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. :-)