Null-a-bore
Posted: July 23, 2012 Filed under: Landscapes | Tags: landscapes 3 Comments
The Nullabor is long, flat, straight-ish, and short on verdant growth, but I have never found it boring. Punctuated every 200-odd km by roadhouses offering everything from fresh egg sandwiches and home-made baked goods, to what appears to be thrice-fried dim-sum, and a rotating population of itinerant and international staff (one sporting a bonzer hickey), I drop into each one just to see what treasure lies within. And perhaps to stop my mind wandering to such gripping topics as “why does every t-shirt I own have a hole in it just above the hemline and to the right of centre?”. At Balladonia, I grabbed a talking book, and the lovely man presented me with a souvenir pair of undies for my travel wine glass. Forging on, rainbow upon rainbow appeared through Simpsons clouds and I looked for the unicorn that would gallop alongside my vehicle at any moment.
Stopping for the night, I dutifully produced photo ID in the event I would ‘trash my room’, and repaired to my lodgings for the evening. As the sun set through the silicone holding my window together, I swear I heard my little wine glass whisper thanks for the modesty garment.
Alone time
Posted: July 22, 2012 Filed under: Landscapes | Tags: landscapes 2 CommentsWhen W found the camper trailer of his dreams, I had not a whit of surprise when he casually mentioned that it was in Brisbane. Without looking at a map, I concluded that this was possibly the furthermost point of Australia from Perth, and that I would be the one popping down the road to pick it up. W would drop in at Brisbane and we would drive in the direction of the Top End and the actual road trip we had planned. Some alone time I thought! How rare and precious. 5522 kilometres later I can report that the novelty wore off about 8 hours into the drive, but am awakened to the magnetism I possess when it comes to men in the sunset of their sixties.
Denied a rear view by everything one imagines one needs for camping and five weeks on the road, there was room left for one small Chihuahua (no turning circle), as I left Perth and headed East.
TomTom assured me it was around 750km to Fraser Station, so I sat back, educational podcasts running, and settled in for a 4:30pm arrival.
As the appointed km mark, dusk descended, TomTom threw his virtual arms in the air and claimed that was all he had. According to him, we were there. Still driving a tense 130km later, I spotted a small sign in the darkness. Glad to avoid a roadside sleepover or the desolate town of Norseman (where a certain petrol station has magic pumps that charge you for more fuel than your petrol tank actually holds) I got to enjoy the fantastic facilities at Fraser Range, and met the first of what would be a clutch of newly retired (and I suspect newly single) men on epic solo cycling journeys from one side of country to the other.
A burst of botanical
Posted: June 19, 2012 Filed under: Australia, Flora | Tags: eucalyptus, iconic australian images, landscapes, mallee fruit, native australian plants, native plants 9 CommentsMy current obsession is gumnuts. From the nuggety little bell-shaped ones and the elfin button-like ones, to the basic gumnut babies shape that May Gibbs introduced to the world almost 100 years ago. On any given day you will find branches of them lurking in my car, gathered while walking or travelling, and saved for an as yet unidentified purpose.
Heading out in search of the ultimate specimen, I fell upon a wondrous world of shape and colour; nuts that look like they had been piped from an icing bag, tutus and hawaiian skirts bursting from them, pale greens and pinks that belong on textiles, and another reason to love the humble gumtree even more.
Ooldea Mallee, Eucalyptus youngiana
Cross my palm
Posted: June 13, 2012 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes, SA | Tags: Australia, grey kangaroo, landscapes, outback, roadsides, roadtrip, Roadtrips, SA, wedge-tailed eagle 5 CommentsThe Australian Professional Photography Awards this year delivered me a Silver Award, and oh my, how I have grown.
Once crushed by the disappointment of my unrewarded works not considered worthy, I find myself in 2012 simultaneously thrilled my wedge-tailed eagle found friends on the judging panel, and that my other two (un)landscape images were not quite their cup of tea. High five for different strokes!
I traversed a most lumpy piece of ground in the trusty truck to get close enough to this gorgeous bird that wanted to fly off (but really didn’t want to leave without eating some greens). Now, I love a raptor as much as the next person, but the wedge-tailed eagles have my heart. Such a beautiful face!
Seeing things
Posted: March 15, 2012 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes | Tags: Australia, landscapes, Nullabor, Roadtrips Leave a commentWoodend to Perth: Roadtrip Day 4
When you arrive at a Nullabor roadhouse before 5pm, you wonder where all the people are and pause to consider the possibility that you may have wandered onto the before now secret set of Wolf Creek:The Sequel. By 5.30pm, a full house of motel guests materialise, open the sides of their custom ute/trailer/campers, retrieve their beverage holders, and gather at their doorways, neoprened tinny in hand.
And so it was in Eucla. As dusk set, the entertainment troupe, in the form of a mice plague, came out to party. A sight more gripping than peak hour television, countless little varmints dashed SWAT-team-like from under rubbish bins, to the risky shadows of car tyres, and back and forth along walls and walkways.
By 8am the following morning, we were back on the movie set, wondering if all those other people and meece were inventions of a fine Coonawarra red that had been sunning itself in the rear of the vehicle for four days. Fortified by too much real coffee we didn’t brew in our motel room (NO COOKING IN THE ROOM), we hit the road again, and I welcomed the bracing force of a Nullabor zephyr as I hung my camera out the window for more Fleeting Glimpses. By now, I have lost the part of me that needs pin-sharp focus and am veering toward an impressionistic obsession. I love the way the blurred lines run in different directions, a bit like a mice plague.
Odometer count: 2300km. Next, Esperance.
Fleeting glimpses
Posted: March 14, 2012 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes, SA | Tags: Australia, landscapes, Nullabor, Roadtrips, SA, Trees 2 CommentsThere is a lot to love about a summer evening and a chilled beverage at sunset, on the Ceduna foreshore. Suffering from an embarrassment of riches in seafood, Ceduna is one of those magical places that owes its contained size to its relative remoteness. The people who live and work here are passionate about fishing, the region, and fishing.
Seated on the balcony and blowing the inherited smoke of other diners away, we were joined at our unfeasibly large dining table by a lovely farmer and his date. Generous with information on the region, garnered by generations of family, he pointed us in the direction of Penong and Cactus Beach. We were not disappointed.
In the fresh morning light we came upon salt lakes of coconut ice, and a surf beach that boasted allegedly one of Australia’s best left handers. Chrissie handed me her polarising filter. Oh.My.Goodness. As one who loves a watery vista, I really should have got one long ago, but I always thought it would be another filter hiding in those otherwise un-useable crevices of my camera bag, clocking up frequent flyer miles but never getting out of their little plastic cases.
Speeding away, Nullabor bound, Chrissie let me in on what I like to refer to as her Fleeting Glimpse technique which involves hanging your camera out the window of a vehicle travelling at 114km per hour, and defying the Vibration Reduction system of your lens. What I was going for here was the idea that you only catch glimpses of things as you speed by the world, you only focus on bits and pieces. It also greatly challenges my (some would argue) pathological need for order and precision. Rookie attempts, more to come.
The affogato made me do it
Posted: September 26, 2011 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes | Tags: Australia, landscapes, Trees, Victoria, Woodend 3 CommentsIt’s 2am, zero degrees and I am out in my back yard, with too much caffeine on board, but taking advantage of the crystal clear night and almost no wind. I’ve changed the scale and distance from my subject and have discovered my puny torch is impotent. Ransacking the house and garage for all available light sources, it was me, a koala looking for a date, a lead-footed wallaby, a wombat crashing around, a headlight, and two torches. My first challenge: avoid my visible breath drifting across the camera lens mid-capture.
The second biggest challenge was actually getting enough light to focus on the subject matter. After an hour, I had a blast of inspiration. My studio lights. 600w of joy in each one, not exactly fit for purpose, but all sorts of things seem reasonable in the wee hours. Standing with one on my shoulder pointing at the trees, and risking electrocution (my lecturers warnings ringing in my ears!) it still wasn’t enough. I stuck it out, blindly focussing until my fingers ceased operating, and nose would not stop streaming. Tomorrow, you will find me shopping in the industrial floodlight department.
Two views of the same scene; the first with the puny torch collection, the second with the studio light, giving a lot more filled-in detail.
If I fixed the colour balance, to compensate for the light temperature, these would be bluer in appearance. I prefer the warm result out of the camera.
Fresh from the ‘man
Posted: September 1, 2011 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes, QLD | Tags: Australia, Hayman Island, landscapes, night photos, palms, QLD, Trees, trees Leave a commentHayman Island seems to favour the wind powered sports. A roaring gale from sun-up mixed with the low tide estuary-style beach has me re-experiencing my Canterbury University days windsurfing on the Estuary near Sumner in Christchurch. The wind makes for a lot of movement in the foliage over my long night exposures, and it is lovely to be taking photos of a very different kind of vegetation to my usual. I am amazed at how green the results are – no freaky colours like other times.
Another sawn-off branch – like the one in Daylesford! Love the mix of soft movement in the light foliage, and sharpness in the more rigid trunks.
Dark in Daylesford
Posted: August 27, 2011 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes | Tags: Australia, Daylesford, landscapes, night photography, The Lake House, Trees, trees, Victoria 6 CommentsThanks to my fab husband I got to spend my birthday at The Lake House in Daylesford. A biting wind at 5pm told me it would be a clear night which usually translates to me wearing all the clothes from my wardrobe at once, and jumping from foot to foot to keep the circulation going in the arctic night, whilst W waves from warmth behind glass. These were my favourite photos from that night. The first one almost looks painted to me, in that classical style. The tiny pinecones and sawn-off log are what grabbed me to begin with, and the pretty, delicate, branches flanking an ominously disappearing path, like Hansel and Gretel would skip off down it never to be seen again. W’s favourite part is the tiny house in the middle.
I love the colours in this, achieved by the use of a couple of light sources. I also have a special affection for gum trees as you may have gathered, so it wins on that count.
Sucker for a starry sky. Is that Orion’s belt? Can anyone recommend a good star identification site?
These remind me of skeletons. Hmm…recurring gothic interpretation.
Always love to hear what you think. Anything grab you, and why?
No fences
Posted: August 9, 2011 Filed under: Australia, Landscapes, SA, WA | Tags: Australia, landscapes, night photos, NT, outback, pilbara, roadsides, Roadtrips, SA, Stuart Highway, Trees, WA 2 CommentsMy love of a far-reaching, uninterrupted vista is becoming more self-evident in my work. It dawns on me that this Vista-Love is directly related to my Ocean-Love – no fences and a sense of limitless expanse seen through the dive mask. W would probably suggest this relates to my alleged resistance to authority and boundaries.
I took these on our recent trip to the Pilbara and back.
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As I see it 