Michael’s Tip of the Day – The Importance of Light
Without diffused, even lighting, your photos can be totally ruined. When
planning a rainforest photography trip, I suggest you wait until there are
grey, light-coloured clouds in the sky, as they act as nature’s “diffuser”.
When photographing birds on sunny days, early mornings and late afternoons
are often the best, as the light is at its most subtle. If you are out photographing
during the middle of the day and the lighting is a tad harsh, especially for white
or yellow birds, I suggest reducing your exposure compensation setting to reduce
over-blown highlights.
For macro photography (such as flowers), try using a hand-held diffuser on bright
sunny days. The effect of using a portable diffuser in harsh lighting conditions is
quite remarkable. Try and position the diffuser as close to the flower as possible,
without getting the diffuser in view, and you will be surprised at the results.
Sneak preview!!
Sneak preview here.
“One-on-One Experience” with Michael
be quite a success, with many satisfied clients so far. “One-on-One Experience” with Michael
can be for either one or two people (maximum two people) and Michael is pleased to announce
a continuation of a discounted price, per person, for two people. You can bring along a friend,
relative or another photographer, for some very personalised photography tuition. This tuition
is geared exactly towards your skill levels, needs and interests and you will receive 100% of
Michael’s time. Michael is a patient, experienced tutor and you can be guaranteed to leave the
session with a much greater knowledge of your camera and photography techniques.
For more information, please click on this link here
Trekabout on Great South East AGAIN!!
The program is on Channel 7 and starts at 5.30pm.
The segment is based around our half day "Frog and Reptile Experience" photography workshop.
We hope you get to see it!
Photo Trek Competition Gallery is up
Keep those photos coming in to be in the running for a full day Trekabout Photography Workshops Experience.
Check out the entries so far here.
Photo Trek Photo Comp
We are giving away a full day Trekabout Experience to one lucky person who attends the Photo Trek this Saturday, 21 August 2010.
To win, simply submit your best photos taken during the trek (maximum of five) and have your photo voted number one.
Sounds simple enough, but I've seen the great calibre of the photos you all take and it's going to tough to pick a winner.
We will have a special gallery available (on the Trekabout Facebook page) after the trek where you can post your photos.
Who votes? You do. Everyone who attended the trek will be eligible to vote. You'll have a week to submit your images and then we'll close off and allow another week for voting.
The votes will be tallied and the winner announced.
The winner will be able to choose any of the Trekabout Photography Workshops single day workshop experiences.
They'll also have the pleasure and kudos of winning the very first Trekabout Photography Workshops photo competition.
Good luck.
Inaugural Photo Trek Details
Please note that the start time has now been pushed back one hour to 9:00am as the parking stations in the area do not open until 8:30am. We will commence the walk at 09:15am SHARP so please don't be late.
We will meet on the western side of the GOMA (Gallery Of Modern Art) near the big tree at the entrance to the Kurilpa Bridge (you can't miss it).
The plan was originally to include the Roma Street Parklands in the walk but that may have been somewhat ambitious.
We will now head over the Kurilpa Bridge and make our way along Coronation Drive to come back over the Go Between Bridge and then along under the Grey Street Bridge and back to GOMA where we shall invade one (or more) of the cafe areas.
I do expect that the group will naturally spread out as some people will stop longer at certain spots whilst others move on but I expect the front runners to be back at the GOMA by around 12:30pm to 1:00pm.
You may be interested in visiting the GOMA afterwards or wandering along to the museum and making a day of it.
- I would suggest travelling light.
- Bring drinking water.
- Fully charge your camera battery (and spare if you have one)
- Bring plenty of memory cards.
Above all come along prepared to have fun and enjoy yourself.
Don't forget to vote!!!
New Digital Processing and Workflow Dates Announced
The workshop is designed to de-mystify and streamline your photography post-processing and in particular, the very powerful, Adobe Photoshop.
The workshop is spread over four, three hour evening sessions and held in the Resource Centre at Historic Newstead House in Brisbane. There is plenty of parking available with easy access.
The workshop will cover:
- Importing and opening images
- Image resolution
- Selections and masks
- Colour and white balance adjustments
- Retouching
- Histograms
- File formats
- Filters
- Actions
- Scripts
- Plug-ins
- HDR
- Metadata
- Batch processing
- Presets
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Exporting and saving
- Automating tasks
- Re-sizing
- Sharpening
- Noise reduction
- and much, much more.
To find out more click here.
Weekend Beach to Mountain Experience
Based very closely on our most popular workshop, the single day "Beach to Mountain Experience" we are now offering a two day experience.
Beach, sunset, sunrise, waterfalls, cascades, birds, macro. It's all there so please have a look here for further details.
Watch This Space
Keep a watch out for full details as they come to hand.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Canon 7D firmware Update
Canon have just released a new firmware upgrade to fix a number of bugs and errors involving AF point selection amongst other things.
To update your camera go to the Canon website and download the free firmware update and follow the instructions.
You will find it here.
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos7d/firmware.html
Inaugural Photo Trek - 21st August 2010
It's here. Our first Photo Trek.
Trekabout Photography Workshops invite you to join Michael and Mark for a morning of photography, trekking through the wilds of Brisbane. Well, not all that wild really, but it sounds good.
We will be meeting at Southbank near the Gallery of Modern Art at 8:00AM on Saturday 21st August 2010. From there we will wander across the new Kurilpa Bridge and make our way to Roma Street Parklands.
A coffee break at one of the local cafes and then down Coronation Drive to cross the even newer Go Between Bridge to head back to the GOMA. Those that wish to can then enjoy lunch together and discuss the morning shoot.
This is not a workshop but a totally free "Photo Trek" where you can meet up with a group of like minded people and enjoy each others company for a morning of photography.
Michael and Mark, although hosting the event, will also be along to have fun but will happily give advice along the way.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether or not you have attended a Trekabout workshop before so bring your friends and family along.
Just come along and enjoy your photography.
Please register your attendance here.
Photo Trek coming soon!!
Stay tuned for more details..
Digital Processing and Workflow Experience is here
The workshop is designed to de-mystify and streamline your photography post-processing and in particular, the very powerful, Adobe Photoshop.
The workshop is spread over four, three hour evening sessions and held in a comfortable boardroom environment at Spring Hill in Brisbane. There is plenty of parking available with easy access.
The workshop will cover:
- Importing and opening images
- Image resolution
- Selections and masks
- Colour and white balance adjustments
- Retouching
- Histograms
- File formats
- Filters
- Actions
- Scripts
- Plug-ins
- HDR
- Metadata
- Batch processing
- Presets
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Exporting and saving
- Automating tasks
- Re-sizing
- Sharpening
- Noise reduction
- and much, much more.
To find out more click here.
Mark's Tip of the Day - More Freebies
onOne software have a great offer for those of you who use Photoshop.or Lightroom.
As well as trial downloads available for their plugins and tools, they also have some absolutely free versions available.
These are not trials that expire after 30 days, but fully functional cut down versions of their software. They obviously hope that you will enjoy their products and go on to purchase the full versions as some point but there is no obligation.
Have a look here http://www.ononesoftware.com/downloads/
Enjoy..
Macro Feedback
Read all about it here and enjoy his excellent photography.
Thanks for sharing Kim.
Two New Workshop Dates Released
- Sat 2nd Oct 2010 – Beach to Mountains Experience
- Sun 3rd Oct 2010 – Half Day Macro Experience
Please click on the links for more information
Four New Workshop Dates Released
- Sun 11th July 2010 – Beach to Mountains Experience
- Sat 14th Aug 2010 – Brisbane Wildlife Experience
- Sat 4th Sep 2010 – Brisbane Botanical Experience
- Sun 5th Sep 2010 – Reptile and Frog Experience
Please click on the links for more information.
PSQ2010
I’ll be presenting an audio-visual on Sunday afternoon, titled “Australian Rainforests – A Breathtaking Photographic Odyssey” as well as a hands-on macro photography workshop on Monday afternoon.
There will also be a host of other great speakers as well as various workshops/shoots. Trekabout Photography Workshops will also be exhibitors at the convention and we will have our own stall table on the Sunday and Monday (I’ll be there with help from our great Trekky supporter, Karen).
Feel free to drop on by and say hi. For more information, please visit www.psq2010.com Cheers – Michael
New Date for Five Day Mountain Experience
Based at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, this workshop offers something to delight photographers of many disciplines from macro in the rainforest to stunning landscape vistas.
O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat offer very generous accommodation discounts to all Trekabout Photography Workshops attendees.
Get in quick as, being the second week of spring, this workshop will fill quickly.
More details here.
Reptile and Frog Experience almost full.
ONE SPOT REMAINING!!
Check it here for more details.
New Workshop Dates Released
The Macro Experience will be held at the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens on Saturday, 10 July 2010.
The Weekend Mountain Experience is to be held from Friday (evening) 23 July to Sunday 25 July 2010.
Please click on the links for more details.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Join the online Launch
You can join in the online launch on 13th April (AU time) and be amongst the first to see what new wonders they will tempt us with.
Check it out here.
This might be a good time to pick up a CS4 at a discounted price. When CS4 replaced CS3 there were some great prices available for the latter.
Shop around. You never know what bargains you'll find.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Free is Good
Good news. Version 2 of the Beta has just been released and extends the testing period through to June 30 2010.
Get it here.
Find out more by watching this video from Adobe.
Enjoy!
Michael’s macro photography article in Australian Photography magazine – March 2010
Have been enjoying my fungi photography lately, especially after the recent heavy rain we have had in rainforests throughout south-east Queensland.
One of my highlights was spending hours late at night, photographing luminous fungi, using very long exposures.

(Thanks to Yaffa Publishing for giving permission to show the published article as a pdf)
New "Beginner's Experience" workshop released
This full day photography workshop has been specifically designed with the beginner photographer in mind.
Mark and Michael will explain the basics of photography, show you some simple techniques and talk to you individually about your camera settings.
Each participant’s skill levels will be assessed and tuition will be given according to that skill level.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Firmware revisited
Well it seems that since then many camera manufacturers have been very busy upgrading there systems so I though a timely reminder would be prudent.
Recently firmware updates have been released for:
Nikon D700, D3, D3s, D3x
Olympus EP-1
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 500D
Pentax K7
Whilst some firmware upgrades sort out minor issues, others can offer significant improvements to your camera's operation.
Check your camera manufacturer's website for more details.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Protect your Camera and Lenses
And of course with the heat come the mozzies and flies. Be especially careful when using personal insect sprays near your gear. Place your gear away in your camera bag and then move well away to avoid any over-spray reaching your gear.
Think "paint stripper" and you'll get the idea.
Michael’s Tips of the Day - Photographing fungi
For digital SLRs, “Live View” is also a great tool to use. This allows you to see your subject, zoom into it, manually focus and then take the shot. Mirror Lock-up is also a great feature on SLRs. This allows your mirror to open on one press of your shutter button, lets it settle and then you can press the shutter again and you have taken a shot without any mirror movement.
Lastly, try and photograph fungi when the weather is grey and overcast as this provides a great natural “diffuser” that reduces blown highlights.
Mark's tip of the Day - Keep it Dry
A simple but effective way to keep moisture down is to keep a Silica Gel product in your camera storage area.
Silica Gel can be expensive but their are cheaper moisture gatherers available from supermarkets designed to keep mould and musty odours from your wardrobes and cupboards. You will be amazed at how they fill up with liquid over time.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Grab your Viveza 2 upgrade
Viveza 2 is now available for download via their website.
If you took advantage of the recent bargain prices for Viveza (after 22 September 2009) you will be eligible for a free upgrade.
Simply email a copy of your invoice (copy and paste from your receipt email) and include your Viveza product code to:
serviceeu@niksoftware.com
You will receive a reply email with a new product code for Viveza 2 and download instructions.
I've tried it out quickly this morning and it's good. Very, very good.
Enjoy!!
Norfolk is Here
Please visit the new web page to find out all the details.
We are fortunate to have The Travel Centre - Norfolk Island on board for this workshop. Their expert travel package experience has proven invaluable in putting together a photography experience not to be missed.
Check it out here. Given the amount of interest shown in the development of this workshop early bookings are advised.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Adjustment Brush
When you've opened your image in Camera Raw, click on the Adjustment Brush tool and open up a whole new world of fun.
Simple to use, you can selectively lighten, darken, add contrast , etc., to the parts of your image that need it, rather than a global adjustment that affects the entire images.
Now here's the tip within the tip: Click the Auto Mask box when you make your adjustments. One simple click and your life just got a whole lot easier.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Photoshop User TV
It's run by Photoshop guru Scott Kelby in conjunction with the NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals).
The good news is you can subscribe to it through iTunes (free) and download heaps of older episodes and the new ones, as they are released, will download automatically.
Check out the Photoshop User TV website here or go straight to the iTunes podcasts here.
The new season has just started and it's definitely worth a look. You will be sure to pick up useful tips, techniques and tutorials to help you along with your Photoshop post processing.
NORFOLK ISLAND – A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PARADISE
During my stay, I spent time doing research for Trekabout Photography Workshop’s inaugural 7 day “Norfolk Island Experience”, scouting accommodation venues, photographic locations and talking with Travel Agents. The “Norfolk Island Experience” is set for early November 2010, but details need to be confirmed. Watch this space for more details soon!
I also had a lovely surprise whilst on Norfolk, receiving a phone call from Sorrel Wilby. For those that haven’t heard of her, Sorrel is an award-winning adventurer, author of numerous books, tv presenter (including a 9 year stint as presenter on Channel 9’s Getaway program), journalist and keynote speaker. One of her recent projects was to develop a series of documentaries titled “Best of Australia” for Australian Geographic, as well as being Chairperson for the Australian Geographic Society. Dena and I spent a lovely few hours with Sorrel and family at their home, sharing stories and experiences. She really is a delightful person, so enthusiastic about life and very passionate about nature/wildlife and our environment. It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with her.

Michael with Sorrel Wilby on Norfolk Island

Emily Bay and Kingston - Norfolk Island

Tasman Booby with chick
Mark's Tip of the Day
Many of you will recall my praise for the amazing Photoshop plug-in, Viveza from NIK Software. I have demonstrated Viveza's ease of use on many occasions during Trekabout workshops. For quick and simple colour adjustments and corrections it is, quite simply, second to none.
Well, things just got a whole lot better. Viveza 2 is about to be released with many new improvements.
From Photoshop guru Scott Kelby:
| "There are not many plug-ins that just blow me away. Viveza 2 blew me away! This is a plug-in that every serious photographer has to consider, because now the rules have changed. Editing doesn't have to be a chore anymore---it actually can be fast, and easy and fun." |
But here's the good bit. Because I purchased after 22 September 2009, I am eligible for a FREE upgrade to Viveza 2. All in all, it equates to quite a saving on waiting and buying Viveza 2.
Check it out here:

Small Package Delivers Big
Here is an excerpt from their press release:
This latest retro-chic digital Olympus PEN builds on EISA’s 2009/2010 “Best Camera of the Year”, an icon of style and quality. To enrich photographic potential, the new E-P2 includes a port for an electronic viewfinder or external microphones. Two additional Art Filters combine with the new i-Enhance function for yet more creativity and image enhancement. Two new Micro Four-Thirds lenses are due in the first half of 2010: the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm F4.0-5.6 (18-36mm*) super wide-angle zoom and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm F4.0-5.6 (28-300mm*) high-power telephoto zoom lenses. Cloaked in classic black, the hybrid photo and HD movie Olympus PEN boldly brings fun and simplicity back to SLR quality. It’s the next exciting chapter in a photographic story that is set to run and run. Available from January 2010.

To make the micro-four thirds system even more attractive, Novoflex has announced prices for eleven adapters for the Micro Four-Thirds standard, including Pentax K, Nikon F and Sony Alpha adapters with built-in aperture control rings. The adapters provide only a mechanical connection between the lens and the body but retain automatic metering for aperture priority mode and allow focusing to infinity.
A monster 300 f/2.8 hanging off a tiny PEN body could be very interesting.
Tough Gig but...
The Trekabout boys have been busy lately with Mark heading over to Vanuatu to shoot a wedding and Michael off to Norfolk Island for a well earned break. Michael will be researching a future Norfolk Island Trekabout Workshop so watch this space.
The weather at Vanuatu was superb and Mark's wedding shoot went well. The locals were great and couldn't do enough to help. Definitely a spot on the "must re-visit" list.
Please enjoy a few of the images from the island.



Michael's Tip of the Day: Stabilise your Camera
I highly recommend buying a tripod that us quite sturdy, as flimsy tripods can be a hindrance and still create camera shake. Buying a sizeable tripod head is also advised, especially for bigger, heavier lenses. My personal preference is for a sturdy ball head and one that tightens firmly and securely.
The heavier tripod and head may be a burden at times to lug around but well worth the effort when you end up producing a higher number of sharper images.
Nikon and Canon bring out the Big Guns
The features are far too numerous to mention here so check out the Nikon D3S here and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV here.
Brisbane Botanical a great Experience
Bill Woolley made the trip from the Gold Coast to join the inaugural "Brisbane Botanical Experience".
Read what Bill has to say and please enjoy a selection of Bill's images from the day:
Hi Michael and Mark
Thank you again for another (my sixth) fantastic workshop.
As always you run your workshops with utmost professionalism and they are
always full of hands on information, rather than hard to follow text book
jargon!
I have no hesitation in recommending your work to anyone at any level of
photography.
Look forward to catching up with you both in the near future.
Kind regards
Bill Woolley






Special guest commentary by Karen Palmer
Please enjoy Karen's commentary and a selection of her images from her recent day at the "Brisbane Wildlife Experience".
Trekabout Wildlife Workshop - 3 October 2009
Like many aspiring nature photographers, I love nothing more than going out into the bush and bringing back a special photograph of the wildlife I encounter. The Brisbane Wildlife Workshop was a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and learn techniques to improve my photographic skills.
Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre in The Gap was the starting point for the day. Eight enthusiastic participants joined Mark and Michael for a brief introductory session after which we eagerly we set off to photograph the variety of wildlife at the centre.
We began outdoors in the soft light with the Pretty-Faced and Red-Necked Wallabies in their open woodland setting, before moving inside to explore the walk-through aviary.
Inside the aviary the birds were quite comfortable with our presence.
A trio of solemn Tawny Frogmouths, a cheeky juvenile Blue-Faced Honeyeater, nesting Doves, Curlews and many birds offered the chance to take lots of close-up shots.
Mark and Michael’s one-to-one tuition helped us to make the most of the opportunity, and to deal with the particular challenges of the day.
Morning tea was a good time to get to know the other participants, and share what we’d learned during the morning session. This was followed by a visit to the Creekside display where we practiced taking photos through glass or underwater.
Over lunch we enjoyed Mark’s presentation on post-processing techniques using some of our own photographs from the morning.
His session was designed to help us enhance our best images and take them out of the camera and prepare them for printing.
The highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly our visit to the collection of a private wildlife breeder. We were treated to the unforgettable experience of rare and beautiful animals displayed in a natural setting to allow us to photograph them at leisure.
The collection included a Boyd’s Rainforest Dragon, a Magnificent Tree Frog, a Sugar Glider, a Smooth Knob-tailed and a Leaf-tailed Gecko, colourful snakes, and to our great delight, even a baby Wombat.
After such a full day we were all exhausted, but very excited about what we’d seen and learned. Many thanks to Michael and Mark for such an enjoyable day. I’m sure many of us will be returning soon for another Trekabout Photography Workshops adventure.
Karen Palmer
The Gap




Michael awarded “highly commended” for five images in ANZANG Nature Photography Competition 2009!
The results of the 2009 ANZANG (Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea) Nature Photographer of the Year competition have just been announced and Trekabout Photography Workshops are pleased to announce that five of Michael’s images were awarded “highly commended”, two of which made it to the finals.
The images awarded are:
- Albert’s Lyrebird displaying – Threatened Species (highly commended and finalist)
- Mantis – Animal Portrait (highly commended and finalist)
- Breaching Humpback Whale – Animal Behaviour (highly commended)
- Tawny Frogmouth - Animal Portrait (highly commended)
- Bronzewing Pigeon wing – Interpretive (highly commended)
Some great images entered and congrats to the winners !


Mark's Tip of the Day - Watch out for Firmware Updates
Panasonic recently released a firmware upgrade for their Lumix DMC-LX3 digital compact camera.
The 14-month-old camera gets a new lease on life with Version 2.0 bringing a host of additional functions . Changes include the addition of white balance bracketing and an expansion of the available exposure compensation, a 20% AF-speed increase at the wide-angle position and a High Dynamic scene mode.
Certainly, a worthwhile update to your camera.
So keep an eye on your camera manufacturer's website to take advantage of firmware updates, if they are available.
Unexpected bonus on Beach to Mountains Experience
The dust, that has blown in from the West during the previous week, provided a surreal effect which resulted in some very different photographs, many of which were taken well after sunrise.
Kate's image below provides a glimpse of what the Trekabout workshop attendees enjoyed throughout the morning.

For more information on Trekabout Photography Workshops' "Beach to Mountains Experience" click here
Michael's Tip of the Day - Landscape Compositions - Leading Lines
Michael's Tip of the Day: Wildlife Photography – Watch Your Angle
Mark's Tip of the Day - Easy Format for Nikon DSLRs
I always recommend formatting your memory card before a photo shoot (after you have saved the previous shoot's images of course). For Nikon DSLR users there is a simple shortcut available. Look on your camera for two green dots. They will be in slightly different positions depending on your model. Press the two buttons simultaneously and you will notice "for" will start flashing on your display. Press them again and your card will format. Your now ready for your photo shoot with a nice fresh card.
New entry level DSLR from Pentax
Pentax has announced an upper-entry level DSLR, the K-x. The K-x adds a number of features including a 11-point autofocus, 12.4 Mp CMOS sensor, Live View and HD video mode. It will be available in a choice of colors - black, white, and limited runs of red and navy with the 18-55mm DA-L kit lens.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Resize for E-Mail
Picasa, a free program from Google, has a very simple resize and send function. Just open the options menu (preferences on a Mac), click on the E-Mail tab and then set your preferred options.
800 pixels is a good size for email (this will resize the longest edge of the image to 800 pixels) as it provides a good viewing size but keeps the file size down to a reasonable level.
For those shooting in RAW, Picasa will even do an "on-the-fly" conversion to JPEG as your send your email. Great if you need to share your photos quickly and don't have time for a lot of post processing.
RSS Feed for Trekabout now active
Click on the link to the right in the sidebar and give it a try.
RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Keep it Clean
Keep the camera body facing down during the entire lens changing process to avoid dust falling onto your camera's sensor.
Great news for Micro Four Thirds owners
Michael's Tip of the Day - The Eyes have it.
Get level with your subject, focus on the eye, compose your shot and you're on the way to taking superb wildlife photographs.
Mark's Tip of the Day - Copyright Symbol
On a Windows PC just hold down the "alt" key and then press 0 1 6 9 on your numeric keypad. Bingo © , there it is.
On a Mac simply press "Option + G" and there you go . ©
Another Successful Workshop
From the first get together on Sunday evening set to a perfect backdrop of sunset over the mountains, to a final "bird in flight" session, the Trekabout students were put to work to improve and enhance their photographic skills and talents.

The skill levels were quite varied but all participants were able to produce vibrant, well composed images of subjects ranging from the spectacular Elabana Falls to the equally spectacular but somewhat smaller Regent Bowerbird.