I’m a huge fan of lo-fi photography like lomography.  Sure, I love my megapixelz, but there’s something so exciting about not knowing exactly what you’ll get when you release that shutter and capture that moment in time.  In essence, it’s why I’ve always loved my Polaroid camera; that moment is also instantaneously brought to you.  It’s also why I rarely look at the image screen when I’m taking photos; I much prefer to come home and review them as I ‘develop’ them.

It’s a shame in many ways that the physical art of photography is being lost to transistors, and the magic of that the singular moment giving way to smoothed edges and desmudged lines.

Sometimes it’s nice just to create something unique.  The above is a composition of four images rapidly shot off in sequence using the wide angle lens, looking down from the aforementioned foot bridge.  I couldn’t bear to part them.

The corner of the Leighton Beach footbridge is a wonderful vantage point to admire an ever retreating sun.  The wind generally whips up the coast towards the camera’s vantage point and while blustery, is often very refreshing after a long hot summer day.

The flash of colour on the left hand side of the image is not an alien spacecraft and is instead an artifact created by the angle of the sun and the glass of the lens; it’s usually an undesired element, but sometimes I feel it adds to the intensity of the moment.  The sun is literally so bright that you’re seeing stars.

Okay, so maybe I stretched the truth a little.  This shot wasn’t taken with my wide angle lens, but as I came across it tonight I figured it was too good not to post.  There are still remnants of the old rail workings at the Leighton Beach rail yard.

Rails are so linear and rigid, yet their lines can be very useful in drawing an eye to the horizon, or in highlighting something at their juncture.  There’s also the added allure of decaying structure and form as the grass and weeds slowly reclaim the land.

Much of the initial part of the shoot on Leighton Beach was using the aforementioned wide angle lens.  It’s true benefit is in the sense of perspective it gives and also it’s ability to empower an object.  It’s one of the widest angle lenses you can get with curvature correction which means you don’t end up with the classic ‘fish eye’ view – not that there’s anything wrong with fish eye, but quite often that’s not desired in an image.

Shots for the next few days will be using the wide angle lens after which I’ll showcase some of the telephoto images.

The beautiful aquamarine and blue/greens of the Indian Ocean are highlighted in this image.  More on that soon!

As a photographer I’m perpetually torn between using my wide angle (16-35mm) lens and my wide to telephoto (28mm to 300mm) lens.  I learnt my craft on the latter however the former revolutionised my way of seeing things.  It was quite a mindshift to think about the additional width that the lens gives you and just how to take photos to fully take advantage of that.

I’m still honing that skill, but an image like this makes me want to never take it off of the camera.  Of course, as soon as I think that, I see a situation and ultimately a photo that disagrees.  Certainly, when I was first starting out, it sure was easier to have a fixed lens, because, then it didn’t matter.

Freedom is both a blessing and a curse.  I’m not complaining, mind.

Leighton Beach is one of the last remaining peaceful beaches on the coast between Perth and Fremantle.  It’s never too busy, you can take your dog, and you can always get a park.  That’s all about to change when the new developments come into play in the coming years around North Freo station and it’s sad to think this little slice of history will soon be lost to spiralling apartments and cafe lattes.

For now though, the resplendent foot bridge linking the Stirling Highway and Port Beach Road across the Freo line stands; the old comms tower is sadly no longer with us.  Hopefully the bridge, which will feature on this site over the next few days, will remain.

The strong south westerly winds we’ve been cursed with this year manage to dredge up all sorts of miscellania onto the beach, though even more tends to appear in the autumn when the strong ocean currents kick.

Looking fresh from a japanese restaurant, the afternoon offerings could do with some soy sauce.

Bennion Beach is a dog friendly beach which always lends itself to a myriad of frantically placed footsteps near the water’s edge.  Each animal that wanders the beach (human included) leave their own unique mark, but none perhaps so frenetic as the canine.

In other news, I’ve posted the back story for the recent Kings Park series featuring the boab tree.  Another trip is due there shortly.