So where have I been roaming of late? With only a few days spare I headed north looking for good light. My first port of call was Coalcliff where I invested some time into the Sea Cliff Bridge, a scene that just begs to be photographed. At one point I was inundated by a couple of dozen fellow photographers taking to the rocky cliffside like a flock of goats, one after the other, and decided to seek a less obvious vantage point. Ultimately, however, I came away unhappy with my compositions and the light in general, so refocused my efforts the next day on the sea pool which I’d attempted before.
Readers may recall the dog incident from a previous blog. This time I didn’t need to sacrifice a chunk out of my pants, but instead had to accommodate the myriad of early risers keen for a healthy, though bracing morning swim. Fortunately, people move. Reshooting over and over with long shutter speeds gave me enough unpopulated content that I was able to simplify the scene reducing it to a pure landscape. Maybe next time I try a busy sea pool I’ll have the courage to ask someone to pose. A single figure would have looked nice.
Photographing the east coast always tends to favour sunrises, so to use up a sunset I travelled inland to the little town of Bungendore in search of old buildings. The place has a certain charm to it, with several art and craft shops, cafes and the like, but my time was too limited to dwell. Scouting about I settled on an old cottage on private property and had the good fortune come across the owner who granted me permission to capture it. I waited for twilight to avoid harsh shadows and without any planning was pleasantly surprised to have a full moon perch attractively in the fading sky.
Making the most of my time, I drove back to the coast to check out Wollongong and had an enjoyable day scouting for locations on the foreshore. The two lighthouses were quite the obvious targets, but which one? Eventually I settled on the breakwater deeming to have more character than its more modern counterpart. I chose a composition and waited for the light.
As the sun descended the scene initially looked pretty bland and I was dismayed by the number of people still milling about. The place is understandably popular. I’d nearly given up when suddenly the sky lit up like it was on fire! I’m well practiced now at shooting straight into the sun, so I left feeling confident I’d captured the grand display at its best.
As a bonus I spent an hour or two chatting to some other photographers, an experience I always enjoy. The topic of social media came up, and my lack of participation on such platforms was received with surprise. My reasons for avoiding it to date stem mainly from not having enough time, and possessing a personality that lacks the requisite flamboyance. I’m too much the introvert.
From a business marketing angle there may well be merit in pursuing the likes of Facebook and Instagram but I only have a certain amount of energy and prefer to expend it doing what I love, off in the mountains creating new photographs. Realising, however, that as a photography business I need to push myself I’ve sought other avenues for reaching an audience. I’ll be holding a small exhibition in October, here in my home town of Bendigo. More details on that in the coming months.
Back to the trip, and the homeward journey where I managed a return visit to Orroral Homestead in Namadgi National Park, just out of Canberra. I’d been there before but wanted to try again to capture the essence of the place. It has some kind of undeniable presence. It’s partly the remote setting, being in a wide-open valley hedged between forested hills. However, there is something else there which is hard to describe. At night, it is very still and quiet apart from the lonely, and somewhat eerie call of wild dogs. Yet the kangaroos are so calm you can walk among them, and the various old ruins speak to you of their past.
The last shot was quite random. I’d ended up in Tumbarumba looking for a scene I’d shot years ago, only to discover it was no longer present. With limited light remaining I checked out what else was nearby, saw Paddys River Falls on the map, and drove up for a quick look. Needless to say, I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon there quite surprised to see so much water in autumn. What a great little find.
So that about wraps it up for another blog entry. As always, I hope all is well in your own lives, and some peace finds you. Until next time dear readers.