Inhospitable Location

Kurnell is always a treasure trove of photographic opportunities, a good vantage point for observing the city skyline.

 My return to Kurnell on a personal quest was compromised by the unwanted attention of some persistent inhabitants. I think they were March flies and they carry quite a punch. Fortunately they are quite sluggish and easy to put out of action but not before they have inflicted a sharp sting.

The Council has done a commendable job of creating a memorial to not only the early days of colonisation, but to the acknowledgement of Aboriginal history. "The Meeting Place" , one of the memorials, has been erected on the site of an original Aboriginal meeting place and the signage does a commendable job of documenting the ongoing respect for Kurnell as an area of great historical significance for both indigenous and early European inhabitants.  Visitors can follow some walking trails and read  many interesting facts about the history of the region. A variety of beautiful trees dot the peninsula, amongst them my personal favourites, the majestic figs. 

 The memorials blend in tastefully with the environment.

High Tide At Yena

 

 image: our shadows reflected on the sandstone rocks just as the last of the light welcomed the new morning

Carolyn and I ventured down to Yena this morning in an endeavour to catch the elusive sunrise which always appears on work days but rarely during my holidays. It was another early start and I was prepared to be disappointed and wake to a cloudy sky, but the weather was perfect, just a touch of an Autumn breeze to disturb the still air. The waves were high and loud and from first light we were thrilled with the colour on the water and rocks. It is an arresting sight looking back towards the city of Sydney, the juxtaposition of Nature's water and craggy rocks against the Man's modern skyscrapers. There are many places to explore with a seemingly endless number of compositions possible. The natural colours are so spectacular that there is really no need to process the images other than a crop or resize.

image: the city can be seen above the breaking waves in the distance

 I'm no longer one for deep red sunrises, preferring the less saturated colour combinations. We spent more than two hours photographing the location as the light lasted for an extended period and bathed the rocks in the most beautiful golden light. It is my favourite time of the morning and there were so many interesting subjects and compositions: a tiny tug guiding in the large tanker;  seagulls cavorting in the rockpools filled to the brim with clean rainwater;  waterfalls cascading down the rockshelves in between waves;  golden light shining on the windows of the city skyscrapers giving it the appearance of a golden city; a spectacular cloudy sky and natural vegetation reflected in the clean and clear rockpools: fluffy white and pink clouds floating in a rich blue sky; the iridescent sheen created on the rocks by receding waves; and of course those magnificent rock formations with the morning light sculpting large stone faces on the hillsides.

The Leap Without The Leap

This morning Carolyn and I investigated "The Leap" which is a favourite spot for divers accessed off Solander Drive between Inscription Point and Yena at Kurnell. Carolyn's map is a beauty for documenting all the hidden treasures out at Kurnell.

View Yena in a larger map

It was a reasonably steep yet easy descent on metal steps but I'm afraid I chickened out and elected to shoot from up higher as the rocks at the base are notorious for being quite deadly and slippery and I don't want to risk being out of action again like last year.  All in all it was a good morning, other than losing my camera footing for my tripod and not being able to christen my ND filters.

It was amazing to see the difference in sky colour dependent on which direction we were facing. There was initially some promising red, but this soon disappeared and was replaced by gold, pink and tangerine. It certainly wasn't the best sunrise I've ever seen but it certainly wasn't the worst.

1. Facing away from the city

2. Facing towards the refinery

Facing towards the City

  Facing towards the City

I love the faces in the rocks all along the sandstone cliffs in the Botany Bay National Park. They remind me of creatures embedded in the sandstone. It is not as if they are imprisoned, rather that they are just maintaining guard in some fashion. I was disappointed that I was unable to get a better angle on the guardian of the cranes at the oil refinery - maybe next time :-) My friend Carolyn affectionately refers to them as 'the giraffes'.

Facing towards Port Botany