In The Silence Of Dawn

This Must Be The Best Seat In The House

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the most amazing things about using a camera at dawn is the total silence that envelops you. It's almost as if you're working in a vacuum. These shots were taken some weeks ago, in the cool stillness of an Australian summer dawn, while the rest of the world grappled with winter. There was only a slight breeze across the Yarra River - as you can see from the minor ripples across the surface of the water.

The building you can see is Flinders Street Station, Melbourne's central transport hub. It stretches two city blocks and is always a great sight to behold. But in the darkness or semi-darkness, it is simply magnificent because the golden lighting is cloned as it is reflected in the river. I shot this without a tripod, using an exposure of 1/4th of a sec, F4, ISO 800 and a focal length of only 26mm to get the whole scene in.


This second shot (above) was taken at 0.3 of a sec. F4.5, ISO 800 and a focal length of 34mm because I wanted a different frame altogether. A lot of my new readers might not be aware of this, but I never enhance my shots in any way, nor do I crop them. What you see on this blog is exactly what I see through the viewfinder.

I was very lucky that day - a clear sky and a light breeze is a Godsend for anyone shooting for a reflection in these half-light conditions. All I had to do was line up the shot and press the shutter.