Exposure: Kristyn Maslog-Levis

Dubbed "Backyard Bits", the photography of Sydney-based Kristyn Maslog-Levis is inspired by everyday objects, her family and her culture.

Zennith Geisler

Oct. 9, 2007 7:33 p.m. PT

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Exposure is a series of photo galleries showcasing photographic talent in Australia. Our featured photographers will share their best shots and give us an insight into both their creative and technical processes. If you are interested in being featured in Exposure, or know any photo buffs who might be, contact us at cnet@cnet.com.au.

Photographer: Kristyn Maslog-Levis

Shooting subject: Portraiture, Landscape

Equipment: Konika Minolta Dimage Xg, Konika Minolta Dimage Z20, Canon 350D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II standard zoom lens, Canon 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM telephoto zoom lens, +1, +2, +4 and +10 diopters lenses, aluminum tripod, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0

Kristyn Maslog-Levis has been practicing journalism since 1999. She took up photography at Silliman University, Philippines but only picked up her camera again three years ago to pursue her interest.

Born in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, Kristyn is now based in Sydney where she lives with her husband, Justin and their two little dogs, Stitch and Felix.

Kristyn has had an interesting professional background, with work experiences ranging from the broadcasting industry, print and online media. Although she's only an amateur photographer, Kristyn has had several of her photos published in Australian Photography magazine and been given honourable mention in various competitions. She maintains a photo blog, Mga Hulagway, which she has been running for over two years now. Her dream is to one day finally have her first major exhibit.

Africa in my backyard
I am addicted to sunsets. This was taken in sunset mode using the handy little Konika Minolta Dimage Xg. I just pretty much pointed and clicked because I didn't have another camera at the time. A steady hand helped too. What attracted me to this shot was that if you cropped out the Frangipani tree at the bottom, it would look like a scene from Africa.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Brown bloom
Taken using the Konika Minolta Dimage Z20 in sepia mode, this was one of the first subjects I experimented with when I first started using the camera. It was an easy target since it was just outside our house. It was lazy photography, but it came out well. However, it is always best not to shoot in black and white -- if you do, make sure you have a coloured version as well.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Stitch
My dog Stitch was patiently waiting for me to finish this shot. The sepia mode was used on the camera. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of forgetting to have a coloured copy of this as well. You can turn colour into black and white but you can never turn black and white into colour.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Bird lady
She's a homeless woman who feeds the birds at Hyde Park, like she would her pets. She's been my favourite subject for quite some time and the photos I've shot of her have won me several awards and given me exposure. I will always be grateful for her.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Blue
A play on contrast with Photoshop. Don't throw away "ordinary" shots because you can create great stuff using photo editing software. Just keep experimenting and make sure you use "Save As" to retain your original image. Working on RAW image files is always good too.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Soft one
An experiment on soft focus with my friend's little boy using the Nik Colour Efex Pro software. The original shot was a tiny bit blurry because it was taken indoors in low light. However, I was able to save it using some effects.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

In costume
This is a group of enterprising Filipino kids who performed at each booth during the Filipino fiesta in Melbourne in 2006. People were entertained enough to give them money for their performance. I think they left rich that day. It was a very cloudy day but there was enough light that I didn't need to use a flash.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Dark oranges
A shot of the orange tree from my backyard before the sun totally disappeared. It is very dark, but for me, the darkness adds to the emotion of the photo.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Clipped
A simple shot of a very simple everyday object. I got the idea while surfing other photo blogs on the web. A lot of photographers use very simple subjects that end up being striking. A spoon, a fork, a dirty cup of coffee - everything has the potential to be a good subject. I take several shots in several angles, especially when using a very common subject.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Red in the face
This girl was one of the kids at the Filipino fiesta in Melbourne, running around with a painted face. I stopped her and asked if I could take a photo of her newly painted face. Honestly, she should have said no. Kids should never let strangers take photos of them, but I guess I didn't come across as menacing.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

The roof
This is the neighbour's rooftop -- another example of a very ordinary subject. The winter sunset created a fantastic background of colours so that a common air vent easily came to life. This is another sample of my lazy photography. I pretty much just stepped out of the back door and clicked -- a long lens allowed me to do that.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Slow
Slimy and slow but makes a very good subject for close-ups. If you want a subject for macro shooting without fear of it flying or running away -- find a snail in your backyard. It's slow and has no way of escaping your lens.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Go slow on the H20
I like how this photo ended up. It required a bit of colour tweaking using Nik Efex but the message of it is very apt especially with today's global warming issues and water saving messages. I'm hoping it will be used for a poster one day.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Wired
Again, I got this idea after surfing other photo blogs. There have been many photos of barbed wires before this and so it's quite a challenge to find an angle that is a bit more original and make it your own.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Hanging on
A little fluffy thing got caught on our torn window screen. I had to take a macro shot before it got blown away. These are little unexpected subjects that you can't help but shoot. The fact that the sun was perfectly setting gives it a nice golden glow.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Bald
The Frangipani tree in our backyard shed its leaves in preparation for winter. I took several shots of this with the sun still high in the sky. They came out well, but not as dramatic as this one. Some have said the branches look like bony fingers reaching up for the sky.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Clothesline
Again another simple and common subject -- an old rusty clothesline that ended up looking like the skeleton of a ship's sail. I think it is hard to go wrong with a great sunset for lighting.

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Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Mga Hulagway

Chimney
My neighbour's chimney created a beautiful silhouette by the setting sun. This angle only happens during winter and so I had to wait for that perfect moment one afternoon before taking this shot. There was a fluorescent light near the post of this shot but it was easily corrected using photo editing software.