Weekly Update

On 19 August 1839, details of the daguerreotype photographic process were publicly presented in France, helping make practical photography available to the wider world.

Photography has changed enormously since then.

Glass plates became film. Film became digital. Cameras became smaller, faster and considerably smarter. Today, almost everyone carries a capable camera in their pocket.

Yet the basic purpose remains remarkably similar.

A photograph allows us to preserve a moment and show somebody else how we saw the world.

Putting Long Exposure into Practice

There were plenty of jackets, beanies and tripods out on Saturday when members joined Craig Richards at Middle Island for his practical landscape photography workshop.

Following Craig's very well received presentation at our August meeting, the workshop gave members the opportunity to get out with their cameras, ask questions and put some of those landscape photography ideas into practice.

Craig spent time moving amongst the group, talking individually with members and helping people work through different approaches to photographing the local landscape and seascape.

The changing conditions provided plenty of opportunities to experiment with composition, shutter speed and the movement of water.

📸 What Members Created

Craig later shared one of his favourite photographs from the afternoon, showing the soft movement of the water and the changing light around Middle Island.

Club member Debbie Iverach also produced a lovely image from the workshop, using the old timber groyne as a strong leading line towards the islands while the longer exposure softened the movement of the water.

It's always interesting to see how photographers standing in the same general location can return with completely different interpretations of the scene.

⏱️ Getting Beyond 30 Seconds

Some of the best discussion actually continued over dinner afterwards.

One topic that generated plenty of conversation was very long exposures.

Some photographers were discussing exposures running for several minutes, including exposures around eight minutes, while others found that their cameras appeared to stop at around 30 seconds.

That led to a useful discussion about Bulb mode, remote releases and using phones connected to cameras as remote triggers.

For many cameras, 30 seconds is simply the longest shutter speed available through the normal shutter-speed settings. Switching to Bulb mode, or a dedicated long-exposure mode depending on the camera, allows the shutter to remain open considerably longer.

Using a remote trigger or compatible phone app also means the photographer can start and finish the exposure without touching the camera and introducing movement.

Once exposures start running for several minutes, a phone also has another very useful function: a timer! 😊

It was a good reminder that workshops don't necessarily finish when the cameras are packed away. Sometimes just as much is learnt afterwards when everyone sits down and starts asking:

"How did you do that?"

🍜 Dinner and More Photography Talk

After the workshop, the conversation continued over dinner at Liebig Thai & Asian Restaurant, with plenty more questions, stories and photography discussion around the table.

A big thank you again to Craig Richards for generously giving his time to the Club, both for his presentation and Saturday's workshop.

We're hoping to bring you more from Craig in future editions once we've had an opportunity to work through some of the many topics raised during his presentation.

Throughout her presentation, Kim shared numerous examples of how her bird photography has contributed to conservation efforts across Australia.

Her photographs have been used by wildlife organisations, conservation groups, researchers and advocacy campaigns to educate the public, document threatened species and promote habitat protection.

Sometimes a single image can tell a story that words struggle to convey.

Photographs of endangered Hooded Plovers encourage beachgoers to respect nesting areas. Images of banded birds provide valuable information to researchers tracking migration and longevity.

Pictures taken after bushfires document both the devastation and the remarkable resilience of Australia's wildlife as habitats begin to recover.

Kim also spoke about the responsibility photographers have when sharing images.

While it is exciting to discover a rare species, publicly revealing its exact location can unintentionally attract large numbers of photographers and birdwatchers, placing additional pressure on an already vulnerable bird.

Waiting until the bird has moved on, or simply omitting the precise location, is often the more responsible choice.

Another important message was that conservation photography is not always about beautiful images.

Some of Kim's most powerful photographs document the darker side of wildlife conservation, including birds injured by fishing line, the impacts of habitat loss and the consequences of human activity.

These images may be confronting, but they help start conversations that can lead to meaningful change.

For most of us, conservation photography doesn't require travelling to remote wilderness or working with research organisations. It can begin much closer to home.

Photograph the birds in your local reserve throughout the seasons. Record unusual visitors. Share images that celebrate native habitats. Support local conservation projects with your photographs. Submit observations to citizen science programs.

Every image has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding and appreciation of our natural environment.

Perhaps the greatest lesson from Kim's presentation was that wildlife photography is about far more than collecting images.

It is about building a connection with nature.

When we spend time quietly observing birds, learning their behaviour and respecting their space, we become ambassadors for the wildlife around us.

Our photographs begin to tell honest stories, stories that inspire others to appreciate, protect and care for the remarkable birds that share our landscapes.

A stunning photograph may capture someone's attention for a moment.

A photograph with purpose can change the way they see the natural world.

White balance is Lightroom's way of correcting the colour cast created by different types of light.

The good news is that you do not need to understand colour temperature in great detail to make useful corrections.

1. Start with the Photograph

Before touching any sliders, ask yourself:

• Does the photograph look too blue?
• Does it look too yellow or orange?
• Is there a green or magenta colour cast?
• Do whites actually look white?
• Do skin tones look believable?

The aim is not necessarily to make every photograph completely neutral. Sometimes warm evening light or cool early-morning light is part of what makes the photograph work.

2. Find White Balance in Lightroom

In Lightroom Classic, open the Develop module and look near the top of the Basic panel.

You will see:

• WB
• Temp
• Tint

Lightroom can use the camera's original white balance with As Shot, or calculate its own interpretation using Auto.

RAW files also provide additional preset choices such as Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Flash.

Try Auto first.

Sometimes that may be all the photograph needs.

3. Use the Temperature Slider

The Temp slider controls the photograph's overall warm-to-cool balance.

• Move left to make the photograph cooler and more blue.
• Move right to make it warmer and more yellow or golden.

Make small adjustments.

If an indoor photograph looks strongly orange, move Temp slightly left. If a shaded photograph looks unnaturally blue, move it slightly right.

4. Use Tint Only If You Need It

The Tint slider deals mainly with the green-to-magenta balance.

• Move left to add green.
• Move right to add magenta.

For many photographs, you may hardly need to touch Tint at all.

Try the Eyedropper

Lightroom also includes the White Balance Selector, normally shown as an eyedropper.

Select it and click an area in the photograph that should be neutral.

A neutral area could be:

• Grey.
• White with visible detail.
• A genuinely colourless surface.

Lightroom then adjusts Temperature and Tint to neutralise that area.

This can be an excellent starting point, but still look at the entire photograph afterwards. The technically neutral result is not always the most visually pleasing one.

RAW Gives You More Flexibility

White balance is especially forgiving when working with a RAW file.

Lightroom provides more white balance options for RAW photographs than for JPEGs, and RAW processing gives considerably more latitude for changing the colour balance after the photograph has been taken.

Don't Automatically Remove the Mood

Imagine a sunset photographed in beautiful warm light.

A technically neutral white balance could remove much of that warmth and leave the photograph looking flat.

Likewise, the blue feeling of an early winter morning may be completely appropriate.

White balance should correct unwanted colour, not automatically remove the colour of the light.

A Simple Beginner Method

1. Try As Shot.
2. Try Auto.
3. Try the Eyedropper.
4. Adjust Temp until the photograph looks believable.
5. Adjust Tint only if there is an obvious green or magenta cast.
6. Compare the result with the original.

Then choose the version that best represents the scene.

Final Check

Before moving on to the next stage of your edit, ask:

• Do whites look believable?
• Do people have natural-looking skin?
• Has an unwanted blue, orange, green or magenta cast disappeared?
• Have I accidentally removed the atmosphere of the original light?
• Does the photograph simply look right?

If the answer is yes, stop adjusting.

Remember

White balance is not about making every photograph neutral. It is about making the colour believable.

Small adjustments are normally all that is required.

Our last update had Craig and Sharon Homberg in Iceland, where Craig had finally managed to get some photographs after several days of rain, cloud and persistent strong winds.

Their visit also happened to coincide with the total solar eclipse that crossed Iceland on 12 August.

Those who know Craig's interest in photographing eclipses may be wondering whether that timing was entirely accidental!

We don't actually know, so we'll wait for Craig to fill us in when we next hear from him. 😊

Hopefully we'll have another update, and perhaps some photographic evidence, soon.

We haven't had a fresh travel report from Bob and Kerrie either.

At last report they were making their way west towards Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria, before eventually continuing towards Alice Springs later in the month.

Bob was also given one important assignment for Karumba:

Fish and chips beside the Gulf while photographing the sunset over the water.

Photographic evidence remains outstanding!

Hopefully they've simply been too busy enjoying themselves to send an update.