Pandas, Tigers, Rhinos and more

Ok, so technically pandas, tigers and rhinos are not people, and this blog is supposed to be about photographing people. And I promise that next week I will return to the job at hand. Today though, I was wandering through the streets of Summer Hill. They were mostly deserted apart from some kids practicing their skate boarding and a curious woman who appeared to be pushing her dogs in a built-for-the-purpose pram (as you do). But it wasn't long before I found a subject that did interest me - a mural in which pandas, rhinos, tigers, possums and kangaroos all live together in the forest - although by the looks on their faces, perhaps not happily.

My objective today was to practice a few simple things. One common issue with my photos is getting the subject perfectly focused - might seem simple, but it's amazing how often I take what I think are good photos only to find later that the subject was not perfectly in focus. So that was objective number 1.

My second objective was to photograph the murals from a completely flat angle. Again a simple thing, but when you photograph something directly facing it, it gives the impression that the photographer is a 'neutral observer' rather than trying to manipulate the scene to tell a particular story.

The third objective was taking some good shots using depth of field. I wanted to take some sharp close-ups where the background is completely fuzzy and does not detract from the subject.

All these things are more tricky with a living, moving subject, so today I shot some more compliant (ie, inanimate) subjects to experiment and have a bit of fun with the camera. Let me know what you think - any tips gratefully appreciated!

I found some curious subjects, ranging from the funky jungle scenes, to this lovely utopian scene reminiscent of French impressionist picnics, crossed with Byron Bay street murals. For some reason the teal green shrubs remind me of coral.

The streets are a lovely mix of Victorian architecture, trendy cafes and interior design shops, and retro funk. I found this great old Toyota Crown which reminded me of my first car - a 1979 orange Datsun. Style? Negative. Nice colour? Negative. Does it go well? More like a boat anchor. Chrome? Oh year, there's lots of that! I'm sure that 70s look will be back some day....

As Summer Hill is getting a little up market these days, the houses and gardens are pretty stylish. But once upon a time every Sydney garden had a frangipani tree, and their pretty flowers still litter the streets as they drop off, bruising on their gentle fall to the ground.

The shop windows are a mix of the quirky....

the old fashioned....

 and the uber-trendy....

So how do you think I went on my objectives? I'm pretty happy with how they turned out today, so next time I'll try it out with real, live subjects!

David

David, originally from Vietnam, owns the laundromat at Bexley, in the St George area of Sydney. I've been to the laundry lots of times and always thought that David must work like a dog - he and his wife run the business, 7 days a week. They also do alterations and dry cleaning but the laundry is the hub of things. 


The locals drop in regularly - some do their own washing & drying in the big old steel machines. For fans of the 60's retro style they are a dream - all muted olive green and brown, stainless steel, straight lines and geometric grids. 

David works even harder than I thought. He bought the laundromat 10 years ago, moving on from Marrickville. 'You must work really hard', I said, and he said 'oh no, it is not too hard, but very long hours. It would be good just to have one day off a week! 

He's only ever had two holidays, when he and his wife took their two boys to Queensland over Easter. The rest of the time he is open every day of the year except Christmas day and Boxing day. But somehow he's always smiling.