Under a train

Under a train
Originally uploaded by norbography.

Yes, thats right, it is the under side of a flatbed train carriage. I have been driving past some railyards at Lilyfield in Sydney for years and years. When ever I drive past, I always have a quick look and think, "That would make some terrific photo opportunities in there". So last night, I took a stoll through there.

I ended up wandering around for over 2 hours, trying to get good angles and exploring different areas. You can walk from Victoria Road at the Eastern end, all the way to Balmain Rd (about 1.6km), and maybe further. Access is very easy. But you do need some rather sturdy shoes. My feet were killing me by the time I got home.

At one point, I had just crawled underneath the carriage you see in the picture above, and was setting the tripod up. You have to realise, it is pretty cramped under there, and I am not a hobbit. I had a backpack on my back, camera on tripod and I was under a train carriage. I used the torch on my mobile phone to light the axle and wheels and did a longish exposure. I had just taken the photo, and was thinking about another from a slightly different angle, when the noise of carriages clunking and moving gave me a rather scary moment. I didn't realise right away, but the line of carrigaes, next to where I was, had just been shunted by a loco further up the yard. I dived out, quickly reached around and grabbed the camera and tripod and then realised it wasn't the train I was under. Oh boy, nothing like a bit of adrenalin coursing around your system to make you feel alive.

That little fright aside, I had a ball. It is pretty dark and have to say, I was a bit spooked a couple of times, but I hope the photos show it was a worthwhile trip.

More can be found on my Flickr site.

Flying flags

Flying flags
Originally uploaded by norbography.

Ok, something that has been bothering me for a while now. Night time focussing. How the hell do people do it. I reckon 90% of my night time photos are all out of focus. Is there a secret to getting the focus pin sharp at night time?

BTW, this was one of the all too rare in focus night shots. (Yeah, yeah, there was plenty of light, but it was still dark :) )

Rungs to no where

Rungs to no where
Originally uploaded by norbography.

Well it isn't often I get home and download my photos and see one that came out exactly how I had planned it. But today, I struck it.

Whilst wandering around the northen end of Pyrmont, I came across these weird, but terrific, sculptures. They are located in Pyrmont Point Park. You are probably wondering why I called them sculptures. Well, I am just going off a sign I saw that said "Don't climb on sculptures". They are actually moving structures that are powered by the waves/tide and wind. The black part you see holding the ladder is cantilevered off the wharf and has a large float at the other end. When the waves hit it, it move up and down. The ladders have 2 panels in them at the top. You can see them in the photo. The wind hits them and pushes them over. I would love to be there in a southerly buster with a huge sea.

I was pleased with this shot, as I took quiet a bit of time setting it up. I wanted to get exactly in the middle of the ladder. I wanted it to be in a position where it looked like you could climb into the clouds. And the thing that took the longest, was waiting for the clouds to give me a gradual light to dark look in the background. It took some time, but I reckon it was worth the wait.