Jindabyne (Day 4)

Had a nature imposed camera ban today. It was blue skies and sunny in the town, but the mountains had disappeared behind a white curtain which meant only one thing, snow! Sure enough, when we got there the car park was white and it was pelting down. Left the camera in the car and snowboarded for 5 hours straight. As it's still early in the season, the cover is a mixture of favourable powder in parts and unforgiving ice in others. At one point I was coming round a section, just in time to have Jayden come flying off a ledge and land right on top of me, sending us both cartwheeling down the hill. The lifts were empty due to the weather, and there were no lines, so we did a lot in 5 hours, and by early afternoon we were spent and heading back early. Snapped the above pic just outside of town, where the bad weather was meeting the sunshine. What the pic doesn't show is the whiteout behind me, and the fact that the wind was blowing so hard that there were little waves in the lake. At midday we reached the forecasted toasty high of -1 c on the mountain!

Jindabyne (Day 3) part B

After a full day on the mountain, I grabbed the Gary Fong Lightsphere to try it out against the setting sun on the drive down the mountain. As I suspected, it does hold it's own in providing a softer light and bigger lightsource than a normal flash. The wind was howling and the sun was goin down fast, but we pulled over on the side of the road and snapped a couple shots in a section with a thin snowcover. I used the lightsphere with the silver dome, and took all the shots in situation with backlighting, meaning that the subjects would have been silhouetted without the light from the Lightsphere.

Jindabyne (Day 3) part A

We had a bit of everything today. Got up on the moutain by 9am, and it was raining in the carpark. It soon cleared, and the sun came out. Allowing me to grab the camera, and take it down the runs with me for a bit. To many stories to tell here...enjoy the pics

Jindabyne (Day 2)

Woke to the smell of our host Anne cooking up a big breakfast. Heidi and I went to have coffee while the kids tried to kill each other (pictured) After our caffeine fix we headed to Time 2 Ride in town, where DC Shoe had organised our gear. Che and the boys there are real cool and had us decked in a jiffy, and before long we headed off in the direction of the mountains. Traveller tip: You will need a $185 pass to get your car onto the mountain for the week, but for only $5 more you can get an annual pass, which is valid for all of NSW national parks and includes a camping permit. So we got it in our own vehicle at home, then got a 7 day exemption for our hire car! On the mountain the snow was real fun and were carving down the walls of white in no time. I left my camera in the car so I could find my feet before having it on me.
Lightsphere update: Didn't use it today too much, it's pretty bulky.

Jindabyne (Day 1)

We have arrived! After travelling all day, we pulled into the town of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains at 4pm. The drive from Sydney was great, and after only a couple U turns we found ourselves here with no map and no GPS. We're staying with Anne Gray from Currumbin, who runs a beautiful lodge down here called Chamonix right in the heart of town. It's currently -2 and we're in front of the fire. For bookings ring Anne Gray on 0414341987.
Lightsphere update for all you techno wizzes; I pulled out the Lightsphere a couple times, but did find it a bit cumbersome to just whip it out, as you have to kinda strap it on etc, and it does feel stupid. My impression so far, in a confined space, i.e. indoors with a low enough ceiling to bounce a light off, doesn't really have anything over a Stofen. Outdoors I still think it can be pretty cool. It definately provides a bigger lightsource, and the amber dome can provide a real nice light against afternoon sun.
In the shots here: Interior of Car (Lightsphere with silver dome) Jayden overlooking valley (Lightsphere with Amber dome) Gloria Jeans Jindy (Lightspere with Amber dome).

Got marched off to the laundromat today. Apperently I'm responsible for us not having a dryer, and as such, if we are going away and clothes need to be packed, I have to go dry them. Go figure
I took my camera along to pass the time as I always thought laundry machines where photogenic. Am I strange?....hmmm
Anyway, all good now, warm clothes ready. Got home in time for my son and I to squeeze in one last surf out the front, then threw our clothes together for the snow.
Got a message from my good mate MC who has teed up our snowboards etc through DC Shoe. So stoked! Thanks MC and DC, drinks on me next time.
Having dinner @ Smithy's boatshed, then up at 5am to make our flight.
Next post from somewhere much colder than here. Report today says a high of -2 c. Should be fun!

Who is Gary Fong and Why are you Touching His Lightsphere?

That's what I was thinking too when I heard of this thing, named, remarkably, the Gary Fong Lightsphere. Invented by, yes someone named Gary Fong.

So I'm planning this trip to the snow, a family holiday. And, self promoting nut that I am, blabbed about it to the guys at Camerasdirect.com.au. "Hey fellas, let me know if you have anything you need tested" is what I recall saying.
After sorting through the usual prank emails like "see if it's true that you really shouldn't eat yellow snow" or "try to photgraphically capture the term 'shrinkage", I got a couple geniune suggestions. One was to test out something called a Gary Fong Lightsphere. Being the self confessed lighting junkie that I am, I was secretly excited.
I gotta admit, being a bit of a nerd, I had heard of the Lightsphere. Mainly by fashion and wedding photographers. All of them would marry it and have it's babies if they could, everyone that uses one frickin loved it.
So, this is my mission. I'm gonna use it on an average family holiday, and see if has anything to offer.

My first impressions:
Appearance = As soon as I picked it up, I felt like an idiot. I looked over my shoulder to make sure noone I knew was around. Let's face it, the thing looks about as cool as pooping in your pants. It is literally tupperwear that goes over a flashgun.
Build Quality = This thing redefines the term "simple concept". The most complex thing about it is the velcro strap that is used to attach it. I hate myself for not inventing this thing.
The setup = 1 tupperware looking thing with different tops which resemble giant contraceptive devices to adjust white balance, in "amber (golden glow)" "cloud (neutral)" and "silver (no idea)".
Size = Cumbersome. Doesn't really fit in my camera bag, so dont know how I'm gonna carry it around.
Initial results = Frickin awesome! I fired off a couple frames at home on camera and want to make little brown babies with it. Really nice soft lighting, eliminates harsh shadows, and is almost impossible to overexpose...practically foolproof!
Over the next couple days, I'll be reporting on the Lightsphere, the snow, the southern Australian Alps, the ups and downs of travel and everything in between.

Bookmark this page and keep checking for updates.