Rainy night on Southbank

It’s winter in Australia right now, and I’m loving it. Not everyone’s a fan, unlike me. So what do I like so much about winter? Easy — it gets dark early. By 6pm it’s already dark, and I can start my nighttime photo and video callisthenics.

I did exactly that last week, heading out with the camera along the Yarra between Morell Bridge and Princes Bridge. Then exactly a week later I went out again, shooting more night video and photos. The results ended up pretty similar to the first time, but with a few differences.

First up, this time I walked further downstream — from Crown Casino, where I once again filmed the Fire Brigades fireballs, through to Flinders Street Station. I stayed on the north side of the Yarra, so I had great views across to Southbank. You can read more about the Fire Brigades and the casino in one of my older posts.

Secondly, I deliberately picked a rainy night. Neither me nor the camera are scared of a bit of rain, and filming a wet Melbourne at night sounded like a pretty cool idea. It only partly worked though, because after the initial downpour the rain eased off pretty quickly.

Thirdly, I used slightly different camera settings this time around. For the video nerds — I shot in LOG profile instead of HLG like last time. That changed both the shooting process and the editing workflow. You’re always learning.

Fourthly, I didn’t use the anamorphic lens because it doesn’t like rain. So those tasty blue horizontal flares that make everything look like a sci-fi movie were missing this time.

Still, the video turned out pretty good again. It’s made in HDR, although when — or if — YouTube decides to process it properly in HDR is anyone’s guess. The soundtrack is once again by my new favourite band — the Swedish group Les Big Byrd.

And besides the video, I snapped a bunch of photos too.

You can view and download the photos in high resolution here.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/147740420@N06/1o3VrA2932

2 responses to “Rainy night on Southbank”

  1. Leanne Cole Avatar

    I need to get back in there to do some night photography. These are gorgeous.

  2. Serge E Avatar

    Oh, thank you Leanne! This place is a gem.

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Down Under Focus

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading