Wollongong Botanical Gardens

Joined two friends for a trip to the Wollongong Botanical Gardens. Although we arrived when there was some heat in the sun there were plenty of shady nooks to find relief. 

 

We were rewarded with some moorhen chicks frolicking amongst the water lilies and some pretty reflections. Moorhens have the most enormous feet, just perfect for their environment.

The much publicized Japanese bridge,  renowned for wedding photos. I'm guessing many a bride has fallen in this location.

 The water dragons love to compete with the ducks for scraps and take refuge amongst the water lilies.

Stopping off in Wollongong for lunch I yet again tried to capture a shot of the gnarled old trees near the foreshore. This was the first time it was not being used as a climbing gym by the local children, but I doubt that I've done it justice even though it is a better attempt than all previous occasions.

We then left the vicinity of the lighthouse and enjoyed experimenting with various compositions centred on a new sculpture which had come highly recommended, finally following the scenic coast drive back towards Sydney which is always far preferable to the highway.

 Nerine Martini created the Migration Project in 2014 to commemorate the contribution migrants have made to the city of Wollongong. It consists of one tall structure which features a boat and ladders reaching upwards in hope and three steel plates which represent components of the migrants' lifestyles.

Pearl Beach

Pearl Beach was the destination for the Focus Group's sunrise shoot today. Generally not able to attend shoots on Saturdays, today I was lucky enough to have a day off . Although we were not gifted with a spectacular sunrise due to the dense cloud cover, it is always cathartic to spend time near the ocean in the early hours of the morning before the bulk of humanity has risen. Warned that the rockshelf is notoriously slippery due to the existence of black rocks, I elected to shoot from the beach while the others headed off around the headland. 

 The beach was possibly the poorest vantage point for compositions as there were few exposed rocks and large batches of seaweed were scattered along the shoreline. 

 ( with seaweed)

( seaweed free )  :-)

Finding some interesting leading lines was a tad challenging from the beach but I was happier in my location rather than risking a fall on the rockshelf.

There was a beautiful light mist clinging to the horizon but unfortunately this didnt translate well to the digital capture.  

Part of the beauty of early morning strolls along the beach is finding odd little creatures festooning the sand. Photographing sea snail egg sacs always seems to present a challenge for me and I've not yet been able to capture exactly what I want but it is fun to keep trying. The trick is to photograph them near the water line so they're free of sand, yet quickly before the waves grab them and they disappear from sight.

Pools, other than natural rock pools, are not really favourite subjects of mine but they do frequently have some pretty reflections. 

After leaving Pearl Beach we headed towards Avoca Beach where we spent just enough time to grab a few shots of the unusual rock formations.

The Modern And The Ancient

We visited the city today to see two locations. Firstly we stopped off at the new Frank Gehry designed "Dr Chau Chak Wing building at Sydney's University of Technology". The building is named after an Australian-Chinese benefactor who has donated £13.9 million to UTS which is blatantly obvious as his name is displayed in gigantic lettering on two facades. The structure is to provide teaching, research and office accommodation for the UTS Business School.  Detractors have likened it to a crumpled paper bag but I found it to be otherwise, a pleasant relief from the crisp vertical lines of Sydney's skyscrapers.

After detouring via Paddy's Markets and Darling Harbour, we headed towards Dawes Point where ninety warriors modelled on China's terracotta army were to be lit up  as part of Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival. As was to be expected, the crowds were horrendous and it was impossible to choose a composition. All we could do was press the shutter and hope.

Swell Time Back At Bombo

With a rumoured swell of 4 metres at Bombo we headed off yet again. The rain had been falling continuously for the previous few days so we were also expecting lots of puddles which are great for shots. The swell wasn't disappointing but the quarry held so much water it was impossible to access sections of the location. The presence of a gusty wind also destroyed any chance of reflections.

Bombo presents a different face each time we visit depending on where we stand and the weather conditions.  We had been keen to capture water cascading down the backs of the rocky pillars but unfortunately the large waves were infrequent and we couldn't seem to anticipate well.

Just being there to witness the power of the ocean is always so humbling and rewarding, so the trip wasn't wasted by any means.

Dawn In The City

So far I've only processed one image from the City shoot. Difficult to explain what makes an individual gravitate to a specific image from all the shots which are captured at a given location. A young girl on the ferry attracted my attention but it wasn't until I experimented with combining some techniques that I really decided why she intrigued me. I think it was the 'from another era' aura she exuded. I'm pleased with the results.

1. Subject  "as was"

2. Subject after one form of processing 

I haven't been able to leave this image alone for some reason and I decided to document some of the post processing options by combining some screenshots using both Proshow Web and Windows Moviemaker.

See below


 The initial motivation for the City trip was to capture some golden morning light shots of the Opera House so travelled in with a friend and wandered around the famous landmark, thence on a  ferry ride to Darling Harbour, back for breakfast at City Extra and back in time for a movie at the Quay Dendy. 

As luck would have it, there was a professional shoot taking place at the top of the Opera House steps and the light shining on the golden hair of the model was too alluring to ignore. The reflections on the glass walls are always a magnet, but the challenge is to capture the changing light conditions successfully. The Opera House is best before Sydney rises and the crowds mar the compositions. We were lucky enough to see two large cruise ships which were shown to advantage against a cloud laden sky. The trip on the ferry to Darling Harbour was peaceful and productive. It's always difficult to capture an unusual shot of the city icons such as the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park or the city skyline but conditions were quite pleasing this morning and a sky full of clouds is a great backdrop for any scene.

Garie Beach - Crab Haven

Another early start and although the forecast had been for cloudless skies we elected to use the morning as a reconn trip to Garie Beach.

I'd not been there for a few years and was pleasantly surprised to see some of the moss covered boulders which would act as great leading lines.  The rocks were literally crawling with crabs but access was easy.

 The temptation with relatively cloudless skies is to import one and create a composite image. I still think clouds make the difference to an image but I can appreciate why this practice enrages purists.

Once the golden light of the rising sun hit the rocks the scene was reminiscent of the famed El Dorado.

  Once we left Garie, we headed for breakfast at Audley Weir. So many photographs have been taken of the boathouse reflections, but there is only a small window of opportunity before the light becomes too harsh.

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. 

Trip To Tabbagai

Walking out at Solander towards Tabbagai today there were many rock 'faces' to be seen. Michael Hankey saw faces the other day so I know I'm not the only one who sees faces everywhere I look. I call them the guardians and they can be found reaching out from most rocky outcrops. As the sun was rising I saw another one today who resembled a timeless creature but what intrigued me most of all was the shape alongside it which looked a lot like a hawk. Nothing special in itself, except for the fact I'd just been photographing a hawk. I love the way Mother Nature makes you think - synchronicity.

Although it's a hassle to carry two cameras on shoots I needed the wide angle to capture a specific rockpool I had in mind and I knew from experience that an opportunity which did not lend itself to wide angles would crop up some time during the shoot. Frequently these occasions allow no time for preparation or changing lenses so dealing with the double camera hassle is always worth it.
 The sky was less than perfect on the day so the reflection shot is a composite with a sky from another time.

Intent on the patterns created by the golden sun rays hitting the cliff face I almost missed seeing a young hawk nestled on the ledge. The hawk was to be Nature's gift for the day and although I didn't get the exact shot I desired I'm glad I have a digital memory of the experience. The white arrow not only indicates the hawk's camouflaged position on the rock ledge but serves to demonstrate how effectively the little Powershot SX50 can zoom over quite a distance to capture a subject.

These shots was taken with no tripod so I'm quite satisfied with the detail, particularly on the tiny eye.

 He appeared to sense that he was being observed and as soon as I pressed the shutter for this shot, he left his sandstone perch for a more private position.

Yena Sunrise

It's been a while since I posted but I have been out and about. We joined the Focus group for a shoot in the National Park. Carolyn and I elected to go to Yena while the others climbed down the cliff face at Solander to make use of access at  low tide. I'd hoped to try out my Firecrest ND Filter but feel I'd be best to do this when I'm not limited by time constraints.

I love the way Yena offers easy access to the rock shelves and it was interesting to see the comps which opened up at low tide. The sunrise was vibrant but not long lasting, but the way the colour from the rising sun lights up the rock pools is mesmerising. I only wish I could have moved to a better position but it is dangerous to not have respect for rogue waves at Yena and it was the best I could do on the day.

As we were shooting three dolphins swam past but I only managed to capture one in frame. The sky also changed remarkably in the time we were there. Grey clouds replaced the deep pink.

My Canon Powershot comes in handy as a second camera for zooming in on details like this tiny crab hiding in the crevasses between the rocks.