Mittagong With The Girls

Finally ........ my multiple trips to the Maltings at Mittagong paid off. Two situations which had challenged me in the past were finally resolved.. Firstly, travelling via the Wilton route I'd previously been taunted by the view from the tiny bridge which crossed the cataract river. The reflections had always been enticing and today was no different. The windy narrow road allows only one opportunity to pull over on a haripin bend approaching the bridge. My many previous trips had familiarised me with every single metre of that approach so, in the absence of another vehicle on our tail, which has been my previous experience,  I was able to direct Ruth to pull over in the one tiny space available. I was thrilled to finally be able to take a shot from that little bridge I'd so admired.

This was the third week in a row I'd visited the Maltings and my enthusiasm hadn't waned. Although my pessimistice nature prevented me from climbing to the heights reached by Ruth I've made a resolution with myself to return with ladder in tow. I'm determined to get to the upper levels and as I see it a traditional ladder is the only way to do it safely. 

Now for the second challenge. I'd struggled to deal with the changing light conditions in the Maltings on each and every visit experimenting with different settings and different cameras. Akin to photographing from inside a railway tunnel towards the light, the exterior light bursts through the window spaces and holes in the roof, battling with the dark moss covered walls, graffiti patches and burnt or stained timbers. I'd not considered using flash before but prompted at Ruth's suggestion, this solved the problem. The internal flash set to its lowest setting did the trick as I exposed for the scene outside the window. At last !!!!

Ruth, Keiko and I spent hours exploring every nook and cranny and had some fun experimenting with in camera double exposures. Can't wait to do more of these. Credit to Ruthie for this shot of me which miraculously, I quite like.

 We finished the tour with a refreshing shandy in the Lion Rampant Hotel at Mittagong followed by a yummy kebab from the illustrious Kebab House. A most fruitful day on all fronts. :-)

Welcome To The World

Having been a while since we'd been on a sunrise shoot we decided to fill in some time waiting for the opening of the local wildlife park by making a quick trip to Audley. It was so peaceful with just the local kookaburras and ducks to keep us company and the muted light of an understated sunrise produced some magical reflections on the river's surface.

Two rowers were the first sign of a wakening human world.

 After the early morning start at  Audley, Carolyn and I eagerly hurried towards Symbio Wildlife Park hopeful of photographing the new addition to the koala population.

We had seen a delightful video announcing the arrival of a new Joey but unfortunately were unable to see anything more than a tired little face peering from mum's pouch, in spite of spending a few hours riveted to the koala enclosure.

As if the first mum and bub video wasn't cute enough. Check out this video of our baby koala joey's first cuddle with Mum. It's adorable! :)

Lying Low At Richmond

Had been planning a country drive with Mark Nolan from the Sutherland Shire Amateur Photographers Society and after a number of cancellations finally made it to the Richmond Lowlands. We were hoping for some fog which never eventuated but the location is a great spot for tree lined driveways, fence rails and ponds and of course it's close to one of my favourite spots, the Paulownia Plantation.

The Autumn colour was still clinging determinedly to many of the trees scattered throughout the properties and we spent a considerable time trying to photograph the geese and other waterbirds at Pugh's Lagoon. 

The Paulownia Plantation was inaccessible so we had to placate ourselves with taking some token shots from the highway and the side streets. I'd not seen the golden tinges on the tops of the trees before and the small white flowers dotting the surrounding grasses added a delicate touch to the scene. 

Another thing I love about this plantation is it's chameleon quality. Its moods and appearance differ with each changing hour and season. From the highway the dappled light spread a lacework pattern across the trunks.

The plantation is like a living battalion, trees lined in formations and the gnarled age spots resembling eyes peering from the gloom.

Only two trees had fallen and lay amidst their compatriots like wounded soldiers.