Shooting the STARS of Melbourne - OM Systems Days
Melbourne OM System Workshop Days - January 2023
Having grown up and lived in Melbourne for over 30 years, it was certainly great fun to be back in the old stomping-ground streets of Melbourne for my 4x OM System workshop days.
What started out as a family holiday over the school holiday period, quickly became a great opportunity to show off the latest and greatest gear from OM Systems. Each day sold out in record time and there was certainly a thirst for photography workshops in and around Melbourne with 40 people joining me over the 4 days. It was just great to see so many new faces and some more familiar ones join me as we explored the back alleys, laneways, new precincts of the Docklands and the Yarra River views.
To say Melbourne is the place to be is a massive understatement - the city was vibing, street art was jumping off the walls, and the most expansive part of the city, the Docklands, was a treasure chest of new age architecture... amazing to capture through the lens.
Each day consisted of meeting at every Melbournians meeting spot, Federation Square. Days 1 and 2 were quite warm so it was only fitting that the ice cream trolly guy was right on the spot where we all meet up. Perfect!
Our second week of days 3 and 4 were a tad cooler, and even had some rain which made for very creative images using wet paths and puddles to showcase city/urban life.
After meeting at Fed Square we headed into the laneways, and visited such locations a Hosier Lane, AC/DC Lane, Royal Arcade, Block Arcade, and Degreaves Street with the fabulous line-up of eateries.
Next stop on the city walk was to catch one of the free inner circle trams and head down to what I think was a highlight of my trip to Melbourne, the Docklands. Boy! Has this region grown in the last 10 years since we relocated to Tasmania. Incredible building, mind-blowing architecture welcomed our crew. In the region we had a good play with the colour settings of our OM System cameras and switched into black and white mode. The tones and shadow/highlights in this region made for some excellent image making.
After a quick stop for pizza and drinks, we then headed back into the heart of the CBD on the free tram service (it was a godsend to not have to set up a payment card for travelling on the trams) and made our way to Southgate and set up for sunset.
Sunset on Day's 1,2 and 4 were every interesting with loads of sunshine, colour and warmth. Day 3 was a bit moodier and made for some different, but interesting images.
Each day ended with the light fading and the artificial lights of Melbourne's skyline coming into effect. It was at this time as the light faded that the real benefits of the OM System came into its own. Image Stabilisation - say no more. No tripods are needed when you can hand-hold 2-4 second images. You can also set up the in-built Neutral Density settings to allow the shutter speed to slow, even before the darkness arrives. This made for some great images being created as the classic green trams scooted over the Princes Bridge, creating a wonderful blur/green effect.
Overall, the 4x OM System days were a complete success. We had so much fun, explored so many laneways, and back alleys of a Melbourne that I never knew, and in the process, created some amazing images of this amazing, thriving modern day metropolis.
However, my favourite image of my recent trip to Melbourne was actually taken on a day off and I went back into the city on a very stormy afternoon and captured this...
Well done Melbourne, well done. Maybe, just maybe, I have fallen back in love with Melbourne.
Massive thanks to all of those that attended the days - it was lovely to meet everyone of you, and to share our passion in Photography.
For those that may have missed out, we have another round of OM System Days in June - You don't need to shoot OM System cameras to join, these are open for all to come and enjoy. At the time of writing we still have places left on the June 8th and 9th Workshops
Thanks,
Cam Blake
Locations where we visited (marked with Yellow Stars)
#visitmelbourne #omsystems #seeaustralia
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