Photography Tutorials and Location Guides

Landscape and travel photography are probably one of the most popular photography topics among the wider photography community so I have developed a series of guides on general photography topics and some locations around Australia to help you develop your skills or save yur time on searching and scouting locations. You'll learn about photography and how to create better images as well as where to go and when. I will help you take your first few steps on the path to creating your own kind of art.

Location Guides: Australia

12 Best Photography Spots for Classical Sydney Skyline

I'm often asked by people who are travelling to Sydney what to photograph there, what are Sydney's best sunrise and sunset locations. So I've decided to write down some notes about shooting Sydney and about best photography spots. For Sydney skyline to be precisely. It's not a comprehensive Sydney city photography guide but it will give you a good idea of shooting locations around Sydney, when to shoot there and how to get there. It could be very useful if you have limited time but still want to get some nice photos. By browsing through the images in this guide you can decide where to go to get the view you want.

10 Sydney's Best Sunrise Photography Locations

Sydney sits on the south-east coast of Australia and provides plenty of opportunities for shooting sunrise but in this article I am going to give you some of Sydney best sunrise locations (in my opinion) that are easy to get and give you tips on how to shoot them. All these places and lookouts are easily accessible by foot, public transport or by taxi/car. I have also included links to Google Maps and SunFollower.net as well for each of these locations.

How To Photograph Vivid Sydney Festival

Every year since 2009, Sydney holds the Vivid Sydney Festival of Light, Music and Ideas. Here, designers showcase their talented and intricate minds by putting together some amazing installations and animations. World famous landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are illuminated in vibrant colours and animations whilst other landmarks play host to some quirky yet entertaining installations. The event is held during winter in central Sydney over the course of 18-days in May and June. The centrepiece of Vivid Sydney is the light sculptures, multimedia interactive work and building projections that transform various buildings and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in and around the Sydney CBD into an outdoor night time canvas of art. Vivid Sydney was voted Australia's Best Event in 2013 and Best Tourism Event in 2014. It attracts lots of Sydneysiders and tourists and provides plenty of opportunities for photographers. I hope this guide with simple recommendations, tips and tricks will help you shooting the next Vivid Sydney event.

Best Melbourne Sunrise and Sunset Photography Locations

Melbourne is a very beautiful and photogenic city. It has been named the world's most liveable city for seven years in a row! While it doesn't have any iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House or the Harbour Bridge it still has plenty of photographic opportunities such as Flinders Street Station, Southbank, St Kilda Pier etc. It's packed with nice photo spots. Many spots can be photographed at sunrise, daytime and sunset changing it's appearance dramatically. Another good thing about Melbourne is that everything is so close there so you can walk from one spot to another.

Brisbane's and Gold Coast's Best Photography Locations

After putting together a list of my favourite Sydney's photography locations, I think it's time time to start developing a list of great photography locations in Brisbane, Gold Coast and National parks nearby. Due to proximity of these two cities and the National Parks I decided to combine them into one photography guide.

The Pinnacles Desert, Nambung National Park, Western Australia

The Pinnacles of Nambung National Park are the major natural attraction in Western Australia. The park is located about 25 kilometres south from the town of Cervantes and about 250 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. The Pinnacles were sculptured by wind, rain, vegetation, sun and time for many thousands of years from limestone. These limestone formations reach four metres tall of sand of varying colours. It is a favourite subject for photographers. I created a short photography guide on this amazing location. Hopefully you will find it useful.

My 100 Roads Travel Blog and Locations Guide

I cannot not mention my wife's travel blog she started in 2005 and which has tons of great information about Australia, Japan, New Zealand, USA, Singapore, South Korea and China. It's a great place if you want to plan your own trip and need information on the locations, maps, transport etc. It would be especially useful for travelling to Australia and Japan.

Please use Google Translate to translate the site to your language. Trust me - content worth extra effort.

Photography Tutorials

7 Effective Waterfall Photography Tips

Waterfalls are a very popular subject for landscape photographers. Whether it's a moss speckled trickle or a colossal roaring deluge, moving water seems to be irresistible to photographers and when it's done well, can be utterly gorgeous. The draw to their natural beauty is clear, but sometimes coming home with the best shots is harder than you might think. There are many ways to photograph these natural wonders, and I've compiled a few tips, tricks, and techniques to help you get waterfall images that do justice to their elegant beauty.

12 Tips for Seascape and Coastal Photography

The seashore. The coastline. The oceanfront. No matter what term one prefers to use, the coastline has long been a favoured location for photographers, and - with its ever changing landscape, light and moods. It is also one of my favourite places to shoot due to its variety and ease of access. Seascapes are often seen as a subset of landscape photography. The sea is a place of great drama and moods. Seascape photography has unique elements that offer photographers a myriad of benefits they really can't get with any other landscape scenario. The coast features a great mix of weather conditions that allows the chance to snap unforgettable shots. For instance, overcast and stormy conditions will turn out amazingly in monochrome, yet your postcard-perfect, white, puffy clouds appear nicely in colour.

Mobile Phone Applications for Photographers

Long Exposure Calculators for iPhone and iPad

Long Exposure Calculators or LExp for short is a collection of different calculators and cheat sheets (including well known and quite popular ND Filters cheat sheets) created to help photographer shooting long exposures with Neutral Density (ND) filters, in low light and at night. Initially I developed it only for myself, but after some time other photographers asked me to share it with them. They suggested some features and calculators and right now it's almost like 'Swiss Army Knife' - a very handy tool if you are shooting with long exposure. This application has been built by a photographer for photographers. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you found a bug or have a suggestion.

Calculators will give you:

  • Sunrise, sunset and sun direction for any day at any location. Instantly see how sunrise and sunset positions change throughout the year. Civil, nautical, astronomical twilight times. Elevation and azimuth of the Sun. Shadow ratio.
  • Stacking ND Filters: Need to stack multiple ND filters? It's really easy now.
  • Graduated ND Filters: Not sure what Grad ND filter to use? Simply measure exposure for the sky and for the foreground and get the right answer.
  • Moonlight/Nightscapes: Helps you get the right exposure for landscape photography under moonlight.
  • Moon Photography: Calculates right exposure for the Moon under different conditions and focal length.
  • Star-trails: Want to capture beautiful start trails? Get the right number of shots for stacking them later.
  • Milky Way/non-moving stars: Helps you capturing beautiful Milky Way galaxy and starry sky without star trails.
  • Velvia 50: Still shooting film and worries about reciprocity failure? This calculator is for you.
  • Recalculate Exposure: From one set of ISO, aperture and shutter speed to a different set ISO, aperture and shutter speed.
  • Aurora Borealis Photography: Calculates the right exposure for shooting Aurora Borealis/Australis.
  • Shutter Speed Calculator for Solar Eclipses. Calculate shutter speed for different phases of solar eclipse with and without ND filters.

Cloud Atlas - Mobile-Ready Front-End for SkippySky Website

This is just a mobile-ready front-end application for the SkippySky website. The SkippySky website is created by Andrew Cool and the website offers Astronomers and photographers, both amateur and professional, an easy way to plan their viewing and photographing activities. SkippySky shows clouds, wind and temperature, and specific astronomy fields that we derive from base data called "Seeing", "Transparency" and "Dewing Risk". SkippySky is merely a graphical presentation of the American NOAA/NCEP GFS Numerical Weather Model data, freely available to all.

All information provided by SkippySky website is subject to change without notice. Ilya Genkin Photography is NOT responsible for any changes made by SkippySky or Andrew Cool. We will do our best to keep this application up to date with correct information, however, we cannot absolutely guarantee full compatibility with the SkippySky website.

If you want to make a donation towards the upkeep and maintenance of SkippySky, then please do so on the SkippySky website.

Fine Art Prints Australia

Shop online, drop an email or call us. Ilya Genkin Photography is your one-stop online store for all your wall art needs. Internationally recognised photography artist, Ilya Genkin creates beautiful photographic images to transform any home or office into an amazing and inspiring space. Ilya's works are available to fine art collectors as stretched and non-stretched canvases as well as the highest-quality fine-art photographic paper prints. Whether you're looking to add a touch of nature to your living room, create a relaxing ambiance in your bedroom, or spruce up your office space, our extensive collection of wall art has something for everyone. With our user-friendly website, it's easy to browse our selection, find the perfect piece, and have it delivered straight to your doorstep. Ask now about a mockup to show how your chosen Ilya Genkin photograph will transform your space into something amazing and stunning. So why wait? Start exploring our collection today and transform your space with our stunning wall art.

Artworks for Interior Designers, Home Stylists, and Architects

Ilya Genkin’s Print Collection is a range of affordable art pieces which can also be purposely modified and reproduced to match the interior stylings and colours of your project. All artworks are 'made to order' only. Pricing will depend on the sizes of artwork ordered, the number of pieces in each order and freight costs involved. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements and we can arrange a quote for you.

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