Sculpture at Barangaroo - A Photographic Walk in the ParkEven as a Sydney commercial photographer I find it is often not possible (or appropriate – I know this because of the “looks” I get) when I travel or am with family (who aren’t photographers) to spend all the time I would like, take all the camera gear I want or to be at the location at the time of day I would prefer. I am sure all photographers have the same issues so my question is "How do we enjoy the day and still get some good photos?" Here are some of my photo tips illustrated during a walk I did today with some of my family at the Sculpture at Barangaroo exhibition. I really had no choice in the time of day and if I didn’t want to get left behind by my long suffering family, I needed to be swift in capturing the shots I wanted. All I had with me was my small Fuji X-E1 fitted with an 18-55mm zoom, a polarising filter, an ND filter and a grain filled cloth bag. I was lucky with the weather though – a touch of Spring and a bright sunny day with no visible pollution. The Grove - Two Pods made from Red Cedar Shingles By Margarita Samson This was a tough photo assi gnment. It was a very popular sculpture and the challenge was definitely to get a shot without a bunch of people obscuring the pods. The answer for me was to use the two filters, camera set to Auto Aperture control - a small aperture (f/22) and a low ISO (200 minimum) to achieve a very slow shutter speed (27 seconds). The camera angle I used was probably not the best but was dictated by access to a convenient rock were I could use the grain bag to steady and position the camera.
I think the final results are worthy. Blurring out the people certainly makes it plain that the sculpture is the important feature whilst the blurred people show movement and activity. The composition, including some of the Barangaroo buildings in the background, pinpoints the location. The polarising filter helped to create the vivid blue sky. This shot didn’t take long to set up but unfortunately a couple of long exposures did leave me lagging behind the family temporarily. Harlequin Shuttle By Ken Unsworth AM
This striking jewel-like 8 metre tall sculpture was a no-brainer really. It looked much less impressive when viewed straight-on in the bright sunlight. The option I took was to let the sun do the work of lighting up the stained-glass like panels which added much vivid colour and drama to the scene. Moving close in, almost underneath the sculpture with a wide angle looking up, emphasised the rocket like shape and created a sense of drama. This was shot Auto Aperture/Auto ISO hand-held f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/180th, 18mm. Horizon (Acrylic Sphere) By Lucy Humphrey
I would have loved to have spent a lot more time viewing and discovering many aspects of the other sculptures – all wonderful in their own ways - but lunch and a coffee beckoned the family and I can never say no to a coffee! I have posted a few other images on my web site which you can view here. Hopefully, you have been interested in my images and perhaps picked up one or two helpful tips. Anyone can take these types of images using very basic camera gear and have fun doing it without upsetting non-photographers too much. This was definitely not a professional shoot but it just shows that professionals still enjoy photography on their days off. |