Photography by Will Richardson

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/1600s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/2000s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/500s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/2000s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/5000s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/4000s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/2500s

Making the most of the golden sand and clear water.

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/2000s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/1500s

Sony a6500 with Samyang 12mm f2
30s • Multi-shot composite

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f7.1 • 15s

Shot the opening night of Vivid 2023 from the Shangri-la hotel, giving a view over the whole harbour. Didn’t have a lens skirt—and didn’t think there were reflections at the time—but had to spend ages painting the reflection out just above the opera house.

The first shot is a composite from multiple points throughout the evening. The sky and most of the buildings are from a shot just before sunset, then the lights and trails of the boats are from some shots just after sunset. The fireworks are a separate shot, taken with a different lens! I didn’t plan to include this in the composite, but realised that I could take the telephoto view of the fireworks from the 18-105mm and line it up over the wide shots from earlier in the evening.

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/1250s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/160s

DJI Mini 3 Pro
f1.7 • 1/500s

Some test shots with the Mini 3, trying to get the light of the sunset on the city.

Sony a6500 with Sigma 30mm f1.4
f6.3 • 1/320s • Panorama

Sony a6500 with Samyang 12mm f2
f0 • 13s • Multi-shot composite with star tracking

Sony a6500 with Samyang 12mm f2
f0 • 13s • Multi-shot composite with star tracking

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f8 • 1/3s

Lacking other ideas, decided to play with motion blur by tracking waves as the came to shore.

Sony a6500 with Sigma 30mm f1.4
f2 • 1/800s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/80s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/200s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/60s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f5.6 • 1/160s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f5 • 1/200s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f8 • 1/1000s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f9 • 105mm • 1/640s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f9 • 1/250s

Olympus TG 6
f2 • 1/1000s

Borrowed an Olympus TG 6 to use while rafting down the Franklin river. Could have used a bigger sensor and bigger lens.

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/1250s

Sony a6500 with Sigma 30mm f1.4
f5.6 • 1/80s

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/500s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f7.1 • 1/160s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/160s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/160s

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • 1/200s

Quokkas are very cute.

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f4 • Panorama

Sony a6500 with Sony G 18-105mm f4
f7.1 • 1/200s • Panorama

These are two very different panoramas. The second is hand-held at a moderately wide angle, as usual. The first is taken on a tripod, with the lens zoomed all the way in. This let me capture a wide-angle shot while maintaining a shallow depth of field, which you’d almost never see in a single shot.

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/160s

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/25s • Panorama

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/1600s

DJI Mini 2
f2.8 • 1/120s • Panorama

A few of these involved fighting a bit of wind and battery life, which made me a little nervous. Very happy at how the second and last shots turned out (the two blue ones). Both are fairly substantial panoramas.