Polo Crosse @ Euberta

Not to be mistaken for plain old polo, polocrosse is perhaps the mongrel version of the regal game. The difference, so it was explained to me by a very knowledgeable lass (that's her in the last three photos), is that at polo you eat caviar and drink Moet while at polocrosse you eat salt 'n' vinegar chips and drink rum...

I'd watched polocrosse from a distance, sitting up in the grandstand at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, but I had never been up close, nor had I been to a fair dinkum country carnival so it was certainly an experience, arriving at the Euberta showground to be met by a scene of chopped up fields ringed by horse floats, trucks and pillars of light blue smoke from the many camp fires rising slowly into an overcast sky with the thundering of hooves and vocal, tongue-in-cheek jeers...

Under leaden skies two players battle for the ball

Players look on as their team vie for possession

The agility of the rider and horse is nothing short of impressive!

Shooting for goal

BYO toy ute and John Deere excavator...

Watching for the throw in

Charging down the field, hooves thundering on the turf

A mammoth hit dislodges the ball from an opponents racket

If you want to know more about polocrosse or are interested in finding your closest club, check out the Polocrosse Association of NSW's homepage.

As always make sure you head over and like my FB page to keep up to date with everything that's going on.

Winter's Here: Head for the Snow!

Well it has been a while since I took the virtual pen from the holster, in fact last time I posted it was waaay back in Autumn! But now that winter is here, why not head for the hills and explore the snow through your lens?

Three Mile Dam, Kiandra

Planning

Planning if critical for a successful, safe trip into the hills. It is not like a quick trip down to the local lookout or beach. It is a harsh, unforgiving environment that deserves respect. But good planning will also provide you with the best results.

For me, there's nothing more enticing than a fresh, untouched blanket of snow. For this reason, I plan on being there toward the tail end of the next snowfall or first thing the next day. Keep an eye out for the forecasts on websites like Weatherzone or the Bureau of Meteorology. For the more adventurous, you can check out the snow forecast models {here}.

The Cold

The cold is more than just taxing on your digits! In extremely cold weather you may find your batteries can loose their charge very, very quickly. In short space your battery that normally gives you 700-800 shots can pull up stumps after only a couple of hundred. The key here is to try and keep your batteries warm, by any means possible (I heard of one wedding photographer keeping her batteries in the straps of her bra!).

A great asset in battling the cold is fingerless mittens. These nifty little things have a mitten type pocket that flips over your fingers, keeping them toasty warm. When you need the dexterity back, simply flip the pocket back and there are your toasty digits ready to rock and roll.

Another common problem when going from cold to warm environments is condensation. Pretty quickly the glass elements on your lens can get a nice layer of fog and while these can make for atmospheric throwbacks to the 80's the condensation can pose a threat to your gear.

While there isn't a great deal you can do to eliminate the fogging up of lenses - other than keeping everything warm - once you're done throw a couple of those gel sachets from shoe boxes in your camera bag. These will absorb the moisture from your gear and help avoid problems down the track.

Exposure

Eucumbene River, Kiandra.

Snow is bright. Very bright. Anyone who skis or boards will now just how bright the snow can be. Unfortunately this can play havoc with your exposure meter, resulting in underexposed scenes. Just keep this in mind when you're shooting and perhaps dial in a bit of exposure compensation.

Something I recently tried was exposure bracketing scenes and then blending the exposures into an HDR. This just seemed to really bring back the scene to how I remembered it.

There's a couple of things to watch though: very quickly you can lose the snow to a muddy grey colour. Don't forget that snow is bright white (unless you come across a patch that has recently had a wombat relieve itself on)! It's supposed to be borderline blown and it just really lacks if you move too far away from that.

Alpine heath and rock,
Thredbo

Black and White?
Don't dismiss black and white. In fact I think black and white lends itself pretty well to snowy scenes as they're already largely monochramatic. Black and white also allows the viewer to focus on the textures and patterns present within the scene; deep blue skies, gnarled tree trunks or lichen covered rocks are some of the elements you'll come across up in the hills.

Reflector!

Lilly enjoying her first real experience
of snow, Mt Selwyn

Having what is essentially an endless reflector underneath you can yield some pretty ethereal results, especially when you're photographing people.

A funny thing about the brain is that it remembers what it expects to see. And when you're outside your brain expects to see shadows under your chin, nose, eyebrows etc. But with this huge reflector sitting under you, the shadows are largely filled in resulting in said ethereal look. Throw in a bit of fill flash and you can get some quite flattering even light!

So that's all I have for now. All the usual tips, tricks and rules (to be obeyed or broken) for landscapes still apply. Have you made a trip down to the snow? I'd love to see some results if you have!

As always, make sure you head over to my FB page to keep up to date with new blogs, photos and other little tidbits of fact, fiction and fun.

Cheers,
Will

Corporate Images: Why They're Worth the Investment

Traffic is the name of the game when it comes to business presence on the web and social media now has the potential to play a huge role in driving traffic to your site. But there are some critical challenges to overcome if you wish to taste success in this area. 

Capture Their Attention

While social media is largely a free marketing platform, the trade-off is that you have to compete not only with other businesses (even non-competitor businesses) but with the constant stream of content from friends of the individual. 

Graphics will always trump text - that we know - but it is eye-catching, engaging graphics that are the key to success and the key to capturing the attention of a potential client. Prior to the widespread availability of digital cameras, it was good enough to simply have a photo in the ether. But now that pretty much everyone is walking around with not only a camera, but a video camera in the form of their smart phone, your images really have to be at the next level.

Pinterest
Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms for businesses. The benefits for small business are numerous and well covered by Web123's terrific blog on the subject.


While the benefits are substantial the challenge presented is just as great. 

 As you can see in the screenshot above, Pinterest is almost exclusively populated by graphical content; images, illustrations and infographics make up the vast majority of what is posted to users' boards. So while it is an excellent forum for displaying your wares, you need some pretty speccy images for it to be worthwhile. You want your images to stand out from the rest and grab the viewers' attention; you want your image to scream "CLICK ON ME!!!"


You Have the Traffic, Now Keep Them! 
Ok, so you have people coming to your site. Whether it is by referral (such as coming from Pinterest or another social media platform) or direct from search engines, you want visitors to be engaged and you want them to hang around; bright, rich graphics are an excellent way to do it.

Take a look at the image above... Which site holds your attention? I don't know about you, but the site on the left is like a brick wall. Visually it stops you in your tracks; a frying pan to the face. On the other hand, the site on the right engages you visually, it draws you in. The images invite you to explore the site further and help to break up the text. 

Avoid Stock!
In this day and age of corporate-consumer relations, a generic stock photo can lack genuineness. Consumers want to see you, your staff, your premises and your products. 

Don't see this as a 'bare-all' but rather the first step in developing a more personal rapport with your potential customer. It is an opportunity to introduce them to you and your business before they venture into your store, engage your services or buy your product. After all over 75% of consumers use the internet to research products and companies as a part of their decision to buy. 


Use a Professional Photographer
It's hardly a surprise that this is included, but I think there is a perception out there that quality photography is something that can be short-cut. 

Professional photographers are professional for a reason. And it is no coincidence that successful companies have invested in quality photos for their website and print media. Whether it be product, portrait or location, a professional photographer, with your vision in mind will be able to create an engaging, attractive image that not only shows someone the product or person, but tells the story behind it. 

The same dish is shown in both photos; the photo on the left was the restaurant owner's photo (for their website) and on the right is my attempt after they called me in. Which gets those juices flowing more?

In the end corporate images are really about three things:

1. Getting noticed
2. Retaining visitors on your site
3. Building a rapport with your potential client

As always I would love your feedback, so feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. You can also keep up by heading over to my Facebook Page or by following me on Twitter.

Cheers,
Will  

Emmins Family

{Thanks heaps, I can't stop looking at the photos... Words cannot explain how much I love them...} - Rani Emmins

Thanks for a fun, if not challenging, day Rani!

- Will

$200 for 200 Likers!!

Social media plays a huge role in what I do and I'm thankful for every single one of you who reads, comments, likes, shares and generally interacts with my page, blog and website.

And with a big milestone being achieved in 200 likers on my Facebook page it is only fair that I share the love and give back to those who have supported me.

To celebrate the 200th liker I'll be giving away $200 worth of vouchers in the form of ten $20 vouchers that will be able to be redeemed against either a print order (minimum order value of $50) or a portrait session. But, to be eligible you must be a 'liker' of Will Barton Photography!

To enter into the draw, simply head over to the Contact Page and flick me an email with your details. Now this is important: you only have a week to enter - entries will close midnight Wednesday, 23 May 2012. Winners will be chosen at random via random.org and the results will be announced on my page Thursday evening.

Thank you again to all those who have supported me; I hope that support will continue into the future and of course I hope I can continue to provide quality content and a quality service.

Cheers,
Will

A Walk Around Town: HDR

Nic and Lilly are away. It's the first time, I think, that I have been left to my own devices for a whole weekend!

Sounds good, but you know what - it's actually pretty lonely.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was doing a bit of research on HDR software. Our kitchen window faces north and through it I could see the colours of the late afternoon sun kick in... How could I resist that light? Well, I couldn't so I went for a walk around town:

If you're after information on Junee, or are thinking of making tracks here, check out Tourism Junee's site for details of attractions, events, accommodation and how to get here.

First Wedding: Five Lessons Learnt

So on Saturday I had the privilege of second shooting for well known Wagga wedding photographer Belinda Fraser. This was the first wedding I'd taken a camera along to that was neither friend nor family; this was the real deal and to put it simply I was filling my dacks!

But I survived! There were no big meltdowns or gear failing on me, it didn't rain, the earth didn't open up and swallow me whole and all in all it was a fantastic experience; one that I enjoyed immensely.

But what is the point of second shooting for a more experienced photog if you don't learn anything? Well, there is no point. So here are five things that I took away from the day...

1. Breath and Remain Calm...

I don't know about you, but I've always been prone to shutting down and going all tunnel vision when I'm really under the pump. Maybe that was helpful 10,000 years ago wandering across the savannah, but trust me, when you're shooting a group of people it really isn't helpful!

Keep a level head and slow down. Even if you only take a couple of seconds, look through your shots and force yourself to just take it a bit easy.

2. Keep It Simple. Stupid.

When I decided to accept Belinda's extremely generous offer to second shoot with her, I immediately jumped on the net and poured through hundreds, if not thousands of wedding photographs from all over the world. Why? Well I don't really know. I didn't use a single 'idea' and through observing Belinda, everything seemed to develop organically, or was a child of Belinda's prior experiences (I recognised some of the poses from our own wedding!). 

At the end of the day the bride and groom want a good record of their day and some nice, stylish, fun and flattering photos that they can hang on their wall and put into an album or book to look back on throughout the years and to one day show their grandkids. To this end I quickly realised that I had to trust my instincts, work from the basics and that the rest will come (especially true with a fun and outgoing bridal party!).

3. The Hands (and Bouquet) Matter! 

Going through my photos from the day I was pretty happy with most of them. But one thing that I did notice (and which did not occur to me at the time) was that in a lot of shots that I wasn't overly happy with, a big part of the disappointment with the image stemmed from the way the bride/bridesmaids had their hands and bouquet. 

Now this is not a criticism of them! After all it (a bouquet) is not something that you carry around with you every day! And hands' primary purpose are as tools, not to look good in a photo. This was something that I failed to recognise and treat at the time. 

4. Never Drop Your Guard

I don't mean you should walk around, fists up ready to unleash a left jab or right hook on an unsuspecting flowergirl, but to always be prepared for that candid or moment of unguarded expression.

I know from my own wedding (photographed by Belinda), some of our favourite images are candids, capturing the true characters of our family and friends; the people dearest to us (except Lilly, she was but a tiny entity!). You don't want to miss these fleeting moments of subject gold as you fiddle around trying to turn on, check settings etc.

5. Have Fun!

I know this is an oft offered piece of advice, but I can't reiterate it strongly enough. The bride and groom are after a fun day, you (I'm sure) would prefer a fun day and everyone wants to see images from when fun was had.

Sure, there's some serious stuff up front (and we can't undervalue the seriousness of the commitment) but afterward it's essentially a party to celebrate a couple's love and the coming together of two families (and a whole lot of hangers-on ie friends!). 

Looking back through the images in chronological order, there is a marked change and continued improvement in the quality of the image (not necessarily the technical quality) that coincides with when I started to relax and enjoy myself. Do this from the get-go and you're sure to come away with improved shots.

So there you go, five things from the first wedding ever shot in my capacity as a pro-photographer. But don't let the advice above be limited to weddings; truth is you could probably apply them all (well maybe not the bouquet advice) right across your photography experience.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them...

As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to check out (and 'like'!) my Facebook page and have a browse through my galleries found through the menus above.

And one last thing: thank you to Sarah and Luke and the best of luck in your journey together.

- Will