Welcome to my online photographic galleries!

About me

I’ve always had a keen interest in graphics, video making and photography,
being the creative sort.
My first real camera was a Yaschica “TL Electro” Range finder my father
gave me back in 1969 when I was 10.
It was not until 1980 that I really furthered my photographic interest,
when I bought myself a Nikon EM, and then progressed to a Nikon FM2 a few years later.
I set up a darkroom at the back of my garage using black plastic sheeting for the walls
(the type you use to put on the garden to stop the weeds coming through LOL)
and got heavily involved in the creative side of black and white processing.

Today I own many digital cameras, but most of my work is now done with
a full frame Nikon D700 and a D300 as backup.
I really enjoy the creative side of digital photography,
and every aspect from going out on a location shoot to processing
each digital photo to get the best I can from it.

My main photographic interests are landscape, still life and digital art,
but I try not to limit myself to these areas and enjoy exploring other avenues
and capturing different subject matter.
For most of my working life I’ve been involved in the HVAC, software,
audiovisual and multimedia industries and currently work full time in sales and marketing.
I've written several books, the latest being on digital photo competition.

I’ve travelled the world and been fortunate to visit many countries and
experience the many cultures.
I was born in England, lived for many years in Eden and Malta and have
been settled in Australia for the last 38 years.
I’m married and have three children aged 27, 26 and 14.

Living in Melbourne, Australia, I’m lucky to live right on the doorstep
of the Yarra Valley, one of the most scenic parts of Victoria.
A rich landscape with mountain ranges to rolling plains, with lakes, streams,
and many vineyards, teaming with wildlife and feathered friends.
I'll often go out at dawn or the early evening to capture images of
beauty of this landscape in the best of God's light.

_______________________________________________________________

Thoughts on the art of Photography

It is extremely rare for two people to ever photograph the same unstaged scene.
The angle of view, the ever-changing light of day, and the composition
we choose all add to the randomness of the light that enters our cameras.
Yet more amazing, is the thought that much of what we photograph may never
have been photographed before or again a thousand years from now.

Knowing that you have captured the light reflected from a moment in time and space
that is possibly truly unique is what makes the hobby of photography so exciting.

In the natural world no two sunset skies are ever alike.
The facial expressions of our children change as they grow each day
and are there to be cherished for but a moment.
The things we see and take fore granted in our everyday lives
take on new feeling, meaning and beauty in each well-composed photo.
My camera is only the tool that allows me to share with others,
the beauty and the creativity my mind can see in the physical world I witness.

Yet I know, that my best photo is always the one I am yet to take.
This is what keeps the photographic pursuit forever interesting.
Knowing that tomorrow I may shoot another picture I can be proud of.

A photographer dedicated to his art is just like a hunter.
His weapon is his camera, waiting to take the perfect shot.
The hunt can be as enthralling as the trophy itself,
leading us to places never ventured, or faces never seen.

This era of modern digital photography too,
means the “bullets” or “shots” we fire are now virtually free.
Allowing the average person to capture endless moments in time inexpensively.

The traditional darkroom digitally replaced by software allows us
to unleash our creative potential to greater levels and produce
true masterpieces we can be proud of with ease.

This is what photography means to me....
A never-ending journey in the pursuit of photographic excellence.

My Motto: “Don’t feel you have to take photos of impressive subjects….
Rather, try to take impressive photos of any subject”.

If you've enjoyed your visit to my online photo galleries,
please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the galleries
or in my guest book.

Richard Higgs

_______________________________________________

Equipment Profile

Digital Cameras

Nikon D700 with MB-D10 Grip
Nikon D300
Nikon D70s
Panasonic LX3
Canon S90
Canon G11
Canon G10
Canon S3IS
Canon S60
Canon A610
Fuji F30
Contax SL300RT
Nikon CP800
_______________________________________________

Lenses

Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8 G IF-ED
Nikon AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G DX ED
Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 ED
Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8 ED
Nikon Fisheye 10.5mm f/2.8 ED DX
Nikon AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G IF-ED
Nikon AF 60mm Micro f/2.8 D (macro lens)
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.4D
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D
Tamron SP AF 28-75 F2.8 XR Di
Tamron AF 28-300 f/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC
Sigma EX 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM
Sigma 28mm f/1.8
Lensbaby 3G
Kenko 2.0X Pro 300 DG Teleconverter
Kenko 1.4X Pro 300 DG Teleconverter
______________________________________________

Flashes

1 x Nikon SB800 Flash
2 X Nikon SB600 Flashes
Nissan Macro ring Flash
Lumiquest mini softbox
Stofen Omnibounce
Light stands & reflector umbrellas
____________________________________________

Digital Storage

Epson P-2000 40GB portable multimedia storage /viewer
16GB Sandisk Extreme III CF
4GB Sandisk Extreme III CF
2GB Legend Ultra 80X CF
1GB Sandisk Extreme III CF
1GB Ridata Pro 80X CF
2GB Hitachi Micro drive
8GB Sandisk SD
4GB Sandisk SD
2GB Sandisk SD
1GB Sandisk UltraII SD
1GB Toshiba SD

_______________________________________________

Filters

Lee Professional 150mm Resin Filters
Tiffen circular grad 4 stop ND 72mm
Canon 500D macro Close up lens 77mm
Canon 250D macro Close up lens 52mm
Hoya R72 Infrared Filter 52mm
Hoya HMC Circular Polarizers 77,72,62,58,52mm
Hoya Crystal cross 52mm
Assorted Cokin Graduated effect Flters
_______________________________________________

Tripods & Supports

Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod & Ball head
Manfrotto 728b Tripod & 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head
Manfrotto 680B monopod & 484 ballhead & concealed legs
Slik Sprint Pro GM Tripod
_______________________________________________

Digital Darkroom PC

Hand built Core i7 920 running at 4.2 GHz with pro water cooling system
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Mainboard
6GB Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz ram with Vortex RAM cooler
ATI Radeon 5770 1GB Graphics card
Windows 7 -64 bit
Patriot Torqx 128 GB SSD (Solid State Hard disk) (Operating system drive)
6 Terabyte hard disk space - WD Raptors & Seagate Barracuda drives
Thermaltake V9 case with CoolMaster Silent Pro 600W PSU
External RAID 1 backup drives
Epson R1800 printer A3+ (Ultrachrome pigment inks)
Epson R800 printer A4 (Ultrachrome pigment inks)
Monitors: 3 x 24 inch IPS LCDs (NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXi2 with viewing hood -Photo editing monitor)
Calibration Hardware: X-Rite ColorMunki Printer Calibrator
Spyder 3 Pro calibrator with NEC Spectraview II monitor hardware LUT calibration software.

Adobe Photoshop CS3
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0
Qimage Professional
DXO Optics Pro 6.1
Nikon Capture NX 2.2.4
Nikon View NX
Portrait Professional
Coral PhotoImpact X3
Coral PaintShopPro X2 Ultimate
Noise Ninja 2
Noiseware

_______________________________________________

Photo Bags & storage

Lowepro Nova 2 AW
Lowepro Nova 3 AW
Lowepro Slingshot 200 AW
Lowepro Orion Trekker II Backpack
Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 Backpack
Lowepro mini Trekker AW Backpack