Benz World Blog » Mist

Snooze Smoke

Jason Benz — Fri, 15 Nov 2019 06:39:08 +0000

The is the smoke from the New South Wales fires in Coopernook Forest. Although this forest was not on fire the smoke has been hard to avoid as it currently covers almost all of the North-East corner of the state. As I approached from the West I could see the ominous sight of smoke clouds billowing in the distance. Once I reached Australias main coastal highway (A1) it formed a uniform light blue mist. It also turned the sun a deep orange colour. The intensity was reduced so much it was like looking at a blood moon in the middle of the day. I found myself yawning and taking the odd afternoon nap. I think this is because, since I started travelling, my routine has included watching the sunset every evening just before I get into bed. The dim orange light filtering through the smoke must have triggered my brain into getting ready for sleep. Or maybe I was just being asphyxiated.

This post is exactly 10 years since I took my brothers’ advice to switch this blog to WordPress. I have never looked back as it is so much easier than creating webpages in Dreamweaver. This has allowed me to focus on my photography instead of bug hunting code.

Tomorrow I find out if all the repairs I have made to the van are enough for it to climb the Blue Mountains.

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

Surfer Silhouette

Jason Benz — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 01:08:24 +0000

This beautiful sunset appeared through a misty cloud at Goolwa Beach in South Australia. I had positioned myself so this surfer would walk in front of me to produce a silhouette and make the shot. Unfortunately as she approached she saw my camera and put her hand over her mouth thinking she was about to ruin it. I tried to explain it was OK but the moment was lost. Fortunately I had captured a body surfer earlier so I could Photoshop in his head and shoulders. Split toning was also used to create some extra colour.

Glen Innes

Jason Benz — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 03:32:54 +0000

This is the town of Glen Innes in New South Wales, Australia. It is twinned with Pitlochry in Scotland, UK. I suspect there have been a number of Scottish settlers, since many of the places in the area have Celtic names.

This shot was taken in what photographers call the golden hour. This is the hour before sunset or after sunrise, when the light is warmer, and it is easier to balance the exposure between the sky and the land.

We left Sydney on Monday and spent our first night camped at Burning Mountain. It was assumed to be volcanic, although when geologists investigated it was discovered that the smoke was due to an underground coal seam, which has been burning for thousands of years.

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

Misty Morning

Jason Benz — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 10:03:28 +0000

I saw these two swans on the river cam in front of Baits Bite Lock in the UK. You don’t often get fog in Australia (maybe in a Melbourne winter) so I was keen to go for a walk to capture the effect of the light.

Cairo Pyramids

Jason Benz — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 04:40:03 +0000

I took this shot 5 years ago in Cairo, Egypt before the arab spring. It was shot at full stretch 150mm on a Olympus E-510 on a misty day so there was barely any contrast. This is a good example of the advantage of setting your camera to shoot in RAW if you can. A great deal of detail can then be recovered with careful processing.

The Pyramids are 10 miles from the centre of Cairo. The view from the far side has none of the city in it.

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

Leura Cascades

Jason Benz — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:39:00 +0000

Since arriving in the Blue Mountains we have been blessed with the warmest of welcomes and an abundance of places to visit. So much so that we are already planning to revisit the area before we leave Sydney in a couple of weeks. This is part Laura Cascades which is one of many waterfalls which surround the area.

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

Puffing Billy

Jason Benz — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:26:42 +0000

Yesterday we took a ride on the Puffing Billy Railway which runs from Belgrave to Gembrook in Victoria, Australia. It runs on a 2’6″ gauge lines and was built over 100 years ago. As you can see you can sit on the window sill and dangle your legs outside which adds to the experience.

Fleurieu Peninsula

Jason Benz — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:43:24 +0000

Since leaving Adelaide we have been exploring the Fleurieu Peninsula. This silhouette of two body surfers was taken at Goolwa Beach which is the location of Karen‘s earliest memories. Her parents, Bob and Val, owned a beach house here 40 years ago. We visited Mannum yesterday and took a couple of ferries across the Murry River to reach our campsite at Narrung between Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. Next we head towards Mount Gambier.

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

Tall Trees

Jason Benz — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:50:23 +0000

Since we left Augusta we have travelled East into the heart of Western Australia‘s forests. It’s hard to believe we will soon be crossing the Nullarbor which is named after its lack of trees. The native trees here are all types of eucalyptus but you would not know it looking at them as they vary from tall white barked trees to ones which resemble oak. This shot was taken as we cooked our diner on the free Barbecue in the National Park surrounding The Gloucester Tree which is a 61m tall tree which was regularly climbed to look out for fires. A job which is now done with light aircraft.

This image was accepted for Stock Photography at Shutterstock and is available for download here.

Amateur Advantage

Jason Benz — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 02:37:43 +0000

This lucky shot was taken on the way home from the Ferry Meadows firework display. The only reason the four figures are not blurred in this 1 second exposure was that they stopped for a moment while their friend in the centre took a shot. Anyone in the right place at the right time with the perfect light has the chance to capture a great shot. As you learn more about photography you can increase the frequency of capturing these images. If you are an amateur photographer you could benefit from selling your work online. It is no coincidence the rise of micro stock agencies has coincided with the increase of the photography hobbyist. I can understand why professional photographers would be concerned with current changes to the stock industry. Crowd sourcing images has inherent advantages. Stock photography sites never reject images without a reason and suggestions to improve your photography. If you can take criticism it can be an invaluable learning tool. Professional photographers would probably find rejection far harder to stomach especially if they had been used to selling their work for much more at traditional stock agencies. The image below greets you when you login to shutterstock as a submitter. It shows where your latest sales have come from. Interestingly none of them have sold in the countries they were taken in.