Amazing what can turn up in front of you... at a certain angle this rock face manifested an elephant's head with what appears to be broken tusks and ear. Incredibly the ear has such a similar texture as you might find on a real elephant - veins etc. I saw the complete picture after noticing an eye structure in the rock. Serendipity or some such thing.
Rock formations
The combination of wind, water and rocks can make for interesting 'artworks' in nature. These are a couple of images from Mt Hay Rd. The first image strikes me as having a hint of graffiti tags and more ancient rock drawings.
In a creek
Here in the mountains we are currently inundated with rain and not insignificantly, wind gusts taking down trees loosened by all the water. Winter seems to have taken hold now with daytime temps around 6-7°c. But its autumn! Looks like there will be plenty of changes of season images to record. Before all this I started on a video for a friend who a Qigong teacher. The location was near a stream which runs through a large property in nearby Leura - a day or two before the rain.
Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains
Nothing like its namesake - all wet and green here. Plenty of steps for most of the way. There was more to travel but three hours was enough for this mini trek with camera and tripod. This shot was very reminiscent of Lord of the Rings territory - two old trees forming a gateway for a worn path through the forest.
Student on bike - Rome
This shot was taken in the morning with rather soft and pleasant lighting. This person was riding up the hill towards a cathedral. Maybe he was a student or member of the clergy since he was headed in that direction. The fairly strong but subtle colour of the wall in the morning light together with the obvious lack of traffic in the middle of the city gave this scene a memorable presence for me.
A break from landscape
A short stay in Rome around 2007 gave me a variety of images. Not so much landcsape understandably as I was in the city most of the time. Some details escape me now but this couple sat between stone columns of a church chatting. Who knows the topic but the old granite (if that's what they are) columns would have their own story. Inscriptions from the modern era are visible. The younger generation seem to want to leave their mark everywhere. More to come from Europe soon.
Arthur River
A recent conversion to black & white. The coastline around Arthur River remains for me one of the most interesting parts of Tasmania. A late evening long exposure (f4.0, 58mm, 6 sec, ISO 64) softened the water and provided the detail in the surrounding rocks. The rounded rocks in the mid distance are slightly rounded in appearance giving a momentary illusion of sea life.
Another example of exotic rock formations.
Mad Tree Disease
A return trip to New Norfolk, Tasmania made this image available. Fortunate placement of the cow. Note: To make a comment on any post, you will need to click on the title of individual posts.
Power station towers
These type of photos are often shown as b&w to accentuate their abstract nature. However, large objects in pastel colours also make interesting photographic subjects. Taken at Wallerawang just outside of Lithgow. Middle of the day in bright sunshine - not generally what is required but in this case adding to the result.
Crop it?
One of the considerations in presenting an image and this is part of the PP, is whether an image should be cropped or not. In this example, these flowers are clearly the subject of the shot. As such you might consider this image as having unnecessary background. However the background in this shot contributes to the overall appeal of the image in my opinion. It reminds meal of a meal served on a beautiful plate that adds to the visual appeal. Too much cropping and the image can't breathe. Too little and the image floats around.
More atmosphere
A continuation of the weather this afternoon ie, more clouds and interesting atmospheric conditions. Now you see it, now you don't - except if you catch it in between!
The dense air creates a 'thickness' in the scene. Even though clouds are prevalent, a low level mist colours the background skies. A little light throws highlights on the escarpment.
Sunlight pierces the cloud cover further towards the west.
Lion's head? Close up version of a photo from yesterday's blog under different lighting conditions.
Elsewhere on the mountainside, a rusted out car becomes visible after the bushland is 'cleared' by a fire.
Support pillar in shelter near Katoomba Falls.
Change of weather
A very warm day yesterday but predictably the clouds rolled in over the valley later in the afternoon. This shot was taken from Narrow Neck which was soon enveloped in cloud cover.
20 minutes before - taken from Cahills Lookout, scene of bushfires in November 2014. This angle could be shot thanks to fires burning away the undergrowth and foliage allowing access to lower areas.
Unremarkable
How often do we venture out as photographers to capture a beautiful scene? As it happened the day I shot this image was also the same day an earlier photo was taken with dramatic cloud formation and featuring another tree. Firey skies and black clouds are striking in their impact. This is not one of those photos. It is however a simple exercise in relationships and tones with a helpful diagonal element thrown in (cloud base). The dark tree form is rooted in the solid (also dark) base. The light cloud form above also benefits and is shown up by the darker sky. The tree is also slightly slanted away from the cloud at the top which is 'moving' from left to right of the frame. The tree may be catching a low flying darker cloud (what has this guy been smoking!). It is Friday afternoon....
One more thing on format. Some time ago a photo magazine publisher had a podcast on image format of a newer camera he was using. In particular he pointed out how he was quite taken by the 16 x 9 format it offered him (he could selected that crop factor in the camera menu). He concluded that since becoming used to that format, other crop factors seemed... not quite right. The crop factor of the above image is 4 x 3. The photo wasn't copped afterwards, it was taken like this. Neither are right or wrong. Both can be powerful. Some people never stray from the square.
Hay barn - Wilton, TAS
A strange combination of cool weather and no rain - Tasmania has been pretty dry for months. Fields are yellow and hay is an important food source for cattle and horses.
Heading north
Tasmania isn't a big place. If you move around you will see a variety of weather conditions. This shot was taken traveling north from Hobart. The weather moved in and provided a subtle landscape with just enough detail. Sometimes a limited palette of colours contributes more to a photo.
2015 Tasmanian Wooden Boat Festival
Hobart turned on some well received warm summery weather for us mainlanders during the boat show recently. Well worth the trip with boats of all types on display in the water and in the exhibition halls nearby (on the waterfront). A lot of salty old dogs roaming around with many years of experience in life on the water. I had only the Olympus em5 with 24-80mm (full frame equivalent) capturing these images. Every kind of watercraft was represented from super lightweight single seater kayaks and row boats to sea going yachts and ships reminiscent of the 'old days'.
Also represented at the Festival was the Wooden Boat Centre at Franklin offering short courses in boat building. A short tour of the facility gave us the low down on this craft and a little history as well.
Surprisingly few tools are required to build your own boat according to John, our tour guide. Some of the older tools are shown on display here. A course is around 7 weeks to complete. 2-5 people are taken for each group. At the completion of the course, one of the attendees are invited to buy the finished product if they like. Materials for a 12-14ft boat are around $7,500.
Most of the timber used to make boats in Tasmania come from the bottom of rivers. They are floated to the surface then processed (dried etc).
In the background is an old style motor boat as you might have seen in a James Bond movie. There are no straight straight panels in that example.
An explanation of what goes into the making of a boat - processes, types of timber etc. One of the boats recently built incorporates timber used around pipelines, cleaned up and recycled. New timber is at a premium.
By the water
Tree reflection in water with waves. F4.5 1/10s ISO100 31mm
Cox's River Road
A turn off on the way to Lithgow - a solitary tree against the backdrop of stormy skies.
Mt Wilson revisited
What a difference 24 hours makes. Today temperature dropped 12-13 degrees and most of the mountains are covered in mist. Cue to visit Mt Wilson again - populated with private gardens available to view for the public (for a fee), there are many locations within this area that are rich resources for the keen photographer. These are a few shots captured in the course of my visit.
The waterhole
About 45 mins drive from Katoomba is a waterhole whose precise location will remain a secret for the benefit of locals. As it turns out its fairly well populated anyway on sunny days. A generous swimming area surrounded by small cliffs and a weir which takes away excess. Nearby, is a beautiful grotto like space where rock climbers do their thing.