, most of them were on short notice. If it wasn’t for Steve Lovegrove playing in Division 3, Peter Gardner playing in Division 7 and Glenn Summers, Owen Smith, John Burt, Andy Barnes and Barry Pearn playing in Division 8, the club would’ve had to forfeit games. So I thank all of them for stepping up to fill the void!

Division 3 had its first home game this week against Exeter. The team was Corey deBruyn, Paul Martin, Duane Morgan, Matt Thomas, Matt Adams, Colin Butterworth and Steve Lovegrove. The team had some tight matches but in the end we managed to win 7/0. This is a fantastic result for the team! With that win we take a lot of momentum into the 3rd round against Greens Beach.

Next week we will have all our players available so the team will have every chance of winning away from home.

The other game in Div 3 was Bridport v Greens Beach. Bridport won 5/2

Division 7 was up against Mowbray this week. They went in with a lot of confidence looking to snatch a win away from home. The team was Richard Fleming, Anthony Burrows, Denis Lockwood, Dan Scott, John Cullen, Mitchell Britton-Thomas and Peter Gardner. The scores were close but they fell just short of victory, going down 3/4. The result is quite good, basically playing Mowbray to a draw. All we need to do is beat them at home by the same margin or better which is very possible. The winners this week were Anthony Burrows, John Cullen and Peter Gardner.

Next week Div 7 is back home to meet Tam O’Shanter. Spirits are still high and we are looking to get a solid win.

The other game in Div 7 was Tam O’Shanter v Scottsdale, Scottsdale won 5/2

Division 8 played away against Exeter. The team was put together on short notice but they performed very well. They lost 4/3 but it was very close to a win with a narrow loss in a play-off. The team was Don Mackie, Glenn Summers, Glenn Duncan, Owen Smith, John Burt, Andy Barnes and Barry Pearn. The winners were Glenn Summers, Glenn Duncan and Andy Barnes.

Div 8 is still to register a win this season but they haven’t played a home game yet. As a general rule you win your home games and lose the away games. The end of season result usually comes down to the number of individual home wins. Next week they have their first home game and they will be looking for a big win to get the season back on track.

The other game in Div 8 was Bridport v Launceston. Bridport won 6/1

The Ladders after round 2

Div 3
Round 2 saw Bridport continue its home course dominance with a win over Greens Beach. It also saw Quamby strike back and have a big win against Exeter. Greens Beach still has an advantage from the first round and Bridport have the early ladder lead, But that could all change next week. The race is on and three teams have a good chance to win.

Bridport 2-0 10/4
Quamby 1-1 9/5
Greens Beach 1-1 7/7
Exeter 0-2 2/13

Div 7
Mowbray sit on top of the table at the moment but, both Quamby and Scottsdale are in good positions going into the next round. Mowbray has had two home games, Quamby has had one at home and one away. Scottsdale hasn’t had a home game yet so they are looking good after an away win. If Quamby can win the next two rounds that will see them in a very strong position going into the break!

Mowbray 2-0 9/5
Quamby 1-1 9/5
Scottsdale 1-1 6/8
Tam O'Shanter 0-2 4/10

Div 8
Again, the results basically went to plan with home wins. Exeter takes the ladder lead after two home games but, if things continue with home victories the field will remain wide open. Quamby get their first home game this week and will be looking to get a win on the board!

Exeter 2-0 9/5
Bridport 1-1 8/6
Launceston 1-1 6/8
Quamby 0-2 5/9

Undefeated players
After two rounds the club has some undefeated players. They are John Cullen, Glenn Duncan, Corey deBruyn, Colin Butterworth and Steve Lovegrove.

We also have some single game players that are undefeated. They are Paul Martin, Duane Morgan, Adam Pawson, Peter Gardner, Glenn Summers and Andy Barnes.

Also we had some players that got their first wins for the club this week. They were Matt Adams, Anthony Burrows and Paul Martin.

Congratulations to all our winners!

Best of luck to all Quamby teams for this week! Let’s keep the wins rolling.

Tone Mapped Scapes

2008-04-12T19:19:00.003+10:00

More images can be found in my HDR gallery.

Outnumbered

2008-04-11T10:42:00.003+10:00

To see more of my still life images follow this link to my Still Life gallery.

Round 1 NTGA Pennant

2008-04-08T12:04:00.002+10:00

Pennant Golf
Each year Tasmanian golf clubs play pennant against each other. It's called pennant because that is what you win at the end of the season. The state is divided up into regions and my golf club is situated in the Northern region under the control of the Northern Tasmanian Golf Association (NTGA). The pennant teams are made up of seven players that play Match Play against their opposition each round.

Match Play
In match play the game is played by holes. The state of the match is expressed by the terms: so many "holes up" or "all square", and so many "to play. The game is over when one player is more holes up than there are to play (e.g. 3 holes up with 2 to play).

Sunday April 6th saw the opening of the NTGA Pennant season. My golf club, Quamby, had three teams entered in different divisions. We have a team in Division 3, 7 and 8. I was appointed the Captain of our division 7 team.

The first round is always uncertain, you never know how good the opposition will be. All you can do is try your best to win and see what happens.

Division 3 had an away game against Bridport. At the last minute I was called up to the Div 3 team to fill in. The players were Corey deBruyn, Matt Marston, Colin Butterworth, Richard Lawson, Matt Adams, Nic Bauld, and Justin Ryan. The team had a good match with several games going to the last hole. Unfortunately we lost the day 5 games to 2 (5/2). The winners for the day were Corey deBruyn and Colin Butterworth.

The other game in Div 3 was Exeter v Greens Beach. Greens Beach won 5/2

Division 7 played Scottsdale at home. This was the first time the club had fielded three pennant teams and Div 7 was the new team for the club. The players were Stephen Lovegrove, Anthony Burrows, Adam Pawson, Daniel Scott, Denis Lockwood, John Cullen, and Mitchell Britton-Thomas. I'm proud to say the team went very well and managed to win the day 6 games to 1 (6/1). The winners were Stephen Lovegrove, Adam Pawson, Daniel Scott, Denis Lockwood, John Cullen, and Mitchell Britton-Thomas.

The other game in Div 7 was Mowbray v tam O'Shanter. Mowbray won 5/2

As and added note I would like to personally thank Adam Pawson for filling in for me at the last minute in Div 7. Also I'd like to thank Dan Scott for taking over the Captaincy in my absence.

Division 8 played away at Launceston. The players were Don Mackie, Stephen Clarke, Glen Duncan, Scott Limbrick, Steve Burris, Neil Chenhall, and Leon towns. They weren't able to win the day, going down 5 games to 2 (5/2). The winners were Glen Duncan and Neil Chenhall.

The other game in Div 8 was Exeter v Bridport. Exeter won 5/2

The Ladders after round 1

Div 3
With an away win Greens Beach takes a commanding lead in the division. It means both Quamby and Bridport must win at Exeter as well, or beat Greens beach at their home course. However, with 5 rounds to go the season is still up for grabs.

Greens Beach 1-0 5/2
Bridport 1-0 5/2
Quamby 0-1 2/5
Exeter 0-1 2/5

Div 7
Quamby and Mowbray both had good home wins to start the season but, with Quamby getting the extra game win they take the top spot after round 1. Both teams meet this week at Mowbray.

Quamby 1-0 6/1
Mowbray 1-0 5/2
Tam O'Shanter 0-1 2/5
Scottsdale 0-1 1/6

Div 8
All team results basically went to plan in the first round. Two solid home victories to Launceston and Exeter see them share the top spot for now. We will have to see what the results give us after round 2.

Launceston 1-0 5/2
Exeter 1-0 5/2
Bridport 0-1 2/5
Quamby 0-1 2/5

Best of luck to all the Quamby teams for round 2!

Tas Super Series Rd2

2008-04-05T18:42:00.003+11:00

Round 2 of the Tasmanian Super Series was held on Sunday 30th of March. It was held at Symmons Plains raceway.

The day was quite good. There were a lot of weather changes during the day and the racing was all good.

I still have a lot of images to process but I have finished some of my favourites from the day. Here are a few of them.

More photos from the day can be found here. I’ll work on getting more images processed in the future.

46th AKA Nationals

2008-04-05T18:20:00.003+11:00

During Easter the 46th AKA Nationals were held at the Archerville raceway, near Launceston, Tasmania. I made a trip out to the track on the Sunday for the finals. It was a long day of races but it was worth watching.

Here are a few images from the day.

The rest of my photos from the day can be found here.

Tone Mapped Portraits

2008-03-11T20:12:00.003+11:00

I have been playing around with HDR and Tone Mapping over the weekend and I came up with these creations. I put these images through tone mapping twice to create a more stylistic result. I used Photomatix to create these, along with Lightroom and Photoshop.

These and my other HDR images can be found here.

HDR and Baskerville

2008-03-07T08:19:00.007+11:00

I managed to find the Natsoft results from the weekends round at Baskerville. It was hidden in the wrong year (someone made a mistake). Anyway, here is a link to the results.

Here is one of my favourite motorbike shots from the weekend. More images can be found in the Baskerville 50th anniversary gallery.

Because so many cars were on static display I was able to take multiple exposure shots of some that caught my eye. By doing this I was able to create High Dynamic Range (HDR) images using a program called Photomatix Pro by HDRsoft.

Here are some of the images.

More of my HDR images can be seen in the HDR gallery on my web site: www.colbluephotography.com

Baskerville 50th Anniversary

2008-03-06T09:27:00.006+11:00

Baskerville Raceway had it's 50th anniversary on March 1st and 2nd. I made the trip down on the Sunday and was pleasantly surprised at the great turnout of drivers and spectators. The program covered all eras of motor sport, including motorbikes.

It was a big thrill to see the cars of yesteryear turn some laps. Also, getting up close to these machines was fantastic! I have a gallery of images up on my site.

Here are a few shots from the day.

I still have quite a few shots to process, particularly from the pits and grid walk. So keep an eye out on my site for more images in the next few days.

STKC Club Titles

2008-02-27T10:02:00.003+11:00

Southern Tasmanian Kart Club - Club Titles 17th Feb 2008.

This was the first time I had made the trip to the Orielton track. It is very different to Highclere and Archerville, which I think is a good thing. I was able to take different shots than normal and managed to get some really nice shots.

More images from the day can be found here on my website.