Great Ocean Road Workshop

4-6 December 2012
Great Ocean Road Workshop

Join myself as we shoot some of the best locations along the Great Ocean Road, shooting some of the areas most stunning scenes at the best times of day. I will instruct you in the field when we shoot and when we are not shooting in the best possible light i will be showing you my digital post production workflow and tools I use.

We will be shooting waterfalls, forest and the Apostles over the course workshop. This is my last workshop for the year. All meals, transport and accommodation is provided on the workshop. Workshop numbers are very limited and small so I can spend quality time with each person. Please contact myself for further information and to reserve you spot today at info@spoolphotography.com ….

Workshop Includes

• Composition
• Using the conditions to your advantage
• Camera Raw processing
• Blending through luminosity clusters
• Luminosity masks
• White point
• Curves
• Levels
• Selective image contrast
• Painting light with levels and curves
• Increasing dynamic range without getting that awful HDR look
• Blending layers to achieve desired tone, clarity and vibrance
• Preparing images for final internet presentation through to print

And some neat tricks I have developed through years of trails …

If you would like a workshop in your area please register your interest at info@spoolphotography.com …. We already have registered interest in 2013 for the Central Coast NSW, and Tasmania …

Refund and cancellation policy

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Waking Up Inside Boranup Forest

A night spent camping in the forest in summer alone is a little creepy. It gets dark in there, really dark and as soon as the sun goes down every insert and creepy crawly and flying bug is out as well as the 1000′s of bats that live in the caves near by.

After a pretty sleepness night from all the noise and waking before dawn to pack up and find the location I wanted to shoot.. I had this idea for a type of image that showed the forest in a way I had not seen before. Having seen countless images from Boranup I wanted to attempt something different. My idea evolved through the night as ideas came and went fast, but something was sticking and that was to try and produce an image that showed the colour and depth of the forest but also not in a stationary way, as the forest is alive and always moving I also wanted to show this. I took 3 images at different shutter speeds and ever so slight camera movement to achieve the final result.

This is the final result of my thoughts and planning while spending my first and not last night inside Boranup Forest.

Also now available as a fine art landscape print Boranup Forest Fine Art Print

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A Winters Sunrise

First up thanks once again to all those nice people that have purchased a print from myself over the last month, its folks like you that keep this site alive and enable me to venture out and capture those moments we are sometimes in our busy lives just too busy to see.

My next up to blog is a simple image I took in the winter of 2010 between winter storms along the southern coastline of Western Australia. I chose a square composition for this shot as i had taken plenty of panoramics of the area and was looking for a more intimate shot of the location …

Now available on the website “A Winters Sunrise” in many sizes or email/call me for your custom size requirement …

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A quiet sunrise at Apollo Bay

One of the worlds best scenic drives in the Great Ocean Road Victoria. While I have been lucky enough to have traveled it 3 times now I only wish I could do it more often. There are so many nice locations to stop and taken a picture of just take a moment to enjoy the salt air and stunning views and the diversity in types of landscapes is large. One moment inside a rainforest at a waterfall the next at an amazing secluded beach or looking over green lush farms in the many valleys that are in the region. Recently I was asked by a fellow photographer visiting Australia what to look for on the Great Ocean Road besides the Apostles … I left them know about a few of my favorite places in the area and I hope they have come away with some nice images, one that I have seen was very original and nice …

Here is a sunrise shot taken along Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road … A road trip every Australian should try and do at least once …

Apollo Bay Great Ocean Road Victoria is an Open Edition Print

Hopetoun Falls Victoria

Hopetoun Falls … While a very popular Australian waterfall to hike and photograph, to actually getting a nice shot of these falls is a little harder than I originally thought a year or so ago. With the color of the water and flow of the waterfall dictating what you come away with. Now with a couple of return visits timing was just perfect on my last visit. I am finally happy with how the landscape and water looked for my print of one of Australia’s most popular waterfall landscapes Hopetoun Falls.

Purchasing this image is made easy through the webpage on this site http://www.spoolphotography.com/open-edition/australia_1/hopetoun-falls/

West Australian Wildflowers

Well it is that time of year although when the outback of Western Australia comes alive with the colours of our wildflowers. Although very brief before our scoring summer sun takes over the wild flower season brings visitors both local, interstate and from around the the world. This passed weekend I ventured out for a couple of nights with fellow photographer Mark Stothard to see if we could capture some colour. One of the first images I have so far ready is this image of the morning light bring out the amazing colours of pale yellow and pink wild flowers just off the side of the great Northern Hwy near Paynes Find. I am not sure the names of the wildflowers we saw other than they are all WA wildflower everlastings and when in full bloom is quite a sight to see in the Western Australian bush.

The Karijini Outback

Just released a new “Open Edition” image called “Karijini Outback Western Australia” taken last year one morning before descending into the gorges for more shooting. While scanning the area for something to shoot in near darkness on my first visit to this area let alone Karijini National Park I came across a slight ridge and dip in the landscape framed with some spinifex grasses and a large old gum tree I knew pretty much straight way that this was going to be the shot and all I had to do was wait for the light to just be right before shooting the frames I needed to produce this landscape print I had wanted to produce …

This image is available for purchase any size you may need up to around 32 inches square.

Spool Photography Gets A Fresh New Look

With many hours spent drafting and planning the latest update it is with great relief to finally have the vision I had of the site around 12 months ago finally come to life.

Earlier today we went live with the final updates to the site and I must say the guys and in particular Dave from Clever Starfish have done an amazing job once again. With a cleaner look, faster loading times and bigger brighter sample size images as well as a total revamp of the popular “In Your Home” feature the site looks amazing.

Over the past few months I have gone over every image in my portfolio and prepared the very best sample files for the website one can do. The samples are larger, clearer and brighter giving you the best idea via a website display of what the final print will look like.

The final print in your home will always outshine anything that can be represented on a website and the limitations of website browsers etc. The current sample files provided on this site are the best one will see …

The fully secure e-cart system is super fast and encrypted to the Australian Standard put forth by Westpac bank, one of Australia’s biggest and best banks. A SSL certificate secures your online profile and transactions by encrypting credit card and personal information and providing a safe route of communication for your online payments through the gateway of E-Way and Westpac Bank. No information other than your name, order and delivery address is kept by this site. All sensitive information about your purchase goes through the E-way security cart system and WestPac Bank, not myself.

I have now also added Classic Desktop Frames to the site where you can purchase these stunning brushed aluminium frames with a horizontal panoramic image of your choice from the open edition prints. The frame measures 12in(30cm) x 6in(15cm) and makes a great gift idea to brighten up your home or office desk or coffee table. Priced at just $49 for anyone within Australia and $69 for anyone outside Australia the price is inclusive of any shipping costs incurred at the point of postage. Check out the sample pics of the frames on the classic desktop frames page …

So please take a few minutes to look around the site, checking out all the new features and landscape prints available for purchase directly through this site.

Cheers Neal

3 Sisters Blue Mountains

The 3 Sisters are a rock formation in the Blue Mountains of NSW Australia. Located at Echo Point they are 922, 918 & 906 metres tall or around 3000 feet above sea level.

This image was taken last winter on a very cold and dark morning. Waiting for the sun to rise I was hoping the sun would provide the right light between the 2 large rock plateaus and the 3 sisters.

I was rewarded for the cold early start with a stunning sunrise over one of Australia’s Iconic National Landmarks. The 3 Sisters At The Blue Mountains.

Govetts Leap Blue Mountains Australia

Taken on very cold evening after sunset from the scenic lookout at the Blue Mountains in NSW called Govetts Leap.

Image will be made available as a fine art print in an assortment of sizes and finishes through the website Spoolphotography.com “Open Edition” section in the coming weeks.