31/52 - In the drink... again

In the drink...again

Here's another shot I was experimenting with last weekend. I got the idea for this shot when I came across some unused golf balls at home. I didn't have a fish tank to use for the shoot so opted for a rectangular vase instead. This was a two light setup but I would have liked to use a third light fired through a get to light the background and make it a bit more interesting.

Setup shot after the jump.

Lighting Setup - In the drink...again

The lighting for this shot was fairly simple. I used a canon 430 EX II from the left and a Canon 580 EXII from the right and fired them both at 1/64th.

I also used a black foam-core board as the background.

Somersby Falls - Part II

The Main Waterfall - Somersby Falls, Australia

The Somersby Falls picnic area in the Brisbane Waters national park, on the central coast of New South Wales, is the starting point of a short walk along Mooney Mooney Creek. A number of decent sized waterfalls are within a ten or twenty minute walk from the picnic area. The first, and most impressive, of these is the waterfall pictured above. More images and info after the jump.

A Closeup of the main waterfall - Somersby Falls, Australia

One of the most interesting compositional elements of the main waterfall, in my opinion, is the branch which extends across the water fall from the left of the frame (shown in the image above). I think it helps convey a sense of depth in the  images of the waterfall.

A section of the lower falls - Somersby Falls, Australia

The drop of the second fall is not as big as the main waterfall but the rocks, moss and leaves make for some interesting compositions. I didn't have any ND filters on this trip and had to rely on an aperture of f22 to get  a suitable shutter speed required to capture the silky feel of flowing water. We got there quite early in the morning and fortunately the sun wasn't too harsh at the time.

The main waterfall - Somersby Falls, Australia

The wet moss and ferns growing on the rocks along the creek add a lot of colour and interest to the images of the creek. The fact that the area is very rocky allows photographers to capture interesting compositions of small sections of the falls themselves.

A section of the main waterfall - Somersby Falls, Australia

Somersby Falls is only around an hours drive on the F3 from our place in Sydney. I've been up there on three occasions already and will definitely head up there again. It's probably best to visit in late July or early August as the winter rain would ensure a decent amount of water flowing through the creek.

A section of the main waterfall - Somersby Falls, Australia

All images on this post were captured using a Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens. The aperture was set to f22 and the ISO of 100 for all the images on this post.

More images of Somersby Falls

• http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/08/somersby-falls-part-i.html
• http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2009/09/somersby-falls.html

Puliyankulam Tank - Anuradhapura

Puliyankulam is a relatively small tank and is situated on the A9 highway north of Anuradhapura. It is about a ten minute drive from the centre of town and is definitely worth a visit. For those of you who are not aware of what a "tank" is, it is a man made lake that is used for irrigation. The north central province of Sri Lanka is covered with a number of tanks that have been built over a thousand years ago, with the aim of collecting rain water in order to cultivate paddy in the drier months. More info and images after the jump.

We visited the tank one evening in January with the hope of doing some bird watching. It was around five in the evening when we got there and the light was fantastic for photography. Apart from a herd of water buffalo, we had the place to ourselves. As can be seen in the first and third images of this post, there was an abundance of lush green grass growing in the fertile soil around the tanks and in the shallows. Beyond the grasses the tank was covered with lotus and the area was teeming with bird life. Our sightings that evening included Common Kingfishers, Egrets, Grebes and Darters. 

We didn't wonder around too much to be honest.  We found a large rock on which we sat while watching the sun dip below the horizon. I'm an outdoors person and this to me, was one of the best ways to spend an evening, surrounded by wildlife and far away from the hustle and bustle of a city. 

All the images on this post were captured using the 7D with the 100-400mm lens mounted on it. These images must be viewed large.

Ruwanweliseya - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Ruwanweliseya Stupa, which is considered an architectural marvel, was built by King Dutugemunu. It is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali Chaitya and Rathnamali Dagaba. The Stupa is one of the worlds tallest monuments, standing at 300 feet with a circumference of 950 feet. More info and images after the jump.

According to ancient texts, the raw materials used during construction included, Gold, Silver, Pearls, Coral,  clay bricks, Copper and precious gems. Construction work on the Stupa began on the full moon day during the Vesak period (April - May). According to Buddhism, the Vesak full moon day is considered sacred as numerous important events took place on this day. These included the birth and passing of the Buddha, his arrival in Sri Lanka and the arrival of Prince Vijaya to Sri Lanka.

The foundation stone was laid during the full moon in June - July. The King had 8 large water pots of gold and 8 of silver placed in the midst of the great Stupa. Around these pots he had a hundred and eight vases placed. He also had eight bricks of gold placed in the eight corners of the Stupa and a hundred and eight silver bricks placed around each of the gold bricks.

After the Buddha's Parinibbana (passing) his relics were enshrined and worshipped in Stupas by Princes of eight countries (two quarts in each country). The two quarts of the relics which were enshrined in the village of Ramagama were, according to the Buddha's determination, destined to be enshrined in the great Stupa Ruwanveli.  King Dutugemunu took the relics on his head and circumambulated the relic chamber, which he entered from the east, three times and placed the relics on a silver couch which was arranged on the north side. When the enshrining of the relics was completed, two novices closed the relic chamber with two stone blocks.

King Dutugemunu passed away while gazing at the Ruwanweliseya when the great Stupa was completed up to the tenth square turret. He had ruled Sri Lanka for a period of 24 years. The construction was completed by his brother King Saddhatissa.
Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruwanwelisaya

I captured these images in January 2010 when I last visited Anuradhapura. They were taken using a Canon 7D with a 100-400mm lens mounted on it. The first two images were captured across Tissa Wewa, while the third was captured from across a smaller tank. Ruwanweliseya is the larger of the two Stupas visible in the first image. The second is Mirisavetiya.