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The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has been run and won for another year (well nearly, still waiting for the outcome of a protest that is still in session at the time of writing this. This year saw a number of happy differences from last year:
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One of my favourite photos from my Taiwan trip, this photo was taken with the sun setting as the fishing fleet was heading out to sea for a night of fishing. This photo was taken at the entrance of Kaohsuing Harbour in the Cijin District.
This is perhaps the first time I have seen the sun set over the ocean/sea – I have yet to be on the west coast of Tasmania on a day that is clear enough to observe the sun set over the watery horizon. It is just an amazing sight was the sun get lower and lower and then seemingly speed up as it hits the horizon, melting into the sea.
*Edit* Updated title to Taiwan Strait. Apparently Google Maps doesn’t know about the Taiwan Strait.
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I must say I am feeling rather pleased with myself. Yesterday was a visit to Mt Field National Park, and the Russell Falls. The Russell falls are deceptively difficult to photograph as when there are significant flows of water air turbulence from the waterfall throws mist forward onto the camera, leaving fine water drops on the lens.
Not today however. Armed with a cloth that I threw over the lens until I was ready, I cast away the cloth and took the photo. The end result a rather decent 1 second exposure of Russell Falls, which can no go with my photos of Lady Barren and Horse Shoe Falls.
I also took some time out to make a short video.
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Well it’s 2011, and like the beginning of most years I take the time with my Grandparents to visit the Brookside Cherry farm in Judbury followed by a trip in the southern forests, past the old family camping grounds on the Huon River.
This trip saw us stop at the Huon River at Southwood, the bridge abutment burying what was the old camp ground, look around the lower Arve River before having Lunch at Glover’s Bluff and returning home.
This trip was different from many of the others in that for once the River was at a summer level as opposed to flood, which also meant the sun was out and the river was moving slow for the most part. This gave me the opportunity to take some photo of the rocks in the shallows that make the river. When dry, the rocks are not terribly exciting, but with the tannin-stained water of the river they take on various rich colours.
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Gentle Annie Falls are located southern slopes of Mount Wellington, and are rather conveniently at the side of the Huon Highway. You literally just pull up and start taking photos.
Normally the falls are almost dry but as this was taken after a good 12 hours of rain, theres a bit more rain flowing down them. One of the things about the these falls in the uneven slope of the falls, which makes it very difficult to capture their height when standing in front of them.
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It has been a little while since I last posted. Truth be told I have not had a lot of time for photography over winter, and those photos I have taken I have been fair from impressed with.
It is now spring in Tasmania, and with it has come the rain. For people who love taking photos of rivers and waterfalls like me, this is the time to get in the car and go exploring. Today’s photo comes from North-West Bay River, which has it’s origins on Mt Wellington south-west slopes. Today the normally dry river has swollen with 2 days of solid rain, making it much more interesting to photograph.
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This past long weekend I had the pleasure of going out with some friends to Mt Field National Park for the day. Was was also an excellent opportunity to meet Amy, a fellow photographer who does extraordinary things with her mobile phone.
This is quickly becoming a regular destination for me given that it is not all that far away to drive and theres a lot of interesting scenery along the way. The trip took me around my usual circuit – National Park via New Norfolk in the morning, and then home via Lake Meadowbank in the evening.
Unfortunately I haven’t had a lot of time to play with my camera of late, and it does show in my photos. Many of them suffered compositional mistakes, issues with white balance and colour and focus. I’m surprised any photos came out at all.
One such example is the photo above – compositional error. Really should not have had the car on the bridge and what particularly annoyed me was that I did not reshoot the photo. I have no idea why I forgot.
There was only one image I took that day I was truly happy with – but I will leave that to Amy to show you.
Thanks to Anders, Tori, Tom, Caitlin, James, Leesha, Carly and of course Amy for the day.
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The reason for heading up to Mt Wellington was to take some photos of O’Grady falls. I had previously gone looking for them last year, however ended up on “long way round” track, which I abandoned halfway through the walk.
No problems finding the falls this time, I was well researched. The Wood’s Track albeit the shorter route was very steep though – what was an enjoyable walk down was a recipe for a heart attack back up. However with the wet day, and heavy cloud cover, it was perfect conditions to take photos of waterfalls.
The image really does not do justice to the falls – I would estimate them to be between 6 and 9 metres high. I also became re-acquainted with leeches, which seemed determined t suck me dry by dropping from overhanging trees. Thankfully only 1 managed to “get me” – the others I removed in time.
I feel there is potential to improve on this photo – this is the “tourist” shot many people get of the falls, however it does not really tell the story of the waterfall, so I plan to return when the weather isn’t so prone to leeches and spend more time trying to get the shot I want.
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If you decide to just keep following the road after going past Huonville, you will go through several small townships such as Franklin, Geeveston, Dover and Esperence. If you keep going past here, the landscape gives way to forest and the road turns to gravel. you go around a few bends before arriving at Cockle Creek. Drive a little further along and the road turns into a car park and ends. You have reached the most southern drivable point in Australia.
About 10 minutes before reaching cockle creek is Researche Bay. In 1792 French expeditioner Bruni d’Entrecasteaux explored the area and named much of the surrounding area. In the 1840s the area was known for it’s whaling station. These days it is an isolating haven for shack dwellers and a few residents.
My plan had been to spend a few hours taking photos at Cockle Creek. The weather had other ideas. From the moment I arrived to the moment I left heavy drizzle made it impossible to get out of the car without getting too wet, let alone spend hours taking photos.
Retreating from the conditions, I was able to spend time at Researche Bay taking photos, but with ordinary light conditions there were very few acceptable images that came out for me.
I will go back there, though being a 6 hour return drive, it probably will not be soon.
Going through my photos at Cape Deslacs, I noticed that there was enough imagery available to generate another mini slideshow. Rather that create another animated GIF as seen in my Deluge post, I thought I would attempt to find a way to animate the images using script. The end result is seen above using wordpress plugin.
Cape Deslacs is quickly becoming a new favourite spot for me, with a fantastic rock formation and coastal beach allowing for a lot of experimentation with exposure, composition and natural lighting.
