Fort Denison Photo

Photographer’s Note

Fort Denison is a very small island in the Sydney Harbour. When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788, it was named Rock Island. At that time it was a 15 meter high chunk of rock. A convict was sentenced to serve a week on bread and water on the island that same year. With this, it came to be known as Pinchgut Island.

It was quarried for rock, and continued to be used as a penal site for the more difficult convicts serving in Australia. In 1796 a gibbet was erected and put in use.

In 1839, two American ships entered the harbour and circled the island. This raised some alarm within the colony and with its strategic location within the harbour it was decided to use this small island for defense. Following several delays a small fort was completed in 1857. When complete it featured the Martello Tower seen here, with a ten inch gun on the roof of the tower. The tower held quarters for a garrison of twenty-four soldiers and one officer. In total there were two ten inch guns, and 12 eight inch.

None of the guns was ever used in battle. In 1913 the lighthouse beacon seen on the tower, replaced the 10 inch gun. Only three of the original guns remain. These were placed prior to construction of the walls, and couldn’t be removed.

Today Fort Denison is a museum and tourist attraction. It has become popular as a location for wedding receptions and corporate events.

Much of this from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Denison

For this shot I was on the ferry returning from Manly, and had hoped to get a shot of Fort Denison, with the Opera House and the CBD in the background. When I saw the sailboat, I just waited until the three were in a line to take the shot. It was overcast, but it was later in the afternoon with good sun on the Opera House, the right side of the Fort Denison tower and the sailboat.

Workflow was as follows:
Shot taken in Raw with JPG reference – (ISO 200 82mm @f8.0, 1/1000)
NEF files adjusted for exposure, shadow, vignetting, brightness and contrast
Levels – clipped white and black points (8 & 247)
Curves – S-curve for contrast
Added saturation layer +30 to master
Saved as a tiff
Cropped, resized, selected on sky and inversed the selection, added a layer for sharpening with USM, modified sharpening with a layer mask (70% opacity black brush), framed and saved as a jpeg

Floydian, alftrek, chpp, skippy007, jusninasirun, pierrefonds, angela926, wishlist, MLINES, ls7902, Benedict, Waylim has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Floydian (30970) 2008-04-15 0:37

Hi John,
Although the scene and view is classic on the Opera House, it's the colour setting which i like. The toning looks almost duotone in a very warm setting, something that fits the picture well...very nice.
Regards, Henk

alftrek (2979) 2008-04-15 0:51

Hi John,

Your quick decision to wait for the boat is certainly worthwhile. I can imagine how this shot will look without the boat. But you are not so lucky with the fort blocking part of the opera house. I can understand this is not within your control with the ferry coming from that direction.

The burst of sunlight highlighting the opera house is really great. It is if there is a spotlight shining on it from above.

TFS

Regards
Alfred

kschanna (6) 2008-04-15 5:17

Hello John,

I really like the composition. The deep dark gloomy look of the picture is superb, a lot of character. The detail in the water and the buildings is superb

Well done.
Regards
Kamran

chpp (4021) 2008-04-15 7:10

Hi john
nice shot. good POV to show this famous place.
I like the composition, it has a good sharpness and soft colours. too bad the sky wasn't nice, but still you've got good light
cheers
C

skippy007 (7449) 2008-04-15 23:28

Hello John,
Nice golden glow in this scene, it highlights the main points of interest well, the sail boat is well placed and adds interest, the wait well worth it.
A very well composed, & well framed, clear & interesting image,
Thanks
Santo.
PS I may have inspired to take Aussie road signs but it was you who inspired me to take some night shots& your work flow information game the confidence.+

jusninasirun (10361) 2008-04-15 23:32

Hello John. Very interesting story about the small island. The shot here is very impressive from a ferry and you are right about aligning the tree subjects together with the sailboat right on its place. I like the overcast sky here as I think it works well with color. The sharpness is commendable with the skyscrapers balances well with the opera house. Well done John and best regards. Jusni

pablominto (41676) 2008-04-16 3:59

Hello John,
I like the colours here, maybe this light is typical for the Australian autumn...
f/8 gives great sharpness for all of the frame, and the Opera House contrast so well with the old lighthouse!
Greetings,
Pablo -

pierrefonds (26797) 2008-04-16 4:12

Hi John,

Your note has a lot of information. Fort Dennison in the foreground leads our eyes towards the Opera House and to the highrise buildings of downtown Sydney. The subject is well framed. The light gives a softness effect to the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

angela926 (1882) 2008-04-16 21:00

Hello John,
Very nice capture, excellent composition and point of view, superb sharpness and depth of field, lovely colors and nice light.
Angela

wishlist (4133) 2008-04-17 0:45

Hi John,
beautiful pov with the well placed boat adding an extra point to the compo. The soft and warm tones enhanced even more the beautiful feeling you managed to bring in, very peaceful and quite with the only sound given by the wind. Great quality throughout; a beautiful picture to look at.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,

Igor

bracasha75 (22519) 2008-04-17 0:49

Hi John
Famous view on famous Earth destination and exvellent angle for present
Great work
TFS
Cheers,Braca

dvlazar (6492) 2008-04-17 22:35

A different angle on the impressive opera house. Nice yellow light from the setting sun, although had the sky been bluer it may have been welcomed.
Cheers!
Dave

MLINES (11054) 2008-04-19 6:40

Hi John, A beautiful shot well composed with the yacht well positioned to provide a balanced photo. Good colours throughout. It is interesting to see how you use Raw which seems a good idea for superior results. TFS. Murray.

ls7902 (6406) 2008-04-26 6:11

Hello John,
A different POV of the Opera House but this shows other interesting architectures as well. Sail boat is well placed & is lining up with the Martello Tower & Opera House. Modern commercial & industrial structures form a nice background. Great colors & sky. Nice clean pp. Well done. Regards. latiff.

Benedict (7062) 2008-04-28 21:55

hi john,
beautifully composed and presented. despite the time of the day you took this, light is well managed certainly giving that sydney icon a standout... and the sailboat, another awe.
Benedict

MarcT (21105) 2008-04-30 6:52

Hi john,
That's a famous place, a classical view. Light, colours and composition are perfect.
Excellent timing with this ship also.
Cheers
Marc

mikolaj_kawa (31819) 2008-05-02 1:32

Hello John! Amazing cityscape. Original architecture. Fantastic sail. Good shot. Well done!

Waylim (11321) 2008-05-13 12:57

John,
This is one of my favorite view of the Sydness harbour with the opera building in the background intead of being the main POV. Graphically, I love the composition with all elements in exactly the right places, especially the Sail boat to give sense of depth and scale. The shap of the sailboat repeating the shap of the Opera building in different direction. Technically all is perfect, sharpness, clarity, color, light, you got it all just right. Thanks.
Way

Photo Information

Copyright: John Plumb (JPlumb) (3153)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-03-09
Categories: Castles, Architecture
Camera: Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR, Sigma EX Wide Circular PL 72mm
Exposure: f/8, 1/1000 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-04-14 19:22
Favorites: 1 [view]