Purple clouds
Stretch across the lake
As the day begins
To fade to night
Lovely dusk light and clouds over the lake at Belmont.
Photo details: 248 seconds @ f/10, ISO 160 + NISI 6 stop ND filter.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2020
Some photos from Warners Bay last Sunday. It was quite an overcast and moody evening, suited black & white very well.
Photos © CJ Levinson 2019
I’m pleased to announce that my 2020 calendar is now available for purchase!
The calendar features 12 landscape images from around beautiful Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and The Hunter. All of the photos were taken this year and the calendar includes several photos I haven’t shared before.
I’m very proud of all the photos – they’re some of my very favourites and I think they show different sides of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie which is what I wanted to achieve.
The calendar is A4 size and costs $25, including free postage worldwide. The first 20 calendars will also be signed and include a personal message as a thank you.
You can buy the calendar through my Etsy store or below via PayPal.
Makes a great Christmas gift if I do say so myself! 😉
CJ Levinson Photography 2020 Calendar
2020 calendar featuring 12 images from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and The Hunter.
A$15.00
Rocky towers
Rise from the sand,
Silent guardians
Of this ancient land
I took this at Redhead Beach a couple of weeks ago. The light was beautiful and I loved the contrast between the shadows and the orange rocks and the blue sky. The whole scene reminded me a little of the temples and tombs at Petra.
Walking by the water
The sun on my back
A breeze on my face:
Peace
This shot is from a couple of weeks ago. I was actually walking in the opposite direction but noticed how beautiful the light was and swung around in time to capture this moment. It’s easy to forget to look behind you but sometimes that’s where the best shots are.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2019
With today being the last day of 2018 I thought it’d be fun to post a collection of my favourite photos from the past year. I hope you enjoy them.
2018’s been an interesting year for my photography. I actually didn’t start taking many photos until about April but it’s been pretty much non-stop since.
Part of that’s been that I decided to do a calendar for the end of the year. I thought it would help inspire me to get out and shoot more, which it did. It ended up being a really fun project.
Along with my landscapes I started doing more portraits as well, particularly studio portraits which have been fun and have helped my understanding of flash. I’ll be doing more paid work in 2019 so it’s been good practice for that.
In general I think my photography has improved a lot this year. In particular I’ve refined my editing a lot and I’ve found myself focusing on combining long exposures with movement which has created some really interesting images.
I also won the Lake Macquarie Float Your Boat photo competition and my calendar sold much better than I expected it to – it actually sold out twice and it came together very well in the end.
I also switched to Sony from Olympus midyear which was a bit of a learning curve at first but has worked out really well in the end.
So all in all 2018’s been a pretty productive year. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2019 will bring. 🙂
Happy New Year! Hope it’s a good one for you.
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” — Ansel Adams
I took these photos a couple of days ago at Warners Bay. It’s a beautiful area, one of my favourite places to sit and take some photos as the sun goes down, although unfortunately on this day it was a bit clouded over. The clouds gave the scene a nice atmosphere though and the light was very soft and even.
I was in two minds about going originally as I thought it might rain but I decided to risk it as I hadn’t been to the foreshore in a while and I really wanted to get a shot with this sculpture that was installed there recently.
The sculpture is called Soloist by Alex Seton and it’s a very interesting piece, definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area. Ironically it was actually an accident that it ended up on the foreshore at all – Seton had been commissioned to do another work by the Lake Macquarie City Council for its Creative Lake Art Trail but the piece wasn’t ready in time, so Seton lent Soloist in its place until the other work could be installed. But the sculpture created a lot of interest and debate and it’s now staying permanently.
I really like it and I think it suits the landscape perfectly. There is something very meditative about it and it makes me think of the importance of finding your peace in our hectic world, of allowing yourself a moment to just sit still and be. I guess that was the feeling I wanted to try to capture in the photos. I think they came out quite well in the end.
Photos © CJ Levinson 2018
Seven worlds will collide
Whenever I’m by your side
Dust from a distant sun
Will shower over everyone
~ Distant Sun, Crowded House
I took this a few weeks ago while walking by the lake in Belmont. It was a beautiful sunset and I loved the way the sky was lighting up just behind the hills. It came out quite well… I do love a nice silhouette! 🙂
Photo © CJ Levinson 2018
Blue sky, blue waters
A warm breeze
Caressing my face:
I feel at peace
This photo is from a couple of days ago. I’d gone for a quick walk along the Belmont lakefront to stretch my legs and I really liked this scene when I came across it… the light was so lovely and the water such a beautiful blue that I knew I had to take a quick shot.
Ironically we had very heavy rain for the next couple of days, so much so that some parts of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were flooded. I guess it shows just how quickly Mother Nature can change.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2018
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