Expose Your World Competition - FINALIST

Expose Your World competition was held recently. Entries closed late August and judging only just occurred. The sections are 1) Photo Essay, 2) Single shot, 3) Young Australian Photographer of the Year, 4) Video or Multimedia presentation and 5) Travel Writing. I entered the Single shot under the Wildlife category with the above two prints.

The monkey feet image was a finalist in it's category and the Dog came Highly Commended. This means that the Monkey feet will be displayed at the Blue Hotel in Wooloomooloo, Sydney in March 2009, and I should also receive an Asuka Book.

I was very excited to learn of this news.

Cheers,

-Ben

Monarto Zoo 2008

Photographic Wholesalers organized a tour for 200+ photography enthusiasts, professionals and students where there would be over $1,000,000 worth of camera equipment, Tanya Powell models, animals, food, flies, drinks and the like. Brands that were represented were Canon, Sigma, Pentax, Nikon, Olympus, Hasselblad, Bowens, Sony and a few others.

Photographers met on North Terrace at 7.45am and boarded buses which proceeded to cart us up to Monarto. We were at our first stop by 9.30am.

Our first stop was with Latisha from Tanya Powell Models dressed as a bride. Pentax and Sigma were represented at this site. The Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro was my favorite lens at this site. The photograph of the Snail Shell and the Pig Face (pink plant) were taken as I was laying in the dirt and shrubs. Latisha was also photographed through a hole in some ruins nearby. Angela and I ended up kidnapping Latisha so we could get different photographs other than the 50 million similar ones in the same spot by all the other photographers.

The second site was the Lions on one side and the wild Dogs on the other. This site was represented by Canon. I got to touch the Canon 5D MkII which made my day. The first camera I used was the Canon 1D MkIII and the Canon EF500MM f/4L IS USM lens. Very nice combination. The Hyena sniffing the wooden wheel was shot with this combo.

Third stop was the Cheetah enclosure. They were hiding though so I wandered out bush for a bit til I got told off. This site was represented by Olympus. I used the E3 and the 150mm f/2 lens. Melody was the model at this site. By the time I got around to photograph her, she had been standing in the same place for a good 30 minutes. So once again, Angela and I kidnapped her and brought her out bush. It was funny to see all the other photographers proceed to tag along and just shoot the same pics. But at least we got something different first :)

The fourth stop was the White Rhino enclosure represented by Sony. I used the A300 and the A900 with the 200mm and the 100-400 lens. Not really my cup of tea, but still enjoyed messing around with the cameras.

Next was Hasselblad. I like.

The last stop was the Giraffe site represented by Nikon. First camera I got my hands on was the D3 with a 400mm f/2.8. Very nice. Kiara knows how to work the camera. She's a half Filipino girl, gorgeous as anything and great to work with. She was the Tanya Powell model at this station. I then used the Nikon D90 with a 105mm f/2.8 which was quite nice to use. Also got my hands on the 600mm f/4 to capture the Giraffes mouth. I had a great time using the Nikon gear but I would never buy one. Sorry Nikon, but Canon just do it for me.

Overall it was a great day. The only thing I would change is to provide more bottled water and non-soggy food.

Over and out.

-Ben

South Australian Obedience Dog Club

After the breakfast meeting last Tuesday, I stumbled across the South Australian Obedience Dog Club (SAODC) in the south eastern corner of the city. I spoke with Pin, the president and also shot some photographs of a couple of dogs. Pin asked me to come back the following Saturday for the Night Trials. I did just that. The images above are only a few of the hundreds of images that I snapped. These are Shetland Collies, a German Sheppard puppy and a young Dalmatian.

The SAODC also had a raffle where the first prize is a photo shoot with Benjamin Liew Photography worth $168. The winner of this prize is Eileen and Peta - her cute little collie. The winners photo shoot will be happening next week at the SAODC grounds at midday.

It is good to see so many dogs so well looked after and cared for by their owners. It's a lot different to seeing all the poor abandoned animals at the Animal Welfare League.

I am selling the images as prints to anybody who wants them. I have order forms which can be downloaded from my website, and the pictures can also be viewed on there.