Simply Stunning Sydney

Sydney is a beautiful location for taking stunning photos. I love the contrasts Sydney offers in terms of textures, shapes and colours. No matter where you are; whether it be in the middle of the city or on the golden sandy beaches there a great photography opportunities waiting just around the corner.

Some of the highlights of photography for me in Sydney so far have been the water ways, bushland, night city and coastal sunset shots. Each have offered an experience where I have learnt a little more about photogralhy.

Because Sydney is where I grew up there have been so many opportunities to explore the city in it's entirity. I reccomend starting off taking photos of iconic landmarks in the city such as The Opera House and The Harbour Bridge and experimenting with shapes and lines as they offer many opportunities to enhance these elements of photographic design.

If you want some more great ideas or information about photographing Sydney check out About Blank Sydney Photography. 

The Royal Views Of Queenstown

Full Rainbow over Lake Wakatipu

I was lucky enough to go on a 2000km+ road trip around the south island of New Zealand recently. Among abundant breathtaking natural sights and scenes, Queenstown stood out for the all round highlight of the trip. With a perfect mix of stunning views, convenient access to some of the best snowfields in the southern hemisphere and a great party vibe, Queenstown is definitely one of my favourite places I've ever visited. 

This photo was taken on the balcony of our sharehouse the moment I arrived. Without having much time to play around with manual settings, I just shot and hoped that the previous settings were applicable to the scene, and although not the perfect photograph, I am definitely happy with the way it turned out. A rare sight, a full rainbow, over the picturesque Lake Wakatipu with snow capped mountains just in sight and a beautiful winter's day was the best moment of magic I captured during my 3 week trip. 

Queenstown, and New Zealand in general, is an amazing place to visit and travel and one of the most beautiful places in the world. To find out more visit https://www.queenstownnz.co.nz/

360 Views of Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva, Switzerland

Switzerland was a country which I had always been fascinated about - the blend of Italian, German and French is truly intriguing. Geneva, itself, is located right beside Europe's largest Alpine lake. I knew that there would be fantastic photo opportunities in the place itself and here I am!

This photo was taken at St Peter's Cathedral, a cathedral with gothic along with ancient architecture and an attic that leads to the northern and southern towers which provides fantastic views over the city. As the cathedral is located on top of a hill, it is a photographer's dream to take panoramic photos of the city here.

The photo above was taken using a Canon IXUS 230 at the Southern Tower, which provides a direct view of the lake. As it was a beautiful day with blue skies and sun when I visited, I only needed to use ISO100 as my camera setting. A lower aperture of f/9 was used so that the camera could capture the landscape photography and to give me depth and sharpness across the photo. This was used in conjunction with a 1/200s shutter speed.

The Cathedral is located in the Old Town which also has the Town Hall in which the League of Nations and the Red Cross was founded. History buffs will definitely be engrossed in the deep and long lasting history provided by this photogenic city.

Author: Lisbeth Wong

The Taj Mahal - Simply Beautiful

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India

Historic. Artistic. Beautiful. Those are the words that come to my mind when you think of the Taj Mahal.

As my ethnicity is Indian, this place is right up there in the places I’ve enjoyed seeing and taking photos of. When I visited, it was an overcast day. At any other location, this would mean I’d have to use a high ISO. This isn’t any other place – it’s the Taj Mahal! The marble from the building glows brightly and means you don’t need to use a high ISO. In fact, I only used ISO 100!

Other settings:

• A lower aperture of F3.2 was used to capture the main essence of the building.
• Shutter speed of 1/400s.

Taj Mahal is unique in that when you walk up close, you see calligraphy on each wall. After 20 years, the architectural brilliance was built in 1648. To this day, it hosts approximately 3 million tourists every year. The history within this wonder of the world is rich – it’s definitely worth a visit!

Author: Amit Balakrishnan

Leaving my heart in Japan

Traffic in Shinjuku

Visiting Japan twice in the space of one year was a magical experience that I will never forget. From the moment I arrived, I fell in love with the country, the culture and most of all, the people. Such a genuinely nice population with every single person willing to try and help even if they didn't speak a word of English. 

The above photo is one of my all time favourite photos I've ever taken, and it was just on a whim while crossing a pedestrian bridge over the busy night traffic of Shinjuku. Using the manual setting of my DSLR to manipulate a long exposure shot with the right brightness was one of my early self introductions to manual photography. The whole country is so photogenic and I was lucky enough to be there during the cherry blossom season. 

 The nightlife of Japan was spectacular; all the bright lights, cheap alcohol, quaint little bars and some truly pumping clubs. Japan, Tokyo in particular, is definitely a place I would like to live in at some point in my life. As a self confessed nerd, being in world's capital of technology was just a constant wonder. Being surrounded by retro gaming, next gen gaming, and at the forefront of technical innovation just feels oh so right to me. Other highlights of Japan was walking the streets of Harajuku, experiencing the culture at some shrines and temples and losing myself in Akihabara. 

I highly recommend Japan to anyone and everyone! Tourism site of Japan: http://us.jnto.go.jp/

Finding Gold on the Gold Coast

It is hard not to feel like you have struck gold when returning home after a visit from the Gold Coast. I spent just 4 action packed days there and have so many great memories. From the minute I landed at the airport, the fun began. From beaches, to bars and bistros, the night life is buzzing along the esplanade of Surfers Paradise of the Gold Coast. The fun does not end there either. 

Visiting the theme parks was next on the list, and for a measly $79AUS I had access to Sea World, Movie World and Wet'n'Wild. Which of course each brought back golden memories of visiting the Gold Coast as a child. Another at the top of the list was seeing the V8 Super Cars and hiring an electric scooter out to take a trip around the track after the race. To finish it off I went to Tepanyaki at the Marriot Hotel in Surfers which was great quality entertainment and food. 

Of course there is so much more to do there, from helicopters and jetski rides to whale watching and day spas, whatever you do on holidays, the Gold Coast has it on offer. Everything is easily accessed by car, bus, taxi or walking.

Taking photographs on the Gold Coast is easy even for the biggest novice. There are so many good opportunities for the perfect snap it is hard not to capture a tonne of great photos. The best places for a great snap are the beaches and the city. They each capture the lifestyle of the area. Taking photos there taught me alot about light exposure and landscape 

shots.

If you want to know more about the Gold Coast, visit http://www.visitgoldcoast.com 

Leaving my Seoul in Gyeongbokgung Palace 경복궁

Gyeongbokgung Palace - Geunjeongjon Hall

Visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace allowed me to really explore Korean culture. This royal palace was the main and the largest palace out of the five that were built in the Joseon Dynasty in the late 1300s. I was able to appreciate the reason why objects were placed where where they were and how things operated (such as an aisle where only the King would be able to walk on).  I also found out that the stones used in the flooring was to prevent flooding, something that I found was really interesting, especially given the time it was built. There were plenty of free tours given by student tour guides who were trying to practice their English. Definitely enlightening and it really helped me get immersed in Korean culture.

The Palace itself is massive, with different quarters for the King and the Queen and their subjects. It's also beautiful, with the garden and lake regularly maintained. Also, explorers are able to hire traditional Korean culture to really get immersed into the Korean culture and get an experience of Korea during the Joseon dynasty.

I also really enjoyed taking photos in this location. The different and interesting architecture really spiced things up. Also, the fact that things were so grand and majestic and the fact that the palace was strategically placed between mountains provided a great contrast within the photo. The sheer magnitude of the palace can be compared with the size of the people walking around it.

To learn more about the palace go to http://www.royalpalace.go.kr/html/eng/main/main.jsp . I highly recommend this as a point of interest if you ever pass through South Korea. Definitely a place to take beautiful and  photos!

Author: Lisbeth Wong

How to use your DSLR when travelling

So you’ve got your DSLR camera… but what do you do with it? What essentials do you need to know for taking those incredible shots? Look no further.

I believe the best way to learn is on the job – it’s no different for a camera. But you can’t miss the simple ways to get a head start. I’ll be explaining my tips based off my experience with the Canon EOS 700D. 

The best way to use a DSLR is manually. Understand the main camera features and play around with each of them. This is often known as the ‘exposure triangle’.

• Shutter speed: This is the amount of time the camera exposes the sensor to light in the scene. A fast shutter speed, e.g. 1/1000, exposes less light in the photo.
• Aperture: How much light enters the shot through your lens. A larger aperture e.g. F3.6 means that, means that more light enters the photo. However when the aperture is larger, the photo is more focused towards the centre and the background is blurred.
• ISO: This is the sensitivity of your camera to light. The higher ISO, e.g. 1600, means more light. However the trade-off is the quality of the image decreases and more noise/grain is in the image.

When playing around with these features, you can see the “metering” on your camera to check if it is exposed correctly.

Recommendations:

• If you want to capture a freeze of a moving object, use a fast shutter speed (1/500 and above). Adjust the other settings accordingly without sacrificing the focus and image quality.
• If you want to blur the background and focus on one particular object, e.g. a particular flower, then use the largest aperture (lowest number) to do this. F1.8-3.6 should suffice for this effect.
• If you want to put more light in the photo without having to use flash, then increase the ISO to about 1600. This is ideal for dark lighting situations, however be wary of the noise in the photo.

You can’t learn how to use a DSLR overnight, but go to different locations and take photos and test out different combinations of the features until you get the hang of it. For a virtual way to practice, check out this link from Canon: http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play/

Enjoy! Stay tuned for more travel photography.

Author: Amit Balakrishnan

Introductory Post

Welcome to our ISYS 100 Group blog

Hi, from the left, we are Amit, Lisbeth, Chris and Katie! We all enjoy travelling and photography, which is why we decided to make this brilliant blog.

Amit:

• In 4th year studying Bachelor of Applied Finance with Economics
• My passions: sports, history, but most of all - TRAVELLING!
• Places I've explored: Australia, New Zealand, England, France, India, America, Canada
• Next on the list? Iceland

Lisbeth

• In my 4th year studying a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws
• My passions include hiking, hanging out with friends, travelling, looking at dogs and cute animals(because I'm not allowed one myself)
• Places I have explored: South Korea, Europe, Hong Kong, East Coast Australia, Canada, US of A, some places in South East Asia
• Next up? South America or Eastern Europe

Chris:

• Studying Games Design & Development
• My passions: Soccer, music, games and photography
• Places I have been: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, Hong Kong and Japan
• Next on the list? America or Europe!

Katie:

• Studying B Arts/ B Education
• My passions: teaching, technology, the outdoors, everything that is FUN!
• Places I have been: All around Australia, China and Hong Kong. 
• Next on my list? Fiji, America, South Africa and Europe!