Glowing Field
(Credit: Rene Martens)
Photographer: Rene Martens
Speciality: nature, landscapes
Biography: Rene started taking photos 30 years ago in the days of film photography. He initially loved abstract imagery but ended up spending a lot of money on processing and development. Eventually, he lost interest in the art of taking photos.
It wasn't until a few years ago that Rene's curiosity was piqued once more with the accessibility of digital photography; all of a sudden he shifted towards landscapes rather than abstracts. Rene loves to talk to people about taking photos and has inspired many others to pick up a camera and join in with his hobby.
Equipment: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 450D, Pentax K100D, Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro, Canon 18-55mm, Canon 70-300mm, Photoshop CS5, Photomatix, Sagelight 4, Gimp.
Video interviewMore of Rene's work can be seen on his Flickr account.
This is a field that I used to pass on my way to Yarrawonga in Victoria for work last year.
Exposure: 1/180, f/11, ISO 200, 100mm
Foggy Sunlight
Sometimes when there is enough fog around and the sun tries to get through, it makes for some wonderful pictures — this is one of them.
Exposure: 1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 200, 80mm
Golden Fields
The magnificent colours of canola in the fields around Dookie, Victoria.
Exposure: 1/2000, f/8, ISO 200, 90mm
Bridge Reflected
This is the reflections that we can get from the Benalla Monash Bridge at Benalla. This evening I was still mucking around with HDR and this is what I got.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/250, 1/120, 1/60, f/11, ISO 200, 28mm
Blue Refection
This is the Benalla Monash Bridge again just after dusk with a tripod and a clear, still early evening. The water on the lake can get some great reflections and from different angles shows off most of the bridge.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/2, five seconds, 10 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 100, 27mm
Murray River
We were on holidays at Mildura and we decided to have a picnic dinner at a park just down the Murray River from Mildura. The light was just about right and with the reflections it made for this photo.
Exposure: 1/90, f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm
Tree
Another HDR of Winton Wetlands near Benalla. There was a storm coming in and I just loved the colours that were there.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/250, 1/90, 1/20, f/15, ISO 100
Purple Up Close
This is a macro of a flower at Sunnymeade Garden on an open day. I try and get there each year just to get some photos of wonderful flowers and colours.
Exposure: 1/300, f/11, ISO 200, 100mm
Standout
Another great flower on display at Sunnymeade Garden. These are just a treat to photograph.
Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 200, 135mm
Foggy Windmill
A foggy start to the day near a field with a windmill and tree. The sun was just trying to peek through.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/90, 1/250, 1/20, f/11, ISO 100, 30mm
Steps Around
This an area inside Sunnymeade that looks grand with the staircases on both sides and the garden all the way around.
Exposure: 1/125, f/8, ISO 200, 28mm
Bridge to Nowhere
A Walkway at Wangaratta taken early one morning in HDR to get the streak of light through the clouds.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/250, 1/120, 1/30, f/8, ISO 100, 28mm
Buzz
When spring is in the air there are flowers, the bees are busy getting their pollen and they are difficult to try and capture.
Exposure: 1/200, f/3.8, ISO 200, 300mm
Twilight Reflection
This was what I saw on my way back home from Yarrawonga after we had quite a bit of rain last year. I was driving home way after sunset but there was just enough light for me to see this.
Exposure: 59 seconds, f/11, ISO 200, 300mm
Flower Centre
A macro of a flower in the back yard. It just looked great so I thought I would try out my macro skills.
Exposure: 1/180, f/19, ISO 200, 129mm
Storm Brewing
This is a field on the way to Yarrawonga and it was just after the canola is harvested. The stubble is left for a few weeks to then be harvested as fodder for cattle.
Exposure: 1/90, f/22, ISO 200, 28mm
Winton Rainbow
A rainbow over Winton Wetlands that I saw while driving home.
Exposure: 1/350, f/9.5, ISO 200, 200mm
Bridge to Yarrawonga
Lake Mulwala while the water was being drained to control the weeds that take over the lake.
Exposure: multiple exposures of 1/250, 1/90, 1/15, f/6.7, ISO 100, 28mm
Rose
I went to the open gardens in Wangaratta just after the rains that hit the North East of Victoria and was lucky to get photos of flowers with water droplets on them.
Exposure: 1/180, f/11, ISO 200, 77mm
Windmills
At different times these two windmills will have a different background — this was a threatening storm that actually didn't happen.
Exposure: 1/45, f/13, ISO 200, 28mm
Wetlands
This is a very small part of Winton Wetlands, which I have been able to get into and take some photos. This used to be underwater as Lake Mokoan but has been reclaimed as wetlands just recently. This is a panorama made of 15 photos stitched together.
Exposure: 1/200, f/11, ISO 200, 28mm