Koh Phangan off Koh Samui, with my new camera

I am very pleased with the photographs that I have taken with my new Canon Coolpix A900 camera.
It is a compact camera, but the results are excellent given its size.
I had been wrestling with the decision about whether to use only a phone camera or whether to buy a new camera.

I had disposed of all my cameras (DSLR, film SLR, compact Canons etc) because the camera on my phone was good (Galaxy S7), and using a phone to upload to the web, this blog etc is sooooo convenient. And they were cumbersome and a bother to carry when travelling, backup was tedious and there were those added peripheral things like the power cord and battery charger - that while they may seem to be trivial items, they took on more significance when travelling - when every unnecessary encumbrance or weight is unwelcome.

Nagging in the back of my mind was the knowledge that the phone camera would never be as good as a dedicated camera. After a long discussion with a very helpful man at JB HiFi, I knew that going down the path of a phone camera only holiday was not a good idea.
So this Nikon is not the latest model on the market, and it is not top of the range, but it ticks all the boxes.
It has an articulated screen - it folds out for taking shots from awkward angles, there is no external battery charger thingo, it connects easily via wifi to my phone for upload to the cloud.

Most importantly the detail and optical zoom are of course far superior to the phone camera.
The shots are not as luminous as phone camera images, but they can be adjusted.
That brightness and luminosity that phone cameras have due to the excellent software that they have is attractive but deceptive.

So all in all... very happy with the decision to return to real camera world. I still like my Galaxy 7 camera, but it now has a different role. 

The original image

 

 

When cropped, the details on the boat are still clear and crisp.

The details of the inside of the boat are much better defined in the image taken  using the Nikon.

Taken in difficult light - the right side of the boat on the left is still defined.

The image from the camera phone (which I have not uploaded because it is not a fair comparison) was quite blurred.

Phuket Island, Thailand

Alexander Calder at the NGV

What an absolute delight to go to the exhibition of Alexander Calder's works at the NGV. He is an artist that I have always admired.
The simplicity of the lines, the whimsical works and the sense of movement in space are endlessly fascinating.

And then the mobiles..... and sculptures

These are 2 small presents he made for his parents when he was a small child.... how charming

And finally this brooch that he made for a friend...........

The exhibition is on for a few months ... I might return!

Melbourne Garden and Flower Show

The exhibition starts on Wednesday. That means that tomorrow morning I drop my work off for the curator .
These are the works that I am happy with.

Turkish Festival at Victoria Market

 The Turkish community of Melbourne was out on the weekend promoting Turkish culture at the Victoria Market.
This lady was showing passers by the art of Ebru ... painting beautiful designs using oil on water, and then lifting the design off in one deft movement

 And there was a terrific band

A stall selling food from Cyprus......

 And lovely to see  a rather small version of the Istanbul Bazaar in our very own market, replete with posters of Attaturk,,,,,, This poster featured on many stalls.

Papermade

Went to see this exhibition at Australian Galleries in Collingwood at the weekend.  A huge number of artists and a great array of works on paper. Some favourites were Thorton Walker's portraits, and of course Graeme Drendel's charming images.

My new work will be on display on March 27th

Pleased to have been invited to exhibit some of my works here with the Northern Artists Group. I have been busy in the studio brushing up on floral themes
.......