9.85 Giga pixels anyone?

A group of clever Italians have captured a fresco at a measly 9.85 GIGA PIXLES.....

What is that I hear you saying?
"Hey moron, there is no camera that exists to day with a sensor containing 9.85 BILLION PIXELS! What crack are you smoking?"
And you would be correct. However this didn't stop them taking a regular 12MP camera, and then taking a bunch of individual frames and stitching them together. (and by a bunch i mean 1188 frames)

check it out, it's all in Italian so if you can't read Italian, well you get the idea, as they say pictures speak louder then words, and pictures that have billions of pixels in them speak even louder.

I am looking forward to the day when i can get a camera with 10 billon pixels. What would i do with it? I have no idea, but it would still be awesome.

Glamarama

Social engineers behind the Veuve Cliquot Ball got the mix right: Sun, sand and a good mix of seasoned partygoers and pretty-young-things created a buzzing party on Tamarama Beach set to coincide with the opening of the annual Sculptures by the Sea .

The heady atmosphere was confined mainly within the linen tent, as guests barely managed more than a cursory glance at the sculptures ….. the most interesting artifacts on display were the gorgeous attendees. Taking advantage of the perfect conditions to flaunt their own thoroughly sculptured and spray-tanned bodies, their orange coloured Veuve Cliquot thongs juxtaposed beautifully against the white linen garments. It was indeed ‘Glamarama’.

Similarly, the beach volleyball courts erected nearby didn’t see much action either, as guests put greater effort into scurrying around inside the tent and catching up with familiar faces whenever they were spotted.

Two of the most eye-catching guests managed to catch each other's eye, and astute observers may have caught a glimpse of well known models Buck Palmer and Cheyenne Tozzi, engaging in a game of footsy with each other. As one does!

Many other guests shared said models' fun attitude throughout the evening as many orange labeled bottles were emptied. People were happy to sip from the most exquisitely designed plastic champagne glasses - knowing they were at least imbibing the real stuff. Indeed, such was the shared ebullience of the guests that a full busload of people moved on to nearby Bondi Icebergs to continue the merry making.

Of course, I wouldn’t know what happened here, having already overstayed my welcome by a few hours.

Definitely Photoshopped

I don't know who did this but it's awesome and now I have a new hobby!

All credit to the funny individual who made it up.

World Catholic (Youth???) Day

A friend of mine adequately summed up my feelings with regard this event: He explained to me how he was to meet the Pope at a mass in a church in Darlinghurst - where disadvantaged youth he looks after would be presented to the Pope, and how everyone was very excited and really nervous.

"I don’t know what they are going on about,” he said, deadpan … “it is not like its David Beckham.”

Strange thing to say, I thought at the time, but this probably encapsulates how our country generally feels about this event. Perhaps, also, he represented the collective feelings of all non-Catholics - amazed by the audacity of the Catholic Church in naming its own event in a manner that suggests they represent all people of the world - when in fact Catholics make up less than a third of the worlds population. And of this number, less than ten percent are practising Catholics.

It was Karl Marx who said that ‘religion lies at the heart of a heartless world’. This generally applies to a country like Australia, with its mostly apathetic attitude toward organized religion. However, for the half a million pilgrims who descended on the city during world youth week, it was anything but! The goodwill and wide-eyed enthusiasm evidenced by the pilgrims all week was palpable: dancing in the streets, mass sing-alongs and constant chanting of all things related to Jesus, God and Pope Benedict were common scenes everywhere.

Local residents' reactions to such activity, however, varied greatly.

Politicians and public dignitaries seemed to bask in the extra attention. So effusive was their praise for Pope Benedict and his messages of peace and hope for the world that one wondered what had come over such otherwise dull and dreary characters. Small business owners, restauranteurs and cab drivers all bemoaned the unwillingness of the pilgrims to part with any of their own money. Inner city residents were also critical of the inconvenience caused to them by all the road closures. The Gay and Lesbian community was similarly unenthused by World Youth Week, staging a mass kiss-athon between same sex persons as a means of expressing their oppostion to, well, just about everything the Catholic Church stands for.

And the parents of a girl who was sexually abused by a catholic priest, and later committed suicide, were also gaining some media attention as they tried to obtain an audience with the pope to express their very personal dismay with how the Catholic Church had treated them.

So who is right and who is wrong? Does it really matter?

It was the renowned 17th century social theorist, John Stuart Mill, who stated: ‘persons should be free to do whatever they so choose so long as it does not cause harm to others.' The idea came from his famous essay ‘On Liberty’ and has been the mantra practised by libertarians for centuries. Conversely, this mantra should also serve as a reminder to these same libertarians that freedom to do whatever one chooses does not extend to 'the freedom' to mock and criticize those who do not share their views.

For people of either persuasion, once you start hurling insults and cruel barbs and judgements, your argument is lost. Insults and hard and fast judgements, whether they be from Pope Benedict, Cardinal George Pell or some lesbian on Oxford street, do cause harm to others and are therefore wrong. John Stuart Mill's ideas on this matter seem simple and straightforward; nevertheless they are something that many (including world and religious leaders and regular citizens alike) are dismissive of.

'All you need is love,' opined The Beatles. If only it were that simple!

For the record, my role in the charade was small - a couple of events - the papal motorcade and stations 4, 5 and 6 of the Stations of the Cross. Pictures enclosed.

WWE Smackdown

With interest rates taking a sharp turn north, chat amongst the mortgage belt set regarding buying at the bottom of the j curve, accrued equity and other inanities have been kept to an all time low. At just the right time, a new deity has crept into town and its constituents came out in force in a mass show of faith.

Of course, I am talking about the WWE Smackdown which was held at the Acer Arena on Sunday, June 15. You may almost have believed you had been transported to old testament times - with scenes depicting the idol worship practised by King Solomon(1 King 11:5-8) - such was the reverence which 30,000 of Greater Sydney’s finest proudly displayed for current deities with the unlikely names of Batista, The Great Khali, The Edge and MVP.

The regular methods for religious observance were adhered to, ie: constant chanting of the name of their god or chants denouncing their specific devil; gold replica belts representing the glory of ‘God’; a very specific uniform pledging allegiance; and an uncanny ability to mimic the actions of their leader.

Amazingly, all such actions were played out in perfect synchronicity, thus showing that the finely tuned choreography was not just confined to the action within the ring.

All in all, I was witness to about ten ‘bouts’or performances. I confess I have no idea who won any of them, even the feature bout between Batista and The Edge ( I did leave half way through this bout in an effort to beat the crowd and get out of the car park without too much fuss). For me it mattered not - the most fascinating action was outside the ring and for a keen observer of human nature - this was worth the price of admission alone.

Post by Don Arnold

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Wet, grumpy and bleary eyed at having to drive through peak hour traffic in pouring rain to make the appointed 8am media call at the Southee Complex, Olympic Park in Homebush, my disposition was not improved when I was subjected to a mandatory pat down by a police officer with a sniffer dog by his side.- this was a scene that would be repeated in a few days when I would be trying to gain entrance to a long weekend dance party, I thought to myself. The difference, however, was that such measures were put in place to protect his Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama who was speaking to the assembled media on one of his favourite topics-the principles of meditation.

Despite the weather and traffic conspiring against me, I had fulfilled my end of the bargain: I had managed to get to the venue on time. Where was the bloody Dali Lama? Another 20 minutes had elapsed - and still no sign of him!

It was at this point that the representative from a PR firm announced to the media pack: “His Holiness is on his way and won’t be too long,” prompting a colleague to turn to me and ask, “Are you hoping to gain enlightenment from today Don?”

I replied off-handedly that I had experienced all the enlightenment I would ever need when I finalised my divorce twelve months ago. Whilst my glib, off-hand remarks got a bit of a giggle from colleagues (mostly male) in my immediate vicinity, it did get me thinking: Am I really this cynical? My immediate answer was a resounding yes, but I forced myself into a more rigorous internal debate.

Having some Buddhist friends, I am well versed in the rhetoric of his Holiness; indeed, I agree wholeheartedly with many of his ramblings, particularly those centred around the search for truth and compassion, the need for more religious tolerance, the virtues of motherhood and his calls for Tibetan autonomy - issues he touched on whilst standing two metres right in front of me.

My cynicism, moreover, did not involve what he was saying; the issue was rather whether I - your typical inner city living, vain, pretentious, materialistic guy of 35 years - could take something from these teachings and become a better person. Of course not, and I severely doubt whether anybody else in the room could either. Sure, he made us all feel good - in the same way those freaks that lob to Anthony Robbins type seminars hold hands, tell each other they can feel the energy, and thus buy ‘temporary enlightenment’ - are able to feel good.

However, the heart of the Dalai’s mantra revolves around putting away our materialistic instincts, in adopting a ‘being’ mode as apposed to ‘having’ mode. Indeed, he is not the only person who proposed such a theory: Erich Fromm, in his well regarded critique on modern man ‘To Have or to Be’ spruiks a very similar mantra.

The irony with all these guys - Erich, Dalai Lama et al saying similar stuff – is that they are all well regarded, revered and honoured as wise and great men. But society as a whole chooses to merely put them on a pedestal, rather than live their lives according to what they preach, or take from them those values that just legitimize their pre-existing lifestyle. Such is the human condition!

For my part, I was just happy that his holiness is well rehearsed in the art of holding a pose - something that many of Sydney’s current A-List could learn something from.

Post by Don 13th of June 2008

The new Canon 1Ds Mark III

In true camera nerd style, I thought I would jot down my first impressions of our new Canon.

It was with great anticipation that our new Canon 1ds finally arrived this week. After working with the 1ds mark II (a fantastic camera), we were eager to see just what the upgrade to Canon's flagship could bring.

The main and obvious advantage for this camera was the 

upgrade from the 16.7mp sensor to a whopping 

22mp, which in layman's terms 

means you can blow stuff up really, really big. 

The camera feels a little different in your hand, but still maintains that familiar well balanced 1Ds feel that one becomes accustomed to after shooting with 1's for some time. Now a little lighter with the addition of the Lithium Ion battery, nice to see canon finally doing away with the older battery technology. The button layout has changed around a bit with the new 3" screen squishing the buttons off left hand side, but to be honest it actually seems more logical and better laid out then the original. 

I took the new camera out for a test run while I was visiting canberra this weekend, using our new 85mm 1.2L lens I snapped a couple of my kids in the freezing winter fun by the shores of lake Burly Griffin.

The Camera is remarkable, with the the noise (grain) at high iso very low, and colour representation (even in auto) superb. These pictures shown,  are straight out of the camera with no processing. Although it's not the fastest camera that Canon make, the 1D mark III holds that title, I had no problems capturing my fast and erratically moving children. This camera is best suited to studio work.

The only down side (if you can call it that) is that I am going to have to invest in a bigger hard drive with a raw file being anywhere between 22 and 30 MB per picture!

BATISTA

My sardonic smile barely registered on my upturned lips, yet was written all over my pale blue eyes.
“Here we go again” I said to myself, as Jeff Fenech and his colourful entourage entered the hotel lobby.
Before we go on, it need be said, that Jeff was an outright champion in a very tough sport, but I have always struggled for conversation when our paths have crossed. On top of this, I was given a very small window to shoot Dave Batista , and time was at a premium.

For the uninitiated, Dave Batista, or simply Batista as he is known to his legion of mostly American fans, is a WWF Wrestler ( I do not know what WWF stands for I confess-World Wrestling Federation I suppose), and he is at the top of this very lucrative game. Long gone are the likes of Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan – Batista is the current king, and everyone wants a piece of him. Hence, my limited time with this huge and popular figure.

Jeff and Batista posed for a few pics together, and then became engrossed in a lengthy discussion on the current Rudd governments use of fiscal policy (just joking) - I was out of earshot and more concerned with the fast disappearing cumuli nimbus clouds – when I intonated that we should make use of this ‘beautiful light’, Jeff turned around and gave me a blank nod, one that suggested beautiful light was of no concern to him.

When the exchange of formalities had finished between these two, I was able to take Batista to a grassed area on top of the Park Hyatt- where a 360 degree sweep would include the opera house, the Sydney cbd and the Harbour bridge. Batista is an enormous man, a very impressive physical specimen-6 foot 5 and 130 kgs of sinewy, hugely striated muscle. Secretly, my initial plans to challenge him in an arm wrestle were blown out the window. If pecs are your thing, and I really hope they are, Batista is a god. In fact, his pectoralis major makes Anna Nicole Smith look like a skinny twelve year old. An easy going and compliant figure in person, Batista initially acquiesced to my demands to take of his singlet off, but was stopped from doing so by his minder. A shame, but the shoot went on and his perfectly sculptured body was appropriately captured against a myriad of iconic Sydney landmarks. I hope you like the photos and we will re-visit this blog as we cover the WWF bout featuring Batista at Acer Arena in Sydney on June 15.

Post by Don Arnold

Leo Sayer's 60th

A short curly haired dude celebrated his 6oth birthday and Smartset was on hand to capture all the fun as official photographers. And when that dude is Leo Sayer, fun is the operative word, as is sexy, sophisticated, stylish and sassy. Long time friends Jono Coleman, Barry Crocker , Jack Thompson and Ross Wilson mingled with sexy twenty and thirty somethings at Justin Hemmes new baby The Ivy in George Street Sydney on May 26 in a bash that would have satisfied the most bleary eyed 70’s rockers.

Posh Belgian beers, fancy champagne and an array of canapés were dished up in abundance, but the most delicious course was definitely the amazing array of sexy outfits worn by the female guests displaying plenty of square inches of thoroughly tanned flesh- admittedly, not surprising when well known Sydney celebs Bessie Bardot, Michelle Walsh and Kelly Smythe are amongst the well wishers. Of course, seasoned party goers such as Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Paula Duncan also displayed their usual sartorial elegance- as well as a level of stamina that many half their age would be envious of.

The star of the show, however, was Leo- his lust for life, generosity of spirit and boundless energy is not a secret, but one could not resist a smirk of admiration as he was able to work the room from beginning to end, his ebulliance at being able to catch up with old friends was matched only by his generosity when meeting obvious star seeking blow ins he had never met. Even my constant demands for poncy set up shots were met by a warm smile and ‘sure no problem’.

Other highlights of the night included a touching speech by Jono Coleman, which recounted their times together in London, and Leo’s lamentable efforts when blowing out the candles on his elaborately decorated birthday cake- the end result being the cake ending up splat on the floor. Of course, Leo took it all in his stride.

Check out the full gallery of photos here

Post written by Don Arnold

Smart Set Photography

Welcome to the new smartset blog!

Here we will post any information we come across that is relevant in the world of photography. 

We will post behind the scenes of photo shoots.

We will post random and possibly useless information that we think is funny at the time.

Feed back and comments welcome!