The Right Exposure

Your Advice Will Help Merisi Make Her Decision

Raindrops on roses. I took this shot with a Pentax K10 digital SLR.

Her wonderful photographic essays from Vienna, Austria, have held my attention for several months, but now Merisi wants your help. In her own words: "Would there be any way that you could ask for opinions from your vast readership?" Yes, I’m always happy to help a fellow blogger and I’m sure you’ll support me on that.

Merisi wants to buy a digital SLR and wants your advice and guidance. She writes: "I am still thinking about staying with Sony. I love the Zeiss lens of my little pocket camera very much, I feel insecure reguarding other brands. I was looking into the Sony Alpha 100, but my husband says I should go for the Alpha 700 (Euro 700 or 1.500 resp., with an 18-70mm lens). In the film days, I used a Pentax and had a professional Nikon, still have, somewhere."

Whatever your opinion, please leave a comment here for Merisi. It doesn’t matter whether you leave a couple of words, one sentence or a long, detailed message. It’ll be a great help to Merisi and could become a great reference point for other bloggers who have the same dilemma.

Some months ago, I started answering readers’ photography-related questions on my Get The Picture posts on this blog. In this case, since I’m familiar with the terrific variety of Merisi’s work, I’ll start the ball rolling by telling her to invest in the Pentax K10D (a digital SLR) with a versatile 18-200mm zoom which is great for a) travelling and b) having a variety of options with a single retractable lens. But Merisi and I both want to know what your advice is ….

Bloom or bust. I also shot this using a Pentax K10 digital SLR.

Fall Guy

Do We Always Find The Right Balance?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I had a very interesting email from Merisi, whose blog Vienna For Beginners recently achieved the milestone of 50,000 visitors. Merisi had a chuckle at the predicament I described in my Camera Critters post titled Lion Down On The Job Again. I mentioned that I had almost fallen flat on my face in order to get the exact camera angle I wanted while taking a shot in Chinatown, Montreal.

Merisi, who is always very quick on the uptake, asked me if I would care to share any funny experiences on the subject. I have to say I have never completely lost my balance while taking a photograph, but in no particular order a) I constantly walk out in the rain to take interesting shots; b) I once worked under an umbrella in pouring rain in Quebec City; c) I have often been seen lying prone on the grass to take a shot.

But fall on my butt? Nope. Not yet, at any rate. But if and when I do, you’ll be the first to hear about it. Fair dinkum.


However, I had an interesting experience in Montreal in 2005. I was at the World Trade Centre, a fascinating meld of ancient and modern architecture. I wanted to capture a shot of the beautiful reclining statue of Amphitrite, famous in mythology as Poseidon's wife. I was intrigued by how dark the water looked, even though it was broad daylight.

This was because of the roof structure and the height of the surrounds, but the soft, shimmering reflection of the surrounding lighting made the shot irresistible.


I took a few shots with a digital Pentax, but I wanted one final series of shots with my film-based Canon EOS 3000. So, with the camera slung around my neck, I stood up – in brave but foolhardy fashion - on the concrete parapet that surrounds the long, rectangular pool. I took a couple of quick shots, concentrating very hard on maintaining my balance.

But I am six foot three and so I have a fairly high centre of gravity. I also have size eleven feet, so I was very conscious of the fact that I needed to make sure they were firmly planted on the narrow ledge while I worked.

And then I almost came to grief. With my camera still held firmly to my eye, I crabbed sideways in a cautious shuffle to get a better angle and my foot slipped for one brief moment. I was never in danger, because I was literally inching along – but as you can see from this shot (above) my orientation was slightly askew. The camera was slightly off balance when I hit the shutter – so the horizontal orientation of the shot is slightly out of kilter.

It wasn’t until I got back to Melbourne that I realised something very interesting. A group of women office workers can be seen clearly in the windows depicted in the image below. They had obviously been watching me work – and were probably placing bets on how long it would take me to disgrace myself and fall head-first into the water.

Camera Conscious

Let's Focus On The Task Ahead

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

On Tuesday I got an interesting question from Merisi, who is based in Vienna, Austria and whose site is updated regularly with some eye-catching photo essays and short, snappy text.

``I see that you are a professional photographer,'' said Merisi, ``do you have a site with more of your photos? I am only snapshooting with a little Sony Cybershot, which unfortunately gives me once again spots on images taken with zoom. I am thinking about upgrading a notch or two, wide angle, more zoom, without losing the Sony's capability of taking low-light shots without flash. May I ask you if you have any suggestions?''

First up, Merisi, I am very flattered that you think I'm a professional photographer. Do allow me to qualify that. I'm a professional journalist who just happens to love photography. However, when I have this second novel out of the way, I'll be doing a bit more serious photography for a while, before going on to my next novel.

I've had a good look at the nature of your photography and I think I might be able to answer your question, while addressing the issue that you also enjoy close-up shots as much as I do. There are a couple of camera-specific posts on my blog at Giving Cameras The Right Exposure and Putting Cameras in the Picture and I guess those will help others with similar queries to yours.

I reckon what you really need is a versatile camera with a decent (but not overpowering) zoom, a great mid range and terrific macro. Like you, I also take a lot of low-light shots. I use a Pentax K100D with a Sigma 18-125mm lens that does all of the above, but I recently had the pleasure of testing a Pentax K10D - which has a brilliant macro. To see one particular result, go to Mug Shot and you'll see what I mean.

Scout around and you'll find several cameras that have the 50 per cent extra length on their focal plane. Confused? Naaaah, this just means you have a focal length equivalent to a 150mm lens while shooting with a 100mm lens. I would also advice you to go to a camera dealer and spend some time testing the gear that matches your requirements and your budget. It's unlikely they will let you test each camera for an hour or so outdoors, so just shoot various objects in the store and compare results before making your final choice.

I wouldn't buy a car without test-driving it. Similarly, I'd recommend that anyone keen on buying a new camera actually tests a few different models and makes before making up your mind. Good luck and let me know how you go.

Click here: Pentax K100D. Shutter 1/60, F 5.6. ISO speed 800. Flash disabled.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Snowelf with Alarm Clocks. The other top contenders were Sandy Carlson with Philadelphia Murals; Elizabeth Bradley with The Other Side Of The Curtain; Mushy Moochings with Finall, A Knoxville Kind Of Place; Lisa’s Chaos with Macro Monday; FHB with Back In Eastern Tennessee; Merisi with Against The Dearth Of Monday Poems; Suldog with I’m Too Cute For Words; Snowbrush with Careers, Affairs And Other Marital Considerations and House Of Lime with The City Cousin And The Country Cousin. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

See my photography at Images Sans Frontiers and Red Bubble.

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards

Top Blogs For Week Ending 18 August

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards are meant to encourage bloggers from all round the world and they give new bloggers the chance to get their work noticed in an increasingly popular forum, alongside the world's most-visited blogs. There is no monetary reward, no live TV coverage, no red carpet interview, but the exposure comes with international bragging rights. If you would like your blog (or someone else's) to be considered for next week's awards, please leave the url here, in the comment section. You can nominate as many blogs as you want. Entries close at midday Greenwich Mean Time each Friday.

1. Bob T Bear, 2. Deborah Gamble, 3. Carol Cooper,
4. Chewy, 5. Bartraeke, 6. Rambling Traveller,
7. Mushy, 8. Grumpy'n'Farting, 9. Victorya,
10. Dan Mega, 11. Cherished 79, 12. Jenera Healy,
13. Blue Yak, 14. Blog Guelph, 15. Hammer,
16. Phaseout Girl, 17. Ak-Man, 18. Yes But Images,
19. McGlinch, 20. Querkey Turkey, 21. Ianqui,
22. Random Blethers, 23. Pasture Musings, 24. Creek Journal,
25. Brian in Oxford, 26. FHB, 27. Oz Lady,
28. Woman Wandering, 29. Invisible Studio, 30. Ruth's Blog,
31. Cariboo Ponderer, 32. Goddess, 33. Craver vii,
34. Diesel, 35. Luke Dockery, 36. Lotus Reads,
37 Les Becker, 38. Mrs Nesbitt, 39. My Name Is Girl,
40. Mur 38, 41. Chumma Chumma, 42. Scooter Guy,
43. It's The Little Things. 44. Bellur, 45. Pope Terry,
46. Broken Man, 47. Merisi, 48. Cuckoo,
49. Nobody's Friend, 50. Kitchen Fire, Joint 50. Karoline.

WILDCARDS: I Gotta B, Danielle's Musings, Photoxification, Dan's Blah Blah Blog, Plumpie Mousie, Skinny Little Blonde, The Hippie Parade.

And honourable mentions go to:

Confused Sam, Shashikiran. Suz.50, Laurent, Gerald the Goat, Lady T, Bruno's Blusterings, Allan Cook, Aquarius2626, David's Pics, Unforeseen Paths, Prof Bush, Copper Stiletto, Terry's Playpen, Kalyan's Dreams, Near Post, Colorado Bob, Chalkhills Collective, Chess World, Lensational, Ubertramp, I'm On My Weigh Down, Daub du Jour, Chele 76, Movies Sans Frontiers, Sandip Madan, Who Dat Dare Pokah, Sketch and Colour, Love's Ragpicker, Coffee Conversation, Peace With Guns, Ms Creek, Roc Rebel Granny, Travellin' Mama, Magick River, Praveen Who Writes, Auto Parts, Savannah.

In conclusion, I would just like to say I've been mentoring several bloggers for a while and it is important to know that the work of a blogger whose url has only 10 hits can be ranked alongside a blogger whose url has 10,000 hits or more. I would like other would-be writers and bloggers to benefit from the fact that I am a bestselling novelist (`Vegemite Vindaloo', published by Penguin) and career journalist with almost 30 years' experience in writing, editing, design, newspaper technology and production.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Jennifer Harvey with Comfort. The other top contenders were Merisi with Sunshine; Flutter with The Impostor’s Clothes; Nourish The Soul with TP Therapy; Madge with She’s Just Rambling; One Plus Two with Going To Redneck Country; Willow with Memories Of Fragrance And Colour; Sandi McBride with A Visit With A Country Doctor; Hilary with All The Night's Magic; Life In The Second Half with Electrician Part II; Gogouci with Native American Expression. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards

Top Blogs For Week Ending 21 July

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards are meant to encourage bloggers from all round the world and they give new bloggers the chance to get their work noticed in an increasingly popular forum, alongside the world's most-visited blogs. There is no monetary reward, no live TV coverage, no red carpet interview, but the exposure comes with international bragging rights. If you would like your blog (or someone else's) to be considered for next week's awards, please leave the url here, in the comment section. You can nominate as many blogs as you want. Entries close at midday Greenwich Mean Time each Friday.

1. Carol Cooper, 2. Bob T Bear, 3. Grumpy'n'Farting
4. Rambling Traveller, 5. Chewy, 6. Ak-Man
7. Bartraeke, 8. Deborah Gamble, 9. Suz.50
10. Mushy, 11. Dan Mega, 12. Phaseout Girl
13. Jenera Healy, 14. Cherished 79, 15. Blog Guelph
16. Blue Yak, 17. McGlinch, 18. Yes But Images
19. Ianqui, 20. Random Blethers, 21. Auto Parts,
22. Querkey Turkey, 23. Karoline, 24. Invisible Studio
25. Creek Journal, 26. Oz Lady, 27. Gerald the Goat
28. Woman Wandering, 29. Brian in Oxford, 30. Luke Dockery
31. Chumma Chumma, 32. Lotus Reads, 33. Craver vii
34. Fat Hairy Bastard, 35. Goddess, 36. Laurent
37. Magick River, 38. Travellin' Mama, 39. Victorya
40. Savannah, 41. Lady T, 42. Scooter Guy
43. Rambling With Bellur, 44. Broken Man, 45. Shashikiran
46. Cuckoo, 47. Praveen Who Writes, 48. Merisi,
49. Nobody's Friend, 50. Kitchen Fire

In conclusion, I would just like to say I've been mentoring several bloggers for a while and it is important to know that the work of a blogger whose url has only 10 hits can be ranked alongside a blogger whose url has 10,000 hits or more. I would like other would-be writers and bloggers to benefit from the fact that I am a bestselling novelist (`Vegemite Vindaloo', published by Penguin) and career journalist with almost 30 years' experience in writing, editing, design, newspaper technology and production.

And honourable mentions go to:

Aquarius2626, David's Pics, Unforeseen Paths, Prof Bush, Copper Stiletto, Terry's Playpen, Pope Terry, Kalyan's Dreams, Near Post, Colorado Bob, Chalkhills Collective, Chess World, Lensational, Ubertramp, Allan Cook, I'm On My Weigh Down, Daub du Jour, Chele 76, Movies Sans Frontiers, Pasture Musings, Mur 38, Sandip Madan, Who Dat Dare Pokah, Sketch and Colour, Love's Ragpicker, Confused Sam, Coffee Conversation, Peace With Guns.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Louise with Weeping For A Weeping Cherry and Corey with Lessons Among The Blades Of Grass. The other top contenders were Fireblossom with Love Poem; Dental Maven with Never Run (Or Floss) With Scissors; Damp Dog with Waiting; Naturglede with The Letter M; Anne-Berit with Havmannen; Merisi with Springtime In Vienna; Brit Gal Sarah with Engineering Masterpiece and Daryl with The Doors. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Post Of The Day

Today we have joint winners, so please give it up for Celebration of Life with the poignant post Blast From The Past as well as the gifted Julie with her own cartoon (which speaks volumes about us bloggers!) Dedicated Blogger. The other great posts were John-Michael's Life’s Tears; Digital Flower Pictures with G Is For Green; Anna's Open Windows; B with The Way I Am; Carrot Jello's Pulling Out Of The Parking Lot; More Cowbell's Yo I Spy; Gone Back South with Friendships; Maggie May with There’s Rats In The Kitchen; Mother of this Lot with The Father of Girls; Merisi with Venetian Headlines and Lee with Super Heroes. Do pay them a visit and leave them a comment.

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards

Top Blogs For Week Ending 29 September

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards are meant to encourage bloggers from all round the world and they give new bloggers the chance to get their work noticed.

1. Bob T Bear, 2. Chewy, 3. Mushy,
4. Victorya, 5. Deborah Gamble, 6. Rambling Traveller,
7. Kissing The Dogwood, 8. Phaseout Girl, 9. Cherished 79,
10. Carol Cooper, 11. Hammer, 12. Creek Journal,
13. Brian in Oxford, 14. FHB, 15. Grumpy'n'Farting,
16. Bart, 17. Dan Mega, 18. Blue Yak,
19. Jenera Healy, 20. Yes But Images, 21. Querkey Turkey,
22. Ianqui, 23. Pasture Musings, 24. Cariboo Ponderer,
25. Random Blethers, 26. McGlinch, 27. Oz Lady,
28. Craver vii, 29. Woman Wandering, 30. Goddess,
31. Diesel, 32. Ruth's Blog, 33. Mrs Nesbitt,
34. My Name Is Girl, 35. Les Becker, 36. Country Girl,
37. It's The Little Things, 38. Lotus Reads, 39. Luke Dockery,
40. Invisible Studio, 41. Ak-Man, 42. I Gotta B,
43. Scooter Guy, 44. Mur 38, 45. Pope Terry,
46. Merisi, 47. Karoline, 48. Nobody's Friend,
49. Kitchen Fire, Joint 50. Cuckoo, Joint 50. Digital Flower Pix.

WILDCARDS: Allan Cook, Photoxification, Brookville Daily Photo, Danielle's Musings, Dan's Blah Blah Blog, Plumpie Mousie, Skinny Little Blonde, The Hippie Parade, Broken Man, Blog Guelph, Chumma Chumma, Bellur, Rabaul Daily Photo, Jo Beaufoix, House of Lime, Anna, BC Mom, Squiggles Mom, Chris Online, Ohara, Michal, The Max-e Files, Sketch and Colour, Bruno's Blusterings.

And honourable mentions go to: Confused Sam, Shashikiran. Suz.50, Laurent, Gerald the Goat, Lady T, David's Pics, Unforeseen Paths, Prof Bush, Copper Stiletto, Terry's Playpen, Kalyan's Dreams, Near Post, Colorado Bob, Chalkhills Collective, Chess World, Lensational, Ubertramp, I'm On My Weigh Down, Daub du Jour, Chele 76, Movies Sans Frontiers, Sandip Madan, Who Dat Dare Pokah, Love's Ragpicker, Coffee Conversation, Peace With Guns, Ms Creek, Roc Rebel Granny, Travellin' Mama, Magick River, Praveen Who Writes, Auto Parts, Savannah.

In conclusion, I would just like to say I've been mentoring several bloggers for a while and it is important to know that the work of a blogger whose url has only 10 hits can be ranked alongside a blogger whose url has 10,000 hits or more. I would like other would-be writers and bloggers to benefit from the fact that I am a bestselling novelist (`Vegemite Vindaloo', published by Penguin) and career journalist with almost 30 years' experience in writing, editing, design, newspaper technology and production.

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards

Top Blogs For Week Ending 15 September

Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards are meant to encourage bloggers from all round the world and they give new bloggers the chance to get their work noticed in an increasingly popular forum, alongside the world's most-visited blogs.

1. Bob T Bear, 2. Chewy, 3. Deborah Gamble,
4. Mushy, 5. Rambling Traveller, 6. Victorya,
7. Phaseout Girl, 8. Bart, 9. Grumpy'n'Farting,
10. Kissing The Dogwood, 11. Carol Cooper, 12. Cherished 79,
13. Dan Mega, 14. Hammer, 15. Blue Yak,
16. Creek Journal, 17. FHB, 18. Jenera Healy,
19. Yes But Images, 20. Brian in Oxford, 21. Querkey Turkey,
22. Ianqui, 23. Pasture Musings, 24. Cariboo Ponderer,
25. Random Blethers, 26. McGlinch, 27. Oz Lady,
28. Woman Wandering, 29. Ruth's Blog, 30. Goddess,
31. Craver vii, 32. Diesel, 33. Invisible Studio,
34. Ak-Man, 35. Luke Dockery, 36. Lotus Reads,
37. Mrs Nesbitt, 38. My Name Is Girl, 39. Mur 38,
40. Les Becker, 41. Country Girl, 42. It's The Little Things,
43. Scooter Guy, 44. Photoxification, 45. I Gotta B,
46. Pope Terry, 47. Merisi, 48. Karoline,
49. Nobody's Friend, Joint 50. Kitchen Fire, Joint 50. Cuckoo.

WILDCARDS: Allan Cook, Digital Flower Pictures, Brookville Daily Photo, Danielle's Musings, Dan's Blah Blah Blog, Plumpie Mousie, Skinny Little Blonde, The Hippie Parade, Broken Man, Blog Guelph, Chumma Chumma, Bellur, Rabaul Daily Photo, Jo Beaufoix, House of Lime, Anna, BC Mom, Squiggles Mom, Chris Online, Ohara, Michal, The Max-e Files, Sketch and Colour, Bruno's Blusterings.

And honourable mentions go to:

Confused Sam, Shashikiran. Suz.50, Laurent, Gerald the Goat, Lady T, David's Pics, Unforeseen Paths, Prof Bush, Copper Stiletto, Terry's Playpen, Kalyan's Dreams, Near Post, Colorado Bob, Chalkhills Collective, Chess World, Lensational, Ubertramp, I'm On My Weigh Down, Daub du Jour, Chele 76, Movies Sans Frontiers, Sandip Madan, Who Dat Dare Pokah, Love's Ragpicker, Coffee Conversation, Peace With Guns, Ms Creek, Roc Rebel Granny, Travellin' Mama, Magick River, Praveen Who Writes, Auto Parts, Savannah.

In conclusion, I would just like to say I've been mentoring several bloggers for a while and it is important to know that the work of a blogger whose url has only 10 hits can be ranked alongside a blogger whose url has 10,000 hits or more. I would like other would-be writers and bloggers to benefit from the fact that I am a bestselling novelist (`Vegemite Vindaloo', published by Penguin) and career journalist with almost 30 years' experience in writing, editing, design, newspaper technology and production.