Freetime Aperture | Event Photography | Portrait Photography | Commercial Photography | Underwater Photography | Townsville

Kicking off the new year with an underwater photography workshop

neil — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:02:38 +0000

Yes, I do realize that it is already March, however the weather conditions in the first 2 months of the year have hardly been conducive to diving and underwater photography. Now that the winds are beginning to die down and the sun is coming out from behind the clouds again, it’s time to dust off the cobwebs from the olde underwater camera and get back into the water.

We’re kicking off this years underwater photography shenanigans with a basic underwater photography workshop at Splash Watersports. In it, we will spend 2-3 hours in the classroom discussing the art and science behind good underwater photos. We will also look at choosing a camera, taking it diving and looking after it. Finally, we’ll get a chance for some hands on practice to solidify what we have learnt.

The next day, it’s out to the reef to try out our new skills in the ocean. Participants in the workshop will get to play with different cameras and get real time feedback on their images. On boat on the way home, we will also get the chance to apply a few post-processing techniques to the day’s photos.

This course is suited to absolute beginners, those who want to get into underwater photography but don’t know what camera to get, and those who already have a camera but want to get the most out of it.

Assess the conditions

neil — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:56:34 +0000

This month’s underwater photography blog is 2 weeks late as I’ve been in Hawaii attending a wedding. While I was there, I took the opportunity to visit the Big Island for their much famed manta ray night dives. One thing I quickly realised while on the dive was how important the tip of “assess the conditions” really is.

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef, we are blessed with calm-ish conditions all year round. So it’s easy to forget about assessing the conditions of the dive site for underwater photography (we just grab our cameras and jump in). Not the case in Hawaii. The manta night dive involves large flood lights placed on the bottom which attracts plankton and thus the magnificent 1-2 meter large mantas. Because of this, divers are required to sit on the bottom throughout the dive.

Now winter is an interesting time on the Big Island, extremely surgy conditions make it very hard to sit still on the bottom. You need both hands to cling onto the substratum leaving none left to operate a camera. Needless to say I ended up with 3 very blurry shots of mantas. I did however realize that the snorkelers at the surface were having a much calmer time. The next night, I returned as a snorkeler and ended up getting some amazing footage of the mantas. It just goes to show how important assessing the conditions is, so that you can chose how to maximize your photo opportunities.

Til next month,
Neil

Underwater photography specialist

P.S. The wedding was beautiful! Congratulations Clymonroes

Learning u/w photography on a budget

neil — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:44:02 +0000

Who said underwater photography had to be expensive ? In this months blog post, I’m going to share with you a number of my favourite FREE resources on the internet from which you can pick up some wonderful hints and tips on u/w photography.

We’ll begin with websites that have what I would call an online u/w photography course. Two of the most comprehensive sites out there are the DivePhotoGuide site and Underwater Photography Guide site. Both of these take you all the way from “just starting out” to complete guides on wide angle, macro, lighting, composition and even digital workflow. Regardless of whether you are a total beginner or someone who is and old hand at u/w photography, there is something for everyone.

Another source of great information is u/w photography e-zines. Published every few weeks to months, e-zines contain not only hints and tips, but also gear and destination reviews, inspirational stories and photos and also information on upcoming courses with some of the best u/w photographers in the world. The best FREE underwater photography magazine out there is UwP Mag, and although it is a mixed magazine, X-Ray International Dive Magazine also has a great u/w photography section.

Yet another place to get help with your underwater photography (though you will have to spend more time digging) is online forums. Some of the biggest ones are Scubaboard, the Wetpixel forum and Digital Diver. Here you will find a wealth of information and experience from the larger underwater photography community.

So, there you have it, you can spend as little money on your u/w photography education as you want (and save all your money for gear ). That should keep you happily reading until our next blog post. As usual, I hope to hear your comment. If you have other great free resources feel free to share them.

Happy snapping,

Neil

Underwater photography specialist

Underwater Photography

10 things you can do NOW to improve your underwater photography

neil — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:57:40 +0000

Hello and welcome to our very first blog post on underwater photography. With the advent of the digital era, underwater photography has moved out of the realm of highly dedicated professional photographers with deep pockets and into the realm of highly enthusiastic divers with moderately deep pockets Many a beginning underwater photographer has asked me for hints and tips for how to get better images and so this blog has been born. Through it, I hope to share some of the practical tips I have learnt both from other professional underwater photographers who have gone before me, and also from personal experience.

Today, I’m going to share with you 10 things (in no particular order of importance) you can implement right away so you can start taking better photos underwater!

1. Practice on land, lots – the more familiar you are with your camera the better your photos will be. And as you spend more time above water than below, it makes sense to practice as much as you can on land

2. Look at as much art as possible – expanding your artistic horizons will allow you to be more creative, giving you ideas you may never have thought of before

3. Get close – the less water between you and the subject the better. A wise person once said,”If your image isn’t good enough, you aren’t close enough”

4. Get a strobe – a quick way to dramatically improve your close up shots, a strobe (amongst other things) lets you bring back colour and reduce backscatter

5. Practice good buoyancy – good buoyancy allows you to stay off the bottom, avoid stirring up silt and backscattering up your photos

6. Learn as much about your subject as possible – anticipation is everything in underwater photography, if you know your subject, you’ll know how to capture their best side

7. Slow down when you dive – the slower you go, the more you’ll see and the more chance you’ll have to capture great images

8. Don’t be afraid to experiment – don’t be afraid to try a new angle, try different camera settings or even to shoot an unusual subject, you just might be pleasantly surprised!

9. Match you subject choice to the conditions at the dive site – a bright sunny day with high water visibility is good for wide angle seascapes, but when conditions turn poor, macro photography may be the way to go

10. Do an underwater photography course with us! – Contact us today to find out about our upcoming courses

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments! If you have something in particular that you’ve used to improve your underwater photography, please share it with us as well!

Happy snapping,

Neil

Underwater photography specialist

Underwater Photography

We’ve turned one!

neil — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:01:13 +0000

It was a year from today that the vision to create Freetime Aperture was born….

And what a year it has been, over the past 12 months, Freetime Aperture has grown from a dream to provide Townsville with an event photography service it sorely lacked, to a full service photography business (events, underwater, commercial and portrait photography) with a polished product and a great team. We underwent a brand revamp to bring our image more in line with our belief – “we want to provide customers with the images they want, while having fun along the way”, launched a new interactive website and covered a range of events, the most notable of which were the Young Chamber Awards Night, Luke Pickler Gala Fundraiser and Brace for War.

After a year of evolution, we finally felt that we had a business worthy of presentation to Townsville, and thus we had a business launch/b’day party at the Court Theatre. The night was one to remember with a special edition photo exhibition entitled Townsville: People, Pride, Passion (which showcased Townsville’s local identities in a different light), magic tricks and fire twirling as part of the zany entertainment. Guest were also able to make their own fun by grabbing some props and getting their portraits taken at the mobile portrait studio. Sumptuous food and an open bar all added to a fantastic night. And we couldn’t have done it without the help of all you wonderful people!

A big thank you to Councilor Vern Veitch for launching our business!

We would also like to say a massive thank you to the local identities who gave their time to make our birthday extra special! Les Tyrell, Tony Ireland, Sandra Harding, Kim Cooper, Greg Raines, Peter Brine, Rob Rose, Michelle Graham, Fiona McManimm, and John Carey all generously donated their time to participate in our special edition photo exhibition. Once again, thank you all very much!

And last but not least, we would like our friends in business – Full Throttle Theatre, Bizrich, Queensland Micrographics, Dizzy Magic, Betty Blue & The Lemon Tart, The Confectionary & Party Shop, and Frans and his fantastic fire twirlers, who helped make this event run smoothly!

Event Entertainment

Event Photography

Event Entertainment

Freetime Aperture – Think Differently

neil — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:14:01 +0000

Hello, and welcome to our blog!

Founded in 2009, Freetime Aperture is a Townsville based photography business specializing in event photography and entertainment. As we have grown as a business, our team of photographers has expanded to include members that bring specialist skills in many other forms of photography including commercial, portrait and underwater photography. The business was founded on the FISH philosophy and is based around positive attitude and a fun nature. Our business tag line is “Think Differently” as we want to bring a different perspective to the market – a different way of doing business, a different angle and take on an event and even a different perspective on life!

Photography is becoming more affordable nowadays and it is becoming easy for just about everyone to get great looking images. However, we believe that photography is more than just pictures, we believe photography is life itself! And it is the sharing of life that is more important than all the pictures in the world. Thus our blog will cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from hints and tips of how to improve your photography (in all its various forms), to new and exciting forms of photography which might pique your interest, to coverage of “different” events which may expand your view on life.

We hope you enjoy our blog posts and will interact with us by leaving comments and having discussions. If there is a particular topic you would like us to blog about, don’t hesitate to get in contact!

How are you thinking differently this year?

Cheers,

Neil & The Freetime Aperture Team

Freetime Aperture - Think Differently

Event Photography

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:53:28 +0000

An event, whether it be a birthday party, a gala balls or the annual sports day, is a big time our lives, a time which we will want to look back on and have cherished memories of. Let us help you create and cement those memories in stone!

At Freetime Aperture, we believe in having fun! If your event is themed, we will come in theme. As our photographers circulate around the room, they will share a joke or two with guest. All this serves to increase the energy at your event while we capture those cherished memories.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” - Elliot Erwitt

Not to say that your event is ordinary, but as an outside observer of your event, our photographers are able to “see” things from a different perspective. They notice interesting angles and catch little interactions between guest that allowing them to document the true feel of your event. Due to the photojournalistic style of our event coverage, you get natural looking photos (no more stiff poses) that, when used in internal and external marketing, give attendees vivid, cherished memories of your event.

People do not remember events per say but moments in the events that made them feel special, made them smile or even made them roll on the ground with laughter. Our mobile portrait studio has been specially designed to do all these as the ultimate form of event entertainment. Let us make your guest feel pampered as we get a series of images of them looking their stunning best. And then, as the night wears on and the inhibitions fade away, let our prop box provide hours of dress up fun.

To help you make your event even more special we have formed alliances with some of the best in the events organisation and entertainment industry. Do check out our friends in business page for great savings with our partners.

Contact us today to find out how we can spice up your next event!

: Event Photography

: Vivid Memories

Underwater Photography

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:47:13 +0000

“The general impression of hours and days spent on the bottom of the sea is its fairy-tale unreality. It is an Alice’s Wonderland, where our terrestrial experiences and terms are set at naught.” – William Beebe

Whether or not you have had the privilege and pleasure of making a personal venture below the waves, we have all seen the amazing imagery of undersea creatures so exquisitely beautiful and unique that they go beyond our wildest imaginations. Yet our oceans are under threat from such anthropogenic sources as overfishing, global warming, ocean acidification and marine pollution.

Here at Freetime Aperture, we believe that the best way to help the oceans and its inhabitants is to get more and more people to appreciate (and hopefully fall in love with) the beauty hidden beneath the waves. One of the best ways of doing this is via underwater photography and videography – capturing and sharing images of the stunning beauty of the sea.

But we will need all the help we can get if we are to make a difference!

If you would like to join us in capturing images of the seas but do not have your own camera, visit our camera hire page for great deals on quality underwater camera hire. If you already have a camera and would like to learn how to use it better, or even if you don’t and would like to learn more before you get a camera, then our underwater photography courses and workshops may be for you.

If sharing images is more your things, then please visit our stock library and get a photo or two for your website or desktop wallpaper. Prints and gifts are also available with all images in the stock library, allowing you to give the gift of the oceans.

Contact us today to let us know how we can help you conserve the oceans!

: Pink Anemonefish

: Kune’s Chromodoris

Portrait Photography

neil — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:53:10 +0000

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” - Aaron Siskind

Portraits can help to immortalise the people and times we cherish most in life. Whether it be for an individual, a couple or even a whole family, our experienced portrait photographers can help you capture memories that you will cherish for a lifetime. Newborns, graduations, birthdays, engagements and many more, there is never a more perfect time to freeze the moment!

For something a little out of the ordinary, why not give our costumed or underwater portraits a try? Costumed portraits give you the opportunity to dress up and have some fun as your favourite superhero, fantasy character or whatever else you might dream about. Underwater portraits allow for weightlessness and funky reflections, adding a surreal feel to portraits and opening up a range of possibilities.

And of course, we can’t forget man’s best friend (or all his other friends for that matter). If you have a pet that you would like photographed, or perhaps would like to be photographed with, our pet portraits can portray the personality of your beloved companion

Contact us today to book a portrait sitting!

: Portrait Photography

Commercial Photography

neil — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:56:16 +0000

“An image . . . is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

Regardless of whether you are selling a product, a service or information, every business is built on image. The better your brand is perceived by your potential customers, the money likely they are to buy from you and the more money you will make. And let’s face it, we would all like to make more money in our businesses

So let us help you portray an image that makes you more money! Our advertising photography can help show off your premises or products in the best light, helping customers see themselves doing business with you and using your products. Meanwhile, our commercial portraits put a respectable face to your business, one that customers would like to do business with.

Contact us today to find out how we can increase your business revenue!

Commercial Photography