I thought it’d be fun to go through what turned out to be my top content on social media for the year and that continues today. Mainly I’ll focus on Instagram but I’ll drop in a few others towards the end as when they get traction (e.g. Flickr) the stats go crazy. So, here’s number 8 in my most viewed posts of 2023… does that make them the BEST? Not so sure, but for whatever reason they connected with people, or the algorithm!

Number 8

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-09-25 16:50:09
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Yesterday’s image featured a natural double rainbow. Here’s something a little more artificial, although very cool in its own way.

Vivid Sydney

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-06-18 19:17:20
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time4
• Aperture4.5
• ISO80
• Focal Length11.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

I can’t remember if I was up late, or up early on this day but whatever the case it was worth the effort!

Early Morning in Sydney

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2012-09-25 16:50:09
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

I like these cities that get all fancy with their bridges. Melbourne certainly does! Each bridge tries to out-do the next. There’s no common theme and its sort of a mishmash of styles, to say the least. I think that not everyone likes this, but I do. I don’t mind all the variety, especially from the perspective of photography.

It’s kind of the same way with the buildings and other decorative elements around downtown Melbourne. There are so many styles, most of which are one flavor of “modern” or “contemporary”. I enjoy mixing and matching different elements into compositions, but it is not easy. There is a challenging aspect to it that I don’t get in many other cities.

Another Bridge in Melbourne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-11 14:32:58
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time4
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length18.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

Sydney, Australia is just a short flight from New Zealand where I live. Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s still 4 hours, but everything else is 10+ hours from New Zealand.

There is an area called The Rocks that is one of the oldest areas of Sydney, and this is just a short walk away. I love this photo because it causes confusion the first time you see it. I try to do this sometimes with my photos where I attempt to cause the viewer to wonder exactly what they are seeing. After a few moments, they slowly figure it out and that gives them a little squirt of dopamine.

Sydney Spaceship

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-09 17:52:05
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

How’s this for a unique reception area? Well done Sydney Customs House, well done!

Underfloor City

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-09 16:30:50
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

I think this is Brisbane… the tags on the image agree. So let’s just assume it is!

Cool Lights in Brisbane

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-09-14 09:14:15
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length17.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This image started as me trying to find something interesting to shoot while wandering around in Sydney one night. Then more recently I was commissioned by a collector to create an animated NFT from it. Never in a million years did I think that it would end up looping into infinity on someones wall when I took it… in fact back in 2013 I wouldn’t even have considered that an option! You can see the final creation here.

A Fun Sydney Creation

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-09 17:52:05
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

When we were in Sydney, my friend David Maxwell got us on a boat to scoot around the harbour for a while. It was great fun. We went under the famous bridge there a few times and saw people casually walking across the top. I thought you had to be harnessed in or something, but, hey, you know how crazy Aussies can be!

Walking along the bridge in Sydney

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-06-08 20:28:21
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture6.3
• ISO250
• Focal Length178.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-2