Always have your camera... random photo walk.

Often photographers can tend to develop a negative mindset toward their photography, and this can emerge for many reasons.

It could be that the photographic locations chosen are somewhat similar to those that have been frequented before, it could be that photography is your profession and you’re becoming a little stale because you’re always shooting, or it could also be personal reasons beyond photography that are affecting your ability to focus and seek out new ways to create pictures.

Whatever the reason/s, I find that whenever I begin to feel this way I try to find ways to have fun and enjoy creating something different, even if that means simply taking your smallest and most practical camera to a seemingly uninteresting location and seeing what you can make of the environment.

Recently my wife’s car needed a mechanical inspection in anticipation of a sale and due to my wife being unavailable to drop the car off, it was me who needed to take the car along to the chosen mechanic’s factory.

Now, this factory is only approximately ten minutes from our house and is in a fairly standard industrial precinct, certainly not what you would consider to be a photographic zone.

I knew that the inspection would take approximately one hour and given that the location was very close to a major road and intersection I decided to take along my Fujifilm X100F to see if I could capture anything vaguely interesting, particularly at the intersection set of traffic lights.

As I was approaching the intersection I saw that an old boat was parked on a trailer beside the road, and it had obviously been there for some time because there was quite clearly leaves which had fallen and gathered inside the boat. This is a perfect example of not knowing what you can find if you just grab your camera and take a walk.

I glanced back to my left before deciding to move toward the intersection and immediately noticed a beautiful old Dodge truck heading my way, time to move onto the median strip in time to grab a picture.

A short distance from here was the large intersection. The traffic at this time was not particularly busy, and this is an example of a situation where you could become uninterested and lazy and simply give up, however if you remain positive and focused you can challenge yourself to find pictures in scenes such as these.

For example, at traffic lights there are always vehicles coming and going, lights changing and a mixture of contrast and colours.

The Fujifilm X100F has a built in neutral density (ND) filter. For those who are unfamiliar with ND filters they are basically a pair of sunglasses for your camera’s lens.

On brighter days an ND filter can dramatically reduce the amount of light entering a camera which in turn allows for longer shutter speeds to be used without blowing out a scene, because when the shutter is left open for extended periods a picture can often be rendered completely white, even on cloudy days.

Now, if you are taking pictures of moving vehicles then typically you would use fast shutter speeds to help freeze the motion and provide a clean image, however if you wanted to be a little more creative and artistic you could incorporate motion in the image, and one way of doing so is to reduce the shutter speed to create a blur effect.

At intersections you will often see some vehicles which are stationery, whilst others are moving quickly at the same time. This is a perfect scenario to become even more creative with your long exposure pictures.

In situations such as these don’t just focus on the vehicles, always remember to look around and also toward the sky because you never know where the inspiration for your next image is going to come from.

Another quick tip for a fun adventure; Don’t be afraid to get funky with some edits here and there.

Well, it was time to head back to collect the car, although my camera remained ready to shoot, and I was able to grab these images on the way back.

No award winning images here, however they help to tell a story and keep my eyes trained.

If you’re a photographer and you’re in a rut, and you’d like to escape that rut, then try to find relatively simple ways of producing pictures.

I guarantee you that the overall process beginning with a simple concept, then taking the pictures and editing them will make it worthwhile.

Good luck, and stay positive.

Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that you find some inspiration from it.

Roger Brooks.

Motorcycle Diaries: Part 3 - A sunny day in Wollombi

The Easter long weekend in 2024 was upon us, and with a favourable weather pattern across the four days we anticipated a lot of riding was going to take place.

Little did we know that the toll of a very busy ongoing work schedule meant that as we entered Good Friday we found that we had little desire to ride, rather we decided to let our bodies tell us what we wanted to do, and ultimately that led to pretty much chilling out across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Generally speaking I am a big believer in seizing the moment and living your life to the fullest, on the flip side I also believe in resting when your body (and mind) are telling you to rest… they are doing so for a reason.

So, with three days of chilling out behind us we decided to head out on the bikes on Easter Monday to the Wollombi Tavern for lunch.

Wollombi is a small village in New South Wales, Australia, and dates back to the 1820’s. Wollombi is approximately one hundred and twenty eight kilometres north of Sydney.

The route that my wife and I generally take is through the beautiful town of Yarramalong, then past the famous Jerry’s Cafe at Kulnura which is a bike mecca, then into the Wollombi valley which is a very scenic run with a rural atmosphere.

This route is perfect for all riders. There are very little straight bits of road, and plenty of climbs, descents and twisties to put your bike through its paces.

Whilst this run is not considered a long one for us, it still provides an opportunity to breathe the country air, stare at wildlife and feel the thrill of manoeuvring a motorbike through a rural setting… not to mention what awaits you at the destination.

Along the way we tend to stop here and there to simply get off the bikes and experience the quiet. This is essential, even if the total journey is not a long one. I love taking the opportunity to take pictures where possible, and these short stops are great for just that.

As the road turns into a fifty kilometre per hour section you eventually arrive at the township of Wollombi.

You do not have to look far to see where the majority of bikers are located, because the Wollombi Tavern is immediately on your left if you have travelled from the east and instantly you will notice the line of parked bikes right outside the tavern.

This tavern has had a few renovations over the years, none better than the improved beer garden where there is plenty of room for riders and families alike to chill out with good company, good food and good beers.

There are a few great cafes just around the corner also, and some funky arty shops if that interests you.

This is a great stop as the final destination, but also if you’re intending to ride to Broke and beyond, either way it is a fantastic way to spend some quality time on the bike and with loved ones or friends… this is what life is all about.

So, after a relaxing afternoon at Wollombi it was time to head home back along the same roads that we came in on. Not only did we get to ride these great roads twice, but we also decided to stop in at Jerry’s Cafe on the way back for a quick coffee.

Jerry’s Cafe is like a biker’s institution in these parts, and there’s always an opportunity to look at other bikes and strike up a conversation with like minded strangers.

What a great day! We are very lucky to have so many great destinations within relatively close proximity to where we live, and the run out to Wollombi and back never disappoints.

Sometimes you need a really long ride to dust off the cobwebs and clear your mind, other times you simply need to be on the bike, no matter how far or near, and when you have these roads, pubs, cafes and people as part of the adventure, life is good my friends.

Thank you for reading the blog, hope that you enjoyed it.

All images taken with my Fujifilm X100F.

Roger Brooks.

Motorcycle Diaries: Part 2 - Camp Quality MotoCyc Charity Ride

A good friend of mine advised me a few months prior to the 2024 Camp Quality MotoCyc Charity Ride that he was participating in the event, and I immediately responded by donating to his charity account. Initially I was unavailable to participate, however a month or so later an opportunity presented itself and I committed to the event, thus began my own fundraising endeavour.

Camp Quality is an organisation designed to help kids who are affected by cancer. The organisation helps kids create positive memories that can change their cancer story.

Camp Quality do this by helping children and their families build optimism and resilience through community, education and fun. Camp Quality are there for kids dealing with a cancer diagnosis every step of the way: in hospital, at school, online, and away from it all at their camps and retreats.

Fundraising is of course crucial to the organisation, and one of the popular events that Camp Quality organises is MotoCyc, which is an annual three-day event that brings motorbike riders together to enjoy their love of bike riding within a community of like-minded people.

In 2024, the eighth annual MotoCyc event saw approximately seventy riders set off on a wet Friday morning in Heatherbrae, New South Wales just outside of Newcastle and head toward Armidale for day one of the event to spread the message and culture of Camp Quality.

Half of the group were road riders, the other half were off road riders and we each went our separate ways each day, only to meet up as one large group at each of the accommodation locations.

The road riders set off from Heatherbrae and traveled toward Raymond Terrace on our way to the first stop of the day, a fuel stop at Gloucester.

Exiting Gloucester we now moved toward the Great Dividing range which was to include a stop at Carsons Pioneer Lookout at Nowendoc, along the majestic Thunderbolts Way.

Time to move on and enjoy more of Thunderbolts Way, surely one of the greatest motorbike riding roads in New South Wales.

Thunderbolts Way is three hundred and five kilometres in total, is in the northern tablelands and links many great towns. On this day we would exit Thunderbolts Way at Topdale Road and head further inland toward Nundle, then eventually stopping for lunch just outside of Nundle.

Unfortunately upon arrival we saw that an old BMW bike had been placed on the trailer of the support vehicle, a victim of an electrical issue. The rider and pillion, Joel and Jillian were lovely people, whose company we thoroughly enjoyed on the Friday night during dinner.

There was one final fuel stop of the day before the final ninety-five kilometre leg toward Armidale, however due to the station only being able to allow one refuelling at a time, it ended up being quite a long break given that at least fifteen bikes required fuel, nevertheless it was a welcome break anyway.

We arrived into Armidale mid afternoon after enjoying a few hours of dry weather, which was welcomed after the testing conditions much earlier in the day.

The large group were spread across two separate motels, although they were not only across the road from one another, but both were right next door to the Armidale Bowling Club which was the venue for dinner that night, along with breakfast in the morning.

We rose early on day two to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise before packing up and heading across the road to the bowling club for breakfast and the day’s riding brief.

With all of the bikers, organisers and support crew fed, we left Armidale on day two of the event and headed toward Dorrigo, with our final destination of the day being Port Macquarie.

The route on this day is one that I have done many times, and it includes a fantastic run toward the town of Ebor, and then funneling into Dorrigo.

This region has many stunning waterfalls, and arguably the best is Dangar Falls just outside of the Dorrigo town centre.

Dangar Falls was the destination for morning tea on day two, offering a magnificent vantage point almost directly above the falls.

After morning tea at Dangar Falls we headed along the fantastic Waterfall Way which led down the mountain and into the very eclectic town of Bellingen, just outside of Coffs Harbour.

Waterfall Way is a favourite route for many bikers, with plenty of tight twists and turns, although it can be difficult to maintain concentration as you pass the various small waterfalls making their way down the mountainside and under the roadway.

As usual the Bellingen town centre was very busy, making for a slow run toward the highway where we would cut across and head through Urunga where we all stopped for fuel.

It was at this fuel stop that one bike actually fell into a bowser whilst filling up, and two helmets fell off bikes onto the hard ground.

The final leg of day two was a relatively short run from Urunga to Port Macquarie, seeing us stop at the beautiful town of Macksville for lunch.

A huge array of sandwiches and cakes were provided as we sat beside the river overlooking the old bridge and main town centre on the opposite side.

It was now that we headed toward Port Macquarie where we would spend the night before heading home on the Sunday morning.

The dinner at the pub behind our motel was fantastic, topped off by an auction conducted by the event organisers which helped to raise a huge amount of funds on the night, this was a truly humbling and rewarding experience to witness how people can come together and throw their support behind this cause and event.

We awoke on the Sunday morning and had breakfast onsite, and not too long after we were off on our way toward Taree for morning tea by the river.

With morning tea done, it was time to head toward Buladelah for lunch, where again a feast of sandwiches and cakes were provided.

The day and event was to culminate back at the starting point in Heatherbrae, however for personal reasons myself and a friend had to depart before the riding group from Buladelah, meaning that we missed out on the debrief and celebrations, oh well, perhaps next year.

I will say that this was one of the most rewarding events that I have participated in. Helping to raise funds for such a wonderful cause is the least that I can do, and I am in awe of the hard work and dedication that all of the event organisers and support crew put in, to see first hand how the event is co-ordinated and managed is astonishing, yet it goes ahead so seamlessly.

All in all over two hundred and fifty five thousand dollars was raised, what an extraordinary achievement, congratulations to all involved, and I very much look forward to participating again in 2025.

Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that if you are a rider you will consider joining us next year.

Roger Brooks.

An afternoon at the Newcastle Breakwater with the Fujifilm X100F

Sunday, March 10, 2024 and the temperature soared above thirty degrees celsius in Newcastle, north of Sydney and the Central Coast in New South Wales, Australia.

My wife and I decided to jump in the car and head north for a visit to the Newcastle foreshore and also some lunch.

To be honest, on the journey we weren’t sure exactly where we would walk once we arrived in the area, however as we approached Nobbys Beach I realised that despite being here many times over the years, we have never ventured into the area where the lighthouse and breakwater were situated, at the very northern end of Nobbys Beach.

Nobbys Beach is Newcastle’s highest profile beach and a favourite swimming spot for both locals and visitors alike. It is also very well regarded by surfers.

As well as a public recreation area where you can barbecue or purchase fish and chips, there is also a pathway which leads to the Newcastle Breakwater after you pass beneath the iconic Nobbys lighthouse.

From the breakwater there are fantastic views looking back toward the lighthouse and beach, the dog friendly cove on the western side of the breakwater, active fishing boats and to our surprise on the day, a pod of beautiful dolphins.

There were many people that decided to take a look along the breakwater, also a handful on bicycles, and one keen fisherman.

The heat was pretty intense, and the decision not to bring along headwear with more protection than a trucker hat, and no sunscreen proved to be a huge mistake.

Despite the heat there was the odd respite with a nice ocean breeze which was welcomed, albeit too brief.

For shooting, today I chose to take along only the Fujifilm X100F, mainly to minimise the gear I would need to hold. There were the odd compositions here and there where I would have preferred to have a longer lens, however I also like the way that a 35mm lens allows scenes to breathe when you’re not in a street environment.

When you have a 35mm lens and you’re in an open landscape like this you have no choice other than to incorporate a lot into the scene, and then try and direct the viewer’s eye toward a point, or points of interest.

You have to pay attention though. For example, you cannot shoot out toward the ocean if there are no definitive points of interest, that’s where the viewer can become lost and disorientated.

I always try to create pathways for the eye to follow, to identify points within a scene where at times they are obvious, and other times they are a surprise to the viewer.

So there you go, a very warm day at Newcastle Breakwater with the Fujifilm X100F.

I hope that you enjoyed reading the blog, and I also hope that you enjoy the images.

Roger Brooks.

Motorcycle Diaries: Part 1

Often when I’m riding my motorcycle with my wife I find myself thinking that I should bring along one of my cameras to document the day, and maybe even begin to create blogs showcasing aspects of the day’s adventure… enter my first motorcycle blog.

Now, of course I could always document the day with the help of images taken with my iPhone, however when you’re a photographer and there’s a Fuijifilm X100F in the stable, well, you get the idea.

On this warmish Sunday we left our house on the Central Coast of New South Wales in Australia and headed for Broke which is a beautiful little town situated in the wine region known as the Hunter Valley.

There are a few routes that you can take to arrive at Broke from our house, and usually we would ride through to Wollombi and then onto Broke, however on this day we took the long way around and went through Cessnock, then Lovedale and then down Broke Road.

This part of New South Wales is full of fantastic bike roads with rolling hills, mountains, wineries and plenty of livestock to gaze at. There is also an abundance of great places to eat making for a very enjoyable day out.

We have stopped and eaten at many places in this region, however today we decided to head for a cafe called Magoony’s Coffee House, which was originally a service station.

As you leave Cessnock and head toward Broke you bypass Lovedale and then turn left onto Broke Road and into the town of Pokolbin.

Pokolbin houses many of the famous Australian wine makers and on weekends the carparks are full of visitors. You will always be able to enjoy great wines and a great feed in this area, and that includes a few dessert cafes.

After you pass the wine makers the speed limit increases and the road becomes a little windy in places, which gets the heart racing when you’re on a bike. Eventually Broke Road becomes Cessnock Road and before you know it you’ve reached the bottom and have arrived at Broke.

We parked the bikes outside the Magoony’s Coffee house and immediately felt a sense of calm. There were plenty of visitors there, yet the quietness of the landscape was overwhelming.

We enjoyed a traditional meat pie and coffee and took in the surroundings… no rush, just recharge the batteries.

Broke in New South Wales is within three hours of our house, making for a practical riding distance. We often ride plenty of kilometres, however when you get the chance to enjoy a beautiful experience like this and not too far from home, well that is pretty special.

On the way back we decided to stop in at the Wollombi Tavern for a beer, and today my choice was a schooner of Tooheys Old… bloody beautiful.

It is a special day whenever I get to combine two of my favourite past times, photography and motorbike riding.

I hope that you have enjoyed my first motorcycle blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images below.

Roger Brooks.

An evening in Melbourne with my Fujifilm X-H2

February 6, 2024 and I have just completed day one of a four day business trip in Melbourne.

Being summer I knew that by taking one of my cameras on this trip it would mean that I would have at least one chance to go out into the late afternoon/evening after the day’s work and walk around the city to see what pictures I could see, so I left my Docklands motel and headed in.

It was a very pleasant day in Melbourne… not too hot, not too cold.

I made my way around the water and up over the train line toward Spencer Street, before turning right into Spencer and then heading toward Flinders Street.

The streets were full of people who were just finishing their work day and heading for public transport, some into grocery stores etc, some already dining.

For street photography Melbourne rarely disappoints. There is always movement here, always something to see and shoot, you just have to be on watch all the time and you’ll find it.

Once you reach Flinders Street you now have more trains and trams coming into the scene, along with pedestrians either travelling beneath the train line toward South Melbourne, or heading back up Spencer Street to catch a train from Southern Cross Station which is majestic.

I began walking along Flinders Street toward Flinders Street Station, the late afternoon/evening sun now low in the sky and providing a beautiful glow across the urban landscape.

I love scenes like those where you can find beautiful pockets of golden light sprinkled through the city and contrasting against the shadows.

Once I reached the station I turned left onto Swanston Street and began making my way up through the maze of people, eventually threading my way to Bourke Street and beyond, then back toward Chinatown.

Even as the clock moved toward 8 and 9pm the streets didn’t seem to slow down, and this was a Tuesday night.

People interspersing with trams, bicycles and cars, the lights of Chinatown, the many Asian restaurants filled with diners… Melbourne has a soul.

I stopped in at Beast City which is a burger chain, with Melbourne’s one on the corner of Swanston and Little Bourke Streets and enjoyed one of the finest chicken burgers I’ve ever had, and the chips, bloody awesome too!

While I was eating I was noticing through the window that the people walking by and the cars moving along Little Bourke Street were partially blocked by the neon burger sign in the window, and I instantly thought that it might make for some great long exposure shots, introducing blur and saturated colour to the images… I’m happy with the way that they turned out.

I am beginning to force myself to experiment more whilst being out with a camera in the street, gotta mix it up more.

Well, it was getting late and I had three more full days of work in front of me so I headed back toward Docklands. On my way back I happened upon some more interesting scenes to shoot, including road workers incorporating tram movement and the beautiful magenta and blue glow around the Bolte Bridge which I captured by using a 40 second exposure with the camera sitting on my gorilla pod… glad I brought the pod with me to Melbourne.

Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images.

Roger Brooks.

Down by the Hawkesbury River for lunch with the Fujifilm X100f

It is Boxing Day in New South Wales, Australia, and on the Central Coast a large storm cell has blown in and thwarted any consideration for my wife and I to ride our motorbikes today.

Despite the bad weather we decided that we needed to escape the house and get some fresh air, therefore we jumped into the car to head off somewhere, anywhere, with no particular destination in mind.

Thankfully, I decided to take a camera just in case we had an opportunity to take some interesting photographs, particularly with the storm activity present.

Not long into the drive the rain began and became very hard, and although that can often provide great photographic opportunities, it wasn’t conducive to getting out of the car to take them, and especially given that my camera of choice on this day was my Fujifilm X100f which is not weather sealed.

We saw that toward the west the sky looked relatively clear, despite the easterly direction looking grey and forboding, so we decided to drive toward the west.

As we headed down the M1 motorway we quickly noticed a lot of holiday traffic heading north in the opposite direction, and we quickly decided that we did not want to be part of that on the way back by traveling too much further, so it was decided that we would pull into Brooklyn by the Hawkesbury River for some lunch, and hopefully photographs.

The weather was the complete opposite of what we saw on the way down. Here it was clear and warm, and a perfect day for a short stroll, fish and chips for lunch and to take some photographs.

It had been a while since I used my Fujifilm X100f, and I have to say that it was quite liberating. On this day I used my wrist strap, again something that I haven’t used for some time, and it really did feel like I was able to shoot faster with this setup.

My wife and I walked along part of the marina to see the various fishing vessels, which is right alongside the train line and Hawkesbury River Station.

This train line provides a magnificent journey from the Central Coast to Berowra, and then eventually down into Sydney. It can be a long one if you’re stopping at each stop, however it is well worth it. I recommend looking for the fast service through there.

The marina, train line and station, plus the abandoned wharf made for a lovely walk and some interesting photographs.

Oh, and the fish and chips for lunch was sensational.

If you’re a photographer and you’re stuck for motivation, or you’re simply searching for something interesting to do and shoot, with little fuss, I can highly recommend short excursions such as this one.

Thank you for reading the blog, it is very much appreciated.

Hope you enjoy the images.

Saturday arvo in Darling Harbour and Barangaroo

I have walked the streets of the Sydney CBD many times with a camera, however seldom have I wandered west down to the Darling Harbour and Barangaroo precincts, and this beautiful spring day in Sydney was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

After a ninety minute drive down from the Central Coast my wife and I settled into a carpark and were shortly onto the Pyrmont Bridge and into the Darling Harbour precinct.

The Pyrmont Bridge is a heritage listed swing bridge spanning across Cockle Bay, and was opened in 1902. The bridge initially carried motor vehicle traffic, however since 1981 it only carries pedestrians and bicycles.

During mid to late afternoon on the bridge there tends to be less people, however well below on the wharves it is the complete opposite, particularly during spring and summer when a real party atmosphere is evident.

At this time of year the bars and restaurants are pumping, and most of the large passenger vessels are full of people itching to get out onto the stunning Sydney Harbour and let their hair down.

We wandered back and forth along the wharves, studying people as they went about their business. Whilst there were many families out and about, the area was dominated by party goers in their best outfits, and almost always with an alcoholic beverage in hand, raucous laughter and smiles all round.

The Darling Harbour precinct itself was once not only an iconic food and beverage destination, but also a shopping Mecca with a large shopping precinct on the western side. This shopping centre was demolished in recent years and a brand new one is currently under construction, which will once again bring more people into the precinct.

The low sun made for some spectacularly bright glow, which can be both a positive and negative for photographers, depending upon your shooting style and editing techniques. For me, I enjoy using fast shutter speeds in environments such as these, and the option to balance light and shadow with deep contrast in many images. There are of course many times where softer light is the preferred option for photographers, although you tend to have to work harder for contrast on those days.

I will say that I am really enjoying my new hybrid setup with the Fujifilm X-H2.

The ability to quickly switch from stills to video with the one device is a game changer for me, and the main reason why I switched from my Fujifilm X100f, not withstanding the fact that the X100f does not do 4K anyway, which is my preferred resolution for video.

Stay tuned for an episode on my YouTube channel about my camera choices… and on that subject, please feel free to check out my episodes via the YouTube link on this website.

Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images.

Roger Brooks.

An early evening in Melbourne

During spring in November of 2023 I travelled down to Melbourne from New South Wales for a three day business trip.

I anticipated that there might be a window of opportunity one afternoon/evening to wander around the city and shoot, therefore I decided to bring along one of my Fujifilm cameras just in case, I chose the X-H2.

The late afternoon that I arrived in the city was on the back of a very warm Melbourne day, and the low setting sun added a warm, yet beautiful glow to the streetscapes.

All too often we move around in busy places completely oblivious to how we appear to others, which makes for fascinating footage and images because you are capturing people in their regular environments and in completely candid circumstances.

For me, I love the hustle and bustle of a very busy large city such as Melbourne. People, trams, cars, motorbikes and trains all moving back and forth in controlled chaos, all susceptible to the seemingly elusive photographer who can become immersed in scenes, creating a visual journal if you will.

If you are brazen enough and fully immersed you will inevitably earn the ire of some people, however I tend to focus elsewhere if I identify that and move on quickly, after all, I’m not breaking the law.

I must say that for the most part people tend to be too busy to worry about whether their photo is being taken, hopefully that is a sign that they readily acknowledge that they themselves take thousands of photos with their phones, and often in public places where there are usually strangers in the shot anyway.

I walked around parts of the city for three hours, focusing on some key areas which are known to be very busy and ones that can provide many great visual opportunities. You see, I lived in Melbourne between November of 2010 and April of 2017 and became very familiar with the city streets, in fact I still very much miss this beautiful and fascinating city.

By the time I made my way back around to Flinders Street Station I was spent, especially after working all day, time to head back to my accommodation and take a look through the images and footage.

Thank you, Melbourne for another fascinating insight into the daily lives of your inhabitants, I’ve missed it greatly.

I hope you enjoy the images, and please feel free to check out the short film that I made from the walk in the YouTube section on this website.

Thank you.

Roger Brooks.

An evening in Newtown...

Newtown is a very eclectic inner west suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, just a quick hop away from the Sydney CBD.

I’ve been to Newtown on thousands of occasions, whether it be to shoot gigs at the famous Enmore Theatre or dine at one of the many fine restaurants and cafes, however I’ve never wandered the streets with a camera and people watched.

This was my first outing with my new Fujifilm X-H2 camera, and whilst I usually have the Fujinon 23mm f2 attached, tonight I was armed with the Fujinon 16-55 f2.8 lens to help give me a wider perspective.

It was a warm spring evening in Sydney as I ventured into the famous main street of Newtown, King Street.

I met up with a close friend and fellow photographic enthusiast, Matthew Slager, whose photographic skills are improving rapidly. Matt is studying the photographic art form, although usually when he is in Newtown it is as a professional musician, not a photographer.

There is never a shortage of photographic and artistic video content here in Newtown. Newtown is a place where you will find graffiti and street art, wonderful restaurants, theatre, live music etc, it has it all.

There was still plenty of daylight available when we arrived, and we chose to wander to the northern end of King Street to stretch the legs and warm up.

Though the traffic was hectic, it was still too early for a huge people stampede as we marched toward the Enmore end of King Street. The window of daylight gave us opportunities to shoot people entering and departing the precinct with a setting western sun behind them, and the odd plane arriving into Sydney also added to the story backdrop.

As dusk began to take place, suddenly the lights took effect and different opportunities presented themselves.

We now had street lights, car and bus lights, retail shop and restaurant lights, all set before a magnificent magenta sunset.

Enter the darker part of the evening and now there were considerably more people and vehicles, making for candid images or b-roll of people moving about, almost always completely unaware of the cameras near them.

People, vehicles, lights, action!

My new Fujifilm X-H2 is perfect for hybrid shooting. A couple of buttons and it changes quickly from photo to video and vice-versa. It is such a wonderful machine to work with, so light and functional, and the image and video quality is outstanding.

After a couple of hours Matt needed to head home, so I bid farewell, thanked him for the companionship and continued to walk around a little more on my own.

This gave me the opportunity to head back to my car, grab my tripod and do some time lapse of vehicles moving along King Street - this was always the plan, however I didn’t want to lug the tripod up and down King Street for a few hours.

Well, my legs and back were now too sore to continue, and I had a tonne of content to work with, so I headed back to the car to begin the drive home.

I have scratched the Newtown photographic itch, although I’m quite sure that one day I’ll return, perhaps later in the night when it is even busier than when we we there.

Thanks for taking the time to read the blog, hope you enjoy the images and the YouTube short film in the YouTube tab on my website.

Roger Brooks.

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The morning ritual of ocean bath swimming...

I could imagine that there would be no more senses awakening actions than early morning ocean swims, particularly in winter.

On this cold July morning in Australia I decided to take a one hour drive north from my place to the Merewether Ocean Baths in the Newcastle region of New South Wales, and observe the locals going through the motions of their morning ritual, which is swimming in the ocean baths and I’m told this particular ocean baths is the largest of its kind in Australia.

To be honest, on the night before I was contemplating whether there would be any swimmers there given the time of year, however I was pleasantly surprised that not only were there swimmers, but plenty in fact.

I was suitably dressed for winter filming and taking pictures in long pants and several top layers combined with a beanie, but then I wasn’t the one getting wet.

It was dawn when I arrived and there were already several swimmers in the water, whilst others steadily arrived thereafter and proceeded to prepare themselves for the plunge.

Many of them wore wetsuits, whilst others were braver and chose more traditional swimwear.

Back and forth, back and forth, lap after lap, many performing traditional swim styles, whilst others appeared to be performing some type of designated hydrotherapy.

As I watched the people arrive and begin preparing to enter the water, I identified that this really is a ritual for them, very purposeful. There is a process involving how they prepare themselves, it is measured and definitely not rushed… there is reason.

The laps in the water tend to be like clock work. There is a defined mindset here, one that is focused on achieving a goal. The goal may be a certain number of laps, it could be to stretch muscles with weightlessness, or it could simply be almost transcendental to achieve mindfulness, just by being out there.

Then again, it could be all of the above.

I observed the swimmers as they exited the water and I could sense that their day had begun as it should, by exercising both the mind and body, to experience a short period of time in our often hectic lives where time almost stands still and you cannot be distracted by anything.

One cannot control distractions nor stop them from occurring, however one can provide a calming platform to enable us to stand a better chance of managing whatever life throws at us.

I could not think of a better daily platform than swimming in ocean water early in the morning and getting ready to embrace the day.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for checking out the images.

Roger Brooks.

#fujifilm

#fujifilmx100f

#x100f

#fujix100f

#oceanswim

#shortfilm

A beautiful, sunny winter's day in Sydney...

The beginning of July, 2023, and its a beautiful and sunny day in Sydney, what a great opportunity to leave my home on the Central Coast with my Fujifilm X100f camera and head down for a day of walking around the beautiful central business district and Circular Quay and capturing the vibe and essence of it by day.

For some time now I have been largely focused on creating motorbike content for YouTube with my wife, which you can view on the Harley Throttle Juice channel. Whilst there has been the odd opportunity here and there to take pictures for that channel, it has been a while since I did any type of serious shooting with any of my cameras.

Also, recently I have been struggling with my mental health and have identified that I have been overwhelmed by many aspects of my life, so much so that for the first time in my life I have begun therapy sessions in an attempt to find some more balance in my mind.

As far as my creative outlets are concerned I have decided that I need a change to re-energise myself, and to rid myself of funk and find some lost passion again.

This was the perfect reason for today’s photo walk. A beautiful day, my favourite camera, plenty of photographic subjects about and a sense of melancholy which to me enhanced my ability to breathe and stay relaxed.

The streets were much busier than when I visited the Sydney CBD last with a camera, which made for a fascinating array of interesting people and fashion. My previous visits over the past few years were dramatically affected by COVID, and whilst you can still find images in quieter streets, its not the same as when the streets are buzzing.

I also believe that the re-introduction of trams into the Sydney CBD has given the locations a real busy vibe, much the same as Melbourne with plenty of colour and sound being added to the environment.

I love wandering around with minimal camera gear, just my Fujifilm X100f and a GoPro attached to a GorillaPod for some film b-roll.

The ability to grab the camera quickly and react to photo opportunities is exhilarating, as long as you are very familiar with your gear and have it set up to react in any conditions.

The weather on this day allowed me to shoot between 1/500 and 1/1000, IS0400 and apertures between F8 and F16.

Well, after several hours, some egg tarts from Breadtop and approximately 15 kilometres of walking according to my iPhone, I headed back to my car in readiness for the long drive back home.

I have to say that I am very happy with many of the images, but even more so I’m happy that I experienced such a positive and fulfilling day with plenty of exercise and some good mind control.

I cannot recommend this method highly enough to any creatives… its good for the soul.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for checking out the images.

Roger Brooks.

#fujifilm

#fujifilmx100f

#x100f

#fujix100f

#sydneyaustralia

#shortfilm

#urbanshortfilm