Rob Masters

This evening, thanks in the main to the City of Kalamunda, Alicia Smith​​​, Pamela Smith​​​, Roslyn Smith​​​, Stephen Gunnell​, Maureen Gell​, (unexpectedly) Michael Thompson​​​, and I all had the chance to take part in a record attempt. The object was to hold the largest astronomy lesson in the world, at least 30 minutes long The previous record was held by Taipei, with 836 people. We managed to beat that, with just over 1160! There were telescopes everywhere! And spotting scopes, and binoculars. And press, and officials from Guinness. Another thing that was great to see was the diversity of people and ages. It really was an all-ages event! The lesson was fun, the skies perfectly clear, and the crowd was great. There were marshalls make sure everyone was taking part, and pointing out things for the less experienced. And we had a ball. We are now so looking forward to the Astrofest!

A little bit of defocused fun down at the beach.

Sandstone WPP 2015 - Week 09 - Textures Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk09-Textures Detail of a sandstone wall at Scarborough Beach. SooC.

"In or Out?" WPP 2015 - Week 06 - Shadows Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk06-Shadows Inspired by M.C. Escher

The view from inside the Phenomoflex at the Perth Fringe World Festival 2015. The Phenomoflex, by Mike Gray, is an installation that projects the outside view onto the inside of a translucent sphere.  A very cool variation on the camera obscura concept.  http://www.mikegrayphoto.net/newoz/newoz_23.html

IFOs Blackhawks on a night training flight over the suburbs of Perth. This is after phase one reprocessing for part of a photo essay I'm assembling for a science fiction convention art show. The remarkable thing, to my mind, is that I was able to take this shot at all with consumer-grade equipment!

Anyone with gluten, wheat, and/or dairy issues should know about this. If you are in Perth, that is! Originally shared by Alicia Smith http://www.glutenfreeinwa.com.au/ gluten free expo coming up next month. http://www.glutenfreeinwa.com.au

Not too shabby for a single exposure, using my camera bag as a tripod, in the middle of a suburban beach. 10sec exposure at ISO3200, NX300, f5.0, 18-55mm kit lens.

Second of a few retrospective looks at Swancons past. Swancon38 - 2013.

First of a few retrospective looks at Swancons past. Swancon39 - 2014.

If you care about where your food comes from and the risks associated with the various sources, you should consider this campaign. Originally shared by Alicia Smith If you're in Australia and would like to know where your food comes from, you might be interested in this campaign. http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http%3a%2f%2fchoice.good.do%2fCoOL%2fwrite-to-barnaby-joyce%2f&utm_campaign=CoOL-to-petition-signers-230215 http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/?utm_source=et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http://choice.good.do/CoOL/write-to-barnaby-joyce/&utm_campaign=CoOL-to-petition-signers-230215

Mudlarks (or Magpie Larks, or peewits, or Murray Magpies, or in the local Noongar language Dilabit) are normally slender and graceful birds.  This one is none of the above (except for the 'bird' bit).

The Great White Bird WPP 2015 - Week 08 - Simplicity / Minimalism Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk08-SimplicityMinimalism A perfect Perth summer sky, and a pristine airliner provided the ideal opportunity for this week's theme.

If you are available at 6:30pm-9:30pm on Saturday Feb 28, and want a quick introduction to astronomy, or just want to help with the record attempt, register and come along! Originally shared by Alicia Smith http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Events/2015/February/World-Record-Attempt-Largest-Astronomy-Lesson-2015   We're going, how about you? You will need to sign up on the page. http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Events/2015/February/World-Record-Attempt-Largest-Astronomy-Lesson-2015

"Past in the Present" WPP 2015 - Week 07 - Reflections Weekly Photo Project 2015 curated by Alen Ianni , Bernhard Rembold , Cliff Loresco , Francesco Scaglioni , Heather D ,  Ken Fowkes ,  Navin Upendran  , Robyn King and T.E. Smith #WPP2015 #WPP2015-Wk07-Reflections Taken on the way back from seeing The Giants - if you ever get to see Royal de Luxe in action, they are phenomenal - I spotted this, and the colours grabbed me. Now to catch up on 'Shadows' :)

Our storybook of The Giants in Perth. A stunning experience, and a deeply moving story, with a cast of two (and a couple of hundred helpers). #perthfest  #TheGiantsPerth https://plus.google.com/104545783008574601062/stories/e0015d00-3763-38e4-bb97-6b62544bdf4d14b897a12c6

Some thoughts on modern photography. As I have said, Alicia Smith and I went to see The Giants yesterday in Perth, and it was stunning.  While watching and taking photos, started noticing something, and started looking around me. What I observed was very interesting and quite wonderful. Firstly, I saw, in the thousands of people around me, maybe three or four point-and-shoot digital camera. This is a section of the market that is getting seriously squeezed. Secondly, this created an odd sort of division in the crowd. There were those using mobile phones or the occasional tablet to record the event - and those with DSLR or Mirrorless kit. And almost nothing in between. Then it gets interesting - from my perspective, anyway. Almost everyone who was shooting with interchangeable lens kit didn't just have a stock camera. There were video stabilisation grips, long and short primes, boom mics, monopods, highlift tripods with image relay remotes, chest-strap quick release systems, wide-s...

Alicia Smith  and I went to see The Giants today in Perth. And were deeply impressed. Twice. The first time was as we expected - The Giants are stunning - the level of personality in them is astounding, and the way the operators have become a part of the environment - interacting with the giants, as well as operating them - was inspired. They are only in Perth for one more morning, down at Langley Park, and I cannot more strongly recommend seeing them if you can. Just be early. Very early! The second time was more unexpected, and was tied in with the event organisation. Keeping in mind that this is a live event, for which it is almost impossible to do a full rehearsal, things went very smoothly indeed. Overall things ran only 1/2 to 3/4 hour behind schedule, which, given the scale of things was remarkable. Even more impressive, though, was the planning and infrastructure the PIAF organisers put into the event.  This is an event that closed off pretty much the whole of the CBD for a day...