Well it's here at last...The WAFL season has started, every club with a sense of optimism and purpose determined to stay at the right end of the ladder.  A 2 game first week (If someone could explain that to me i'd be grateful) saw Subiaco show they're keen win one more game than last year with the 2011 Grand Finalists beating West Perth Falcons and the Perth Demons taking it right up to Claremont Tigers until three quarter time.

The final quarter at Brownes stadium saw the Tigers over run the Demons with the classy midfield dominating the stoppages and running away to win: 101 - 59.  But the signs were very positive for the Demons who showed great pressure and composure in stifling heat.  It was also the first game with the Demons new major sponsor "Provident" who have joined the football club. 

Ross Young was typically dominant for the Perth Demons with a 29 possession display while for the Claremont Tigers Kane Mitchell was outstanding with 28 touches and 3 tackles.

To see the full gallery click here

This photograph was taken a while ago whilst on Holidays in Hawaii.  Honolulu is the largest city on the Hawaiian islands with a population just under 1 million.  Personally i didn't connect with the city of Honolulu or the Island of Oahu.  It was over run with tourists, poor over priced restaurants and crowed tourist attractions. 

The second week i spent on the island of Kauai and had the opposite experience.  Quiet, peaceful, friendly people and amazing scenery combined with an ideal tropical climate made for paradise.  I hope to dig out the archives some more photos from this amazing island as i couldn't of had two more contrasting travel experiences. 

The photograph in question was taken along the picturesque waterfront of the tourist precinct of Honolulu with the sky rise hotels dotting the background.

This photo was processed using Adobe Photoshop CS5 with the Nik Software Viveza Plugin filter to help enhance the contrast between the sky and the clouds without the use of a polarizing filter.

_As i continue my love affair with Nik Software and its range of post production filters and photoshop plugins continues i thought i'd share 3 quick photos that i ran through Silver Efex Pro. 

Silver Efex Pro offers an excellent way of processing images into black and white.  There is a large selection of presets available varying in contrast, tone, key, and traditional film effects.  And as with all Nik Software plugins you can also maintain precise control with micro adjustments to brightness, contrast, structure as well as the ability to control specific sections of an image with control points.

For those who grew up shooting film (or those stubborn enough to hang onto the benefits of still shooting film) you will be pleased to be able to apply your knowledge of coloured filters and replicating film type with specific grain and contrast capabilities of your favourite films including Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and Ilford.

For the shots above i've chosen a "Film Noir" preset then custom adjusted get the gritty contrast and reduced tonal range with the degraded / bleeding edge that used to add that fine art touch.

Again these three shots were taken during my recent trip through Rajasthan India, with the two portraits taken in Ranthambore and Ranakpur and the landscape taken in Jaipur.