Experimenting

I bought a new camera this week. I didn't mean to. But we were in Adelaide in a camera shop where Steve was getting rid of a film camera and some lenses. My current camera is getting old and the zoom function seems to have stopped functioning. I guess getting a new camera may have been in the back of my mind. I thought I might get a second-hand one, but I'm a sucker for new things!!! So when I was shown a brand-new model of a Panasonic Lumix - the brand I currently have -  I was hooked. It is much smaller and lighter. It's actually termed a 'travel camera' because of its size, so perfect for me. With a card and camera case thrown in, a deal was made and the camera was mine.

So I have been experimenting. First up, trying to make sense of the instruction manual. A few things are quite different to what I've been used to. It was all very frustrating as the terminology was not explained and the symbols used made no sense. So I decided to learn by doing which, really, is the way to go. We set off to explore a country road not far from home, where I would experiment with focus, zooming, light and shade and check the general sharpness of each photo. I must explain that I'm a point-and-shoot expert: I set the camera on Intelligence Plus mode ( a marvellously named function) and off I go pointing at whatever takes my fancy. While the camera does everything from bursts (filming fast action), focus stacking and making motion pictures,  I'm happy with using the basic operations for taking interesting, creative photos.

So how did the camera perform? Here are some of my shots. First up some wide-angle views.

This photo says 'Australia' to me.

So far, so good. The camera is easy to handle. What about a close-up?

And closer.

Ok. Not bad.

We continued walking, with me searching for opportunities for more experimenting. How would the camera handle a darker item?

 What about light and dark?

Steve is always telling me to look closely and find something different, such as a burst of colour among neutral colours. Here goes.

And then I saw the sheep. Yay!

Two more shots using my zoom lens.

I could just see the ocean in the far distance.

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The following day I took the camera into town and visited a market, the railway station, and the foreshore, all fodder for my camera.   

I always love this whale tail fountain.

And tried for a different shot, which I 'doctored' with extra colour when I got home.

The railway station proved a rich hunting ground, especially with the objects from a foregone era placed on the platform for atmosphere. 

And finally, to the bay. This sculpture celebrates the Indigenous inhabitants of Encounter Bay alongside explorers Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin (whose 1802 encounter in these waters provided the name).

The bridge connecting the mainland to Granite Island.

And lastly - camel rides on the foreshore.

I'm delighted with my new camera. It's easy to use for what I want it to do. Next time I'll try the landscape function and dabble in some flash photography.

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We check out the surf

We had such a coolish summer this year that we rarely went to the beach. I think the last time was mid-February. But today the sun was shining, the temperature was hovering in the high 20s and, best of all, there was no wind. Perfect for a trip to Parsons Beach, the best surfing spot on the southern coast - for a walk, I hasten to add (in case you think I had donned a wetsuit and grabbed a board).  It's only a 20-minute drive from home. We've been there before but I forgot that the car park is high on a cliff and there's a steep rocky path down to the beach. We'd taken our cameras: Steve to test an old lens he found and me to get used again to my old camera that was broken but is now fixed. 

The view of the coast is calming. I love the smooth stretch of sand, the hills in the distance and the waves endlessly washing ashore.  I couldn't wait to get down to it all.

The car park was full of surfers. Here are some of them checking out the conditions.

Looking closely, you can see half a dozen surfers out there, though the surf is definitely nothing to get excited about. I guess it's because there's no wind.

Here's the start of the track. It goes straight downhill. I wouldn't be wanting to carry a surfboard.

For a while it's a hard, sandy track, then becomes very rocky. At every turn we were getting nearer though, so pressed on.

The surf looked rather choppy to my eagle eye, but when we were coming back up the track we chatted to a guy and I asked him how the surf was: 'It was great', he said, 'and I had quite a few good tubes' .  I nodded knowingly at this surfer talk. Here's one of the few action shots I got.

We walked on. No-one else about. How peaceful is this?

... took some photos ...

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... then rested for a while.

This gave me an opportunity to see if I could capture any 'birds in flight' shots and test my camera.

Here's what I managed to get.

I manipulated this photo when I got home for this effect which I rather like.

I also felt satisfied with this photo of a lone surfer coming onto the beach.

Perhaps contemplating his day.

And I really liked this one that Steve took.

We were now ready to leave. Steve contemplates the climb ahead. 

And a final look at that view.

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