Benz World Blog » City

Edinburgh Millennium

Jason Benz — Sun, 30 May 2021 17:53:37 +0000

I rendered this for my 1000th Shutterstock image. The background is the Scottish capital Edinburgh, and the first photo I took with a DSLR. The text is created in Photoshop. This is my first 3D experiment as I have been using a non-3D version of Ps for the last 12 years. It is unlikely I will use 3D too often as it is at the limit of what my new laptop can do. While rendering it uses more power than it can draw from USB-C, so it drains the internal battery too. After a few renders, you risk running out of power during a render, even though it is plugged in. I just read USB-C plans to upgrade its max power output from 100w to 240w. This would fix this issue. After waiting 12 years to upgrade my laptop, it would be my luck that it is outdated 3 months after getting it. I am still pleased with the XPS-17. The screen is amazing. When you work somewhere with 360-degree windows it pays to have an extra bright non-reflective screen.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Hobart Skyline

Jason Benz — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 20:00:51 +0000

This night shot is Hobart in Tasmania, Australia. This photograph adds to the set of Australian Skylines I have been collecting since starting this blog almost 10 years ago. I always position the camera to get the city lights reflected in the water. A very small aperture was used to create a starburst effect. This reduces the amount of light so you need to use a tripod and a long exposure. Using this method you can avoid increasing ISO and therefore minimise noise.

Now I only need a shot of Darwin to complete the set and produce a calendar for 2020.

Today I arrived in the Blue Mountains and am looking forward to seeing my brother and his family who are visiting from the UK.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

New Year

Jason Benz — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 17:25:39 +0000

Happy New Year 2019. May your dreams come true. These are the Sydney new year fireworks. I left my van behind and took the train into the city from my temporary base in the Blue Mountains where I have been enjoying a relaxing Christmas with the Australian branch of my family.

2018 was the most photogenic year so far. It was also the start of my longest journey. In December I revisiting the last 8 months of travel pics to create 2 years worth of stock photography in a few weeks. This brought my total to 700 images at Shutterstock. This averages out to 1 a week from 14 years of photo submissions.

This year I will continue south until the March equinox which should put me somewhere in Tasmania for the first time. I will return to the Blue Mountains in April and resolve to have another 100 stock photos by then.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Singapore Skyline

Jason Benz — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 14:19:02 +0000

This modern-day Stonehenge is Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It was billed as the worlds most expensive casino property at $8,000,000,000 in 2009. Ambitious? Certainly, The record-breaking 67-metre overhang and 150-metre infinity pool presented some unique challenges, not least construction during the GFC. Extravagant? Definitely, but ask yourself how green our cities would be if every building had a 3-acre park on it’s roof. I wonder if bees ever fly up the 55 stories to visit it’s 650 plants and 250 trees?

If you find yourself on a long-haul layover in Singapore the airport run free city tours. This evening shot is the result of a pause in a Journey from Australia to the UK. I suggest you take a tripod on the later tour so you can get a night shot with all the lights on. This shot from the 6pm tour needed some Photoshop to add some depth to the colours.

Thanks to Don at “The World is Flat” for helping me get onto Changi airports WiFi.

Collins Street

Jason Benz — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 09:11:03 +0000

This is a view of the 3rd and 4th tallest buildings in Australia as Photographed from the 2nd tallest. The centre building is 120 Collins Street, A postmodern style heavily influenced by iconic Art Deco buildings in New York. On the right is 101 Collins Street which also would not look out of place in a Ghostbusters film. This led me to make this composite by adding purple clouds in Photoshop.

The tallest building in Australia is not in Melbourne like these, nor is it even in a state capital. It is the Q1 on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Oz answer to UK‘s Blackpool tower.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Flinders Street

Jason Benz — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 07:48:09 +0000

This building is Flinders Street Railway Station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Capitolio Nacional

Jason Benz — Sun, 27 Nov 2016 09:45:54 +0000

This is Karen’s photo of the National Capitol Building in Havana. It was the seat of government in Cuba until after the 1959 revolution. As of 2013 restoration began in preparation for it to be once again used for the national assembly.

Festival Centre

Jason Benz — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 08:30:27 +0000

This is the Adelaide Festival Centre in South Australia reflected in the waters of the River Torrens at night.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Australian Museum

Jason Benz — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 13:36:07 +0000

This is the Australian Museum in Sydney, New South Wales. The shot was taken from the Sydney Tower.

To process this image tilt shifting was added in Photoshop.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Australia Votes

Jason Benz — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 08:56:02 +0000

These are the Australian Parliament Houses in Canberra. Today there has been a double dissolution election where seats in the House of Representatives and The Senate are up for grabs.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.