Cloud Controller

Finding A Window Of Opportunity

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes you "see" a shot where you least expect it. And I guess it is just as important to recognise the opportunity as it is to drop everything, pick up a camera and take the shot.

I took this in our room at the Sheraton in Perth a few days ago, when we were on the west coast of this huge country-continent. My Ray-Bans ("sunnies", as we call them here) were on the table and I was just getting a few things organised before my nephew’s wedding when I noticed the clean reflection in one lens of the sunglasses.

The temperature was closing in on 39 Celsius, which is about 100 Fahrenheit, so it wasn’t surprising that the sky was clear, unsullied blue as far as the eye could see. And given that we were on the 17th floor of the Sheraton, my eye could see a very long way across the beautiful Swan River.

I chose to focus on the gold rim of the Ray-Bans, which I thought would draw attention to the reflection of the sky, graced with only a single cloud. Had I waited, the cloud would have changed shape or disappeared entirely.

I didn’t move the sunglasses to get a better view of the reflection, simply because I believe that the true test of a photographer is the ability to shoot any scene in any light at any angle and at any time. On this occasion, I was lucky, because the colours of the electronic room keycard, the hue of the wooden surface of the desk and the golden shapes of the coins were perfect for what I was trying to achieve.

Just for the record, those are two-dollar coins, the second-smallest in Australian currency. In the photograph below, you can also see a few one-dollar coins on the right of the frame. The two-dollar coins are only fractionally larger in circumference than our little five-cent coins. Maybe this was the "money shot" in more ways than one.


For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Deja View

Never A Backward Glance

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This was just a random shot taken a few days ago. I had my camera in my hand because I had been photographing a variety of flowers. I still hadn't put the lens cap on when I got into the car, so I fired off four frames at random and this was the best of them.

I chose this because the lens of the camera looks so clear and you can actually see a crisp image (in the lens) of what is 180 degrees behind me, with the sky and a couple of trees standing out, even in this low-resolution version of the original.

And because I've shot this straight into my rear-view mirror, you can see that the white writing on my camera lens has been reversed. But you noticed that, didn't you?

This is an interesting shot, because I never actually wear sunglasses when I have a camera in my hand - simply because I want to see the true light conditions exactly as they are. But I generally have my sunnies on when I drive (yes, they are a huge help because of the polarising effect in bad weather) so I must have just put them as I got into the driver's seat.

I'm guessing I must have put the Ray-Bans on and then turned my attention to the camera, to put the lens cap on and put the Pentax into the case. So this is probably a very rare shot - me with a camera in my hand - and taken while I have my sunnies on.

Finally, here's a question for you. I have only ever posted one photograph of myself on my blog where my face is fully visible - which probably makes me a bit like Wilson the faceless neighbour in the hit TV show Home Improvement. There have been a couple of shadow photos, two or three reflection shots, but only one on a blog post where you can see my head and shoulders.

Do you know which post contains the photo?

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)

Ray-Banter

Yep, I Had My Head In The Clouds

The response I received to the post Seeing The Light was very interesting. Several of the comments on the post - as well as a series of emails I received - asked how the photographs were taken. Well, as I mentioned earlier, I've been testing a couple of little Pentax cameras over the past fortnight. The shots of the Ray-Bans against a cloudy sky were taken with a Pentax Optio S10 - an ultra-compact, very slim camera that packs a lot of punch - 10 megapixels, no less.

Maybe it's my background in newspaper and magazine design/ layout, because I "saw" the image in my head before I started taking the shots. Often, that's half the battle when it comes to creativity. But because I knew precisely what I wanted, it was just a question of hitting the trigger.

In answer to your queries, I held the Ray-Bans aloft in my left hand and I had the camera in my right hand. When you think about it, that's a really interesting scenario, because it's not often that the camera and the object being photographed are actually up in the air and therefore subject to a certain degree of human unsteadiness.

I shot about 24 frames, then reviewed each of them on my computer so I could check the overall clarity. I wanted one image to show the clouds through the lenses of Ray-Bans and a second image along the same lines, except that I wanted the details of the glasses (gold frames and the little plastic nose pieces) in sharp focus.

Photography - like any branch of art - can be as complicated as you make it, or as simple as you make it. Simplicity gets my vote - every time.

Seeing The Light

I Can See Everything, Thanks To My Ray-Bans

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I learnt a lot in my years as a tennis writer. Having dreamed about Wimbledon as a child, I never could have imagined that I would one day sit at Centre Court, covering the tournament as a fully accredited journalist. My first Wimbledon was in 1981, when John McEnroe finally dethroned Bjorn Borg and my last Wimbledon was in 1987, when Pat Cash thwarted Ivan Lendl in the men's singles final.

Like I said, I learnt a lot. I even learnt about road safety.

How so? Because I learnt how Ray-Bans can actually help you when you're on a dark desert highway (did I just say that?) or on a highway in really bad visibility or in appalling weather conditions.

How on earth did I learn this at Wimbledon? Simply by being observant. Even though the tournament is held in the European summer, characterised by the long evenings, there is often rain and cloud and the light can get rather murky, especially in the late afternoon. The first year I covered Wimbledon, I noticed that the linespeople really had to concentrate on their task even harder in cloudy conditions. But a few years later, I noticed that they all sported Ray-Bans, in bright sunshine and in overcast weather alike.

Curious, I asked why this change had taken place. From memory, I was told that it was official policy of the All-England Club. All linespeople were issued with Ray-Bans and they would wear them at all times. I was told that the quality of the Ray-Ban lenses would actually enhance the clarity of vision in bad light. A crucial white line on the fading grass of the hallowed courts would look clearer through the lenses than with the naked eye.

So the next time I was on a highway in bad weather - returning from Niagara to Toronto, I tried the experiment and immediately I could see the logic. Ever since then, I have always had a pair of Ray-Bans in my car.

So today, as I sat down to write a post for Sky Watch Friday, I uploaded some great sunset photos that I took recently. Then I thought about some of the comments and emails from people who had read my ABC Wednesday post J Is For Journey, in which I mentioned that I had donned my Ray-Bans ("sunnies", as we call them here in Australia) when I drove home from Sydney to Melbourne this week.

And at that point, I decided to scrap the post with pictures of the beautiful colours and the striking hues across the sky, in order to share this road safety hint that I learnt during my career as a tennis writer.

Maybe you have a great road safety tip that you would like to share .... even if you didn't learn it at Wimbledon.