I think I took this during the Sydney photowalk – I am not sure! But those clouds seem very familiar. I took So Many Photos in Sydney… thousands… and I’ve processed hundreds so far. But I just can’t remember exactly when I took this one! Maybe someone from Sydney can confirm that I took this that evening.
I really wanted to get up there on the bridge, but they don’t let you take your camera, which is a real bummer. I wish I could get special permission some time. Whoever can get me special permission can go with me – that would be a blast! 🙂
Thanks again to the QT Sydney (a photo of my room) for hosting Tom and I! Stephen Howard did a great job showing us around and getting us here into the State Theater where we took the photo below.
Daily Photo – Tom in Sydney
That’s Tom Anderson there (the MySpace Tom). We had a very fun time running around Australia together, and especially here in the State Theater. It is an amazing place! The entryway, as you can see, is insanely ornate. And then once you enter, you go through one hall to the next, each as grand as the previous one.
I’d love to have an event here one night… I don’t know what I would do… maybe just bring in a bunch of people and we can all post-process all night together! 🙂 That sounds lame but also kinda awesome.
I lost my bigger iPad on a QANTAS flight from Melbourne, which was kind of a bummer. So I decided to try the iPad mini. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I do! I was worried that my photos would feel small and not as impressive… but I don’t find that to be the case yet. I’m really enjoying the form-factor, and reading books on the Kindle app is very nice… Oh, and here’s a fun word-game app recommendation for you: QatQi. Tell me if you make it all the way to the Sunday puzzle and can finish it ! 🙂
Daily Photo – The Skyline of Melbourne from Across the River
Melbourne has one of the most “walkable” skylines I’ve seen. It runs all up and down the river and looks pretty from both sides. It also works out well because there is very little to obstruct your view. It’s the complete opposite, of, say, Bangkok, where getting a view across the river is next to impossible.
I look forward to going back to Melbourne to walk along this river many more times!
This is a very hard thing for me, actually! I’m often so busy talking or explaining or whatever, that it’s quite difficult for me to concentrate on a good shot. Also, the other strange thing is that I can only shoot forward. If I ever see something behind me, man, forget it. There are a lot of people standing in the way, and it seems so rude to tell them to move! So, I just skip it and try to find something inside the forward bit of my viewcone! 🙂
Daily Photo – Sydney Glows at Sunset
During the Sydney photowalk, we ended up with some nice skies! I always love a bit of drama in the skies… makes everything a bit more exciting and epic I think. And just after the sun set, there were a few interesting splashes of color in the sky to break it up.
The State Theater below is apparently where they also have some of the major movie premieres in Sydney. This is not news to all the good Aussies out there, but it’s cool to think about all the big movies that have first shown here. I used to go to movie premieres all the time, but now that I am in a smaller town, it’s not so much of a big deal any more… but I do miss it! 🙂
Daily Photo – On stage at the State Theater in Sydney
What an amazing place! I don’t think it is that secret, but I had no idea that such a grand place existed, hidden away! Well, it’s not exactly hidden, but I don’t think anyone walking by on the street past the humble entrance would know what awaits inside.
This is next-door to the QT Sydney (link to previous blog entry about that hotel), where I stayed while I was there. I toured around inside here with Alexia Sinclair, and she’s always been keen to shoot it too in one of her more dramatic pieces. Maybe we’ll see one of these in the future! 🙂
Here’s another photo from our amazing Melbourne photowalk. I really enjoyed walking up and down this area along the river. It felt like one of the most “walkable” and scenic downtown areas I’ve ever encountered. It reminded me a little of Zurich in that way.
I stayed over in The Olsen hotel, which is one of the “Art Series” hotels… a very cool idea where the entire hotel is themed after a certain artist. They have a few different hotels, and next time I might try to stay a little closer in by the location where I took this shot.
I’m always trying out new prints for the home, and I just got a few slick ones from iAcrylic. I’m really impressed with the quality and look of the prints. Because of the reflections around the edge from the acrylic, there is a very interesting border-effect. It’s hard to explain, but I really dig it. One thing I have noticed is they look best if you hang them in a well-lit area.
Which photos did I get from iAcrylic? These two recent ones below which I quite like! 🙂
Daily Photo – The QT Sydney
This was my room at the QT Sydney from a few weeks ago… you can see my bags and stuff… probably should have moved them for the picture. Anyway, one of the Coolest things about this hotel is the elevators! They scan to see how many people are inside. If there is just one, then it plays lonely music, like Elvis singing, “Are you lonely tonight?” And then when there are two people, like, embarassingly when I was in there with Tom, it started playing, “Just the two of us.” And when there are like five or more people in there, it starts playing party music like Lady Gaga… anyway, it’s a trip!
Many people have been asking for an update in the Sydney Morning Herald situation. There has since been an article on another Australian media outlet by Nic Christensen where he got in contact with the editor of the SMH. Below is a quote from the article in response that they have made an apology to me.
“Perhaps they have placed a handwritten apology in the pouch of a kangaroo and it jumped in the wrong direction, for I have yet to receive it (or any digital facsimile thereof),” said Ratcliff.
Otherwise, I’ve handed everything over to the legal team. This is the same team that dealt with the Time issue and countless others. I’ll give another update later, assuming I’m allowed t
Daily Photo – Sydney Harbour Under Mountains of Clouds
This might have been the last shot I took with my Nikon D800 before the wind blew it over to destroy it. It turned out that I could not repair it, so I had to buy another D800. Sad Trey. I hope the shot was worth it… many Bothans died to bring you this photo… 🙂
Errr… Anyone heard of Creative Commons Noncommercial? Maybe someone involved with copyright there at the Sydney Morning Herald perhaps? I like how they say, “a selection of our readers’ photographs” — very sly. This both indicates that they have legions of readers and that all the photographs are from these adoring legions. I just checked my doorstep here in Queenstown, New Zealand. Nope, I don’t see the Sydney Morning Herald there.
My license, which is quite generous and clear on the site says noncommercial. Now, I know newspapers are commercial, even though they are hemorrhaging money as people flock online to get more timely news and better photos (which, apparently, they are doing too for content-mining). So, the commercial use is definitely a no-no.
But in worse form, I think it’s a bit rude not to give credit down there towards the bottom of the photo. Instead, they used that valuable space to indicate that “oh we’re just one big community with ‘our readers’ who take these pics for fun.” Oh no, I didn’t pay thousands of dollars to fly to your country and stay in a hotel and buy camera equipment so I could take photos of your duck to adorn your newspaper. /said in the voice of Tim from The Holy Grail when he said “I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you *knew*, didn’t you? Oh, it’s just a harmless little *bunny*, isn’t it?”
I saw a comment on Google+ from CNET reporter Lexy Savvides
Hilariously timed +Trey Ratcliff given that the SMH [Sydney Morning Herald] last week recently posted pieces on photographers having content stolen. See this article?
Looks like it was used online too, littered with revenue-generating ads…
Good person “Dawnstar Australis” sent me this tweet that it is also being used online (image):
Harlan Ellison says it better than I could (and funnier!)
This is the famous Harlan Ellison, who I first came to know through his work on Babylon 5, but he’s also won the Hugo Award over nine times! It’s great to see him go off… I’m sure many photographers will really enjoy hearing him get angry! 🙂
Thank you to good man Matt Fangman who left this video link below.
I think it is a wonderful surreal work of art! Then again, I’m a huge fan of David Lynch and Twin Peaks. Anything surreal in my parallel universe gets a big thumbs up…
We had a fun show recently with all FlatBooks authors! We decided to make a special bundle at 50% off all their books! You can get the whole Author Bundle at https://stuckincustoms.com/AuthorBundle
Here are the people that joined me (and a the books included in the bundle!) in the video below.
The Rocks is the oldest part of Sydney, and it’s down by the harbour. I have to make sure I get the “u” in there to appease local sensitivities. Anyway, it’s a cool area full of a lot of old-world charm. Now there are a lot of restaurants, bars, and little hotels that are sprinkled around the area.
I took this one from the top of a 3-story salsa bar. I didn’t even really go into the bar, except for the way to find the top of it! I looked quite strange walking around the salsa dancefloor to get to the other side, dancing with my tripod!
