Rock Guardians

Part of the joy of photography for me is the appearance of faces in the forests and cliff faces. I find it intriguing that many people don't see them, because to me they're easily discernible. I love to think of them as Nature's guardians of spiritual places and to imagine the secret life of trees.  Creating a slideshow of some of these guardians has long been on my agenda so at last I've compiled a short slideshow of some of the more persistent ones from the Kamay Botany Bay National Park. The quality is not what I would like but at least I've taken some action and I am relatively pleased with the sound track. 

Cape Bailey Reflections

Potter Point is always a pleasure to visit and to think I'd never heard of this location until about 2 years ago. It is deliciously free of ankle biters, yummy mummies, joggers and cyclists.

Unfortunate that access requires one to negotiate 19 speed humps and pray that no traffic is coming from the other direction. However, rain hail or shine and at any time of day, there is always something to capture interest. The light can change dramatically in minutes and the rocks and water are transformed.

Carolyn and I spent a few hours photographing the rock formations and walked as far as the Cape Bailey Lighthouse. There was just enough water on the ground to create some interesting reflections and the cloud formations made for wonderful natural filters. 

 One aspect that is a tad spooky is the number of enormous rocks which have broken off the cliff face. The size of them is quite intimidating, particularly when there is an abundance of fissures embedded in the rocks.

Flannel Flower Haven

I was thrilled to hear flannel flowers were blooming at Potter Point, one of my very favourite locations. The mood at Potter varies with not only the Seasons but with the time of day and each mood holds its attraction for me. Rainfall creates reflective rockpools, the golden sunlight just after dawn and just prior to dusk showcases the glistening crystals in the rocks, and overcast skies  accentuate the undulations and textures of the cliffs. The laden bushes of flannel flowers made such a difference dotted over the flat landscape leading towards the hills. I have many images to play around with and love experimenting with the processing. 

 
This alien like landscape is currently also dotted with strange little spinifex seed heads which look magnificent bathed by the golden glow of the newly risen sun, particularly when the light is filtered by cloud cover. It will be worth a trip back just to capture some images of these little treasures. 

Potter Reflections

After waking to what looked like a promising sky, and to maximise the value of a day off work, I made the effort and headed towards Potter Point. Carolyn's post of a bluebottle ( Portugese man of War) inundation the previous day, reinvigorated my desire to capture a crisp image of the suns rays shining through a  bluebottle sac. A previous attempt had been less than satisfactory so for once I left home with a definite agenda. 

The enchantment for capturing an endless collection of sunrises has somewhat lost its attraction. Blurred skies and slow water have become so much a part of seascape photography that I'm after something different to maintain my enthusiasm. Fiddling with ND Filters and carting around tripods has never held much attraction . My preferred time is the golden hour just after sunrise when a heavenly intense glow anoints the rocks and surface of the water - shooting the effect created by the sun's rays rather than the sun itself. The colour is frequently so intense that it looks as though the saturation has been contrived.

Potter Point's seclusion is its advantage with respect to peace and its only disadvantage if one is cautious, with respect to personal safety. Although surfers and fishermen are usually the only ones to share the early mornings, secluded places unfortunately attract those who use it for vandalism or illegal activities. The torching of a car on this occasion has made me rethink the sense of travelling down a one way dirt track with 19 speed humps, unaccompanied in future.

Cloud cover was extensive and rather than seeking out the bluebottles I became distracted by the endless reflections, a byproduct of the recent heavy rainfalls.

Returning with Carolyn on a quiet Sunday enabled us to try a variety of strategies for photographing them effectively and also created some interest in the life cycle of these mesmerising creatures.I located some of the most ethereal of images at a National Geographic site.

image courtesy of © Ocean Care Solutions

Many of the creatures appeared to be immature versions without tentacles of any sort. The secret to reproduction shall have to go unanswered for the moment as I've spent far too much time researching without a definitive answer, easily understood without possessing a Science degree. The best I could do was discovering they grow from individual cells by asexual division of those cells and produce individual three types of animals that live in the one colony.

 It was amazing to see the variety of bluebottle shapes and sizes and I could have easily spent hours there  photographing them.

 

I did try one experiment with a bluebottle in a wineglass but alas the curved surface wrought havoc with reflections and distortions.  Carolyn took a quick snap which makes it look like I'm about to sample a bluebottle cocktail.

image courtesy of Carolyn Davis
... 

Going Off At Potter Point

A big swell and high winds were predicted for today so Carolyn and I met up at Potter Point to see what we could capture. Although it was blowing a gale ( literally by wind definition) and we could hardly stand upright when close to the cliff's edge, we unearthed some interesting POVs to be followed up at a later date by walking towards Boat Harbour along the shoreline. A non anticipated wave washed over me as I struggled to experiment with some long exposures so I was forced to dry myself off with a salt soaked buffer.  It was exciting to see the height reached by the waves and we only wished the light had been better so we could capture some decent lighting on the cliff faces. A thickshake and burger at Silver Beach Post Office helped to ease the disappointment.

image: A fellow rock climber struggling to control his camera atop the cliff

Potter Sunrise

Met up with some Focus buddies for the first 2014 sunrise shoot at Potter Point. Weather was a tad inclement so I decided to stay close to the car park. Can't afford losing yet another camera to water damage. There was a small band of pink which adhered to the horizon, but that was the only colour we were to experience. I've learnt my lessons about smeared glass, unstable tripods and the challenges of using zoom lenses for landscape shots so I'm pleased to say I was able to capture some long exposures with reasonable success. And as is the tradition we completed our shoot with breakfast, this time at the Silver Beach Cafe at Kurnell. Potter Point offers so many compositions and the colours which paint the rocks under all conditions are just breathtaking. Feel privileged to have the opportunity to combine photography and shoots with like minded company. 

 The following shot was taken just a few hours later just down the road. It really is all about the light :-)

 I love it when the sun has just  risen above the horizon and the golden light paints the rocky ledges and surface of the water with a golden glow.

Pottering Around Potter's

I've always found it confusing distinguishing between some of the coast locations accessible from Kurnell at one end and Cronulla at the other end. I set out on yet another sunrise hunt, however the sad tradition of unrealised expectations was to continue. All was fine when I left home but the minute I opened the car door at Potter Point the cold winds made their presence felt and it became blatantly obvious that there would be limited colour or cloud in the sky.  Hood up and buttons fastened, I was determined not to leave empty handed so I occupied myself by taking shots of many of the rock formations which resembled strange coastal figures.

 I was lucky enough to score some fairly good shots of crows which appeared in a large group and seemed most interested in what I was doing. It brought back memories of Hitchcock's " Birds". It caused me to ensure I kept well away from the cliff's edge in case their circling was in anticipation of pecking on my remains once I'd fallen to my demise.

The following video created by a photo buddy explains how to reach the Point and showcases some of the attractions. Read " Cronulla to the far left" as " Cronulla to the far right" :-)

The following map seems quite detailed and removed the confusion.