I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a whirlwind week in Sydney, Australia! Sydney is an amazing city — it has the energy of NYC and Paris, but within minutes you can escape the hustle and bustle  and relax on one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.

My home base was at The Rocks and Circular Quay — a minute’s stroll from the ferry boats, Opera House, and Harbor Bridge. (So perfect!) And as soon as I unpacked, I grabbed my camera and hopped on board a City Sightseeing bus to get myself acquainted with Sydney.

Of course, one of the first places I explored was the Sydney Opera House — which was a wonderful place to start my adventure. If you’ve never read or heard of the history of the  Sydney Opera House, you need to learn about it. Not so much about the construction details, but it’s important to learn about Jørn Utzon — the artist and designer of the Opera House. It’s sort of a sad story… Politics forced Utzon to resign from the project, and Utzon left Sydney before the Opera House was complete. He passed away only 10 months ago, and never once came back to see his masterpiece. (*sniff*)

The Opera House inspired me to focus on structure and design. During this trip, I was really drawn to photographing lines and patterns — you’ll notice a lot of geometry in my images. Also, I played with the sun in many photographs, which was something different for me.

As I tweeted and mentioned to lots of my friends and family, the light in Sydney is amazing. It’s very bright and direct. It’s as if the sun wants to shine on YOU. And only you.

I used to avoid lens flare because I never quite knew how to use it artistically. But with the sun being so intense in Sydney, I had to try my hand at incorporating that flare into the photographs I took. Hope I was able to show it off just right in my photos.

I’ve only been back in the States for a week, but I miss Sydney already. I’m looking forward to another visit in 2010, but hopefully I can stay for a few weeks and take time to head to the Blue Mountains and catch a surf lesson at Bondi.

Below is a gallery of my favorite photos from Sydney. I also have a Sydney, Australia set on Flickr here. Enjoy!

(Here’s some trivia for you… “Woolloomooloo” is the Aboriginal word for a baby kangaroo. )

Travel Photography | Sydney, Australia – Images by Lia Ballentine

What is a photo walk? Jeff Revell knows… According to Revell, master photographer and photowalker, a photo walk is:

…the act of walking around with your camera and photographing your surroundings. Recently the term has become synonymous with a group of photographers, walking in predetermined locations and then sharing their imagery. Alone or with a group, the purpose is still the same and that is to go out and shoot.

Simple. And so much fun.

Last year, Scott Kelby (of Adobe fame) initiated the first ever Worldwide Photo Walk event. He did this as part of the new Lightroom 2 release, and the event was successful — with thousands of photographers participating from around the globe.

Today, Kelby announced that the second annual Photo Walk would take place on July 18. At this moment, there are already 192 walks registered. And Downtown Knoxville is one of the places that will be holding a Photo Walk event! YESH again!

Because I received approval to lead the event just this afternoon, I’m still working on the details. But be assured, this is going to be a fun walk and social event for photogs in Knoxvegas. There will be surprises and prizes and more.

To learn more about the event, or to sign up (participation is limited to 50 photogs), click here. I’ll be posting updates on the official Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk page in the weeks leading up to the event.

You don’t have to be a pro photographer to participate. As long as you enjoy exploring and have some way to capture images (pinhole cameras accepted, too!), you’re welcome to come along. Oh, and it doesn’t cost anything to join the photo walk. Just bring some enthusiasm and curiosity.

The walk will be followed by lunch at one of the hot restaurants in Market Square (to be decided). So bring your appetite as well.

(Photos from my Flickr.)

(Photos from my Flickr.)

Brandon and I took a trip to France (with a mini-trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco) — and “Oui, oui!” — we really had a wonderful time. And of course, when the two of us travel, we pack for a photo adventure.

We first arrived in Nice. Ah, Southern France. C’est bon! We stayed in the French Riviera for several days, exploring the markets, the Mediterranean, the people and food, and more. We visited castle ruins, walked in the footsteps of some of history’s most renowned artists (Matisse, Chagall,…), ate fabulous food, and soaked in the beauty of the Cote d’Azur.

Then we took a short trip to Monte Carlo and gawked at the richness (literally) of Monaco. The cars (Lamborghini), the stores (Chanel), the people — ooh la la! The streets were paved with diamonds. Well, not really, but they could have been. We took a train ride around Monte Carlo and visited the casino, home of the real Monte Carlo games. And we even watched the changing of the guards at the palace (Prince Albert wasn’t around that day). Also, in addition to being the home of the Grand Prix, Monaco also has a cool year-round carnival by the coast with fast rides and good crepes for snacking on.

And then we jetted up north to Paris. Beautiful Paris. The City of Light. Like all tourists, we had to trek to the Eiffel Tower, eat at a sidewalk cafe, tour the Louvre (and snap a hundred pictures of the Mona Lisa), eat more crepes, find the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and wander through the Latin Quarter like Ernest Hemingway. While in Paris, we also toured the streets of Oberkampf to look at the artwork of famous Parisian street artist Jef Aerosol (whom we met through Flickr). There was really too much to do in so little time, but we managed to cover all of Paris (including a boat ride down the Seine) — we just didn’t stop walking.

We’re planning another trip back! But until then, we’ve published a coffee table book to preserve those memories of France from the fall. 

To preview the book, you can visit my Blurb bookstore. Flip through a few pages. Daydream. Bon voyage mes amis!

I got a juror citation! One of four winners out of more than 300+ entries from regional artists? Not bad, huh?

Below is the article from the Knox Alliance website. To learn more about the Dogwood Arts Festival, click here.

April 2008

The Dogwood Arts Festival 2008 Fine Arts Show Winners Announced
Four awards have been presented to local artists as part of the Dogwood Arts Festival 2008 Fine Arts Show with thanks to ORNL Federal Credit Union. An awards ceremony and public reception will take place on Friday, April 4, from 5-9pm at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville as part of First Friday activities and will feature complimentary hors d’oeuvres catered by The Lunchbox. The 2008 Fine Arts Show, a collaboration between the Dogwood Arts Festival, the Arts & Culture Alliance, and Three Flights Up Gallery, features works in the areas of acrylic, charcoal, clay, colored pencil, digital and film photography, drawing, handwoven works, mixed media, oil, pastel, watercolor, wood, and more by 67 local artists. It will be on exhibit April 4-18.

All 102 pieces in the exhibit, including the award winners, were chosen by juror Neely Hyde, Director of Exhibits for the Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga. Hyde viewed 324 submissions from 130 artists in 34 cities to select the show. “I’m incredibly impressed by the talent exhibited in all of the entries. This show was extremely difficult to jury. The Dogwood Arts Festival should take great pride in offering local artists the opportunity to compare their work to that of others throughout the region,” she said.

The brief awards ceremony will start at 6pm with an introduction by Eddie Mannis of the Dogwood Arts Festival.

The Best of Show award of $500 was awarded to Melynda Moore Whetsel of Knoxville for her piece, “Trust” (Collage / Mixed Media).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to Lia Ballentine of Knoxville for her piece, “Monte Carlo Fun House” (Cross-Processed Digital Photograph glazed on Wood).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to T. Michael Martin of Clinton for his piece, “Molecular Shift” (Mixed Media on Wood Panel).

A Juror’s Citation of $150 was awarded to Marion Randolph of Oak Ridge for his Scarlet Oak bowl.

Click here to view a complete list of artists in the exhibition. [Not an active link.]

Many of the works on display are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The exhibit hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm and Saturday, 11am-3pm, with extended hours on Friday, April 11, from 9am-7pm in conjunction with the Dogwood Arts Festival parade on Gay Street. The Emporium is located at 100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. For more information, please call (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.