2010 – 2019 My Favourite Images

2010-2019 My Favourite Images from the Decade

 

The decade for starting a photography business, making new friends and lots of travel.  I hope you’ll enjoy my little journey down memory lane, these are some of my favourites.  Some you will have seen, others possibly not.  I’ve tried to limit the images to 2 per year but sometimes that was a little too hard.  

I look back and see a lot of variety but I still don’t know what my style is, perhaps someone can help me with that??

2010 – The Forth Bridge, Scotland.  Playing with light trails and long exposures at Blue Hour

 

2010 – Eilean Donan Castle, Lock Duich during Blue Hour

2011 – Experimenting with coloured lights and light painting.  Waroona

2011 – Playing with Macro in the backyard

2012 – One of the first times that I pre-visualised an image and then successfully made it happen.  Hampton Arms Bookstore, Greenough, Western Australia

2012 – The beginnings of my interest in minimalism. Maritime Museum, Fremantle.

2013 – A lone bicycle the morning after a Typhoon hit. Hoi An, Vietnam

2013 – Just a quick snap taken in the Ferguson Valley near Bunbury. These cows were so friendly, within a minute they were all coming up to me at the fence. So glad I got that first shot in.

2014 – Ah India, such an incredible place and rather heart stopping on the back of a motorcycle. Somewhere in Rajasthan.

Congelin Square

2014 – A minus 0 degree winters morning on a camping trip with the motorbike club. Congelin, Western Australia

 

2014 – More playing with coloured lights and light painting. Johnson Rd Yarloop

2015 – Female Scarlet Robin with breakfast, Barrabup Pool, Western Australia

2015 – A still autumn morning Kellands Ponds near Twizle, New Zealand

2015 – View of Coronet Peak on ‘fire’ in the late afternooon light. Taken from the balcony of our accommodation. Queenstown, New Zealand

2015 – Multiple exposures blended together.  Commercial Hotel, Meekatharra

2016 – KT The Cockatoo, this Female Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo photographed in my home studio

2016 – A sight I’ve always wanted to see. A multitude of African animals at a waterhole. Etosha National Park, Namibia

2016 – Love this sand dune.  Dune 44, Sossusvlei, Namibia

2017 – Sunset before the storm, Lake Ballard, Western Australia

2017 – A reminder of how small the world is these days. Brynja, reaching to her homeland, Iceland) and our Aussie mate Tom from down under. Eagle Rider Motorcycle Tour, Baja California Sur

2018 – My neighbour competing in the Best of the West Stockman Challenge, Packsaddle event. Dardanup

2018 – Fun with Silhouette at a Workshop in Fremantle

2018 – Spotted Pardalote in our front yard in Roelands. He/she stayed a couple of days, was possibly looking for a potential nesting site.

2019 – Our mascot ‘Jacks’, that we take along on our bike rides, meeting his own real life kangaroo which took a real shine to him. Donnelly River, Western Australia

2019 – Tidal Flats Tail. An aerial taken from a helicopter at low tide. Sandy Point Broome

2019 – Gimlet Trees. An in-camera Multiple exposure of Gimlet Trees against the bark of a Gimlet Tree. Near Norseman, Western Australia

San Ignacio to Loreto

San Ignacio to Loreto

I took an early morning walk into the town square before the ride today.  All was quiet with just a few locals sweeping the streets outside of their shops.

The following excerpt from our tour paperwork explains today.  “Ahead of us this morning is the massive ‘Volcan Las Tres Virgenes’. Which tells us the origin of recent lava flows around us. We descend Devils Grade, seven miles of switchbacks that take us down to the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez. We ride along the shores of beautiful Bahia Conception, whose deep-blue waters, volcanic islands, and isolated beaches are real Baja delights. In the afternoon we reach Loreto, the oldest Spanish settlement along the West Coast. The town offers a picturesque central plaza, shopping, and an array of excellent restaurants.”

We had a rest day upon arriving at Loreto.  Our van driver took 4 of us up the mountain to San Javier Mission.  Founded in 1697 by Jesuit Missionaries, it’s the oldest Spanish settlement on the Baja peninsula and one of the best preserved.  Beats the hell out of me how or more importantly why they would want to create a settlement up in the mountains like they did. It was a challenge getting up there with a paved road, how did they manage without one? 

San Ignacio to Loreto

A local

 

Mission San Ignacio to Loreto

San Ignacio Mission

Prime waterfront realestate

San Ignacio to Loreto

Warming up before their performance

 

Day 19 Loreto to Guerrero Negro

Loreto to Guerrero Negro

The usual morning ride into the mountains, the twists and turns that Andy loves, then once more we see the Sea of Cortez.  Riding along Conception Bay enjoying our last day with these stunning views.

A short break at Mulege Mission Santa Rosalia which is small but rather nice and sits on a hill over the town.

We head a little further up the coast back on the water for our lunch stop at a little taco place in Santa Rosalia.  Awesome soft shelled beef tacos.

The afternoon sees us head towards the Pacific Ocean and the town of Guerrero Negro.  Not much here but a nice meal at a local restaurant.

Due to the nature of the roads (mountainous with tight curves etc) and not very strict road rules (people still allowed to ride in the back of utes) we have seen lots of little (and some not so little) roadside shrines where people have lost their lives.  The example below is the largest we saw but they do range from a simple cross to a small building.

Sea of Cortez

Moulage Mission Santa Rosalia

Build your home around the palm trees

Camping at Concepcion Bay Sea of Cortez

Roadside shrine

1st Place 11th Annual B&W Spider Awards

My Story

Back in January 2016 I entered two images into the 11th Annual B&W Spider Awards and then thought no more about them.  That is until early November when I actually sat down to read one of the many emails that they have sent to me.  You know how it is, closing soon, enter now before it's too late etc.  Anyway this email was to congratulate me for taking out 1st Place in the Architecture category.  To say I was delighted was an understatement but I guess I was more shocked than anything.  An international competition that attracts many thousands of entries and I come out a winner!!!

Many thanks to the organisers and judges from the Black & White Spider Awards for this recognition.  Below is the press release that they write up for us winners and the nominees.  I dare say, this'll be the only place that the press release will be used.  Here's a link to the winners gallery.

This image was taken from the rooftop bar of The Grand Hotel in Saigon at 10pm.  My settings were F11, ISO 100, 8 sec exposure, 75mm focal length.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

11TH ANNUAL BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS HONORS PHOTOGRAPHER CHRIS de BLANK FROM AUSTRALIA

LOS ANGELES 11th November 2016 - Amateur photographer Chris de Blank of Australia was presented with the 11th Annual Black and White Spider Awards 1st Place in the category of Architecture at a prestigious Nomination & Winners PhotoShow webcast Saturday, November 5, 2016. 

The live online gala was attended by over 10,500 photography fans around the globe who logged on to watch the climax of the industry's most important event for black and white photography.

11th Annual Jury members included captains of the industry from National Geographic, Washington DC; The Armory Show, New York; TBWA, Paris; Victoria Film Festival, Canada; Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels; Studio Hansa, London; Fratelli Alinari, Florence; Australian Centre for Photography; Young & Rubicam, Lima; and Anthem Worldwide/Marque Branding, Sydney who honored Spider Fellows with 627 coveted title awards in 31 categories.

"It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 7,556 entries we received this year," said Basil O'Brien, the awards Creative Director. "Chris's " A Long Way to the Top", an exceptional image entered in the Architecture category, represents black and white photography at its finest, and we're pleased to present her with the title of 1st Place - Outstanding Achievement".  Jury member Paola Anselmi, interdisciplinary curator and arts writer in Australia added, "As always it was a real treat to be part of the program. Congratulations to all involved and to all the remarkable photographers who gift us new insights into the world and ourselves." "A truly amazing set of entries, so many deserving winners," added Marcel Wijnen, Creative Director at Anthem Worldwide.

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography. www.thespiderawards.com

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1st Place 11th Annual B&W Spider Awards

Winner B&W Spider Awards