New South Wales

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From North Sydney

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Panoramic view from the inside of one of many caves found at Cave's Beach, Swansea, NSW....

Three Sisters in the fog, at Echo Point, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW...

... inside a cave, at Cave's Beach, NSW

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.... in Nelson Bay, NSW

A tale of Two Tails.... a mature Humpback whale along with its calf. 35,000 whales pass by our tiny town of Terrigal every year, heading back to the cold waters of the Antarctic with their newborn calves. Notice how the calf is swimming on its back with white underbelly visible just below the water's surface....

At low tide, hundreds (if not thousands) of Blue Soldier Crabs leave their burrows and march across the beach... they are one of the only crabs that can walk straight forward, instead of sideways. ... They are known as soldier crabs because they all "march" together across the sandy mud flat. Their large numbers are thought to help protect them from predators.

5-picture panorama stitched with Hugin, Cylindrical projection.

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From North Sydney

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The Three Sisters Echo Point, Kotoomba Jamison Valley Blue Mountains World Heritage Site, New South Wales

View it large: www.flickr.com/photos/jcheaphotography/8580442204/sizes/l...

The iconic Three Sisters taken at the iconic Echo Point lookout. I was a little hesitant in posting this image as there are millions of rendition of the same scene. The sunset was pretty dull with the lack of clouds and my original plan for a panorama was scrapped by strong winds. In fact this is one of the few images that was sufficiently sharp and relatively free of camera shake. If you view it large, you can even notice the trees swaying in the wind. I was even afraid of my Lee's Graduated Neutral density filter being blown out of my hands and falling into oblivion.Thankfully, all my equipment remained unscathed!

The smoke in the background is caused by forest fire brewing in the area. Fun fact of the day: January 2013 was the hottest month every recorded in Australia, with average daily maximum temperature was a sweltering 36.92 degree Celsius. Another interesting fact: During the recent summer heat wave down under, temperatures soared so high in Central Australia that weather maps didn't even have a colour to represent it. As wildfires raged, tar melted off roads and gasoline evaporated before people were able to pump it, meteorologist added a racy shade of purple to denote predicted temperature of 50-52 degree Celsius. Then, just to be sure, they also slipped an even racier shade of magenta, to denote temperatures of 52 to 54 degree Celsius. (source: DCM March). Australia is well and truly on fire!! One of the few times when I am glad to be in Singapore :)

1 exp, Lee's 0.6 ND grad (hard), edited in Photoshop. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Wentworth Falls Lookout Wentworth Falls Blue Mountain National Park (UNESCO World Heritage site)

A beautiful end to a rewarding day of hiking around the mountain. Surprisingly it is my first visit to this tourist hotspot. We were a little disappointed that Wentworth Falls was lacking volume.

6 exposure shot, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop CS6. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Here's another panoramic view from the inside of one of several caves at Cave's Beach in Swansea, NSW.... my wife waits patiently, reading a book on the outside of the cave...

Trekking the coastal walk in gale force winds at Mooney Bay, NSW...

.... near Wagga Wagga, NSW (the town so nice, they named it twice!)

... walking along the cliffs of the Look at me Now Headlands in the Mooney Beach Nature Reserve

.... Newcastle, NSW

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... shortly after this capture, my wife and I had to make a run for it!

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Cape Byron Light, Australia's most powerful lighthouse according to Wikipedia. This is the easternmost point of the Australian continent, in Byron Bay, New South Wales....

Pylon Lookout Sydney Harbour Bridge New South Wales

In our hectic lives, it is often very easy to lose track of time and forget some of our side goals. I am definitely guilty of that! I have neglected my photography for way too long, in pursuit of other more intangible goals.

Now more about this image. A sunset shot from the pylon lookout is only possible in the month of June, as the lookout closes at 5pm. On the day of the shoot, I wasn't very optimistic about the sky, it was clear blue. The forecast predicts cloud cover clearing in the afternoon. Thankfully, I decide to go against my gut instinct and was treated with an unexpected surprise!

Just as the sun was setting, it lit up the only band of clouds that was located behind the city. By now, everyone at the lookout was congregating at the ledge, blown away by the breathtaking view. Knowing that it is impossible to set up a tripod, I increased the ISO and opted for 3 exposures bracketing. I took dozens of shots hoping to get some of them to be sharp.

In post production, I manually blended the sky with cityscape foreground to achieve the necessary dynamic range. I sometimes forget how rewarding photography can really be!

2 exp shot, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

10-picture panorama stitched with Hugin, cylindrical projection

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... at sunset, Norah Head, NSW

Junction Falls South Lawson Waterfall Circuit Lawson, New South Wales

A long overdue shot from an awesome outing with great friends, into the Blue Mountains region earlier in the year. Unfortunately, lighting conditions were fairly harsh which made shooting at slower shuttle speeds very difficult. Making the best of the situation, I explored different compositions and tried to incorporate foreground elements into my images. I was intrigued by the surround sandstone walls that are completely covered by green mosses and ferns. It was a living, breathing green wall! Water trickle down the walls, bring out the vibrant colours of the plants. Using a circular polariser, to cut down the reflections, and soft graduated neutral density filter, I managed to achieve the silky effects of the water. However, this also resulted in slight motion blur of some of the leaves and vines in the foreground.

Furthermore, being so close to my foreground subject, I knew that I had to use focus stacking to achieve the required depth of view. Looking back, I should have photographed those frames featuring the foreground subject at a faster shutter speed and blend it into the waterfall background, which has a slower shutter speed. Waiting for some cloud cover might also be helpful to eliminate the slight overexposure at the top of the waterfall.

Regardless of flaws evident in the image. I hope that you will enjoy viewing the image, as much as me photographing it!

3 exp shot using focus stacking, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. B+W circular polarizer filter and LEE's Graduated Neutral Density filter (soft) Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

View from a cave.... Caves Beach, NSW

Soldier crabs on the move at Pretty Beach, NSW

Lake Illawarra Jetty (I cant recall the specific name, please leave a comment below if you know it!) Berkeley, New South Wales

Firstly, I would like to apologize if I sound a little mopey in this post. Its the end of my winter break and I am very reluctant to come out of mental hibernation. Winter break always feels way too short. Furthermore, I am not really enthusiastic about this upcoming semester.

This image was taken at the end of a roadtrip to the Wollongong region. I arrived a little later than expected, due to a short detour to a Buddhist temple. The sun was already behind some mountains. I assumed that I have missed all the action...

Nevertheless, I tried different compositions. Thinking that they might be useful in the future, should I choose to return to this very location. Thankfully, the high altitude clouds reflected some of the light from the setting sun. Turning its pink! I managed to enhance the colours using the grad filter.

1 exp shot, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

... at Birubi Beach, NSW

This is wine country, New South Wales, Australia.... not as well known as SA's Barossa Valley.

Vivid Sydney 2014 Cahill Walkway Circular Quay, New South Wales

I have always wanted to photograph a unique shot from this location and the Vivid Sydney event provided the much needed motivation. This is a composite shot of the Opera house, in its Vivid's colours, blended with a blue hour panorama photographed half an hour before. Being the first night of Vivid 2014 and having no past experience, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I had the impression that the Harbour Bridge would be lit on both sides, only to be slightly disappointed. Overall, the Cahill walkway provided a fantastic vantage point to enjoy the dazzling light and carnival atmosphere, while providing some breathing room from the crowds gathered below.

7 exps panorama, plus one exp blended in Photoshop. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Multiple caves occupy the base of these cliffs in Swansea, NSW....